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diff --git a/old/66791-0.txt b/old/66791-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9d14b9b..0000000 --- a/old/66791-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,34678 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The City of the Saints, by Richard Francis -Burton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The City of the Saints - and across the Rocky Mountains to California - -Author: Richard Francis Burton - -Release Date: November 22, 2021 [eBook #66791] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Tim Lindell, Harry Lamé and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The Internet - Archive/Canadian Libraries) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CITY OF THE SAINTS *** - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - Texts printed in italics, bold face and small capitals have been - transcribed _between underscores_, =between equal signs= and as ALL - CAPITALS respectively. Superscript texts have been transcribed as - ^{text}. - - More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of this text. - - - - -[Illustration: GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. (From the North.)] - - - - - THE CITY OF THE SAINTS, - AND - ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO CALIFORNIA. - - BY - - RICHARD F. BURTON, - - AUTHOR OF - “THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA,” ETC. - - With Illustrations. - - NEW YORK: - HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, - FRANKLIN SQUARE. - - 1862. - - - “Clear your mind of cant.”--JOHNSON. - - “MONTESINOS.--America is in more danger from religious fanaticism. - The government there not thinking it necessary to provide religious - instruction for the people in any of the new states, the prevalence - of superstition, and that, perhaps, in some wild and terrible shape, - may be looked for as one likely consequence of this great and - portentous omission. An Old Man of the Mountain might find dupes and - followers as readily as the All-friend Jemima; and the next Aaron - Burr who seeks to carve a kingdom for himself out of the overgrown - territories of the Union, may discern that fanaticism is the most - effective weapon with which ambition can arm itself; that the way - for both is prepared by that immorality which the want of religion - naturally and necessarily induces, and that camp-meetings may be - very well directed to forward the designs of military prophets. Were - there another Mohammed to arise, there is no part of the world where - he would find more scope or fairer opportunity than in that part of - the Anglo-American Union into which the older states continually - discharge the restless part of their population, leaving laws and - Gospel to overtake it if they can, for in the march of modern - colonization both are left behind.” - - _This remarkable prophecy appeared from the pen of Robert Southey, - the Poet-Laureate, in March, 1829_ (“_Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies - on the Progress and Prospects of Society_,” vol. i., Part II., “_The - Reformation--Dissenters--Methodists_.”) - - - - - Dedication. - - TO - RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES. - - I HAVE PREFIXED YOUR NAME, DEAR MILNES, TO “THE CITY OF THE SAINTS:” - THE NAME OF A LINGUIST, TRAVELER, POET, AND, ABOVE ALL, A MAN OF - INTELLIGENT INSIGHT INTO THE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS OF HIS BROTHER MEN. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -Unaccustomed, of late years at least, to deal with tales of twice-told -travel, I can not but feel, especially when, as in the present case, -so much detail has been expended upon the trivialities of a Diary, -the want of that freshness and originality which would have helped -the reader over a little lengthiness. My best excuse is the following -extract from the lexicographer’s “Journey to the Western Islands,” made -in company with Mr. Boswell during the year of grace 1773, and upheld -even at that late hour as somewhat a feat in the locomotive line. - -“These diminutive observations seem to take away something from the -dignity of writing, and therefore are never communicated but with -hesitation, and a little fear of abasement and contempt. But it must be -remembered that life consists not of a series of illustrious actions or -elegant enjoyments; the greater part of our time passes in compliance -with necessities, in the performance of daily duties, in the removal of -small inconveniences, in the procurement of petty pleasures, and we are -well or ill at ease as the main stream of life glides on smoothly, or -is ruffled by small obstacles and frequent interruptions.” - -True! and as the novelist claims his right to elaborate, in the -“domestic epic,” the most trivial scenes of household routine, so the -traveler may be allowed to enlarge, when copying nature in his humbler -way, upon the subject of his little drama, and, not confining himself -to the great, the good, and the beautiful, nor suffering himself -to be wholly engrossed by the claims of cotton, civilization, and -Christianity, useful knowledge and missionary enterprise, to _desipere -in loco_ by expatiating upon his bed, his meat, and his drink. - -The notes forming the ground-work of this volume were written on patent -improved metallic pocket-books in sight of the objects which attracted -my attention. The old traveler is again right when he remarks: “There -is yet another cause of error not always easily surmounted, though -more dangerous to the veracity of itinerary narratives than imperfect -mensuration. An observer deeply impressed by any remarkable spectacle -does not suppose that the traces will soon vanish from his mind, -and, having commonly no great convenience for writing”--Penny and -Letts are of a later date--“defers the description to a time of more -leisure and better accommodation. He who has not made the experiment, -or is not accustomed to require rigorous accuracy from himself, -will scarcely believe how much a few hours take from certainty of -knowledge and distinctness of imagery; how the succession of objects -will be broken, how separate parts will be confused, and how many -particular features and discriminations will be found compressed and -conglobated with one gross and general idea.” Brave words, somewhat -pompous and diffused, yet worthy to be written in letters of gold. But, -though of the same opinion with M. Charles Didier, the Miso-Albion -(Séjour chez le Grand-Chérif de la Mekkeh, Preface, p. vi.), when -he characterizes “un voyage de fantaisie” as “le pire de tous les -romans,” and with Admiral Fitzroy (Hints to Travelers, p. 3), that -the descriptions should be written with the objects in view, I would -avoid the other extreme, viz., that of publishing, as our realistic -age is apt to do, mere photographic representations. Byron could not -write verse when on Lake Leman, and the traveler who puts forth his -narrative without after-study and thought will produce a kind of -Persian picture, pre-Raphaelitic enough, no doubt, but lacking distance -and perspective--in artists’ phrase, depth and breadth--in fact, a -narrative about as pleasing to the reader’s mind as the sage and -saleratus prairies of the Far West would be to his ken. - -In working up this book I have freely used authorities well known -across the water, but more or less rare in England. The books -principally borrowed from are “The Prairie Traveler,” by Captain -Marcy; “Explorations of Nebraska,” by Lieutenant G. A. Warren; and -Mr. Bartlett’s “Dictionary of Americanisms.” To describe these -regions without the aid of their first explorers, Messrs. Frémont and -Stansbury, would of course have been impossible. If I have not always -specified the authority for a statement, it has been rather for the -purpose of not wearying the reader by repetitions than with the view of -enriching my pages at the expense of others. - -In commenting upon what was seen and heard, I have endeavored to -assume--whether successfully or not the public will decide--the -cosmopolitan character, and to avoid the capital error, especially -in treating of things American, of looking at them from the -fancied vantage-ground of an English point of view. I hold the -Anglo-Scandinavian[1] of the New World to be in most things equal, -in many inferior, and in many superior, to his cousin in the Old; -and that a gentleman, that is to say, a man of education, probity, -and honor--not, as I was once told, one who must get _on onner_ -and _onnest_--is every where the same, though living in separate -hemispheres. If, in the present transition state of the Far West, the -broad lands lying between the Missouri River and the Sierra Nevada have -occasionally been handled somewhat roughly, I have done no more than -I should have permitted myself to do while treating of rambles beyond -railways through the semi-civilized parts of Great Britain, with their -“pleasant primitive populations”--Wales, for instance, or Cornwall. - - [1] The word is proposed by Dr. Norton Shaw, Secretary to the Royal - Geographical Society, and should be generally adopted. Anglo-Saxon is - to Anglo-Scandinavian what Indo-Germanic is to Indo-European; both - serve to humor the absurd pretensions of claimants whose principal - claim to distinction is pretentiousness. The coupling England with - Saxony suggests to my memory a toast once proposed after a patriotic - and fusional political feed in the Isle of the Knights--“Malta and - England united can conquer the world.” - -I need hardly say that this elaborate account of the Holy City of the -West and its denizens would not have seen the light so soon after the -appearance of a “Journey to Great Salt Lake City,” by M. Jules Remy, -had there not been much left to say. The French naturalist passed -through the Mormon Settlements in 1855, and five years in the Far West -are equal to fifty in less conservative lands; the results of which -are, that the relation of my experiences will in no way clash with his, -or prove a tiresome repetition to the reader of both. - -If in parts of this volume there appear a tendency to look upon -things generally in their ludicrous or absurd aspects--from which -nothing sublunary is wholly exempt--my excuse must be _sic me natura -fecit_. Democritus was not, I believe, a whit the worse philosopher -than Heraclitus. The Procreation of Mirth should be a theme far more -sympathetic than the Anatomy of Melancholy, and the old Roman gentleman -had a perfect right to challenge all objectors with - - ridentem dicere verum - Quid vetat? - -Finally, I would again solicit forbearance touching certain errors of -omission and commission which are to be found in these pages. Her most -gracious majesty has been pleased to honor me with an appointment as -Consul at Fernando Po, in the Bight of Biafra, and the necessity of an -early departure has limited me to a single revise. - - 14 ST. JAMES’ SQUARE, 1st July, 1861. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. WHY I WENT TO GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. -- THE VARIOUS ROUTES. - -- THE LINE OF COUNTRY TRAVERSED. -- DIARIES AND - DISQUISITIONS. 1 - - II. THE SIOUX OR DAKOTAHS. 93 - - III. CONCLUDING THE ROUTE TO THE GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. 131 - - IV. FIRST WEEK AT GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. -- PRELIMINARIES. 203 - - V. SECOND WEEK AT GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. -- VISIT TO THE - PROPHET. 237 - - VI. DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY, ETHNOLOGY, AND STATISTICS OF UTAH - TERRITORY. 272 - - VII. THIRD WEEK AT GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. -- EXCURSIONS. 322 - - VIII. EXCURSIONS CONTINUED. 343 - - IX. LATTER-DAY SAINTS. -- OF THE MORMON RELIGION. 361 - - X. FARTHER OBSERVATIONS AT GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. 417 - - XI. LAST DAYS AT GREAT SALT LAKE CITY. 441 - - XII. TO RUBY VALLEY. 443 - - XIII. TO CARSON VALLEY. 473 - - CONCLUSION. 499 - - APPENDICES. 503 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - 1. GREAT SALT LAKE CITY FROM THE NORTH _Frontispiece._ - - 2. ROUTE FROM THE MISSOURI RIVER TO THE PACIFIC _to face_ 1 - - 3. MAP OF THE WASACH MOUNTAINS AND GREAT SALT LAKE „ 1 - - 4. GENERAL MAP OF NORTH AMERICA „ 1 - - 5. THE WESTERN YOKE 23 - - 6.CHIMNEY ROCK 74 - - 7. SCOTT’S BLUFFS 77 - - 8. INDIANS 94 - - 9. PLAN OF GREAT SALT LAKE CITY _to face_ 193 - - 10. STORES IN MAIN STREET 199 - - 11. ENDOWMENT HOUSE AND TABERNACLE 221 - - 12. THE PROPHET’S BLOCK 247 - - 13. THE TABERNACLE 259 - - 14. ANCIENT LAKE BENCH-LAND 272 - - 15. THE DEAD SEA 322 - - 16. ENSIGN PEAK 358 - - 17. DESERÉT ALPHABET 420 - - 18. MOUNT NEBO 443 - - 19. FIRST VIEW OF CARSON LAKE 490 - - 20. VIRGINIA CITY 498 - - 21. IN THE SIERRA NEVADA 502 - - - - -[Illustration: - - Route from the - MISSOURI RIVER - to the - PACIFIC. - - _Route of Capt^{n.} Burton_] - -[Illustration: - - The - Wahsatch Mountains - & - GREAT SALT LAKE - - (_from Capt^{n.} Stansbury_)] - -[Illustration: - - NORTH - AMERICA - - _Engraved by_ E. Weller _34. Red Lion Square._ - - _London, Longman & Co._] - - - - -THE CITY OF THE SAINTS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -Why I went to Great Salt Lake City.--The various Routes.--The Line of -Country traversed.--Diaries and Disquisitions. - - -A tour through the domains of Uncle Samuel without visiting the -wide regions of the Far West would be, to use a novel simile, like -seeing Hamlet with the part of Prince of Denmark, by desire, omitted. -Moreover, I had long determined to add the last new name to the list -of “Holy Cities;” to visit the young rival, _soi-disant_, of Memphis, -Benares, Jerusalem, Rome, Meccah; and after having studied the -beginnings of a mighty empire “in that New World which is the Old,” to -observe the origin and the working of a regular go-ahead Western and -Columbian revelation. Mingled with the wish of prospecting the City of -the Great Salt Lake in a spiritual point of view, of seeing Utah as -it is, not as it is said to be, was the mundane desire of enjoying a -little skirmishing with the savages, who in the days of Harrison and -Jackson had given the pale faces tough work to do, and that failing, -of inspecting the line of route which Nature, according to the general -consensus of guide-books, has pointed out as the proper, indeed the -only practical direction for a railway between the Atlantic and the -Pacific. The commerce of the world, the Occidental Press had assured -me, is undergoing its grand climacteric: the resources of India and the -nearer orient are now well-nigh cleared of “loot,” and our sons, if -they would walk in the paths of their papas, must look to Cipangri and -the parts about Cathay for _their_ annexations. - -The Man was ready, the Hour hardly appeared propitious for other than -belligerent purposes. Throughout the summer of 1860 an Indian war was -raging in Nebraska; the Comanches, Kiowas, and Cheyennes were “out;” -the Federal government had dispatched three columns to the centres -of confusion; intestine feuds among the aborigines were talked of; -the Dakotah or Sioux had threatened to “wipe out” their old foe the -Pawnee, both tribes being possessors of the soil over which the road -ran. Horrible accounts of murdered post-boys and cannibal emigrants, -greatly exaggerated, as usual, for private and public purposes, -filled the papers, and that nothing might be wanting, the following -positive assertion (I afterward found it to be, as Sir Charles Napier -characterized one of a Bombay editor’s saying, “a marked and emphatic -lie”) was copied by full half the press: - -“Utah has a population of some fifty-two or fifty-three thousand--more -or less--rascals. Governor Cumming has informed the President exactly -how matters stand in respect to them. Neither life nor property is -safe, he says, and bands of depredators roam unpunished through the -territory. The United States judges have abandoned their offices, and -the law is boldly defied every where. He requests that 500 soldiers -may be retained at Utah to afford some kind of protection to American -citizens who are obliged to remain here.” - -“Mormon” had in fact become a word of fear; the Gentiles looked upon -the Latter-Day Saints much as our crusading ancestors regarded the -“Hashshashiyun,” whose name, indeed, was almost enough to frighten -them. Mr. Brigham Young was the Shaykh-el-Jebel, the Old Man of -the Hill redivivus, Messrs. Kimball and Wells were the chief of -his Fidawin, and “Zion on the tops of the mountains” formed a fair -representation of Alamut. - -“Going among the Mormons!” said Mr. M---- to me at New Orleans; “they -are shooting and cutting one another in all directions; how can _you_ -expect to escape?” - -Another general assertion was that “White Indians”--those Mormons -again!--had assisted the “Washoes,” “Pah Utes,” and “Bannacks” in the -fatal affair near Honey Lake, where Major Ormsby, of the militia, a -military frontier-lawyer, and his forty men, lost the numbers of their -mess. - -But sagely thus reflecting that “dangers which loom large from afar -generally lose size as one draws near;” that rumors of wars might -have arisen, as they are wont to do, from the political necessity -for another “Indian botheration,” as editors call it; that Governor -Cumming’s name might have been used in vain; that even the President -might not have been a Pope, infallible; and that the Mormons might -turn out somewhat less black than they were painted; moreover, having -so frequently and willfully risked the chances of an “I told you so” -from the lips of friends, those “prophets of the past;” and, finally, -having been so much struck with the discovery by some Western man -of an enlarged truth, viz., that the bugbear approached has more -affinity to the bug than to the bear, I resolved to risk the chance -of the “red nightcap” from the bloodthirsty Indian and the poisoned -bowie-dagger--without my Eleonora or Berengaria--from the jealous -Latter-Day Saints. I forthwith applied myself to the audacious task -with all the recklessness of a “party” from town precipitating himself -for the first time into “foreign parts” about Calais. - -And, first, a few words touching routes. - -[THE PACIFIC RAILROAD] - -As all the world knows, there are three main lines proposed for a -“Pacific Railroad” between the Mississippi and the Western Ocean, the -Northern, Central, and Southern.[2] - - [2] The following table shows the lengths, comparative costs, etc., - of the several routes explored for a railroad from the Mississippi - to the Pacific, as extracted from the Speech of the Hon. Jefferson - Davis, of Mississippi, on the Pacific Railway Bill in the United - States Senate, January, 1859, and quoted by the Hon. Sylvester Maury - in the “Geography and Resources of Arizona and Sonora.” - - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - | | | | | | No. of | | - | | | | | | miles | | - | | | | | |of route| | - | | | | | |through | | - | | | | | | land | | - | | | | | | gener- | | - | | | | | | ally | | - | | | | | | uncul- | Alti- | - | | Dis- | | | |tivable,| tude | - | | tance| | | No. of| arable | above | - | | by | Sum of| | miles | soil |the sea| - | | pro- | as- | Compar- | of | being | of the| - | | posed| cents | ative | route | found |highest| - | | rail-| and | cost of |through| in | point | - | | road | de- | different | arable| small | on the| - | ROUTES. |route.|scents.| routes. | lands.| areas. | route.| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - | |Miles.| Feet. | Dollars. | | | Feet. | - |Route near forty-| | | | | | | - |seventh and | | | | | | | - |forty-ninth par- | | | | | | | - |allels, from St. | | | | | | | - |Paul to Seattle | 1955 | 18,654|135,871,000| 535 | 1490 | 6,044| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - |Route near forty-| | | | | | | - |seventh and | | | | | | | - |forty-ninth par- | | | | | | | - |allels, from St. | | | | | | | - |Paul to Vancouver| 1800 | 17,645|425,781,000| 374 | 1490 | 6,044| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - |Route near forty-| | | | | | | - |first and forty- | | | | | | | - |second parallels,| | | | | | | - |from Rock Island,| | | | | | | - |viâ South Pass, | | 29,120| | | | | - |to Benicia | 2299 | [3] |122,770,000| 899 | 1400 | 8,373| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - |Route near | | | | | | | - |thirty-eighth and| | | | | | | - |thirty-ninth par-| | | | | | | - |allels, from St. | | | | | | | - |Louis, viâ Coo- | | | | | | | - |che-to-pa and | | | | | | | - |Tah-ee-chay-pah | | | | | | | - |passes to San | | 49,985| Imprac- | | | | - |Francisco | 2325 | [4] | ticable. | 865 | 1460 | 10,032| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - |Route near | | | | | | | - |thirty-eighth and| | | | | | | - |thirty-ninth par-| | | | | | | - |allels, from St. | | | | | | | - |Louis, viâ Coo- | | | | | | | - |chee-to-pa and | | | | | | | - |Madeline Passes, | | 56,514| Imprac- | | | | - |to Benicia | 2535 | [5] | ticable. | 915 | 1620 | 10,032| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - |Route near | | | | | | | - |thirty-fifth par-| | | | | | | - |allel, from Mem- | | | | | | | - |phis to San Fran-| | 48,521| | | | | - |cisco | 2366 | [4] |113,000,000| 916 | 1450 | 7,550| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - |Route near | | | | | | | - |thirty-second | | | | | | | - |parallel, from | | | | | | | - |Memphis to San | | 48,862| | | | | - |Pedro | 2090 | [4] | 99,000,000| 690 | 1400 | 7,550| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - |Route near | | | | | | | - |thirty-second | | | | | | | - |parallel, near | | | | | | | - |Gaines’ Landing, | | | | | | | - |to San Francisco | | 38,200| | | | | - |by coast route | 2174 | [6] | 94,000,000| 984 | 1190 | 5,717| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - |Route near | | | | | | | - |thirty-second | | | | | | | - |parallel, from | | | | | | | - |Gaines’ Landing | | 30,181| | | | | - |to San Pedro | 1748 | [6] | 72,000,000| 558 | 1190 | 5,717| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - |Route near | | | | | | | - |thirty-second | | | | | | | - |parallel, from | | | | | | | - |Gaines’ Landing | | 33,454| | | | | - |to San Diego | 1683 | [6] | 72,000,000| 524 | 1159 | 5,717| - +-----------------+------+-------+-----------+-------+--------+-------+ - - [3] The ascents and descents between Rock Island and Council Bluffs - are not known, and therefore not included in this sum. - - [4] The ascents and descents between St. Louis and Westport are not - known, and therefore not included in this sum. - - [5] The ascents and descents between Memphis and Fort Smith are not - known, and therefore not included in this sum. - - [6] The ascents and descents between Gaines’ Landing and Fulton are - not known, and therefore not included in this sum. - -The first, or British, was in my case not to be thought of; it involves -semi-starvation, possibly a thorough plundering by the Bedouins, and, -what was far worse, five or six months of slow travel. The third, -or Southern, known as the Butterfield or American Express, offered -to start me in an ambulance from St. Louis, and to pass me through -Arkansas, El Paso, Fort Yuma on the Gila River, in fact through the -vilest and most desolate portion of the West. Twenty-four mortal days -and nights--twenty-five being schedule time--must be spent in that -ambulance; passengers becoming crazy by whisky, mixed with want of -sleep, are often obliged to be strapped to their seats; their meals, -dispatched during the ten-minute halts, are simply abominable, the -heats are excessive, the climate malarious; lamps may not be used at -night for fear of unexisting Indians: briefly, there is no end to -this Via Mala’s miseries. The line received from the United States -government upward of half a million of dollars per annum for carrying -the mails, and its contract had still nearly two years to run. - -There remained, therefore, the central route, which has two branches. -You may start by stage to the gold regions about Denver City or Pike’s -Peak, and thence, if not accidentally or purposely shot, you may -proceed by an uncertain ox-train to Great Salt Lake City, which latter -part can not take less than thirty-five days. On the other hand, there -is “the great emigration route” from Missouri to California and Oregon, -over which so many thousands have traveled within the past few years. -I quote from a useful little volume, “The Prairie Traveler,”[7] by -Randolph B. Marcy, Captain U. S. Army. “The track is broad, well worn, -and can not be mistaken. It has received the major part of the Mormon -emigration, and was traversed by the army in its march to Utah in 1857.” - - [7] Printed by Messrs. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1859, and Messrs. - Sampson Low, Son, and Co., Ludgate Hill, and amply meriting the - honors of a second edition. - -The mail-coach on this line was established in 1850, by Colonel Samuel -H. Woodson, an eminent lawyer, afterward an M. C., and right unpopular -with Mormondom, because he sacrilegiously owned part of Temple Block, -in Independence, Mo., which is the old original New Zion. The following -are the rates of contract and the phases through which the line has -passed. - -1. Colonel Woodson received for carrying a monthly mail $19,500 (or -$23,000?): length of contract 4 years. - -2. Mr. F. McGraw, $13,500, besides certain considerable extras. - -3. Messrs. Heber Kimball & Co. (Mormons), $23,000. - -4. Messrs. Jones & Co., $30,000. - -5. Mr. J. M. Hockaday, weekly mail, $190,000. - -6. Messrs. Russell, Majors, & Waddell, army contractors; weekly mail, -$190,000.[8] - - [8] In the American Almanac for 1861 (p. 196), the length of routes - in Utah Territory is 1450 miles, 533 of which have no specified mode - of transportation, and the remainder, 977, in coaches; the total - transportation is thus 170,872 miles, and the total cost $144,638. - -[THE UTAH LINE.] - -Thus it will be seen that in 1856 the transit was in the hands of the -Latter-Day Saints: they managed it well, but they lost the contracts -during their troubles with the federal government in 1857, when it -again fell into Gentile possession. In those early days it had but -three changes of mules, at Forts Bridger, Laramie, and Kearney. -In May, 1859, it was taken up by the present firm, which expects, -by securing the monopoly of the whole line between the Missouri -River and San Francisco, and by canvassing at head-quarters for a -bi-weekly--which they have now obtained--and even a daily transit, -which shall constitutionally extinguish the Mormon community, to insert -the fine edge of that wedge which is to open an aperture for the -Pacific Railroad about to be. At Saint Joseph (Mo.), better known by -the somewhat irreverent abbreviation of St. Jo, I was introduced to -Mr. Alexander Majors, formerly one of the contractors for supplying -the army in Utah--a veteran mountaineer, familiar with life on the -prairies. His meritorious efforts to reform the morals of the land -have not yet put forth even the bud of promise. He forbade his drivers -and employés to drink, gamble, curse, and travel on Sundays; he -desired them to peruse Bibles distributed to them gratis; and though -he refrained from a lengthy proclamation commanding his lieges to be -good boys and girls, he did not the less expect it of them. Results: -I scarcely ever saw a sober driver; as for profanity--the Western -equivalent for hard swearing--they would make the blush of shame -crimson the cheek of the old Isis bargee; and, rare exceptions to -the rule of the United States, they are not to be deterred from evil -talking even by the dread presence of a “lady.” The conductors and -road-agents are of a class superior to the drivers; they do their -harm by an inordinate ambition to distinguish themselves. I met one -gentleman who owned to three murders, and another individual who -lately attempted to ration the mules with wild sage. The company was -by no means rich; already the papers had prognosticated a failure, in -consequence of the government withdrawing its supplies, and it seemed -to have hit upon the happy expedient of badly entreating travelers -that good may come to it of our evils. The hours and halting-places -were equally vilely selected; for instance, at Forts Kearney, Laramie, -and Bridger, the only points where supplies, comfort, society, are -procurable, a few minutes of grumbling delay were granted as a favor, -and the passengers were hurried on to some distant wretched ranch,[9] -apparently for the sole purpose of putting a few dollars into the -station-master’s pockets. The travel was unjustifiably slow, even in -this land, where progress is mostly on paper. From St. Jo to Great Salt -Lake City, the mails might easily be landed during the fine weather, -without inconvenience to man or beast, in ten days; indeed, the agents -have offered to place them at Placerville in fifteen. Yet the schedule -time being twenty-one days, passengers seldom reached their destination -before the nineteenth; the sole reason given was, that snow makes the -road difficult in its season, and that if people were accustomed to -fast travel, and if letters were received under schedule time, they -would look upon the boon as a right. - - [9] “Rancho” in Mexico means primarily a rude thatched hut where - herdsmen pass the night; the “rancharia” is a sheep-walk or - cattle-run, distinguished from a “hacienda,” which must contain - cultivation. In California it is a large farm with grounds often - measured by leagues, and it applies to any dirty hovel in the - Mississippian Valley. - -Before proceeding to our preparations for travel, it may be as well to -cast a glance at the land to be traveled over. - -The United States territory lying in direct line between the -Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean is now about 1200 miles long -from north to south, by 1500 of breadth, in 49° and 32° N. lat., -about equal to Equatorial Africa, and 1800 in N. lat. 38°. The great -uncultivable belt of plain and mountain region through which the -Pacific Railroad must run has a width of 1100 statute miles near the -northern boundary; in the central line, 1200; and through the southern, -1000. Humboldt justly ridiculed the “maddest natural philosopher” -who compared the American continent to a female figure--long, thin, -watery, and freezing at the 58th°, the degrees being symbolic of the -year at which woman grows old. Such description manifestly will not -apply to the 2,000,000 of square miles in this section of the Great -Republic--she is every where broader than she is long. - -The meridian of 105° north longitude (G.)--Fort Laramie lies in 104° -31′ 26″--divides this vast expanse into two nearly equal parts. The -eastern half is a basin or river valley rising gradually from the -Mississippi to the Black Hills, and the other outlying ranges of the -Rocky Mountains. The average elevation near the northern boundary -(49°) is 2500 feet, in the middle latitude (38°) 6000 feet, and near -the southern extremity (32°), about 4000 feet above sea level. These -figures explain the complicated features of its water-shed. The western -half is a mountain region whose chains extend, as far as they are -known, in a general N. and S. direction. - -The 99th meridian (G.)--Fort Kearney lies in 98° 58′ 11″--divides the -western half of the Mississippian Valley into two unequal parts. - -The eastern portion, from the Missouri to Fort Kearney--400 to 500 -miles in breadth--may be called the “Prairie land.” It is true that -passing westward of the 97° meridian, the _mauvaises terres_, or Bad -Grounds, are here and there met with, especially near the 42d parallel, -in which latitude they extend farther to the east, and that upward to -99° the land is rarely fit for cultivation, though fair for grazing. -Yet along the course of the frequent streams there is valuable soil, -and often sufficient wood to support settlements. This territory is -still possessed by settled Indians, by semi-nomads, and by powerful -tribes of equestrian and wandering savages, mixed with a few white men, -who, as might be expected, excel them in cunning and ferocity. - -[THE WESTERN GRAZING-GROUNDS.] - -The western portion of the valley, from Fort Kearney to the base of -the Rocky Mountains--a breadth of 300 to 400 miles--is emphatically -“the desert,” sterile and uncultivable, a dreary expanse of wild sage -(artemisia) and saleratus. The surface is sandy, gravelly, and pebbly; -cactus carduus and aloes abound; grass is found only in the rare river -bottoms where the soils of the different strata are mixed, and the -few trees along the borders of streams--fertile lines of wadis, which -laborious irrigation and coal mining might convert into oases--are -the cotton-wood and willow, to which the mezquite[10] may be added in -the southern latitudes. The desert is mostly uninhabited, unendurable -even to the wildest Indian. But the people on its eastern and western -frontiers, namely, those holding the extreme limits of the fertile -prairie, and those occupying the desirable regions of the western -mountains, are, to quote the words of Lieutenant Gouverneur K. Warren, -U. S. Topographical Engineers, whose valuable reconnaissances and -explanations of Nebraska in 1855, ’56, and ’57 were published in the -Reports of the Secretary of War, “on the shore of a sea, up to which -population and agriculture may advance and no farther. But this gives -these outposts much of the value of places along the Atlantic frontier, -in view of the future settlements to be formed in the mountains, -between which and the present frontier a most valuable trade would -exist. The western frontier has always been looking to the east for -a market; but as soon as the wave of emigration has passed over the -desert portion of the plains, to which the discoveries of gold have -already given an impetus that will propel it to the fertile valleys -of the Rocky Mountains, then will the present frontier of Kansas -and Nebraska become the starting-point for all the products of the -Mississippi Valley which the population of the mountains will require. -We see the effects of it in the benefits which the western frontier of -Missouri has received from the Santa Fé tract, and still more plainly -in the impetus given to Leavenworth by the operations of the army of -Utah in the interior region. This flow of products has, in the last -instance, been only in one direction; but when those mountains become -settled, as they eventually must, then there will be a reciprocal trade -materially beneficial to both.” - - [10] Often corrupted from the Spanish to muskeet (_Algarobia - glandulosa_), a locust inhabiting Texas, New Mexico, California, - etc., bearing, like the carob generally, a long pod full of sweet - beans, which, pounded and mixed with flour, are a favorite food with - the Southwestern Indians. - -The mountain region westward of the sage and saleratus desert, -extending between the 105th and 111th meridian (G.)--a little more -than 400 miles--will in time become sparsely peopled. Though in many -parts arid and sterile, dreary and desolate, the long bunch grass -(_Festuca_), the short curly buffalo grass (_Sisleria dactyloides_), -the mesquit grass (_Stipa spata_), and the Gramma, or rather, as it -should be called, “Gamma” grass (_Chondrosium fœnum_),[11] which clothe -the slopes west of Fort Laramie, will enable it to rear an abundance of -stock. The fertile valleys, according to Lieutenant Warren, “furnish -the means of raising sufficient quantities of grain and vegetables -for the use of the inhabitants, and beautiful healthy and desirable -locations for their homes. The remarkable freedom here from sickness is -one of the attractive features of the region, and will in this respect -go far to compensate the settler from the Mississippi Valley for his -loss in the smaller amount of products that can be taken from the soil. -The great want of suitable building material, which now so seriously -retards the growth of the West, will not be felt there.” The heights -of the Rocky Mountains rise abruptly from 1000 to 6000 feet over the -lowest known passes, computed by the Pacific Railroad surveyors to vary -from 4000 to 10,000 feet above sea-level. The two chains forming the -eastern and western rims of the Rocky Mountain basin have the greatest -elevation, walling in, as it were, the other sub-ranges. - - [11] Some of my informants derived the word from the Greek letter; - others make it Hispano-Mexican. - -There is a popular idea that the western slope of the Rocky Mountains -is smooth and regular; on the contrary, the land is rougher, and the -ground is more complicated than on the eastern declivities. From the -summit of the Wasach range to the eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada, -the whole region, with exceptions, is a howling wilderness, the sole -or bed of an inland sweetwater sea, now shrunk into its remnants--the -Great Salt and the Utah Lakes. Nothing can be more monotonous than its -regular succession of high grisly hills, cut perpendicularly by rough -and rocky ravines, and separating bare and barren plains. From the -seaward base of the Sierra Nevada to the Pacific--California--the slope -is easy, and the land is pleasant, fertile, and populous. - -After this _aperçu_ of the motives which sent me forth, once more a -pilgrim, to young Meccah in the West, of the various routes, and of -the style of country wandered over, I plunge at once into personal -narrative. - -[KIT.] - -Lieutenant Dana (U. S. Artillery), my future _compagnon de voyage_, -left St. Louis,[12] “the turning-back place of English sportsmen,” for -St. Jo on the 2d of August, preceding me by two days. Being accompanied -by his wife and child, and bound on a weary voyage to Camp Floyd, Utah -Territory, he naturally wanted a certain amount of precise information -concerning the route, and one of the peculiarities of this line is that -no one knows any thing about it. In the same railway car which carried -me from St. Louis were five passengers, all bent upon making Utah with -the least delay--an unexpected cargo of officials: Mr. F********, -a federal judge with two sons; Mr. W*****, a state secretary; and -Mr. G****, a state marshal. As the sequel may show, Dana was doubly -fortunate in securing places before the list could be filled up by the -unusual throng: all we thought of at the time was our good luck in -escaping a septidium at St. Jo, whence the stage started on Tuesdays -only. We hurried, therefore, to pay for our tickets--$175 each being -the moderate sum--to reduce our luggage to its minimum approach toward -25 lbs., the price of transport for excess being exorbitantly fixed at -$1 per lb., and to lay in a few necessaries for the way, tea and sugar, -tobacco and cognac. I will not take liberties with my company’s “kit;” -my own, however, was represented as follows: - - [12] St. Louis (Mo.) lies in N. lat. 28° 37′ and W. long. (G.) 90° - 16′: its elevation above tide water is 461 feet: the latest frost - is in the first week of March, the earliest is in the middle of - November, giving some 115 days of cold. St. Joseph (Mo.) lies about - N. lat. 39° 40′, and W. long. (G.) 34° 54′. - -One India-rubber blanket, pierced in the centre for a poncho, and -garnished along the longer side with buttons, and corresponding elastic -loops with a strap at the short end, converting it into a carpet-bag--a -“sine quâ non” from the equator to the pole. A buffalo robe ought to -have been added as a bed: ignorance, however, prevented, and borrowing -did the rest. With one’s coat as a pillow, a robe, and a blanket, one -may defy the dangerous “bunks” of the stations. - -For weapons I carried two revolvers: from the moment of leaving St. Jo -to the time of reaching Placerville or Sacramento the pistol should -never be absent from a man’s right side--remember, it is handier there -than on the other--nor the bowie-knife from his left. Contingencies -with Indians and others may happen, when the difference of a second -saves life: the revolver should therefore be carried with its butt -to the fore, and when drawn it should not be leveled as in target -practice, but directed toward the object by means of the right fore -finger laid flat along the cylinder while the medius draws the trigger. -The instinctive consent between eye and hand, combined with a little -practice, will soon enable the beginner to shoot correctly from the -hip; all he has to do is to think that he is pointing at the mark, and -pull. As a precaution, especially when mounted upon a kicking horse, -it is wise to place the cock upon a capless nipple, rather than trust -to the intermediate pins. In dangerous places the revolver should be -discharged and reloaded every morning, both for the purpose of keeping -the hand in, and to do the weapon justice. A revolver is an admirable -tool when properly used; those, however, who are too idle or careless -to attend to it, had better carry a pair of “Derringers.” For the -benefit of buffalo and antelope, I had invested $25 at St. Louis in a -“shooting-iron” of the “Hawkins” style--that enterprising individual -now dwells in Denver City--it was a long, top-heavy rifle; it weighed -12 lbs., and it carried the smallest ball--75 to the pound--a -combination highly conducive to good practice. Those, however, who can -use light weapons, should prefer the Maynard breech-loader, with an -extra barrel for small shot; and if Indian fighting is in prospect, -the best tool, without any exception, is a ponderous double-barrel, 12 -to the pound, and loaded as fully as it can bear with slugs. The last -of the battery was an air-gun to astonish the natives, and a bag of -various ammunition. - -Captain Marcy outfits his prairie traveler with a “little blue mass, -quinine, opium, and some cathartic medicine put up in doses for -adults.” I limited myself to the opium, which is invaluable when one -expects five consecutive days and nights in a prairie wagon, quinine, -and Warburg’s drops, without which no traveler should ever face fever, -and a little citric acid, which, with green tea drawn off the moment -the leaf has sunk, is perhaps the best substitute for milk and cream. -The “holy weed Nicotian” was not forgotten; cigars must be bought in -extraordinary quantities, as the driver either receives or takes the -lion’s share: the most satisfactory outfit is a _quantum sufficit_ -of Louisiana Pirique and Lynchburg gold-leaf--cavendish without its -abominations of rum and honey or molasses--and two pipes, a meerschaum -for luxury, and a brier-root to fall back upon when the meerschaum -shall have been stolen. The Indians will certainly pester for matches; -the best lighting apparatus, therefore, is the Spanish mechero, the -Oriental sukhtah--agate and cotton match--besides which, it offers a -pleasing exercise, like billiards, and one at which the British soldier -greatly excels, surpassed only by his exquisite skill in stuffing the -pipe. - -For literary purposes, I had, besides the two books above quoted, -a few of the great guns of exploration, Frémont, Stansbury, and -Gunnison, with a selection of the most violent Mormon and Anti-Mormon -polemicals, sketching materials--I prefer the “improved metallics” -five inches long, and serving for both diary and drawing-book--and a -tourist’s writing-case of those sold by Mr. Field (Bible Warehouse, -The Quadrant), with but one alteration, a snap lock, to obviate the -use of that barbarous invention called a key. For instruments I -carried a pocket sextant with a double face, invented by Mr. George, -of the Royal Geographical Society, and beautifully made by Messrs. -Cary, an artificial horizon of black glass, and bubble tubes to -level it, night and day compasses, with a portable affair attached -to a watch-chain--a traveler feels nervous till he can “orienter” -himself--a pocket thermometer, and a B. P. ditto. The only safe form -for the latter would be a strong neckless tube, the heavy pyriform -bulbs in general use never failing to break at the first opportunity. -A Stanhope lens, a railway whistle, and instead of the binocular, -useful things of earth, a very valueless telescope--(warranted by the -maker to show Jupiter’s satellites, and by utterly declining so to -do, reading a lesson touching the non-advisability of believing an -instrument-maker)--completed the outfit. - -[TOILET.] - -The prairie traveler is not particular about toilet: the easiest dress -is a dark flannel shirt, worn over the normal article; no braces--I say -it, despite Mr. Galton--but broad leather belt for “six-shooter” and -for “Arkansas tooth-pick,” a long clasp-knife, or for the rapier of the -Western world, called after the hero who perished in the “red butchery -of the Alamo.” The nether garments should be forked with good buckskin, -or they will infallibly give out, and the lower end should be tucked -into the boots, after the sensible fashion of our grandfathers, before -those ridiculous Wellingtons were dreamed of by our sires. In warm -weather, a pair of moccasins will be found easy as slippers, but they -are bad for wet places; they make the feet tender, they strain the back -sinews, and they form the first symptom of the savage mania. Socks keep -the feet cold; there are, however, those who should take six pair. The -use of the pocket-handkerchief is unknown in the plains; some people, -however, are uncomfortable without it, not liking “se emungere” after -the fashion of Horace’s father. - -In cold weather--and rarely are the nights warm--there is nothing -better than the old English tweed shooting-jacket, made with pockets -like a poacher’s, and its similar waistcoat, a “stomach warmer” without -a roll collar, which prevents comfortable sleep, and with flaps as in -the Year of Grace 1760, when men were too wise to wear our senseless -vests, whose only property seems to be that of disclosing after -exertions a lucid interval of linen or longcloth. For driving and -riding, a large pair of buckskin gloves, or rather gauntlets, without -which even the teamster will not travel, and leggins--the best are -made in the country, only the straps should be passed through and sewn -on to the leathers--are advisable, if at least the man at all regards -his epidermis: it is almost unnecessary to bid you remember spurs, -but it may be useful to warn you that they will, like riches, make to -themselves wings. The head-covering by excellence is a brown felt, -which, by a little ingenuity, boring, for instance, holes round the -brim to admit a ribbon, you may convert into a riding-hat or night-cap, -and wear alternately after the manly slouch of Cromwell and his Martyr, -the funny three-cornered spittoon-like “shovel” of the Dutch Georges, -and the ignoble cocked-hat, which completes the hideous metamorphosis. - -And, above all things, as you value your nationality--this is written -for the benefit of the home reader--let no false shame cause you -to forget your hat-box and your umbrella. I purpose, when a moment -of inspiration waits upon leisure and a mind at ease, to invent an -elongated portmanteau, which shall be perfection--portable--solid -leather of two colors, for easy distinguishment--snap lock--in length -about three feet; in fact, long enough to contain without creasing -“small clothes,” a lateral compartment destined for a hat, and a -longitudinal space where the umbrella can repose: its depth--but I must -reserve that part of the secret until this benefit to British humanity -shall have been duly made by Messrs. Bengough Brothers, and patented by -myself. - -The dignitaries of the mail-coach, acting upon the principle “first -come first served,” at first decided, maugre all our attempts at “moral -suasion,” to divide the party by the interval of a week. Presently -reflecting, I presume, upon the unadvisability of leaving at large five -gentlemen, who, being really in no particular hurry, might purchase -a private conveyance and start leisurely westward, they were favored -with a revelation of “’cuteness.” On the day before departure, as, -congregated in the Planter’s House Hotel, we were lamenting over our -“morning glory,” the necessity of parting--in the prairie the more -the merrier, and the fewer the worse cheer--a youth from the office -was introduced to tell, Hope-like, a flattering tale and a tremendous -falsehood. This juvenile delinquent stated with unblushing front, -over the hospitable cocktail, that three coaches instead of one had -been newly and urgently applied for by the road-agent at Great Salt -Lake City, and therefore that we could not only all travel together, -but also all travel with the greatest comfort. We exulted. But on the -morrow only two conveyances appeared, and not long afterward the two -dwindled off to one. “The Prairie Traveler” doles out wisdom in these -words: “Information concerning the route coming from strangers living -or owning property near them, from agents of steam-boats and railways, -or from other persons connected with transportation companies”--how -carefully he piles up the heap of sorites--“should be received -with great caution, and never without corroboratory evidence from -disinterested sources.” The main difficulty is to find the latter--to -catch your hare--to know whom to believe. - -I now proceed to my Diary. - - -THE START. - - _Tuesday, 7th August, 1860._ - -Precisely at 8 A.M. appeared in front of the Patee House--the Fifth -Avenue Hotel of St. Jo--the vehicle destined to be our home for the -next three weeks. We scrutinized it curiously. - -[MAIL-COACH.--MULES.] - -The mail is carried by a “Concord coach,” a spring wagon, comparing -advantageously with the horrible vans which once dislocated the joints -of men on the Suez route. The body is shaped somewhat like an English -tax-cart considerably magnified. It is built to combine safety, -strength, and lightness, without the slightest regard to appearances. -The material is well-seasoned white oak--the Western regions, and -especially Utah, are notoriously deficient in hard woods--and the -manufacturers are the well-known coachwrights, Messrs. Abbott, of -Concord, New Hampshire; the color is sometimes green, more usually red, -causing the antelopes to stand and stretch their large eyes whenever -the vehicle comes in sight. The wheels are five to six feet apart, -affording security against capsising, with little “gather” and less -“dish;” the larger have fourteen spokes and seven fellies; the smaller -twelve and six. The tires are of unusual thickness, and polished like -steel by the hard dry ground; and the hubs or naves and the metal -nave-bands are in massive proportions. The latter not unfrequently -fall off as the wood shrinks, unless the wheel is allowed to stand in -water; attention must be paid to resetting them, or in the frequent -and heavy “sidlins” the spokes may snap off all round like pipe-stems. -The wagon-bed is supported by iron bands or perpendiculars abutting -upon wooden rockers, which rest on strong leather thoroughbraces: -these are found to break the jolt better than the best steel springs, -which, moreover, when injured, can not readily be repaired. The whole -bed is covered with stout osnaburg supported by stiff bars of white -oak; there is a sun-shade or hood in front, where the driver sits, a -curtain behind which can be raised or lowered at discretion, and four -flaps on each side, either folded up or fastened down with hooks and -eyes. In heavy frost the passengers must be half dead with cold, but -they care little for that if they can go fast. The accommodations -are as follows: In front sits the driver, with usually a conductor -or passenger by his side; a variety of packages, large and small, is -stowed away under his leather cushion; when the brake must be put on, -an operation often involving the safety of the vehicle, his right foot -is planted upon an iron bar which presses by a leverage upon the rear -wheels; and in hot weather a bucket for watering the animals hangs -over one of the lamps, whose companion is usually found wanting. The -inside has either two or three benches fronting to the fore or placed -_vis-à-vis_; they are movable and reversible, with leather cushions -and hinged padded backs; unstrapped and turned down, they convert -the vehicle into a tolerable bed for two persons or two and a half. -According to Cocker, the mail-bags should be safely stowed away under -these seats, or if there be not room enough, the passengers should -perch themselves upon the correspondence; the jolly driver, however, is -usually induced to cram the light literature between the wagon-bed and -the platform, or running-gear beneath, and thus, when ford-waters wash -the hubs, the letters are pretty certain to endure ablution. Behind, -instead of dicky, is a kind of boot where passengers’ boxes are stored -beneath a stout canvas curtain with leather sides. The comfort of -travel depends upon packing the wagon; if heavy in front or rear, or if -the thoroughbraces be not properly “fixed,” the bumping will be likely -to cause nasal hemorrhage. The description will apply to the private -ambulance, or, as it is called in the West, “avalanche,” only the -latter, as might be expected, is more convenient; it is the drosky in -which the vast steppes of Central America are crossed by the government -employés. - -On this line mules are preferred to horses as being more enduring. -They are all of legitimate race; the breed between the horse and the -she-ass is never heard of, and the mysterious jumard is not believed -to exist. In dry lands, where winter is not severe--they inherit the -sire’s impatience of cold--they are invaluable animals; in swampy -ground this American dromedary is the meanest of beasts, requiring, -when stalled, to be hauled out of the mire before it will recover -spirit to use its legs. For sureness of foot (during a journey of more -than 1000 miles, I saw but one fall and two severe stumbles), sagacity -in finding the road, apprehension of danger, and general cleverness, -mules are superior to their mothers: their main defect is an unhappy -obstinacy derived from the other side of the house. They are great in -hardihood, never sick nor sorry, never groomed nor shod, even where ice -is on the ground; they have no grain, except five quarts per diem when -snow conceals the grass; and they have no stable save the open corral. -Moreover, a horse once broken down requires a long rest; the mule, if -hitched up or ridden for short distances, with frequent intervals to -roll and repose, may still, though “_resté_,” get over 300 miles in -tolerable time. The rate of travel on an average is five miles an hour; -six is good; between seven and eight is the maximum, which sinks in -hilly countries to three or four. I have made behind a good pair, in -a light wagon, forty consecutive miles at the rate of nine per hour, -and in California a mule is little thought of if it can not accomplish -250 miles in forty-eight hours. The price varies from $100 to $130 per -head when cheap, rising to $150 or $200, and for fancy animals from -$250 to $400. The value, as in the case of the Arab, depends upon size; -“rats,” or small mules, especially in California, are not esteemed. -The “span”--the word used in America for beasts well matched--is of -course much more expensive. At each station on this road, averaging -twenty-five miles apart--beyond the forks of the Platte they lengthen -out by one third--are three teams of four animals, with two extra, -making a total of fourteen, besides two ponies for the express riders. -In the East they work beautifully together, and are rarely mulish -beyond a certain ticklishness of temper, which warns you not to meddle -with their ears when in harness, or to attempt encouraging them by -preceding them upon the road. In the West, where they run half wild -and are lassoed for use once a week, they are fearfully handy with -their heels; they flirt out with the hind legs, they rear like goats, -breaking the harness and casting every strap and buckle clean off -the body, and they bite their replies to the chorus of curses and -blows: the wonder is that more men are not killed. Each fresh team -must be ringed half a dozen times before it will start fairly; there -is always some excitement in change; some George or Harry, some Julia -or Sally disposed to shirk work or to play tricks, some Brigham Young -or General Harney--the Trans-Vaal Republican calls his worst animal -“England”--whose stubbornness is to be corrected by stone-throwing or -the lash. - -But the wagon still stands at the door. We ought to start at 8 30 -A.M.; we are detained an hour while last words are said, and adieu--a -long adieu--is bidden to joke and julep, to ice and idleness. Our -“plunder”[13] is clapped on with little ceremony; a hat-case falls -open--it was not mine, gentle reader--collars and other small gear -cumber the ground, and the owner addresses to the clumsy-handed driver -the universal G-- d--, which in these lands changes from its expletive -or chrysalis form to an adjectival development. We try to stow away as -much as possible; the minor officials, with all their little faults, -are good fellows, civil and obliging; they wink at non-payment for -bedding, stores, weapons, and they rather encourage than otherwise the -multiplication of whisky-kegs and cigar-boxes. We now drive through the -dusty roads of St. Jo, the observed of all observers, and presently -find ourselves in the steam ferry which is to convey us from the right -to the left bank of the Missouri River. The “Big Muddy,” as it is now -called--the Yellow River of old writers--venerable sire of snag and -sawyer, displays at this point the source whence it has drawn for ages -the dirty brown silt which pollutes below their junction the pellucid -waters of the “Big Drink.”[14] It runs, like the lower Indus, through -deep walls of stiff clayey earth, and, like that river, its supplies, -when filtered (they have been calculated to contain one eighth of solid -matter), are sweet and wholesome as its brother streams. The Plata of -this region, it is the great sewer of the prairies, the main channel -and common issue of the water-courses and ravines which have carried -on the work of denudation and degradation for days dating beyond the -existence of Egypt. - - [13] In Canada they call personal luggage _butin_. - - [14] A “Drink” is any river: the Big Drink is the Mississippi. - -[THE MISSOURI RIVER] - -According to Lieutenant Warren, who endorses the careful examinations -of the parties under Governor Stevens in 1853, the Missouri is a -superior river for navigation to any in the country, except the -Mississippi below their junction. It has, however, serious obstacles -in wind and frost. From the Yellow Stone to its mouth, the breadth, -when full, varies from one third to half a mile; in low water the -width shrinks, and bars appear. Where timber does not break the force -of the winds, which are most violent in October, clouds of sand are -seen for miles, forming banks, which, generally situated at the edges -of trees on the islands and points, often so much resemble the Indian -mounds in the Mississippi Valley, that some of them--for instance, -those described by Lewis and Clarke at Bonhomme Island--have been -figured as the works of the ancient Toltecs. It would hardly be -feasible to correct the windage by foresting the land. The bluffs -of the Missouri are often clothed with vegetation as far as the -debouchure of the Platte River. Above that point the timber, which is -chiefly cotton-wood, is confined to ravines and bottom lands, varying -in width from ten to fifteen miles above Council Bluffs, which is -almost continuous to the mouth of the James River. Every where, except -between the mouth of the Little Cheyenne and the Cannon Ball rivers, -there is a sufficiency of fuel for navigation; but, ascending above -Council Bluffs, the protection afforded by forest growth on the banks -is constantly diminishing. The trees also are injurious; imbedded in -the channel by the “caving-in” of the banks, they form the well-known -sawyers, or floating timbers, and snags, trunks standing like _chevaux -de frise_ at various inclinations, pointing down the stream. From the -mouth of the James River down to the Mississippi, it is a wonder how a -steamer can run: she must lose half her time by laying to at night, and -is often delayed for days, as the wind prevents her passing by bends -filled with obstructions. The navigation is generally closed by ice -at Sioux City on the 10th of November, and at Fort Leavenworth by the -1st of December. The rainy season of the spring and summer commences -in the latitude of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Southern Nebraska, -between the 15th of May and the 30th of June, and continues about two -months. The floods produced by the melting snows in the mountains come -from the Platte, the Big Cheyenne, the Yellow Stone, and the Upper -Missouri, reaching the lower river about the 1st of July, and lasting -a month. Rivers like this, whose navigation depends upon temporary -floods, are greatly inferior for ascent than for descent. The length of -the inundation much depends upon the snow on the mountains: a steamer -starting from St.Louis on the first indication of the rise would not -generally reach the Yellow Stone before low water at the latter point, -and if a miscalculation is made by taking the temporary rise for the -real inundation, the boat must lay by in the middle of the river till -the water deepens. - -Some geographers have proposed to transfer to the Missouri, on -account of its superior length, the honor of being the real head of -the Mississippi; they neglect, however, to consider the direction -and the course of the stream, an element which must enter largely in -determining the channels of great rivers. It will, I hope, be long -before this great ditch wins the day from the glorious Father of Waters. - -The reader will find in Appendix No. I. a detailed itinerary, showing -him the distances between camping-places, the several mail stations -where mules are changed, the hours of travel, and the facilities for -obtaining wood and water--in fact, all things required for the novice, -hunter, or emigrant. In these pages I shall consider the route rather -in its pictorial than in its geographical aspects, and give less of -diary than of dissertation upon the subjects which each day’s route -suggested. - -[THE PRAIRIE.] - -Landing in Bleeding Kansas--she still bleeds[15]--we fell at once -into “Emigration Road,” a great thoroughfare, broad and well worn as -a European turnpike or a Roman military route, and undoubtedly the -best and the longest natural highway in the world. For five miles the -line bisected a bottom formed by a bend in the river, with about a -mile’s diameter at the neck. The scene was of a luxuriant vegetation. -A deep tangled wood--rather a thicket or a jungle than a forest--of -oaks and elms, hickory, basswood[16] and black walnut, poplar and -hackberry (_Celtis crassifolia_), box elder, and the common willow -(_Salix longifolia_), clad and festooned, bound and anchored by wild -vines, creepers, and huge llianas, and sheltering an undergrowth of -white alder and red sumach, whose pyramidal flowers were about to -fall, rested upon a basis of deep black mire, strongly suggestive -of chills--fever and ague. After an hour of burning sun and sickly -damp, the effects of the late storms, we emerged from the waste of -vegetation, passed through a straggling “neck o’ the woods,” whose -yellow inmates reminded me of Mississippian descriptions in the days -gone by, and after spanning some very rough ground we bade adieu to -the valley of the Missouri, and emerged upon the region of the Grand -Prairie,[17] which we will pronounce “perrairey.” - - [15] And no wonder! - - “I advise you, one and all, to enter every election district in - Kansas and vote at the point of the bowie-knife and revolver. Neither - give nor take quarter, as our case demands it.” - - “I tell you, mark every scoundrel among you that is the least tainted - with Free-soilism or Abolitionism, and exterminate him. Neither give - nor take quarter from them.” - - (Extracts from Speeches of General Stringfellow--happy name!--in the - Kansas Legislature.) - - [16] The basswood (_Tilia Americana_) resembles our linden: the - trivial name is derived from “bast,” its inner bark being used for - mats and cordage. From the pliability of the bark and wood, the name - of the tree is made synonymous with “doughface” in the following - extract from one of Mr. Brigham Young’s sermons: “I say, as the Lord - lives, we are bound to become a sovereign state in the Union, or an - independent nation by ourselves; and let them drive us from this - place if they can--they can not do it. I do not throw this out as a - banter. You Gentiles, and hickory and _basswood_ Mormons, can write - it down, if you please; but write it as I speak it.” The above has - been extracted from a “Dictionary of Americanisms,” by John Russell - Bartlett (London, Trübner and Co., 1859), a glossary which the - author’s art has made amusing as a novel. - - [17] The word is somewhat indefinite. Hunters apply it generally - to the bare lands lying westward of the timbered course of the - Mississippi; in fact, to the whole region from the southern Rio - Grande to the Great Slave Lake. - -Differing from the card-table surfaces of the formation in Illinois and -the lands east of the Mississippi, the Western prairies are rarely flat -ground. Their elevation above sea-level varies from 1000 to 2500 feet, -and the plateau’s aspect impresses the eye with an exaggerated idea -of elevation, there being no object of comparison--mountain, hill, or -sometimes even a tree--to give a juster measure. Another peculiarity -of the prairie is, in places, its seeming horizontality, whereas it is -never level: on an open plain, apparently flat as a man’s palm, you -cross a long groundswell which was not perceptible before, and on its -farther incline you come upon a chasm wide and deep enough to contain -a settlement. The aspect was by no means unprepossessing. Over the -rolling surface, which, however, rarely breaks into hill and dale, -lay a tapestry of thick grass already turning to a ruddy yellow under -the influence of approaching autumn. The uniformity was relieved by -streaks of livelier green in the rich soils of the slopes, hollows, and -ravines, where the water gravitates, and, in the deeper “intervales” -and bottom lands on the banks of streams and courses, by the graceful -undulations and the waving lines of mottes or prairie islands, thick -clumps and patches simulating orchards by the side of cultivated -fields. The silvery cirri and cumuli of the upper air flecked the -surface of earth with spots of dark cool shade, surrounded by a blaze -of sunshine, and by their motion, as they trooped and chased one -another, gave a peculiar liveliness to the scene; while here and there -a bit of hazy blue distance, a swell of the sea-like land upon the far -horizon, gladdened the sight--every view is fair from afar. Nothing, I -may remark, is more monotonous, except perhaps the African and Indian -jungle, than those prairie tracts, where the circle of which you are -the centre has but about a mile of radius; it is an ocean in which one -loses sight of land. You see, as it were, the ends of the earth, and -look around in vain for some object upon which the eye may rest: it -wants the sublimity of repose so suggestive in the sandy deserts, and -the perpetual motion so pleasing in the aspect of the sea. No animals -appeared in sight where, thirty years ago, a band of countless bisons -dotted the plains; they will, however, like the wild aborigines, their -congeners, soon be followed by beings higher in the scale of creation. -These prairies are preparing to become the great grazing-grounds which -shall supply the unpopulated East with herds of civilized kine, and -perhaps with the yak of Tibet, the llama of South America, and the -koodoo and other African antelopes. - -As we sped onward we soon made acquaintance with a traditionally -familiar feature, the “pitch-holes,” or “chuck-holes”--the ugly word is -not inappropriate--which render traveling over the prairies at times -a sore task. They are gullies and gutters, not unlike the Canadian -“cahues” of snow formation: varying from 10 to 50 feet in breadth, -they are rivulets in spring and early summer, and--few of them remain -perennial--they lie dry during the rest of the year. Their banks are -slightly raised, upon the principle, _in parvo_, that causes mighty -rivers, like the Po and the Indus, to run along the crests of ridges, -and usually there is in the sole a dry or wet cunette, steep as a -step, and not unfrequently stony; unless the break be attended to, it -threatens destruction to wheel and axle-tree, to hound and tongue. The -pitch-hole is more frequent where the prairies break into low hills; -the inclines along which the roads run then become a net-work of these -American nullahs. - -[SQUALOR.] - -Passing through a few wretched shanties[18] called Troy--last insult -to the memory of hapless Pergamus--and Syracuse (here we are in the -third, or classic stage of United States nomenclature), we made, at 3 -P.M., Cold Springs, the junction of the Leavenworth route. Having taken -the northern road to avoid rough ground and bad bridges, we arrived -about two hours behind time. The aspect of things at Cold Springs, -where we were allowed an hour’s halt to dine and to change mules, -somewhat dismayed our fine-weather prairie travelers. The scene was -the _rale_ “Far West.” The widow body to whom the shanty belonged lay -sick with fever. The aspect of her family was a “caution to snakes:” -the ill-conditioned sons dawdled about, listless as Indians, in skin -tunics and pantaloons fringed with lengthy tags such as the redoubtable -“Billy Bowlegs” wears on tobacco labels; and the daughters, tall young -women, whose sole attire was apparently a calico morning-wrapper, color -invisible, waited upon us in a protesting way. Squalor and misery were -imprinted upon the wretched log hut, which ignored the duster and the -broom, and myriads of flies disputed with us a dinner consisting of -dough-nuts, green and poisonous with saleratus, suspicious eggs in a -massive greasy fritter, and rusty bacon, intolerably fat. It was our -first sight of squatter life, and, except in two cases, it was our -worst. We could not grudge 50 cents a head to these unhappies; at the -same time, we thought it a dear price to pay--the sequel disabused -us--for flies and bad bread, worse eggs and bacon. - - [18] American authors derive the word from the Canadian _chienté_, a - dog-kennel. It is, however, I believe, originally Irish. - -The next settlement, Valley Home, was reached at 6 P.M. Here the long -wave of the ocean land broke into shorter seas, and for the first time -that day we saw stones, locally called rocks (a Western term embracing -every thing between a pebble and a boulder), the produce of nullahs -and ravines. A well 10 to 12 feet deep supplied excellent water. The -ground was in places so far reclaimed as to be divided off by posts and -rails; the scanty crops of corn (Indian corn), however, were wilted -and withered by the drought, which this year had been unusually long. -Without changing mules we advanced to Kennekuk, where we halted for an -hour’s supper under the auspices of Major Baldwin, whilom Indian agent; -the place was clean, and contained at least one charming face. - -Kennekuk derives its name from a chief of the Kickapoos, in whose -reservation we now are. This tribe, in the days of the Baron la Hontan -(1689), a great traveler, but “aiblins,” as Sir Walter Scott said -of his grandmither, “a prodigious story-teller,” then lived on the -Rivière des Puants, or Fox River, upon the brink of a little lake -supposed to be the Winnebago, near the Sakis (Osaki, Sawkis, Sauks, -or Sacs),[19] and the Pouteoustamies (Potawotomies). They are still -in the neighborhood of their dreaded foes, the Sacs and Foxes,[20] -who are described as stalwart and handsome bands, and they have been -accompanied in their southern migration from the waters westward of -the Mississippi, through Illinois, to their present southern seats by -other allies of the Winnebagoes,[21] the Iowas, Nez Percés, Ottoes, -Omahas, Kansas, and Osages. Like the great nations of the Indian -Territory, the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, they form -intermediate social links in the chain of civilization between the -outer white settlements and the wild nomadic tribes to the west, the -Dakotahs and Arapahoes, the Snakes and Cheyennes. They cultivate the -soil, and rarely spend the winter in hunting buffalo upon the plains. -Their reservation is twelve miles by twenty-four; as usual with land -set apart for the savages, it is well watered and timbered, rich and -fertile; it lies across the path and in the vicinity of civilization; -consequently, the people are greatly demoralized. The men are addicted -to intoxication, and the women to unchastity; both sexes and all ages -are inveterate beggars, whose principal industry is horse-stealing. -Those Scottish clans were the most savage that vexed the Lowlands; it -is the case here: the tribes nearest the settlers are best described -by Colonel B----’s phrase, “great liars and dirty dogs.” They have -well-nigh cast off the Indian attire, and rejoice in the splendors of -boiled and ruffled shirts, after the fashion of the whites. According -to our host, a stalwart son of that soil which for generations has -sent out her best blood westward, Kain-tuk-ee, the Land of the Cane, -the Kickapoos number about 300 souls, of whom one fifth are braves. -He quoted a specimen of their facetiousness: when they first saw -a crinoline, they pointed to the wearer and cried, “There walks a -wigwam.” Our “vertugardin” of the 19th century has run the gauntlet of -the world’s jests, from the refined impertinence of Mr. Punch to the -rude grumble of the American Indian and the Kaffir of the Cape. - - [19] In the days of Major Pike, who, in 1805-6-7, explored, by order - of the government of the United States, the western territories of - North America, the Sacs numbered 700 warriors and 750 women; they - had four villages, and hunted on the Mississippi and its confluents - from the Illinois to the Iowa River, and on the western plains - that bordered on the Missouri. They were at peace with the Sioux, - Osages, Potawotomies, Menomenes or Folles Avoines, Iowas, and other - Missourian tribes, and were almost consolidated with the Foxes, - with whose aid they nearly exterminated the Illinois, Cahokias, - Kaskaskias, and Peorians. Their principal enemies were the Ojibwas. - They raised a considerable quantity of maize, beans, and melons, and - were celebrated for cunning in war rather than for courage. - - [20] From the same source we learn that the Ottagamies, called by - the French Les Renards, numbered 400 warriors and 500 women: they - had three villages near the confluence of the Turkey River with the - Mississippi, hunted on both sides of the Mississippi from the Iowa - stream below the Prairie du Chien to a river of that name above - the same village, and annually sold many hundred bushels of maize. - Conjointly with the Sacs, the Foxes protected the Iowas, and the - three people, since the first treaty of the two former with the - United States, claimed the land from the entrance of the Jauflione - on the western side of the Mississippi, up the latter river to the - Iowa above the Prairie du Chien, and westward to the Missouri. In - 1807 they had ceded their lands lying south of the Mississippi to the - United States, reserving to themselves, however, the privileges of - hunting and residing on them. - - [21] The Winnebagoes, Winnipegs (turbid water), or Ochangras - numbered, in 1807, 450 warriors and 500 women, and had seven - villages on the Wisconsin, Rock, and Fox Rivers, and Green Bay: - their proximity enabled the tribe to muster in force within four - days. They then hunted on the Rock River, and the eastern side - of the Mississippi, from Rock River to the Prairie du Chien, on - Lake Michigan, on Black River, and in the countries between Lakes - Michigan, Huron, and Superior. Lieutenant Pike is convinced, “from a - tradition among themselves, and their speaking the same language as - the Ottoes of the Platte River,” that they are a tribe who about 150 - years before his time had fled from the oppression of the Mexican - Spaniards, and had become clients of the Sioux. They have ever been - distinguished for ferocity and treachery. - -[“CRIK.”] - -Beyond Kennekuk we crossed the first Grasshopper Creek. Creek, I must -warn the English reader, is pronounced “crik,” and in these lands, as -in the jargon of Australia, means not “an arm of the sea,” but a small -stream of sweet water, a rivulet; the rivers of Europe, according -to the Anglo-American of the West, are “criks.” On our line there -are many grasshopper creeks; they anastomose with, or debouch into, -the Kansas River, and they reach the sea _viâ_ the Missouri and the -Mississippi. This particular Grasshopper was dry and dusty up to the -ankles; timber clothed the banks, and slabs of sandstone cumbered the -sole. Our next obstacle was the Walnut Creek, which we found, however, -provided with a corduroy bridge; formerly it was a dangerous ford, -rolling down heavy streams of melted snow, and then crossed by means -of the “bouco” or coracle, two hides sewed together, distended like a -leather tub with willow rods, and poled or paddled. At this point the -country is unusually well populated; a house appears after every mile. -Beyond Walnut Creek a dense nimbus, rising ghost-like from the northern -horizon, furnished us with a spectacle of those perilous prairie storms -which make the prudent lay aside their revolvers and disembarrass -themselves of their cartridges. Gusts of raw, cold, and violent wind -from the west whizzed overhead, thunder crashed and rattled closer and -closer, and vivid lightning, flashing out of the murky depths around, -made earth and air one blaze of living fire. Then the rain began to -patter ominously upon the carriages; the canvas, however, by swelling, -did its duty in becoming water-tight, and we rode out the storm dry. -Those learned in the weather predicted a succession of such outbursts, -but the prophecy was not fulfilled. The thermometer fell about 6° (F.), -and a strong north wind set in, blowing dust or gravel, a fair specimen -of “Kansas gales,” which are equally common in Nebraska, especially -during the month of October. It subsided on the 9th of August. - -Arriving about 1 A.M. at Locknan’s Station, a few log and timber huts -near a creek well feathered with white oak and American elm, hickory -and black walnut, we found beds and snatched an hourful of sleep. - - _8th August, to Rock Creek._ - -Resuming, through air refrigerated by rain, our now weary way, we -reached at 6 A.M. a favorite camping-ground, the “Big Nemehaw” Creek, -which, like its lesser neighbor, flows after rain into the Missouri -River, _viâ_ Turkey Creek, the Big Blue, and the Kansas. It is a fine -bottom of rich black soil, whose green woods at that early hour were -wet with heavy dew, and scattered over the surface lay pebbles and -blocks of quartz and porphyritic granites. “Richland,” a town mentioned -in guide-books, having disappeared, we drove for breakfast to Seneca, a -city consisting of a few shanties, mostly garnished with tall square -lumber fronts, ineffectually, especially when the houses stand one by -one, masking the diminutiveness of the buildings behind them. The land, -probably in prospect of a Pacific Railroad, fetched the exaggerated -price of $20 an acre, and already a lawyer has “hung out his shingle” -there. - -Refreshed by breakfast and the intoxicating air, brisk as a bottle of -_veuve Clicquot_--it is this that gives one the “prairie fever”--we -bade glad adieu to Seneca, and prepared for another long stretch of -twenty-four hours. That day’s chief study was of wagons, those ships -of the great American Sahara which, gathering in fleets at certain -seasons, conduct the traffic between the eastern and the western -shores of a waste which is every where like a sea, and which presently -will become salt. The white-topped wain--banished by railways from -Pennsylvania, where, drawn by the “Conestoga horse,” it once formed a -marked feature in the landscape--has found a home in the Far West. They -are not unpicturesque from afar, these long-winding trains, in early -morning like lines of white cranes trooping slowly over the prairie, or -in more mysterious evening resembling dim sails crossing a rolling sea. -The vehicles are more simple than our Cape wagons--huge beds like punts -mounted on solid wheels, with logs for brakes, and contrasting strongly -with the emerald plain, white tilts of twilled cotton or osnaburg, -supported by substantial oaken or hickory bows. The wain is literally -a “prairie ship:” its body is often used as a ferry, and when hides -are unprocurable the covering is thus converted into a “bull boat.” -Two stakes driven into the ground, to mark the length, are connected -by a longitudinal keel and ribs of willow rods; cross-sticks are tied -with thongs to prevent “caving in,” and the canvas is strained over -the frame-work. In this part of the country the wagon is unnecessarily -heavy; made to carry 4000 lbs., it rarely carries 3000: westward I have -seen many a load of 3¹⁄₂ tons of 2000 lbs. each, and have heard of even -6 tons. The wheels are of northern white oak, well seasoned under pain -of perpetual repairs, the best material, “bow-dark” Osage orange-wood -(_bois d’arc_ or _Maclura aurantiaca_), which shrinks but little, being -rarely procurable about Concord and Troy, the great centres of wagon -manufacture. The neap or tongue (pole) is jointed where it enters the -hounds, or these will be broken by the heavy jolts; and the perch is -often made movable, so that after accidents a temporary conveyance -can be made out of the débris. A long covered wooden box hangs -behind: on the road it carries fuel; at the halt it becomes a trough, -being preferred to nose-bags, which prevent the animals breathing -comfortably; and in the hut, where every part of the wagon is utilized, -it acts as a chest for valuables. A bucket swings beneath the vehicle, -and it is generally provided with an extra chain for “coraling.” The -teams vary in number from six to thirteen yoke; they are usually oxen, -an “Old Country” prejudice operating against the use of cows.[22] The -yoke, of pine or other light wood, is, as every where in the States, -simple and effective, presenting a curious contrast to the uneasy -and uncertain contrivances which still prevail in the antiquated -Campagna and other classic parts of Europe. A heavy cross-piece, oak -or cotton-wood, is beveled out in two places, and sometimes lined with -sheet-lead, to fit the animals’ necks, which are held firm in bows of -bent hickory passing through the yoke and pinned above. The several -pairs of cattle are connected by strong chains and rings projecting -from the under part of the wood-work. - - [22] According to Mormon rule, however, the full team consists of - one wagon (12 ft. long, 3 ft. 4 in. wide, and 18 in. deep), two - yoke of oxen, and two milch cows. The Saints have ever excelled in - arrangements for travel by land and sea. - -[Illustration: THE WESTERN YOKE.] - -[THE “RIPPER.”] - -The “ripper,” or driver, who is bound to the gold regions of Pike’s -Peak, is a queer specimen of humanity. He usually hails from one of -the old Atlantic cities--in fact, from settled America--and, like -the civilized man generally, he betrays a remarkable aptitude for -facile descent into savagery. His dress is a harlequinade, typical -of his disposition. Eschewing the chimney-pot or stove-pipe tile of -the bourgeois, he affects the “Kossuth,” an Anglo-American version -of the sombrero, which converts felt into every shape and form, from -the jaunty little head-covering of the modern sailor to the tall -steeple-crown of the old Puritan. He disregards the trichotomy of St. -Paul, and emulates St. Anthony and the American aborigines in the -length of his locks, whose ends are curled inward, with a fascinating -sausage-like roll not unlike the Cockney “aggrawator.” If a young hand, -he is probably in the buckskin mania, which may pass into the squaw -mania, a disease which knows no cure: the symptoms are, a leather coat -and overalls to match, embroidered if possible, and finished along the -arms and legs with fringes cut as long as possible, while a pair of -gaudy moccasins, resplendent with red and blue porcelain beads, fits -his feet tightly as silken hose. I have heard of coats worth $250, -vests $100, and pants $150: indeed, the poorest of buckskin suits will -cost $75, and if hard-worked it must be renewed every six months. The -successful miner or the gambler--in these lands the word is confined -to the profession--will add $10 gold buttons to the attractions of his -attire. The older hand prefers to buckskin a “wamba” or round-about, a -red or rainbow-colored flannel over a check cotton shirt; his lower -garments, garnished _a tergo_ with leather, are turned into Hessians -by being thrust inside his cow-hide Wellingtons; and, when in riding -gear, he wraps below each knee a fold of deer, antelope, or cow skin, -with edges scalloped where they fall over the feet, and gartered -tightly against thorns and stirrup thongs, thus effecting that graceful -elephantine bulge of the lower leg for which “Jack ashore” is justly -celebrated. Those who suffer from sore eyes wear huge green goggles, -which give a crab-like air to the physiognomy, and those who can not -procure them line the circumorbital region with lampblack, which is -supposed to act like the surma or kohl of the Orient. A broad leather -belt supports on the right a revolver, generally Colt’s Navy or medium -size (when Indian fighting is expected, the large dragoon pistol is -universally preferred); and on the left, in a plain black sheath, or -sometimes in the more ornamental Spanish scabbard, is a buck-horn or -ivory-handled bowie-knife. In the East the driver partially conceals -his tools; he has no such affectation in the Far West: moreover, a -glance through the wagon-awning shows guns and rifles stowed along -the side. When driving he is armed with a mammoth fustigator, a -system of plaited cow-hides cased with smooth leather; it is a knout -or an Australian stock-whip, which, managed with both hands, makes -the sturdiest ox curve and curl its back. If he trudges along an -ox-team, he is a grim and grimy man, who delights to startle your -animals with a whip-crack, and disdains to return a salutation: if -his charge be a muleteer’s, you may expect more urbanity; he is then -in the “upper-crust” of teamsters; he knows it, and demeans himself -accordingly. He can do nothing without whisky, which he loves to call -tarantula juice, strychnine, red-eye, corn juice, Jersey lightning, -leg-stretcher, “tangle-leg,”[23] and many other hard and grotesque -names; he chews tobacco like a horse; he becomes heavier “_on_ the -shoulder” or “_on_ the shyoot,” as, with the course of empire, he -makes his way westward; and he frequently indulges in a “spree,” which -in these lands means four acts of drinking-bout, with a fifth of -rough-and-tumble. Briefly, he is a post-wagon driver exaggerated. - - [23] For instance, “whisky is now tested by the distance a man can - walk after tasting it. The new liquor called ‘Tangle-leg’ is said to - be made of diluted alcohol, nitric acid, pepper, and tobacco, and - will upset a man at a distance of 400 yards from the demijohn.” - -[THE PRAIRIE SADDLE.] - -Each train is accompanied by men on horse or mule back--oxen are not -ridden after Cape fashion in these lands.[24] The equipment of the -cavalier excited my curiosity, especially the saddle, which has been -recommended by good authorities for military use. The coming days of -fast warfare, when “heavies,” if not wholly banished to the limbo of -things that were, will be used as mounted “beef-eaters,” only for show, -demand a saddle with as little weight as is consistent with strength, -and one equally easy to the horse and the rider. In no branch of -improvement, except in hat-making for the army, has so little been done -as in saddles. The English military or hunting implement still endures -without other merit than facility to the beast, and, in the man’s -case, faculty of falling uninjured with his horse. Unless the rider be -copper-lined and iron-limbed, it is little better in long marches than -a rail for riding. As far as convenience is concerned, an Arab pad is -preferable to Peat’s best. But the Californian saddle can not supply -the deficiency, as will, I think, appear in the course of description. - - [24] Captain Marcy, in quoting Mr. Andersson’s remarks on ox-riding - in Southwestern Africa, remarks that “a ring instead of a stick - put through the cartilage of the animal’s nose would obviate the - difficulty of managing it.” As in the case of the camel, a ring would - soon be torn out by an obstinate beast: a stick resists. - -The native Indian saddle is probably the degenerate offspring of the -European pack-saddle: two short forks, composing the pommel and cantle, -are nailed or lashed to a pair of narrow sideboards, and the rude -tree is kept in shape by a green skin or hide allowed to shrink on. -It remarkably resembles the Abyssinian, the Somal, and the Circassian -saddle, which, like the “dug-out” canoe, is probably the primitive form -instinctively invented by mankind. It is the sire of the civilized -saddle, which in these lands varies with every region. The Texan is -known by its circular seat; a string passed round the tree forms a -ring: provided with flaps after the European style, it is considered -easy and comfortable. The Californian is rather oval than circular; -borrowed and improved from the Mexican, it has spread from the Pacific -to the Atlantic slope of the Rocky Mountains, and the hardy and -experienced mountaineer prefers it to all others: it much resembles the -Hungarian, and in some points recalls to mind the old French cavalry -demipique. It is composed of a single tree of light strong wood, -admitting a freer circulation of air to the horse’s spine--an immense -advantage--and, being without iron, it can readily be taken to pieces, -cleaned or mended, and refitted. The tree is strengthened by a covering -of raw-hide carefully sewed on; it rests upon a “sweat-leather,” a -padded sheet covering the back, and it is finished off behind with an -“anchero” of the same material protecting the loins. The pommel is -high, like the crutch of a woman’s saddle, rendering impossible, under -pain of barking the knuckles, that rule of good riding which directs -the cavalier to keep his hands low. It prevents the inexperienced -horseman being thrown forward, and enables him to “hold on” when -likely to be dismounted; in the case of a good rider, its only use -is to attach the lariat, riata, or lasso. The great merit of this -“unicorn” saddle is its girthing: with the English system, the strain -of a wild bull or of a mustang “bucker” would soon dislodge the riding -gear. The “sincho” is an elastic horsehair cingle, five to six inches -wide, connected with “lariat straps,” strong thongs passing round the -pommel and cantle; it is girthed well back from the horse’s shoulder, -and can be drawn till the animal suffers pain: instead of buckle, -the long terminating strap is hitched two or three times through an -iron ring. The whole saddle is covered with a machila, here usually -pronounced _macheer_, two pieces of thick leather handsomely and -fancifully worked or stamped, joined by a running thong in the centre, -and open to admit the pommel and cantle. If too long, it draws in the -stirrup-leathers, and cramps the ankles of any but a bowlegged man. -The machila is sometimes garnished with pockets, always with straps -behind to secure a valise, and a cloak can be fastened over the pommel, -giving purchase and protection to the knees. The rider sits erect, with -the legs in a continuation of the body line, and the security of the -balance-seat enables him to use his arms freely: the _pose_ is that of -the French schools in the last century, heels up and toes down. The -advantages of this equipment are obvious; it is easier to horse and -man probably than any yet invented. On the other hand, the quantity -of leather renders it expensive: without silver or other ornaments, -the price would vary from $25 at San Francisco to $50 at Great Salt -Lake City, and the highly got-up rise to $250 = £50 for a saddle! If -the saddle-cloth slips out, and this is an accident which frequently -occurs, the animal’s back will be galled. The stirrup-leathers can not -be shortened or lengthened without dismounting, and without leggins the -board-like leather _macheer_ soon makes the _mollets_ innocent of skin. -The pommel is absolutely dangerous: during my short stay in the country -I heard of two accidents, one fatal, caused by the rider being thrown -forward on his fork. Finally, the long seat, which is obligatory, -answers admirably with the Californian pacer or canterer, but with the -high-trotting military horse it would inevitably lead--as has been -proved before the European stirrup-leather was shortened--to hernias -and other accidents. - -To the stirrups I have but one serious objection--they can not be made -to open in case of the horse falling; when inside the stiff leather -_macheer_, they cramp the legs by bowing them inward, but habit soon -cures this. Instead of the light iron contrivances which before -recovered play against the horse’s side, which freeze the feet in cold, -and which toast them in hot weather, this stirrup is sensibly made of -wood. In the Eastern States it is a lath bent somewhat in the shape of -the dragoon form, and has too little weight; the Californian article -is cut out of a solid block of wood, mountain mahogany being the best, -then maple, and lastly the softer pine and cotton-wood. In some parts -of the country it is made so narrow that only the toe fits in, and then -the instep is liable to be bruised. For riding through bush and thorns, -it is provided in front with zapateros or leathern curtains, secured -to the straps above, and to the wood on both sides: they are curiously -made, and the size, like that of the Turk’s lantern, denotes the -owner’s fashionableness; dandies may be seen with the pointed angles -of their stirrup-guards dangling almost to the ground. The article -was borrowed from Mexico--the land of character dresses. When riding -through prickly chapparal, the leathers begin higher up, and protect -the leg from the knee downward. I would not recommend this stirrup for -Hyde Park, or even Brighton; but in India and other barbarous parts of -the British empire, where, on a cold morning’s march, men and officers -may be seen with wisps of straw defending their feet from the iron, -and on African journeys, where the bush is more than a match for any -texture yet woven, it might, methinks, be advantageously used. - -[THE PRAIRIE SPUR.] - -The same may be said of the spurs, which, though cruel in appearance, -are really more merciful than ours. The rowels have spikes about two -inches long; in fact, are the shape and size of a small starfish; but -they are never sharpened, and the tinkle near the animal’s sides serves -to urge it on without a real application. The two little bell-like -pendants of metal on each side of the rowel-hinge serve to increase -the rattling, and when a poor rider is mounted upon a tricksy horse, -they lock the rowels, which are driven into the sincho, and thus afford -another _point d’appui_. If the rider’s legs be long enough, the spurs -can be clinched under the pony’s belly. Like the Mexican, they can be -made expensive: $25 a pair would be a common price. - -[BRIDLE.] - -The bridle is undoubtedly the worst part of the horse’s furniture. The -bit is long, clumsy, and not less cruel than a Chifney. I have seen -the Arab ring, which, with sufficient leverage, will break a horse’s -jaw, and another, not unlike an East Indian invention, with a sharp -triangle to press upon the animal’s palate, apparently for the purpose -of causing it to rear and fall backward. It is the offspring of the -Mexican manége, which was derived, through Spain, from the Moors. - -Passing through Ash Point at 9 30 A.M., and halting for water at Uncle -John’s Grocery, where hang-dog Indians, squatting, standing, and -stalking about, showed that the forbidden luxury--essence of corn--was, -despite regulations, not unprocurable there, we spanned the prairie to -Guittard’s Station. This is a clump of board houses on the far side of -a shady, well-wooded creek--the Vermilion, a tributary of the Big Blue -River, so called from its red sandstone bottom, dotted with granitic -and porphyritic boulders. - -Our conductor had sprained his ankle, and the driver, being in plain -English drunk, had dashed like a Phaeton over the “chuck-holes;” we -willingly, therefore, halted at 11 30 A.M. for dinner. The host was a -young Alsatian, who, with his mother and sister, had emigrated under -the excitement of Californian fever, and had been stopped, by want of -means, half way. The improvement upon the native was palpable: the -house and kitchen were clean, the fences neat; the ham and eggs, the -hot rolls and coffee, were fresh and good, and, although drought had -killed the salad, we had abundance of peaches and cream, an offering of -French to American taste which, in its simplicity, luxuriates in the -curious mixture of lacteal with hydrocyanic acid. - -At Guittard’s I saw, for the first time, the Pony Express rider arrive. -In March, 1860, “the great dream of news transmitted from New York to -San Francisco (more strictly speaking from St. Joseph to Placerville, -California) in eight days was tested.” It appeared, in fact, under the -form of an advertisement in the St. Louis “Republican,”[25] and threw -at once into the shade the great Butterfield Mail, whose expedition -had been the theme of universal praise. Very meritoriously has the -contract been fulfilled. At the moment of writing (Nov., 1860), the -distance between New York and San Francisco has been farther reduced by -the advance of the electric telegraph--it proceeds at the rate of six -miles a day--to Fort Kearney from the Mississippi and to Fort Churchill -from the Pacific side. The merchant thus receives his advices in six -days. The contract of the government with Messrs. Russell, Majors, and -Co., to run the mail from St. Joseph to Great Salt Lake City, expired -the 30th of November, and it was proposed to, continue it only from -Julesburg on the crossing of the South Platte, 480 miles west of St. -Joseph. Mr. Russell, however, objected, and so did the Western States -generally, to abbreviating the mail-service as contemplated by the -Post-office Department. His spirit and energy met with supporters whose -interest it was not to fall back on the times when a communication -between New York and California could not be secured short of -twenty-five or thirty days; and, aided by the newspapers, he obtained -a renewal of his contract. The riders are mostly youths, mounted upon -active and lithe Indian nags. They ride 100 miles at a time--about -eight per hour--with four changes of horses, and return to their -stations the next day: of their hardships and perils we shall hear more -anon. The letters are carried in leathern bags, which are thrown about -carelessly enough when the saddle is changed, and the average postage -is $5 = £1 per sheet. - - [25] The following is the first advertisement: - - “_To San Francisco in eight days, by the Central Overland California - and Pike’s Peak Express Company._ - - “The first courier of the ‘Pony Express’ will leave the Missouri - River on Tuesday, April the 3d, at -- o’clock P.M., and will run - regularly weekly hereafter, carrying a letter mail only. The point - on the Missouri River will be in telegraphic communication with the - East, and will be announced in due time. - - “Telegraphic messages from all parts of the United States and - Canada, in connection with the point of departure, will be received - up to 5 o’clock P.M. of the day of leaving, and transmitted over - the Placerville and St. Joseph Telegraph-wire to San Francisco and - intermediate points by the connecting Express in eight days. The - letter mail will be delivered in San Francisco in ten days from the - departure of the Express. The Express passes through Forts Kearney, - Laramie, and Bridger, Great Salt Lake City, Camp Floyd, Carson City, - the Washoe Silver Mines, Placerville, and Sacramento. And letters for - Oregon, Washington Territory, British Columbia, the Pacific Mexican - Ports, Russian Possessions, Sandwich Islands, China, Japan, and - India, will be mailed in San Francisco. - - “Special messengers, bearers of letters, to connect with the Express - of the 3d April, will receive communications for the Courier of that - day at No. 481 Tenth Street, Washington City, up to 2 45 P.M. on - Friday, March 30th; and in New York, at the office of J.B. Simpson, - Room No. 8 Continental Bank Building, Nassau Street, up to 6 50 A.M. - of 31st March. - - “Full particulars can be obtained on application at the above places, - and from the Agents of the Company. - - W. H. RUSSELL, President. - - “Leavenworth City, Kansas, March, 1860. - -“_Office, New York._--J. B. Simpson, Vice-President; Samuel and Allen, -Agents, St. Louis, Mo.; H. J. Spaulding, Agent, Chicago.” - -[THE PRAIRIE FIRES.] - -Beyond Guittard’s the prairies bore a burnt-up aspect. Far as the eye -could see the tintage was that of the Arabian Desert, sere and tawny -as a jackal’s back. It was still, however, too early; October is the -month for those prairie fires which have so frequently exercised the -Western author’s pen. Here, however, the grass is too short for the -full development of the phenomenon, and beyond the Little Blue River -there is hardly any risk. The fire can easily be stopped, _ab initio_, -by blankets, or by simply rolling a barrel; the African plan of beating -down with boughs might also be used in certain places; and when the -conflagration has extended, travelers can take refuge in a little Zoar -by burning the vegetation to windward. In Texas and Illinois, however, -where the grass is tall and rank, and the roaring flames leap before -the wind with the stride of maddened horses, the danger is imminent, -and the spectacle must be one of awful sublimity. - -In places where the land seems broken with bluffs, like an iron-bound -coast, the skeleton of the earth becomes visible; the formation is a -friable sandstone, overlying fossiliferous lime, which is based upon -beds of shale. These undergrowths show themselves at the edges of the -ground-waves and in the dwarf precipices, where the soil has been -degraded by the action of water. The yellow-brown humus varies from -forty to sixty feet deep in the most favored places, and erratic blocks -of porphyry and various granites encumber the dry water-courses and -surface drains. In the rare spots where water then lay, the herbage was -still green, forming oases in the withering waste, and showing that -irrigation is its principal, if not its only want. - -Passing by Marysville, in old maps Palmetto City, a county town which -thrives by selling whisky to ruffians of all descriptions, we forded -before sunset the “Big Blue,” a well-known tributary of the Kansas -River. It is a pretty little stream, brisk and clear as crystal, about -forty or fifty yards wide by 2·50 feet deep at the ford. The soil is -sandy and solid, but the banks are too precipitous to be pleasant when -a very drunken driver hangs on by the lines of four very weary mules. -We then stretched once more over the “divide”--the ground, generally -rough or rolling, between the fork or junction of two streams, in -fact, the Indian Doab--separating the Big Blue from its tributary -the Little Blue. At 6 P.M. we changed our fagged animals for fresh, -and the land of Kansas for Nebraska, at Cotton-wood Creek, a bottom -where trees flourished, where the ground had been cleared for corn, -and where we detected the prairie wolf watching for the poultry. The -fur of our first coyote was light yellow-brown, with a tinge of red, -the snout long and sharp, the tail bushy and hanging, the gait like a -dog’s, and the manner expressive of extreme timidity; it is a far more -cowardly animal than the larger white buffalo-wolf and the black wolf -of the woods, which are also far from fierce. At Cotton-wood Station we -took “on board” two way-passengers, “lady” and “gentleman,” who were -drafted into the wagon containing the Judiciary. A weary drive over a -rough and dusty road, through chill night air and clouds of musquetoes, -which we were warned would accompany us to the Pacific slope of the -Rocky Mountains, placed us about 10 P.M. at Rock, also called Turkey -Creek--surely a misnomer; no turkey ever haunted so villainous a -spot! Several passengers began to suffer from fever and nausea; in -such travel the second night is usually the crisis, after which a man -can endure for an indefinite time. The “ranch” was a nice place for -invalids, especially for those of the softer sex. Upon the bedded floor -of the foul “doggery” lay, in a seemingly promiscuous heap, men, women, -children, lambs, and puppies, all fast in the arms of Morpheus, and -many under the influence of a much jollier god. The _employés_, when -aroused pretty roughly, blinked their eyes in the atmosphere of smoke -and musquetoes, and declared that it had been “merry in hall” that -night--the effects of which merriment had not passed off. After half an -hour’s dispute about who should do the work, they produced cold scraps -of mutton and a kind of bread which deserves a totally distinct generic -name. The strongest stomachs of the party made tea, and found some milk -which was not more than one quarter flies. This succulent meal was -followed by the usual douceur. On this road, however mean or wretched -the fare, the station-keeper, who is established by the proprietor of -the line, never derogates by lowering his price. - -[LITTLE BLUE RIVER VALLEY.] - - _The Valley of the Little Blue, 9th August._ - -A little after midnight we resumed our way, and in the state -which Mohammed described when he made his famous night journey to -heaven--_bayni ’l naumi wa ’l yakzán_--we crossed the deep shingles, -the shallow streams, and the heavy vegetation of the Little Sandy, and -five miles beyond it we forded the Big Sandy. About early dawn we found -ourselves at another station, better than the last only as the hour was -more propitious. The colony of Patlanders rose from their beds without -a dream of ablution, and clearing the while their lungs of Cork brogue, -prepared a neat _déjeûner à la fourchette_ by hacking “fids” off half -a sheep suspended from the ceiling, and frying them in melted tallow. -Had the action occurred in Central Africa, among the Esquimaux, or the -Araucanians, it would not have excited my attention: mere barbarism -rarely disgusts; it is the unnatural cohabitation of civilization with -savagery that makes the traveler’s gorge rise. - -Issuing from Big Sandy Station at 6 30 A.M., and resuming our route -over the divide that still separated the valleys of the Big Blue and -the Little Blue, we presently fell into the line of the latter, and -were called upon by the conductor to admire it. It is pretty, but -its beauties require the cosmetic which is said to act unfailingly -in the case of fairer things--the viewer should have lately spent -three months at sea, out of sight of rivers and women. Averaging -two miles in width, which shrinks to one quarter as you ascend, the -valley is hedged on both sides by low rolling bluffs or terraces, -the boundaries of its ancient bed and modern debordements. As the -hills break off near the river, they show a diluvial formation; in -places they are washed into a variety of forms, and being white, they -stand out in bold relief. In other parts they are sand mixed with -soil enough to support a last-year’s growth of wheat-like grass, -weed-stubble, and dead trees, that look like old corn-fields in new -clearings. One could not have recognized at this season Colonel -Frémont’s description written in the month of June--the “hills with -graceful slopes looking uncommonly green and beautiful.” Along the -bluffs the road winds, crossing at times a rough projecting spur, -or dipping into some gully washed out by the rains of ages. All is -barren beyond the garden-reach which runs along the stream; there is -not a tree to a square mile--in these regions the tree, like the bird -in Arabia and the monkey in Africa, signifies water--and animal life -seems well-nigh extinct. As the land sinks toward the river bottom, -it becomes less barren. The wild sunflower (_Helianthus_)--it seldom, -however, turns toward the sun--now becomes abundant; it was sparse -near the Missouri; it will wax even more plentiful around Great Salt -Lake City, till walking through the beds becomes difficult. In size -it greatly varies according to the quality of the soil; six feet is -perhaps the maximum. It is a growth of some value. The oleaginous seeds -form the principal food of half-starved Indians, while the stalks -supply them with a scanty fuel: being of rapid growth, it has been used -in the States to arrest the flow of malaria, and it serves as house -and home to the rattlesnake. Conspicuous by its side is the sumach, -whose leaf, mixed with kinnikinik, the peel of the red willow, forms -the immemorial smoking material of the Wild Man of the North. Equally -remarkable for their strong odor are large beds of wild onions; they -are superlatively wholesome, but they effect the eater like those of -Tibet. The predominant colors are pink and yellow, the former a lupine, -the latter a shrub, locally called the rabbit-bush. The blue lupine -also appears with the white mallow, the eccentric putoria, and the -taraxacum (dandelion), so much used as salad in France and in the -Eastern States. This land appears excellently adapted for the growth -of manioc or cassava. In the centre of the bottom flows the brownish -stream, about twenty yards wide, between two dense lines of tall sweet -cotton-wood. The tree which was fated to become familiar to us during -our wanderings is a species of poplar (_P. monilifera_), called by the -Americo-Spaniards, and by the people of Texas and New Mexico, “Alamo:” -resembling the European aspen, without its silver lining, the color of -the leaf, in places, appears of a dull burnished hue, in others bright -and refreshingly green. Its trivial name is derived, according to some, -from the fibrous quality of the bark, which, as in Norway, is converted -into food for cattle and even man; according to others, from the -cotton-like substance surrounding the seeds. It is termed “sweet” to -distinguish it from a different tree with a bitter bark, also called a -cotton-wood or narrow-leaved cotton-wood (_Populus angustifolia_), and -by the Canadians _liard amère_. The timber is soft and easily cut; it -is in many places the only material for building and burning, and the -recklessness of the squatters has already shortened the supply. - -This valley is the Belgium of the adjoining tribes, the once terrible -Pawnees, who here met their enemies, the Dakotahs and the Delawares: it -was then a great buffalo ground; and even twenty years ago it was well -stocked with droves of wild horses, turkeys, and herds of antelope, -deer, and elk. The animals have of late migrated westward, carrying -off with them the “bones of contention.” Some details concerning -the present condition of these bands and their neighbors may not be -uninteresting--these poor remnants of nations which once kept the -power of North America at bay, and are now barely able to struggle for -existence. - -In 1853, the government of the United States, which has ever acted -paternally toward the Indians, treating with them--Great Britain -did the same with the East Indians--as though they were a civilized -people, availed itself of the savages’ desire to sell lands encroached -upon by the whites, and set apart for a general reservation 181,171 -square miles. Here, in the Far West, were collected into what was then -believed to be a permanent habitation, the indigenes of the land, and -the various bands once lying east of the Mississippi. This “Indian’s -home” was bounded, in 1853, on the north by the Northwestern Territory -and Minnesota; on the south by Texas and New Mexico; to the east lay -Iowa, Missouri, and Arkansas; and to the west, Oregon, Utah, and New -Mexico. - -The savages’ reservation was then thus distributed. The eastern -portion nearest the river was stocked with tribes removed to it from -the Eastern States, namely, the Iowas, Sacs and Foxes, Kickapoos, -Delawares, Potawotomies, Wyandottes, Quapaws, Senecas, Cherokees, -Seminoles, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Miamis, and Ottawas. The -west and part of the northeast--poor and barren lands--were retained -by the aboriginal tribes, Ponkahs, Omahas or Mahas, Pawnees, Ottoes, -Kansas or Konzas, and Osages. The central and the remainder of the -western portion--wild countries abounding in buffalo--were granted to -the Western Pawnees, the Arickarees, Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Kiowas, -Comanches, Utahs, Grosventres, and other nomads. - -It was somewhat a confusion of races. For instance, the Pawnees form -an independent family, to which some authors join the Arickaree; the -Sacs (Sauk) and Foxes, Winnebagoes, Ottoes, Kaws, Omahas, Cheyennes, -Mississippi Dakotahs, and Missouri Dakotahs, belong to the Dakotan -family; the Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles are Appalachians; the -Wyandottes, like the Iroquois, are Hodesaunians; and the Ottawas, -Delawares, Shawnees, Potawotomies, Peorians, Mohekuneuks, Kaskaskias, -Piankeshaws, Weaws, Miamis, Kickapoos, and the Menomenes, are, like the -Ojibwas, Algonquins. - -The total number of Indians on the prairies and the Rocky Mountains was -estimated roughly at 63,000. - -[THE INDIAN TERRITORY.] - -Still the resistless tide of emigration swept westward: the federal -government was as powerless to stem it as was General Fitzroy of New -South Wales to prevent, in 1852, his subjects flocking to the “gold -diggings.” Despite all orders, reckless whites would squat upon, and -thoughtless reds, bribed by whisky, tobacco, and gunpowder, would sell -off the lands. On the 20th of May, 1854, was passed the celebrated -“Kansas-Nebraska Bill,” an act converting the greater portion of the -“Indian Territory,” and all the “Northwestern Territory,” into two new -territories--Kansas, north of the 37th parallel, and Nebraska, north -of the 40th. In the passage of this bill, the celebrated “Missouri -Compromise” of 1828, prohibiting negro slavery north of 36° 30′, was -repealed, under the presidency of General Pierce.[26] It provided -that the rights and properties of the Indians, within their shrunken -possessions, should be respected. By degrees the Indians sold their -lands for whisky, as of old, and retired to smaller reservations. -Of course, they suffered in the bargain; the savage ever parts with -his birthright for the well-known mess of pottage. The Osages, for -instance, canceled $4000, claimed by unscrupulous traders, by a -cession of two million acres of arable land. The Potawotomies fared -even worse; under the influence of liquor, ὡς λεγουσι, their chiefs -sold 100,000 acres of the best soil on the banks of the Missouri for -a mere song. The tribe was removed to a bald smooth prairie, sans -timber and consequently sans game; many fled to the extreme wilds, -and the others, like the Acadians of yore, were marched about till -they found homes--many of them six feet by two--in Fever Patch, on the -Kaw or Kansas River. Others were more fortunate. The Ottoes, Omahas, -and Kansas had permanent villages near the Missouri and its two -tributaries, the Platte and the Kansas. The Osages, formerly a large -nation in Arkansas, after ceding 10,000,000 of acres for a stipend of -$52,000 for thirty years, were settled in a district on the west bank -of the Neosho or Whitewater--the Grand River. They are described as -the finest and largest men of the semi-nomad races, with well-formed -heads and symmetrical figures, brave, warlike, and well disposed to -the whites. Early in June, after planting their maize, they move in -mounted bands to the prairies, feast upon the buffalo for months, and -bring home stores of smoked and jerked meat. When the corn is in milk -they husk and sundry it; it is then boiled, and is said to be better -flavored and more nutritious than the East Indian “butah” or the -American hominy. After the harvest in October they return to the game -country, and then pass the winter under huts or skin lodges. Their -chief scourge is small-pox: apparently, all the tribes carry some -cross. Of the settled races the best types are the Choctaws and the -Cherokees; the latter have shown a degree of improvability, which may -still preserve them from destruction; they have a form of government, -churches, theatres, and schools; they read and write English; and -George Guess, a well-known chief, like the negro inventor of the -Vai syllabarium in West Africa, produced an alphabet of sixty-eight -characters, which, improved and simplified by the missionaries, is -found useful in teaching the vernacular. - - [26] The “Missouri Compromise” is an important event in - Anglo-American history; it must be regarded as the great parent - of the jangles and heart-burnings which have disunited the United - States. The great Jefferson prophesied in these words: “the Missouri - question is a breaker on which we lose the Missouri country by - revolt, and what more God only knows. From the battle of Bunker’s - Hill to the treaty of Paris, we never had so ominous a question.” - - The origin of the trouble was this. In 1817 the eastern half of - the Mississippi Territory became the Territory of Alabama, and--in - those days events had wings--the 14th of Dec., 1819, witnessed the - birth of Alabama as a free sovereign and independent slave state. - The South, strong in wealth and numbers, thereupon moved toward - legalizing slavery in the newly-acquired Territory of Missouri, and - when Missouri claimed to be admitted as a state, demanded that it - should be admitted as a slave state. The Free-soilers, or opposite - party, urged two reasons why Missouri should be a free state. - Firstly, since the date of the union eight new states had been - admitted, four slave and four free. Alabama, the last, was a slave - state, therefore it was the turn for a free state. Secondly--and here - was the rub--that “slavery ought not to be permitted in any state or - territory where it could be prohibited.” This very broad principle - involved, it is manifest, the ruin of the slave-ocracy. From the days - of Mr. Washington to those of Mr. Lincoln, the northern or labor - states have ever aimed at the ultimate abolition of servitude by - means of non-extension. The contest about Missouri began in 1818, and - raged for three years, complicated by a new feature, namely, Maine - separating herself from Massachusetts, and balancing the admission - of Alabama by becoming a free state. The Lower House several times - voted to exclude the “peculiar institution” from the new state, and - the conservative Senate--in which the Southern element was ever - predominant--as often restored it. Great was the war of words among - the rival legislators; at length, after repeated conferences, both - Senate and House agreed upon a bill admitting Missouri, after her - Constitution should be formed, free of restriction, but prohibiting - slavery north of 36° 30′. Missouri acknowledged the boon by adopting - a Constitution which denied the rights of citizens even to free - negroes. She was not finally admitted until the 10th of August, 1821, - when her Legislature had solemnly covenanted to guarantee the rights - of citizenship to “the citizens of either of the states.” Such is an - outline of the far-famed “Missouri Compromise.” The influence of the - Southern slaveholders caused it to be repealed, as a slip of Texas - happened to lie north of the prohibitative latitude, and the late Mr. - S. A. Douglas did it to death in 1854. The Free-soilers, of course, - fought hard against the “sad repeal,” and what they now fight about, - forty years afterward, is to run still farther south the original - line of limitation. _Hinc illæ lachrymæ!_ - -[MISSIONARIES.] - -Upon the whole, however, the philanthropic schemes of the government -have not met with brilliant success. The chiefs are still bribed, -and the people cheated by white traders, and poverty, disease, and -debauchery rapidly thin the tribesmen. Sensible heads have proposed -many schemes for preserving the race. Apparently the best of these -projects is to introduce the Moravian discipline. Of all missionary -systems, I may observe, none have hitherto been crowned with important -results, despite the blood and gold so profusely expended upon -them, except two--those of the Jesuits and the United Brethren. The -fraternity of Jesus spread the Gospel by assimilating themselves to the -heathen; the Unitas Fratrum by assimilating the heathen to themselves. -The day of Jesuitism, like that of protection, is going by. The -advance of Moravianism, it may safely be prophesied, is to come. These -civilization societies have as yet been little appreciated, because -they will not minister to that ignorant enthusiasm which extracts -money from the pockets of the many. Their necessarily slow progress is -irksome to ardent propagandists. We naturally wish to reap as well as -to sow; and man rarely invests capital in schemes of which only his -grandson will see the results. - -The American philanthropist proposes to wean the Indian savage -from his nomad life by turning his lodge into a log tent, and by -providing him with cattle instead of buffalo, and the domestic fowl -instead of grasshoppers. The hunter become a herdsman would thus be -strengthened for another step--the agricultural life, which necessarily -follows the pastoral. Factors would be appointed instead of vicious -traders--_coureurs des bois_, as the Canadians call them; titles to -land would be granted in fee-simple, practically teaching the value of -property in severalty, alienation into white hands would be forbidden, -and, if possible, a cordon militaire would be stretched between the -races. The agricultural would lead to the mechanical stage of society. -Agents and assistant craftsmen would teach the tribes to raise mills -and smithies (at present there are mills without millers, stock without -breeders, and similar attempts to make civilization run before she can -walk), and a growing appreciation for the peace, the comfort, and the -luxuries of settled life would lay the nomad instinct forever. - -The project labors only under one difficulty--the one common -to philanthropic schemes. In many details it is somewhat -visionary--utopian. It is, like peace on earth, a “dream of the wise.” -Under the present system of Indian agencies, as will in a future page -appear, it is simply impossible. It has terrible obstacles in the -westward gravitation of the white race, which, after sweeping away the -aborigines--as the gray rat in Europe expelled the black rat--from the -east of the Mississippi in two centuries and a half, threatens, before -a quarter of that time shall have elapsed, to drive in its advance -toward the Pacific the few survivors of now populous tribes, either -into the inhospitable regions north of the 49th parallel, or into the -anarchical countries south of the 32d. And where, I may ask, in the -history of the world do we read of a people learning civilization from -strangers instead of working it out for themselves, through its several -degrees of barbarism, feudalism, monarchy, republicanism, despotism? -Still it is a noble project; mankind would not willingly see it die. - -[THE PAWNEES.] - -The Pawnees were called by the French and Canadian traders Les Loups, -that animal being their totem, and the sign of the tribe being an -imitation of the wolf’s ears, the two fore fingers of the right -hand being stuck up on the side of the head. They were in the last -generation a large nation, containing many clans--Minnikajus, the Sans -Arc, the Loup Fork, and others. Their territory embraced both sides -of the Platte River, especially the northern lands; and they rendered -these grounds terrible to the trapper, trader, and traveler. They were -always well mounted. Old Mexico was then, and partially is still, -their stable, and a small band has driven off horses by hundreds. -Of late years they have become powerless. The influenza acts as a -plague among them, killing off 400 or 500 in a single season, and the -nation now numbers little more than 300 braves, or rather warriors, -the latter, in correct parlance, being inferior to the former, as the -former are subservient to the chief. A treaty concluded between them -and the United States in the winter of 1857 sent them to a reserve on -the Loup Fork, where their villages were destroyed by the Sioux. They -are Ishmaelites, whose hand is against every man. They have attempted, -after the fashion of declining tribes, to strengthen themselves by -alliances with their neighbors, but have always failed in consequence -of their propensity to plunder developing itself even before the powwow -was concluded. They and the northern Dakotahs can never be trusted. -Most Indian races, like the Bedouin Arabs, will show hospitality to the -stranger who rides into their villages, though no point of honor deters -them from robbing him after he has left the lodge-shade. The Pawnees, -African-like, will cut the throat of a sleeping guest. They are easily -distinguished from their neighbors by the scalp-lock protruding from -a shaven head. After killing white men, they have insulted the corpse -in a manner familiar to those who served in the Affghan war. They -have given up the practice of torturing prisoners, saying that the -“Great Spirit,” or rather, as the expression should be translated, -the “Great Father” no longer wills it. The tradition is, that a few -years ago a squaw of a hostile tribe was snatched from the stake by -a white trader, and the action was interpreted as a decree of heaven. -It is probably a corruption of the well-known story of the rescue of -the Itean woman by Petalesharoo, the son of the “Knife Chief.” Like -the Southern and Western Indians generally, as is truly remarked by -Captain Mayne Reid,[27] “They possess more of that cold continence -and chivalrous delicacy than characterize the Red Men of the forest.” -They are too treacherous to be used as soldiers. Like most pedestrian -Indians, their arms and bodies are light and thin, and their legs are -muscular and well developed. They are great in endurance. I have heard -of a Pawnee, who, when thoroughly “stampeded” by his enemies, “loped” -from Fort Laramie to Kearney--300 miles--making the distance as fast as -the mail. This bad tribe is ever at war with their hereditary enemies -the Sioux. They do not extend westward of Fort Kearney. The principal -sub-tribe is the Arickaree, or Ree, called Pedani by the Dakotah, who -attacked and conquered them. Their large villages, near the mouth of -the Grand River, were destroyed by the expedition sent in 1825-26, -under Colonel Leavenworth, to chastise the attack upon the trading -party of General Ashley. - - [27] The Scalp-hunters, chap. xlii. - -[THE DELAWARES.] - -A more interesting people than the Pawnee is the Delaware, whose oldest -tradition derives him from the region west of the Mississippi. Thence -the tribe migrated to the Atlantic shores, where they took the title -of Lenne Lenape, or men, and the neighboring races in respect called -them “uncle.” William Penn and his followers found this remnant of the -great Algonquin confederacy in a depressed state: subjugated by the -Five Nations, they had been compelled to take the name of “Iroquois -Squaws.” In those days they felt an awe of the white man, and looked -upon him as a something godlike. Since their return to the West their -spirit has revived, their war-path has reached through Utah to the -Pacific Ocean, to Hudson’s Bay on the north, and southward to the heart -of Mexico. Their present abodes are principally near Fort Leavenworth -upon the Missouri, and in the Choctaw territory near Fort Arbuckle, -upon the eastern Colorado or Canadian River. They are familiar with the -languages, manners, and customs of their pale-faced neighbors; they are -so feared as rifle shots that a host of enemies will fly from a few of -their warriors, and they mostly lead a vagrant life, the wandering Jews -of the West, as traders, hunters, and trappers, among the other Indian -tribes. For 185 years the Shawnees have been associated with them in -intermarriage, yet they are declining in numbers; here and there some -are lost, one by one, in travel or battle; they have now dwindled to -about a hundred warriors, and the extinction of the tribe appears -imminent. As hunters and guides, they are preferred to all others by -the whites, and it is believed that they would make as formidable -partisan soldiers as any on this continent. When the government of the -United States, after the fashion of France and England, begins to raise -“Irregular Native Corps,” the loss of the Delawares will be regretted. - -Changing mules at Kiowa about 10 A.M., we pushed forward through the -sun, which presently was mitigated by heavy nimbi, to Liberty Farm, -where a station supplied us with the eternal eggs and bacon of these -_mangeurs de lard_. It is a dish constant in the great West, as the -omelet and pigeon in the vetturini days of Italy, when, prompted by the -instincts of self-preservation, the inmates of the dove-cot, unless -prevented in time, are said to have fled their homes at the sight of -Milordo’s traveling carriage, not to return until the portent had -disappeared. The Little Blue ran hard by, about fifty feet wide by -three or four deep, fringed with emerald-green oak groves, cotton-wood, -and long-leaved willow: its waters supply catfish, suckers, and a -soft-shelled turtle, but the fish are full of bones, and taste, as -might be imagined, much like mud. The country showed vestiges of -animal life, the prairie bore signs of hare and antelope; in the -valley, coyotes, wolves, and foxes, attracted by the carcasses of -cattle, stared us in the face, and near the stream, plovers, jays, -the bluebird (sialia), and a kind of starling, called the swamp or -redwinged blackbird, twittered a song of satisfaction. We then resumed -our journey over a desert, waterless save after rain, for twenty-three -miles; it is the divide between the Little Blue and the Platte rivers, -a broken table-land rising gradually toward the west, with, at this -season, a barren soil of sand and clay. As the evening approached, a -smile from above lit up into absolute beauty the homely features of -the world below. The sweet commune with nature in her fairest hours -denied to the sons of cities--who must contemplate her charms through -a vista of brick wall, or over a foreground of chimney-pots--consoled -us amply for all the little hardships of travel. Strata upon strata of -cloud-banks, burnished to golden red in the vicinity of the setting -sun, and polished to dazzling silvery white above, lay piled half -way from the horizon to the zenith, with a distinct strike toward a -vanishing point in the west, and dipping into a gateway through which -the orb of day slowly retired. Overhead floated in a sea of amber and -yellow, pink and green, heavy purple nimbi, apparently turned upside -down--their convex bulges below, and their horizontal lines high in the -air--while in the east black and blue were so curiously blended that -the eye could not distinguish whether it rested upon darkening air or -upon a lowering thunder-cloud. We enjoyed these beauties in silence; -not a soul said, “Look there!” or “How pretty!” - -At 9 P.M., reaching “Thirty-two-mile Creek,” we were pleasantly -surprised to find an utter absence of the Irishry. The station-master -was the head of a neat-handed and thrifty family from Vermont; the -rooms, such as they were, looked cosy and clean--and the chickens -and peaches were plump and well “fixed.” Soldiers from Fort Kearney -loitered about the adjoining store, and from them we heard past -fights and rumors of future wars which were confirmed on the morrow. -Remounting at 10 30 P.M., and before moonrise, we threaded the gloom -without other accident than the loss of a mule that was being led to -the next station. The amiable animal, after breaking loose, coquetted -with its pursuers for a while, according to the fashion of its kind, -and when the cerne or surround was judged complete, it dashed through -the circle and gave leg-bail, its hoofs ringing over the stones till -the sound died away in the distant shades. - - _The Platte River and Fort Kearney, August 10._ - -[LA GRANDE PLATTE.] - -After a long and chilly night--extensive evaporation making 40° F. feel -excessively cold--lengthened by the atrocity of the musquetoes, which -sting even when the thermometer stands below 45°, we awoke upon the -hill sands divided by two miles of level green savanna, and at 4 A.M. -reached Kearney Station, in the valley of La Grande Platte, seven miles -from the fort of that name. The first aspect of the stream was one of -calm and quiet beauty, which, however, it owed much to its accessories: -some travelers have not hesitated to characterize it as “the dreariest -of rivers.” On the south is a rolling range of red sandy and clayey -hillocks, sharp toward the river--the “coasts of the Nebraska.” The -valley, here two miles broad, resembles the ocean deltas of great -streams; it is level as a carpet, all short green grass without sage -or bush. It can hardly be called a bottom, the rise from the water’s -edge being, it is calculated, about 4 feet per 1000. Under a bank, from -half a yard to a yard high, through its two lawns of verdure, flowed -the stream straight toward the slanting rays of the rising sun, which -glittered upon its broad bosom, and shed rosy light over half the -heavens. In places it shows a sea horizon, but here it was narrowed by -Grand Island, which is fifty-two miles long, with an average breadth of -one mile and three quarters, and sufficiently elevated above the annual -flood to be well timbered. - -Without excepting even the Missouri, the Platte is doubtless the most -important western influent of the Mississippi. Its valley offers -a route scarcely to be surpassed for natural gradients, requiring -little beyond the superstructure for light trains; and by following -up its tributary--the Sweetwater--the engineer finds a line laid down -by nature to the foot of the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, the -dividing ridge between the Atlantic and the Pacific water-beds. At -present the traveler can cross the 300 or 400 miles of desert between -the settlements in the east and the populated parts of the western -mountains by its broad highway, with never-failing supplies of water, -and, in places, fuel. Its banks will shortly supply coal to take the -place of the timber that has thinned out. - -The Canadian voyageurs first named it La Platte, the Flat River, -discarding, or rather translating after their fashion, the musical -and picturesque aboriginal term, “Nebraska,” the “shallow stream:” -the word has happily been retained for the Territory. Springing -from the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, it has, like all the -valley streams westward of the Mississippi, the Niobrara, or Eau qui -court,[28] the Arkansas, and the Canadian River, a declination to -the southeast. From its mouth to the junction of its northern and -southern forks, the river valley is mostly level, and the scenery is -of remarkable sameness: its singularity in this point affects the -memory. There is not a tributary, not a ravine, in places not a tree to -distract attention from the grassy intermediate bottom, which, plain as -a prairie, extends from four to five and even twelve miles in width, -bounded on both sides by low, rolling, sandy hills, thinly vegetated, -and in few places showing dwarf bluffs. Between the forks and Fort -Laramie the ground is more accented, the land near its banks often -becomes precipitous, the road must sometimes traverse the tongues and -ridges which project into the valley, and in parts the path is deep -with sand. The stream averages about a mile in breadth, and sometimes -widens out into the semblance of an estuary, flowing in eddies where -holes are, and broken by far-reaching sand-bars and curlew shallows. -In places it is a labyrinth of islets, variously shaped and of all -sizes, from the long tongue which forms a vista to the little bouquet -of cool verdure, grass, young willows, and rose-bushes. The shallowness -of the bed causes the water to be warm in summer; a great contrast -to the clear, cool springs on its banks. The sole is treacherous in -the extreme, full of quicksands and gravel shoals, channels and cuts, -which shift, like those of the Indus, with each year’s flood; the site -being nearly level, the river easily swells, and the banks, here of -light, there of dark colored silt, based, like the floor, on sand, -are, though vertical, rarely more than two feet high. It is a river -willfully wasted by nature. The inundation raises it to about six feet -throughout: this freshet, however, is of short duration, and the great -breadth of the river causes a want of depth which renders it unfit -for the navigation of a craft more civilized than the Indian’s birch -or the Canadian fur-boat. Colonel Frémont failed to descend it in -September with a boat drawing only four inches. The water, like that of -the Missouri, and for the same reason, is surcharged with mud drained -from the prairies; carried from afar, it has usually a dark tinge; -it is remarkably opaque after floods; if a few inches deep, it looks -bottomless, and, finally, it contains little worth fishing for. From -the mouth to Fort Kearney, beyond which point timber is rare, one bank, -and one only, is fringed with narrow lines of well-grown cotton-wood, -red willows, and cedars, which are disappearing before the emigrant’s -axe. The cedar now becomes an important tree. It will not grow on the -plains, owing to the dryness of the climate and the excessive cold; -even in the sheltered ravines the wintry winds have power to blight -all the tops that rise above prairie level, and where the locality is -better adapted for plantations, firs prevail. An interesting effect of -climate upon the cedar is quoted by travelers on the Missouri River. At -the first Cedar Island (43° N. lat.) large and straight trees appear in -the bottom lands, those on the bluffs being of inferior growth; higher -up the stream they diminish, seldom being seen in any number together -above the mouth of the Little Cheyenne (45° N. lat.), and there they -are exceedingly crooked and twisted. In the lignite formations above -the Missouri and the Yellow Stone, the cedar, unable to support itself -above ground, spreads over the hill-sides and presents the appearance -of grass or moss. - - [28] For an accurate geographical description of this little-known - river, the reader is referred to Lieutenant Warren’s report, - published by the Secretary of War, United States. - -[THE WILD GARDEN.] - -Beyond the immediate banks of the Platte the soil is either sandy, -quickly absorbing water, or it is a hard, cold, unwholesome clay, -which long retains muddy pools, black with decayed vegetation, and -which often, in the lowest levels, becomes a mere marsh. The wells -deriving infiltration from the higher lands beyond are rarely more than -three feet deep; the produce is somewhat saline, and here and there -salt may be seen efflorescing from the soil around them. In the large -beds of prêle (an equisetum), scouring rush, and other aquatic plants -which garnish the banks, myriads of musquetoes find a home. Flowers -of rich, warm color appear, we remark, in the sandy parts: the common -wild helianthus and a miniature sunflower like chamomile, a thistle -(_Carduus leucographus_), the cactus, a peculiar milk-plant (_Asclepias -syrivea_), a spurgewort (_Asclepias tuberosa_), the amorpha, the -tradescantia, the putoria, and the artemisia, or prairie sage. The -richer soils and ravines produce in abundance the purple aster--violet -of these regions--a green plant, locally known as “Lamb’s Quarters,” a -purple flower with bulbous root, wild flax with pretty blue blossoms, -besides mallow, digitalis, anemone, streptanthis, and a honeysuckle. In -parts the valley of the Platte is a perfect parterre of wild flowers. - -After satisfying hunger with vile bread and viler coffee--how far from -the little forty-berry cup of Egypt!--for which we paid 75 cents, we -left Kearney Station without delay. Hugging the right bank of our -strange river, at 8 A.M. we found ourselves at Fort Kearney, so called, -as is the custom, after the gallant officer, now deceased, of that name. - -Every square box or block-house in these regions is a fort; no -misnomer, however, can be more complete than the word applied to the -military cantonments on the frontier. In former times the traders to -whom these places mostly belonged erected quadrangles of sun-dried -brick with towers at the angles; their forts still appear in old books -of travels: the War Department, however, has been sensible enough to -remove them. The position usually chosen is a river bottom, where -fuel, grass, and water are readily procurable. The quarters are of -various styles; some, with their low verandas, resemble Anglo-Indian -bungalows or comfortable farm-houses; others are the storied houses, -with the “stoop” or porch of the Eastern States in front; and low, -long, peat-roofed tenements are used for magazines and out-houses. The -best material is brown adobe or unburnt brick; others are of timber, -whitewashed and clean-looking, with shingle roofs, glass windows, and -gay green frames--that contrast of colors which the New Englander -loves. The habitations surround a cleared central space for parade and -drill; the ground is denoted by the tall flag-staff, which does not, as -in English camps, distinguish the quarters of the commanding officer. -One side is occupied by the officers’ bungalows, the other, generally -that opposite, by the adjutant’s and quartermaster’s offices, and the -square is completed by low ranges of barrack and commissariat stores, -while various little shops, stables, corrals for cattle, a chapel, -perhaps an artillery park, and surely an ice-house--in this point India -is far behind the wilds of America--complete the settlement. Had these -cantonments a few more trees and a far more brilliant verdure, they -would suggest the idea of an out-station in Guzerat, the Deccan, or -some similar Botany Bay for decayed gentlemen who transport themselves. - -[INDIAN FIGHTING.] - -While at Washington I had resolved--as has already been -intimated--when the reports of war in the West were waxing loud, -to enjoy a little Indian fighting. The meritorious intention--for -which the severest “wig,” concluding with something personally -offensive about volunteering in general, would have been its sole -result in the “fast-anchored isle”--was most courteously received -by the Hon. John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, who provided me with -introductory letters addressed to the officers commanding various -“departments”[29]--“divisions,” as they would be called by -Englishmen--in the West. The first tidings that saluted my ears on -arrival at Fort Kearney acted as a quietus: an Indian action had been -fought, which signified that there would be no more fighting for some -time. Captain Sturgis, of the 1st Cavalry, U. S., had just attacked, -near the Republican Fork of Kansas River, a little south of the fort, -with six companies (about 350 men) and a few Delawares, a considerable -body of the enemy, Comanches, Kiowas, and Cheyennes, who apparently -had forgotten the severe lesson administered to them by Colonel--now -Brigadier General--Edwin V. Sumner, 1st Cavalry, in 1857, and killed -twenty-five with only two or three of his own men wounded. According -to details gathered at Fort Kearney, the Indians had advanced under -a black flag, lost courage, as wild men mostly will, when they heard -the _pas de charge_, and, after making a running fight, being well -mounted as well as armed, had carried off their “cripples” lashed to -their horses. I had no time to call upon Captain Sully, who remained in -command at Kearney with two troops (here called companies) of dragoons, -or heavy cavalry, and one of infantry; the mail-wagon would halt there -but a few minutes. I therefore hurriedly chose the alternative of -advancing, with the hope of seeing “independent service” on the road. -Intelligence of the fight had made even the conductor look grave; fifty -or sixty miles is a flea-bite to a mounted war-party, and disappointed -Indians upon the war-path are especially dangerous--even the most -friendly can not be trusted when they have lost, or have not succeeded -in taking, a few scalps. We subsequently heard that they had crossed -our path, but whether the tale was true or not is an essentially -doubtful matter. If this chance failed, remained the excitement of the -buffalo and the Mormon; both were likely to show better sport than -could be found in riding wildly about the country after runaway braves. - - [29] The following is a list of the military departments into which - the United States are divided: - - MILITARY COMMANDS. - - _Department of the East._--The country east of the Mississippi River; - head-quarters at Troy, N. Y. - - _Department of the West._--The country west of the Mississippi River, - and east of the Rocky Mountains, except that portion included within - the limits of the departments of Texas and New Mexico; head-quarters - at St. Louis, Mo. - - _Department of Texas._--The State of Texas, and the territory north - of it to the boundaries of New Mexico, Kansas, and Arkansas, and - the Arkansas River, including Fort Smith. Fort Bliss, in Texas, is - temporarily attached to the department of New Mexico; head-quarters - at San Antonio, Texas. - - _Department of New Mexico._--The Territory of New Mexico; - head-quarters at Santa Fé, New Mexico. - - _Department of Utah._--The Territory of Utah, except that portion of - it lying west of the 117th degree of west longitude; head-quarters, - Camp Floyd, U. T. - - _Department of the Pacific._--The country west of the Rocky - Mountains, except those portions of it included within the limits of - the departments of Utah and New Mexico, and the district of Oregon; - head-quarters at San Francisco, California. - - _District of Oregon._--The Territory of Washington and the State of - Oregon, excepting the Rogue River and Umpqua districts in Oregon; - head-quarters at Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory. - -[OUTPOST SYSTEMS.] - -We all prepared for the “gravity of the situation” by discharging -and reloading our weapons, and bade adieu, about 9 30 A.M., to Fort -Kearney. Before dismissing the subject of forts, I am disposed to make -some invidious remarks upon the army system of outposts in America. - -The War Department of the United States has maintained the same -system which the British, much to their loss--I need scarcely trouble -the reader with a list of evils done to the soldier by outpost -duty--adopted and pertinaciously kept up for so long a time in India; -nay, even maintain to the present day, despite the imminent danger of -mutiny. With the Anglo-Scandinavian race, the hate of centralization -in civil policy extends to military organization, of which it should -be the vital principle. The French, gifted with instinct for war, -and being troubled with scant prejudice against concentration, civil -as well as military, soon abandoned, when they found its futility, -the idea of defending their Algerian frontier by extended lines, -block-houses, and feeble intrenched posts. They wisely established, at -the centres of action, depôts, magazines, and all the requisites for -supporting large bodies of men, making them pivots for expeditionary -columns, which by good military roads could be thrown in overwhelming -numbers, in the best health and in the highest discipline, wherever an -attack or an insurrectionary movement required crushing. - -The necessity of so doing has long occurred to the American government, -in whose service at present “a regiment is stationed to-day on the -borders of tropical Mexico; to-morrow, the war-whoop, borne on a gale -from the northwest, compels its presence to the frozen latitudes -of Puget’s Sound.” The objections to altering their present highly -objectionable system are two: the first is a civil consideration, the -second a military one. - -As I have remarked about the centralization of troops, so it is with -their relation to civilians; the Anglo-Scandinavian blood shows -similar manifestations in the Old and in the New Country. The French, -a purely military nation, pet their army, raise it to the highest -pitch, send it in for glory, and when it fails are to its faults a -little blind. The English and Anglo-Americans, essentially a commercial -and naval people, dislike the red coat; they look upon, and from the -first they looked upon, a standing army as a necessary nuisance; they -ever listen open-eared to projects for cutting and curtailing army -expenditure; and when they have weakened their forces by a manner of -atrophy, they expect them to do more than their duty, and if they can -not command success, abuse them. With a commissariat, transport, and -hospitals--delicate pieces of machinery, which can not run smoothly -when roughly and hurriedly put together--unaccustomed to and unprepared -for service, they land an army 3000 miles from home, and then make -the world ring with their disappointment, and their complainings -anent fearful losses in men and money. The fact is that, though no -soldiers in the world fight with more bravery and determination, the -Anglo-Scandinavian race, with their present institutions, are inferior -to their inferiors in other points, as regards the art of military -organization. Their fatal wants are order and economy, combined with -the will and the means of selecting the best men--these belong to the -emperor, not to the constitutional king or the president--and most of -all, the habit of implicit subjection to the commands of an absolute -dictator. The end of this long preamble is that the American government -apparently thinks less of the efficiency of its troops than of using -them as escorts to squatters, as police of the highway. Withal they -fail; emigrants will not be escorted; women and children will struggle -when they please, even, in an Indian country, and every season has its -dreadful tales of violence and starvation, massacre and cannibalism. -In France the emigrants would be ordered to collect in bodies at -certain seasons, to report their readiness for the road to the officers -commanding stations, to receive an escort, as he should deem proper, -and to disobey at their peril. - -The other motive of the American outpost system is military, but also -of civilian origin. Concentration would necessarily be unpalatable -to a number of senior officers, who now draw what in England would -be called command allowances at the several stations.[30] One of -the principles of a republic is to pay a man only while he works; -pensions, like sinecures, are left to governments less disinterested. -The American army--it would hardly be believed--has no pensions, sale -of commissions, off-reckonings, nor retiring list. A man hopelessly -invalided, or in his second childhood, must hang on by means of -furloughs and medical certificates to the end. The colonels are -mostly upon the sick-list--one died lately aged ninety-three, and -dating from the days of Louis XVI.--and I heard of an officer who, -though practicing medicine for years, was still retained upon the -cadre of his regiment. Of course, the necessity of changing such an -anomaly has frequently been mooted by the Legislature; the scandalous -failure, however, of an attempt at introducing a pension-list into the -United States Navy so shocked the public that no one will hear of the -experiment being renewed, even _in corpore vili_, the army. - - [30] The aggregate of the little regular army of the United States in - 1860 amounted to 18,093. It was dispersed into eighty military posts, - viz., thirteen in the Department of the East, nine in the West, - twenty in Texas, twelve in the Department of New Mexico, two in Utah - (Fort Bridger and Camp Floyd), eleven in Oregon, and thirteen in the - Department of California. They each would have an average of about - 225 men. - -To conclude the subject of outpost system. If the change be advisable -in the United States, it is positively necessary to the British in -India. The peninsula presents three main points, not to mention the -detached heights that are found in every province, as the great -pivots of action, the Himalayas, the Deccan, and the Nilgherry Hills, -where, until wanted, the Sepoy and his officer, as well as the white -soldier--the latter worth £100 a head--can be kept in health, drilled, -disciplined, and taught the hundred arts which render an “old salt” -the most handy of men. A few years ago the English soldier was fond -of Indian service; hardly a regiment returned home without leaving -hundreds behind it. Now, long, fatiguing marches, scant fare, the worst -accommodation, and the various results of similar hardships, make him -look upon the land as a Golgotha; it is with difficulty that he can be -prevented from showing his disgust. Both in India and America, this -will be the great benefit of extensive railroads: they will do away -with single stations, and enable the authorities to carry out a system -of concentration most beneficial to the country and to the service, -which, after many years of sore drudgery, may at last discern the good -time coming. - -In the United States, two other measures appear called for by -circumstances. The Indian race is becoming desperate, wild-beast like, -hemmed in by its enemies that have flanked it on the east and west, and -are gradually closing in upon it. The tribes can no longer shift ground -without inroads into territories already occupied by neighbors, who -are, of course, hostile; they are, therefore, being brought to final -bay. - -[THE CAMEL CORPS.] - -The first is a camel corps. At present, when disturbances on a -large scale occur in the Far West--the spring of 1862 will probably -see them--a force of cavalry must be sent from the East, perhaps -also infantry. “The horses, after a march of 500 or 600 miles, are -expected to act with success”--I quote the sensible remarks of a -“late captain of infantry” (Captain Patterson, U. S. Army)--“against -scattered bands of mounted hunters, with the speed of a horse and the -watchfulness of a wolf or antelope, whose faculties are sharpened by -their necessities; who, when they get short of provisions, separate and -look for something to eat, and find it in the water, in the ground, -or on the surface; whose bill of fare ranges from grass-seed, nuts, -roots, grasshoppers, lizards, and rattlesnakes, up to the antelope, -deer, elk, bear, and buffalo, and who, having a continent to roam over, -will neither be surprised, caught, conquered, overawed, or reduced -to famine by a rumbling, bugle-blowing, drum-beating town passing -through their country on wheels, at the speed of a loaded wagon.” But -the camel would in these latitudes easily march sixty miles per diem -for a week or ten days, amply sufficient to tire out the sturdiest -Indian pony; it requires water only after every fifty hours, and the -worst soil would supply it with ample forage in the shape of wild -sage, rabbit-bush, and thorns. Each animal would carry two men, with -their arms and ammunition, rations for the time required, bedding and -regimental necessaries, with material to make up a _tente d’abri_ if -judged necessary. The organization should be that of the Sindh Camel -Corps, which, under Sir Charles Napier, was found so efficient against -the frontier Beloch. The best men for this kind of fighting would -be the Mountaineers, or Western Men, of the caste called “Pikes;” -properly speaking, Missourians, but popularly any “rough” between -St. Louis and California. After a sound flogging, for the purpose of -preparing their minds to admit the fact that all men are _not_ equal, -they might be used by sea or land, whenever hard, downright fighting -is required. It is understood that hitherto the camel, despite the -careful selection by Mr. De Leon, the excellent Consul General of the -United States in Egypt, and the valuable instructions of Hekekyan Bey, -has proved a failure in the Western world. If so, want of patience has -been the sole cause; the animal must be acclimatized by slow degrees -before heavy loading to test its powers of strength and speed. Some -may deem this amount of delay impossible. I confess my belief that the -Anglo-Americans can, within any but the extremest limits, accomplish -any thing they please--except unity. - -The other necessity will be the raising of native regiments. The French -in Africa have their Spahis, the Russians their Cossacks, and the -English their Sepoys. The American government has often been compelled, -as in the case of the Creek battalion, which did good service during -the Seminole campaign, indirectly to use their wild aborigines; but -the public sentiment, or rather prejudice, which fathers upon the -modern Pawnee the burning and torturing tastes of the ancient Mohawk, -is strongly opposed to pitting Indian against Indian in battle. Surely -this is a false as well as a mistaken philanthropy. If war must be, -it is better that Indian instead of white blood should be shed. And -invariably the effect of enlisting savages and barbarians, subjecting -them to discipline, and placing them directly under the eye of the -civilized man, has been found to diminish their ferocity. The Bashi -Buzuk, left to himself, roasted the unhappy Russian; in the British -service he brought his prisoner alive into camp with a view to a -present or promotion. When talking over the subject with the officers -of the United States regular army, they have invariably concurred with -me in the possibility of the scheme, provided that the public animus -could be turned pro instead of con; and I have no doubt but that they -will prove as leaders of Irregulars--it would be invidious to quote -names--equal to the best of the Anglo-Indians, Skinner, Beatson, and -Jacob. The men would receive about ten dollars per man, and each corps -number 300. They would be better mounted and better armed than their -wild brethren, and they might be kept, when not required for active -service, in a buffalo country, their favorite quarters, and their -finest field for soldierlike exercises. The main point to be avoided is -the mistake committed by the British in India, that of appointing too -many officers to their Sepoy corps. - -We left Kearney at 9 30 A.M., following the road which runs forty -miles up the valley of the Platte. It is a broad prairie, plentifully -supplied with water in wells two to four feet deep; the fluid is cool -and clear, but it is said not to be wholesome. Where the soil is clayey -pools abound; the sandy portions are of course dry. Along the southern -bank near Kearney are few elevations; on the opposite or northern side -appear high and wooded bluffs. The road was rough with pitch-holes, and -for the first time I remarked a peculiar gap in the ground like an East -Indian sun-crack--in these latitudes you see none of the deep fissures -which scar the face of mother earth in tropical lands--the effect of -rain-streams and snow-water acting upon the clay. Each succeeding -winter lengthens the head and deepens the sole of this deeply-gashed -water-cut till it destroys the road. A curious mirage appeared, -doubling to four the strata of river and vegetation on the banks. The -sight and song of birds once more charmed us after a desert where -animal life is as rare as upon the plains of Brazil. After fifteen -miles of tossing and tumbling, we made “Seventeen-mile Station,” and -halted there to change mules. About twenty miles above the fort the -southern bank began to rise into mounds of tenacious clay, which, worn -away into perpendicular and precipitous sections, composes the columnar -formation called O’Fallon’s Bluffs. At 1 15 P.M. we reached Plum Creek, -after being obliged to leave behind one of the conductors, who had -become delirious with the “shakes.” The establishment, though new, was -already divided into three; the little landlady, though she worked so -manfully, was, as she expressed it, “enjoying bad health;” in other -words, suffering from a “dumb chill.” I may observe that the Prairie -Traveler’s opinions concerning the power of encamping with impunity -upon the banks of the streams in this country must not be applied -to the Platte. The whole line becomes with early autumn a hotbed of -febrile disease. And generally throughout this season the stranger -should not consider himself safe on any grounds save those defended -from the southern trade-wind, which, sweeping directly from the Gulf of -Mexico, bears with it noxious exhalations. - -About Plum Ranch the soil is rich, clayey, and dotted with swamps and -“slews,” by which the English traveler will understand sloughs. The -dryer portions were a Gulistan of bright red, blue, and white flowers, -the purple aster, and the mallow, with its parsnip-like root, eaten by -the Indians, the gaudy yellow helianthus--we remarked at least three -varieties--the snowy mimulus, the graceful flax, sometimes four feet -high, and a delicate little euphorbia, while in the damper ground -appeared the polar plant, that prairie compass, the plane of whose leaf -ever turns toward the magnetic meridian. This is the “weed-prairie,” -one of the many divisions of the great natural meadows; grass prairie, -rolling prairie, motte prairie, salt prairie, and soda prairie. It -deserves a more poetical name, for - - “These are the gardens of the desert, these - The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful, - For which the speech of England has no name.” - -Buffalo herds were behind the hills, but we were too full of sleep to -follow them. The plain was dotted with blanched skulls and bones, which -would have made a splendid bonfire. Apparently the expert voyageur has -not learned that they form good fuel; at any rate, he has preferred -to them the “chips” of which it is said that a steak cooked with them -requires no pepper.[31] - - [31] The chip corresponds with the bois de vache of Switzerland, the - tezek of Armenia, the arghol of Thibet, and the gobar of India. With - all its faults, it is at least superior to that used in Sindh. - -[BUFFALO-BEEF.] - -We dined at Plum Creek on buffalo, probably bull beef, the worst and -dryest meat, save elk, that I have ever tasted; indeed, without the -assistance of pork fat, we found it hard to swallow. As every one -knows, however, the two-year old cow is the best eating, and at this -season the herds are ever in the worst condition. The animals calve in -May and June, consequently they are in August completely out of flesh. -They are fattest about Christmas, when they find it difficult to run. -All agree in declaring that there is no better meat than that of the -young buffalo: the assertion, however, must be taken _cum grano salis_. -Wild flesh was never known to be equal to tame, and that monarch did at -least one wise thing who made the loin of beef Sir Loin. The voyageurs -and travelers who cry up the buffalo as so delicious, have been living -for weeks on rusty bacon and lean antelope; a rich hump with its proper -menstruum, a cup of _café noir_ as strong as possible, must truly be a -“tit-bit.” They boast that the fat does not disagree with the eater; -neither do three pounds of heavy pork with the English plow-boy, who -has probably taken less exercise than the Canadian hunter. Before long, -buffalo flesh will reach New York, where I predict it will be held as -inferior to butcher’s meat as is the antelope to park-fed venison. -While hunting, Indians cut off the tail to test the quality of the -game, and they have acquired by habit a power of judging on the run -between fat and lean. - -Resuming our weary ride, we watered at “Willow Island Ranch,” and then -at “Cold Water Ranch”--drinking-shops all--five miles from Midway -Station, which we reached at 8 P.M. Here, while changing mules, we -attempted with sweet speech and smiles to persuade the landlady, who -showed symptoms of approaching maternity, into giving us supper. This -she sturdily refused to do, for the reason that she had not received -due warning. We had, however, the satisfaction of seeing the _employés_ -of the line making themselves thoroughly comfortable with bread and -buttermilk. Into the horrid wagon again, and “a rollin:” lazily enough -the cold and hungry night passed on.[32] - - [32] According to Colonel Frémont, the total amount of buffalo robes - purchased by the several companies, American, Hudson’s Bay, and - others, was an annual total of 90,000 from the eight or ten years - preceding 1843. This is repeated by the Abbé Domenech, who adds - that the number does not include those slaughtered in the southern - regions by the Comanches and other tribes of the Texan frontier, nor - those killed between March and November, when the skins are unfit - for tanning. In 1847, the town of St. Louis received 110,000 buffalo - robes, stags’, deer, and other skins, and twenty-five salted tongues. - - _To the Forks of the Platte. 11th August._ - -Precisely at 1 35 in the morning we awoke, as we came to a halt at -Cotton-wood Station. Cramped with a four days’ and four nights’ ride -in the narrow van, we entered the foul tenement, threw ourselves upon -the mattresses, averaging three to each, and ten in a small room, -every door, window, and cranny being shut--after the fashion of these -Western folks, who make up for a day in the open air by perspiring -through the night in unventilated log huts--and, despite musquetoes, -slept. - -The morning brought with it no joy. We had arrived at the westernmost -limit of the “gigantic Leicestershire” to which buffalo at this season -extend, and could hope to see no trace of them between Cotton-wood -Station and the Pacific. I can not, therefore, speak _ex cathedrâ_ -concerning this, the noblest “venerie” of the West: almost every one -who has crossed the prairies, except myself, can. Captain Stansbury[33] -will enlighten the sportsman upon the approved method of bryttling the -beasts, and elucidate the mysteries of the “game-beef,” marrow-bone -and depuis, tongue and tender-loin, bass and hump, hump-rib and -liver, which latter, by-the-by, is not unfrequently eaten raw, with a -sprinkling of gall,[34] by the white hunter emulating his wild rival, -as does the European in Abyssinia. The Prairie Traveler has given, -from experience, the latest observations concerning the best modes of -hunting the animal. All that remains to me, therefore, is to offer to -the reader a few details collected from reliable sources, and which are -not to be found in the two works above alluded to. - - [33] Exploration and Survey, etc., chap. ix. - - [34] “Prairie bitters”--made of a pint of water and a quarter of - a gill of buffalo gall--are considered an _elixir vitæ_ by old - voyageurs. - -The bison (_Bison Americanus_) is trivially known as the Prairie -Buffalo, to distinguish it from a different and a larger animal, the -Buffalo of the Woods, which haunts the Rocky Mountains. The “Monarch -of the Prairies,” the “most gigantic of the indigenous mammalia of -America,” has, it is calculated, receded westward ten miles annually -for the last 150 years. When America was discovered, the buffalo -extended down to the Atlantic shore. Thirty years ago, bands grazed -upon the banks of the Missouri River. The annual destruction is -variously computed at from 200,000 to 300,000 head: the American Fur -Company receive per annum about 70,000 robes, which are all cows; -and of these not more than 5000 fall by the hands of white men. At -present there are three well-known bands, which split up, at certain -seasons, into herds of 2000 and 3000 each. The first family is on -the head-waters of the Mississippi; the second haunts the vast -crescent-shaped valley of the Yellow Stone; while the third occupies -the prairie country between the Platte and the Arkansas. A fourth -band, westward of the Rocky Mountains, is quite extinct. Fourteen to -fifteen years ago, buffalo was found in Utah Valley, and later still -upon the Humboldt River: according to some, they emigrated northward, -through Oregon and the lands of the Blackfeet. It is more probable, -however, that they were killed off by the severe winter of 1845, their -skulls being still found scattered in heaps, as if a sudden and general -destruction had come upon the doomed tribe. - -[THE BUFFALO.] - -The buffalo is partially migratory in its habits: it appears to follow -the snow, which preserves its food from destruction. Like the antelope -of the Cape, when on the “trek,” the band may be reckoned by thousands. -The grass, which takes its name from the animal, is plentiful in the -valley of the Big Blue; it loves the streams of little creeks that have -no bottom-land, and shelters itself under the sage. It is a small, -moss-like gramen, with dark seed, and, when dry, it has been compared -by travelers to twisted gray horsehair. Smaller herds travel in Indian -file; their huge bodies, weighing 1500 lbs., appear, from afar, like -piles erected to bridge the plain. After calving, the cows, like the -African koodoo and other antelopes, herd separately from the males, -and for the same reason, timidity and the cares of maternity. As in -the case of the elephant and the hippopotamus, the oldsters are driven -by the young ones, _en charivari_, from the band, and a compulsory -bachelorhood souring their temper, causes them to become “rogues.” The -albino, or white buffalo, is exceedingly rare; even veteran hunters -will confess never to have seen one. The same may be said of the glossy -black accident called the “silk robe,” supposed by Western men to be a -cross between the parent and the offspring. The buffalo calf has been -tamed by the Flatheads and others: I have never, however, heard of its -being utilized. - -The Dakotahs and other Prairie tribes will degenerate, if not -disappear, when the buffalo is “rubbed out.” There is a sympathy -between them, and the beast flies not from the barbarian and his -bow as it does before the face of the white man and his hot-mouthed -weapon. The aborigines are unwilling to allow travelers, sportsmen, -or explorers to pass through the country while they are hunting the -buffalo; that is to say, preserving the game till their furs are -ready for robes. At these times no one is permitted to kill any but -stragglers, for fear of stampeding the band; the animal not only -being timid, but also in the habit of hurrying away cattle and stock, -which often are thus irretrievably lost. In due season the savages -surround one section, and destroy it, the others remaining unalarmedly -grazing within a few miles of the scene of slaughter. If another tribe -interferes, it is a _casus belli_, death being the punishment for -poaching. The white man, whose careless style of _battue_ is notorious, -will be liable to the same penalty, or, that failing, to be plundered -by even “good Indians;” and I have heard of an English gentleman who, -for persisting in the obnoxious practice, was very properly threatened -with prosecution by the government agent. - -What the cocoanut is to the East Indian, and the plantain and the -calabash to various tribes of Africans, such is the “bos” to the -carnivorous son of America. No part of it is allowed to waste. The -horns and hoofs make glue for various purposes, especially for -feathering arrows; the brains and part of the bowels are used for -curing skins; the hide clothes the tribes from head to foot; the -calf-skins form their apishamores, or saddle-blankets; the sinews -make their bow-strings, thread, and finer cord; every part of the -flesh, including the fœtus and placenta, is used for food. The surplus -hides are reserved for market. They are prepared by the squaws, who, -curious to say, will not touch a bear-skin till the age of maternity -has passed; and they prefer the spoils of the cow, as being softer -than those of the bull. The skin, after being trimmed with an iron -or bone scraper--this is not done in the case of the “parflèche,” -or thick sole-leather--and softened with brain or marrow, is worked -till thoroughly pliable with the hands. The fumigation, which gives -the finishing touch, is confined to buckskins intended for garments. -When the hair is removed, the hides supply the place of canvas, which -they resemble in whiteness and facility of folding. Dressed with the -hair, they are used, as their name denotes, for clothing; they serve -also for rugs and bedding. In the prairies, the price ranges from $1 -to $1 50 in kind; in the Eastern States, from $5 to $10. The fancy -specimens, painted inside, decorated with eyes, and otherwise adorned -with split porcupine quills dyed a gamboge-yellow, fetch from $8 -to $35. A “buffalo” (_subaudi_ robe) was shown to me, painted with -curious figures, which, according to my Canadian informant, were a -kind of hieroglyph or _aide-mémoire_, even ruder than the Mexican -picture-writing. - -The Indians generally hunt the buffalo with arrows. They are so expert -in riding that they will, at full speed, draw the missile from the -victim’s flank before it falls. I have met but one officer, Captain -Heth, of the 10th Regiment, who ever acquired the art. The Indian -hog-spear has been used to advantage. Our predecessors in Eastern -conquest have killed with it the tiger and nylgau; there is, therefore, -no reason why it might not be efficiently applied to the buffalo. Like -the Bos Caffre, the bison is dull, surly, and stupid, as well as timid -and wary; it requires hard riding, with the chance of a collar-bone -broken by the horse falling into a prairie-dog’s home; and when headed -or tired an old male rarely fails to charge. - -[THE MODEL VERANDA.] - -The flies chasing away the musquetoes--even as Aurora routs the -lingering shades of night--having sounded our _reveillée_ at -Cotton-wood Station, we proceeded by means of an “eye-opener,” which -even the abstemious judge could not decline, and the use of the -“skillet,” to prepare for a breakfast composed of various abominations, -especially cakes of flour and grease, molasses and dirt, disposed in -pretty equal parts. After paying the usual 50 cents, we started in the -high wind and dust, with a heavy storm brewing in the north, along the -desert valley of the dark, silent Platte, which here spread out in -broad basins and lagoons, picturesquely garnished with broad-leafed -dock and beds of _prêle_, flags and water-rushes, in which, however, we -saw nothing but traces of Monsieur Maringouin. On our left was a line -of sub-conical buttes, red, sandy-clay pyramids, semi-detached from -the wall of the rock behind them, with smooth flat faces fronting the -river, toward which they slope at the natural angle of 45°. The land -around, dry and sandy, bore no traces of rain; a high wind blew, and -the thermometer stood at 78° (F.), which was by no means uncomfortably -warm. Passing Junction-House Ranch and Frémont Slough--whisky-shops -both--we halted for “dinner,” about 11 A.M., at Frémont Springs, so -called from an excellent little water behind the station. The building -is of a style peculiar to the South, especially Florida--two huts -connected by a roofwork of thatched timber, which acts as the best -and coolest of verandas. The station-keeper, who receives from the -proprietors of the line $30 per month, had been there only three weeks; -and his wife, a comely young person, uncommonly civil and smiling for -a “lady,” supplied us with the luxuries of pigeons, onions, and light -bread, and declared her intention of establishing a poultry-yard. - -[HALF-WAY HOUSE.] - -An excellent train of mules carried us along a smooth road at a -slapping pace, over another natural garden even more flowery than that -passed on the last day’s march. There were beds of lupins, a brilliant -pink and blue predominating, the green plant locally known as “Lamb’s -Quarters” (_Chenopodium album_); the streptanthis; the milk-weed, with -its small white blossoms; the anemone; the wild flax, with its pretty -blue flowers, and growths which appeared to be clematis, chamomile, -and digitalis. Distant black dots--dwarf cedars, which are yearly -diminishing--lined the bank of the Platte and the long line of River -Island; they elicited invidious comparisons from the Pennsylvanians of -the party. We halted at Half-way House, near O’Fallon’s Bluffs, at the -quarters of Mr. M----, a _compagnon de voyage_, who had now reached his -home of twenty years, and therefore insisted upon “standing drinks.” -The business is worth $16,000 per annum; the contents of the store -somewhat like a Parsee’s shop in Western India--every thing from a -needle to a bottle of Champagne. A sign-board informed us that we were -now distant 400 miles from St. Jo, 120 from Fort Kearney, 68 from the -upper, and 40 from the lower crossing of the Platte. As we advanced the -valley narrowed, the stream shrank, the vegetation dwindled, the river -islands were bared of timber, and the only fuel became buffalo chip -and last year’s artemisia. This hideous growth, which is to weary our -eyes as far as central valleys of the Sierra Nevada, will require a few -words of notice. - -The artemisia, absinthe, or wild sage differs much from the panacea -concerning which the Salernitan school rhymed: - - “Cur moriatur homo cui Salvia crescit in horto.” - -Yet it fills the air with a smell that caricatures the odor of the -garden-plant, causing the traveler to look round in astonishment; and -when used for cooking it taints the food with a taste between camphor -and turpentine. It is of two kinds. The smaller or white species (_A. -filifolia_) rarely grows higher than a foot. Its fetor is less rank, -and at times of scarcity it forms tolerable fodder for animals. The -Western men have made of it, as of the “red root,” a tea, which must -be pronounced decidedly inferior to corn coffee. The Indians smoke it, -but they are not particular about what they inhale: like that perverse -p----n of Ludlow, who smoked the bell-ropes rather than not smoke at -all, or like school-boys who break themselves in upon ratan, they use -even the larger sage as well as a variety of other graveolent growths. -The second kind (_A. tridentata_) is to the family of shrubs what -the prairie cedar is to the trees--a gnarled, crooked, rough-barked -deformity. It has no pretensions to beauty except in earliest youth, -and in the dewy hours when the breeze turns up its leaves that glitter -like silver in the sun; and its constant presence in the worst and most -desert tracts teaches one to regard it, like the mangrove in Asia and -Africa, with aversion. In size it greatly varies; in some places it -is but little larger than the white species; near the Red Buttes its -woody stem often attains the height of a man and the thickness of his -waist. As many as fifty rings have been counted in one wood, which, -according to the normal calculation, would bring its age up to half a -century. After its first year, stock will eat it only when threatened -with starvation. It has, however, its use; the traveler, despite its -ugliness, hails the appearance of its stiff, wiry clumps at the evening -halt: it is easily uprooted, and by virtue of its essential oil it -makes a hot and lasting fire, and ashes over. According to Colonel -Frémont, “it has a small fly accompanying it through every change of -elevation and latitude.” The same eminent authority also suggests that -the respiration of air so highly impregnated with aromatic plants may -partly account for the favorable effect of the climate upon consumption. - -At 5 P.M., as the heat began to mitigate, we arrived at Alkali Lake -Station, and discovered some “exiles from Erin,” who supplied us with -antelope meat and the unusual luxury of ice taken from the Platte. We -attempted to bathe in the river, but found it flowing liquid mire. The -Alkali Lake was out of sight; the driver, however, consoled me with the -reflection that I should “glimpse” alkali lakes till I was sick of them. - -Yesterday and to-day we have been in a line of Indian “removes.” The -wild people were shifting their quarters for grass; when it becomes a -little colder they will seek some winter abode on the banks of a stream -which supplies fuel and where they can find meat, so that with warmth -and food, song and chat--they are fond of talking nonsense as African -negroes--and smoke and sleep, they can while away the dull and dreary -winter. Before describing the scene, which might almost serve for a -picture of Bedouin or gipsy life--so similar are the customs of all -savages--I have something to say about the Red Man. - -[THE RED MEN.] - -This is a country of misnomers. America should not, according to the -school-books, have been named America, consequently the Americans -should not be called Americans. A geographical error, pardonable in the -fifteenth century, dubbed the old tenants of these lands Indians,[35] -but why we should still call them the Red Men can not be conceived. I -have now seen them in the north, south, east, and west of the United -States, yet never, except under the influence of ochre or vermilion, -have I seen the Red Man red. The real color of the skin, as may be seen -under the leggins, varies from a dead pale olive to a dark dingy brown. -The parts exposed to the sun are slightly burnished, as in a Tartar -or an Affghan after a summer march. Between the two extremes above -indicated there are, however, a thousand shades of color, and often the -skin has been so long grimed in with pigment, grease, and dirt that it -suggests a brick-dust tinge which a little soap or soda would readily -remove. Indeed, the color and the complexion, combined with the lank -hair, scant beard, and similar peculiarities, renders it impossible to -see this people for the first time without the strongest impression -that they are of that Turanian breed which in prehistoric ages passed -down from above the Himalayas as far south as Cape Comorin. - - [35] Columbus and Vespucius both died in the conviction that they - had only discovered portions of Asia. Indeed, as late as 1533, the - astronomer Schöner maintained that Mexico was the Quinsai of Marco - Polo. The early navigators called the aborigines of the New World - “Indians,” believing that they inhabited the eastern portion of - “India,” a term then applied to the extremity of Oriental Asia. Until - the present century the Spaniards applied the names India and Indies - to their possessions in America. - -Another mistake touching the Indian is the present opinion concerning -him and his ancestors. He now suffers in public esteem from the -reaction following the high-flown descriptions of Cooper and the -herd of minor romancers who could not but make their heroes heroes. -Moreover, men acquainted only with the degenerate Pawnees or Diggers -extend their evil opinions to the noble tribes now extinct--the -Iroquois and Algonquins, for instance, whose remnants, the Delawares -and Ojibwas, justify the high opinion of the first settlers. The -exploits of King Philip, Pontiac, Gurister Sego, Tecumseh, Keokuk, -Iatan, Captain J. Brant, Black Hawk, Red Jacket, Osceola, and Billy -Bowlegs, are rapidly fading away from memory, while the failures of -such men as Little Thunder, and those like him, stand prominently forth -in modern days. Besides the injustice to the manes and memories of -the dead, this depreciation of the Indians tends to serious practical -evils. Those who see the savage lying drunk about stations, or eaten -up with disease, expect to beat him out of the field by merely showing -their faces; they fail, and pay the penalty with their lives--an event -which occurs every year in some parts of America. - -[PRAIRIE-INDIAN DRESS.] - -The remove of the village presented an interesting sight--an animated -shifting scene of bucks and braves, squaws and pappooses, ponies -dwarfed by bad breeding and hard living, dogs and puppies struggling -over the plains westward. In front, singly or in pairs, rode the men, -not gracefully, not according to the rules of Mexican _manège_, but -like the Abyssinian eunuch, as if born upon and bred to become part of -the animal. Some went barebacked; others rode, like the ancient chiefs -of the Western Islands, upon a saddle-tree, stirrupless, or provided -with hollow blocks of wood: in some cases the saddle was adorned with -bead hangings, and in all a piece of buffalo hide with the hair on was -attached beneath to prevent chafing. The cruel ring-bit of the Arabs -is not unknown. A few had iron curbs, probably stolen. For the most -part they managed their nags with a hide thong lashed round the lower -jaw and attached to the neck. A whip, of various sizes and shapes, -sometimes a round and tattooed ferule, more often a handle like a -butcher’s tally-stick, flat, notched, one foot long, and provided with -two or three thongs, hung at the wrist. Their nags were not shod with -parflèche, as among the horse-Indians of the South. Their long, lank, -thick, brownish-black hair, ruddy from the effects of weather, was -worn parted in the middle, and depended from the temples confined with -a long twist of otter or beaver’s skin in two queues, or pig-tails, -reaching to the breast: from the poll, and distinct from the remainder -of the hair, streamed the scalp-lock. This style of hair-dressing, -doubtless, aids in giving to the coronal region that appearance of -depression which characterizes the North American Indians as a race -of “Flatheads,” and which, probably being considered a beauty, led to -the artificial deformities of the Peruvian and the Aztec. The parting -in men, as well as in women, was generally colored with vermilion, -and plates of brass or tin, with beveled edges, varying in size from -a shilling to half a crown, were inserted into the front hair. The -scalp-lock--in fops the side-locks also--was decorated with tin or -silver plates, often twelve in number, beginning from the head and -gradually diminishing in size as they approached the heels; a few had -eagle’s, hawk’s, and crow’s feathers stuck in the hair, and sometimes, -grotesquely enough, crownless Kossuth hats, felt broadbrims, or old -military casquettes, surmounted all this finery. Their scanty beard -was removed; they compare the bushy-faced European to a dog running -away with a squirrel in its mouth. In their ears were rings of beads, -with pendants of tin plates or mother of pearl, or huge circles of -brass wire not unlike a Hindoo tailor’s; and their fore-arms, wrists, -and fingers were, after an African fashion, adorned with the same -metals, which the savage ever prefers to gold or silver. Their other -decorations were cravats of white or white and blue, oval beads, and -necklaces of plates like those worn in the hair. The body dress was -a tight-sleeved waistcoat of dark drugget, over an American cotton -shirt; others wore tattered flannels, and the middle was wrapped round -with a common blanket, presented by the government agent--scarlet -and blue being the colors preferred, white rare: a better stuff is -the coarse broadcloth manufactured for the Indian market in the -United States. The leggins were a pair of pantaloons without the body -part--in their palmy days the Indians laughed to scorn their future -conquerors for tightening the hips so as to impede activity--looped -up at both haunches with straps to a leathern girdle, and all wore -the breech-cloth, which is the common Hindoo languti or T-bandage. -The cut of the leggins is a parallelogram, a little too short and -much too broad for the limb; it is sewn so as to fit tight, and the -projecting edges, for which the light-colored list or bordering is -usually preserved, answers the effect of a military stripe. When -buckskin leggins are made the outside edges are fringed, producing -that feathered appearance which distinguishes in our pictures the -nether limbs of the Indian brave. The garb ends with moccasins,[36] the -American brogues, which are made in two ways. The simplest are of one -piece, a cylinder of skin cut from above and below the hock of some -large animal--moose, elk, or buffalo--and drawn on before shrinking, -the joint forming the heel, while the smaller end is sewn together for -a toe. This rough contrivance is little used but as a _pis aller_. The -other kind is made of tanned hide in two pieces--a sole and an upper -leather, sewn together at the junction; the last is a bit of board -rounded off at the end. They are open over the instep, where also -they can be laced or tied, and they fit as closely as the Egyptian -mizz or under-slipper, which they greatly resemble. They are worn by -officers in the Far West as the expatriated Anglo-Indian adopts the -“Juti.” The greatest inconvenience to the novice is the want of heel; -moreover, they render the feet uncomfortably tender, and, unless soled -with parflèche or thick leather, they are scant defense against stony -ground; during dry weather they will last fairly, but they become, -after a single wetting, even worse than Bombay-made Wellingtons. A -common pair will cost $2; when handsomely embroidered with bead-work by -the squaws they rise to $15. - - [36] This Algonquin word is written _moccasson_ or _mocasin_, and is - pronounced _moksin_. - -The braves were armed with small tomahawks or iron hatchets, which -they carried with the powder-horn, in the belt, on the right side, -while the long tobacco-pouch of antelope skin hung by the left. Over -their shoulders were leather targes, bows and arrows, and some few had -rifles; both weapons were defended from damp in deer-skin cases, and -quivers with the inevitable bead-work, and the fringes which every -savage seems to love. These articles reminded me of those in use -among the Bedouins of El Hejaz. Their nags were lean and ungroomed; -they treat them as cruelly as do the Somal; yet nothing--short of -whisky--can persuade the Indian warrior, like the man of Nejd, to part -with a favorite steed. It is his all in all, his means of livelihood, -his profession, his pride; he is an excellent judge of horse-flesh, -though ignoring the mule and ass; and if he offers an animal for -which he has once refused to trade, it is for the reason that an -Oriental takes to market an adult slave--it has become useless. Like -the Arab, he considers it dishonorable to sell a horse; he gives it -to you, expecting a large present, and if disappointed he goes away -grumbling that you have “swallowed” his property. He is fond of short -races--spurts they are called--as we had occasion to see; there is -nothing novel nor interesting in the American as there is in the -Arabian hippology; the former learned all its arts from Europeans, the -latter taught them. - -Behind the warriors and braves followed the baggage of the village. -The lodge poles, in bundles of four and five, had been lashed to pads -or pack-saddles, girthed tight to the ponies’ backs, the other ends -being allowed to trail along the ground like the shafts of a truck; -the sign easily denotes the course of travel. The wolf-like dogs were -also harnessed in the same way; more lupine than canine, they are ready -when hungry to attack man or mule; and, sharp-nosed and prick-eared, -they not a little resemble the Indian pariah dog. Their equipments, -however, were of course on a diminutive scale; a little pad girthed -round the barrel, with a breastplate to keep it in place, enabled -them to drag two short light lodge poles tied together at the smaller -extremity. One carried only a hawk on its back--yet falconry has -never, I believe, been practiced by the Indian. Behind the ponies the -poles were connected by cross-sticks, upon which were lashed the lodge -covers, the buffalo robes, and other bulkier articles. Some had strong -frames of withes or willow basket-work, two branches being bent into -an oval, garnished below with a net-work of hide thongs for a seat, -covered with a light wicker canopy, and opening, like a cage, only on -one side; a blanket or a buffalo robe defends the inmate from sun and -rain. These are the litters for the squaws when weary, the children, -and the puppies, which are part of the family till used for feasts. -It might be supposed to be a rough conveyance; the elasticity of the -poles, however, alleviates much of that inconvenience. A very ancient -man, wrinkled as a last year’s walnut, and apparently crippled by old -wounds, was carried, probably by his great-grandsons, in a rude sedan. -The vehicle was composed of two pliable poles, about ten feet long, -separated by three cross-bars twenty inches or so apart; a blanket had -been secured to the foremost and hindermost, and under the centre-bit -lay Senex secured against falling out. In this way the Indians often -bear the wounded back to their villages; apparently they have never -thought of a horse-litter, which might be made with equal facility, and -would certainly save work. - -[THE SQUAWS.] - -While the rich squaws rode, the poorer followed their pack-horses on -foot, eying the more fortunate as the mercer’s wife regards what she -terms the “carriage lady.” The women’s dress not a little resembles -their lords’; the unaccustomed eye often hesitates between the sexes. -In the fair, however, the waistcoat is absent, the wide-sleeved shift -extends below the knees, and the leggins are of somewhat different cut. -All wore coarse shawls, or white, blue, and scarlet cloth-blankets -round their bodies. Upon the Upper Platte we afterward saw them dressed -in cotton gowns, after a semi-civilized fashion, and with bowie-knives -by their sides. The grandmothers were fearful to look upon--horrid -excrescences of nature, teaching proud man a lesson of humility, and -a memento of his neighbor in creation, the “humble ape”--it is only -civilization that can save the aged woman from resembling the gorilla. -The middle-aged matrons were homely bodies, broad and squat like the -African dame after she has become _mère de famille_; their hands and -feet were notably larger from work than those of the men, and the -burdens upon their backs caused them to stoop painfully. The young -squaws--pity it is that all our household Indian words, pappoose, for -instance, tomahawk, wigwam, and powwow, should have been naturalized -out of the Abenaki and other harsh dialects of New England--deserved -a more euphonious appellation. The belle savage of the party had -large and languishing eyes and dentists’ teeth that glittered, with -sleek, long black hair like the ears of a Blenheim spaniel, justifying -a natural instinct to stroke or pat it, drawn straight over a low, -broad, Quadroon-like brow. Her figure had none of the fragility which -distinguishes the higher race, who are apparently too delicate for -human nature’s daily food--porcelain, in fact, when pottery is wanted; -nor had she the square corpulency which appears in the negro woman -after marriage. Her ears and neck were laden with tinsel ornaments, -brass-wire rings adorned her wrists and fine arms, a bead-work sash -encircled her waist, and scarlet leggins, fringed and tasseled, ended -in equally costly moccasins. When addressed by the driver in some -terms to me unintelligible, she replied with a soft clear laugh--the -principal charm of the Indian, as of the smooth-throated African -woman--at the same time showing him the palm of her right hand as -though it had been a looking-glass. The gesture would have had a -peculiar significance in Sindh; here, however, I afterward learned, -it simply conveys a refusal. The maidens of the tribe, or those under -six, were charming little creatures, with the wildest and most piquant -expression, and the prettiest doll-like features imaginable; the young -coquettes already conferred their smiles as if they had been of any -earthly value. The boys once more reminded me of the East; they had -black beady eyes, like snakes, and the wide mouths of young caymans. -Their only dress, when they were not in “birth-day suit,” was the -Indian languti. None of the braves carried scalps, finger-bones, or -notches on the lance, which serve like certain marks on saw-handled -pistols farther east, nor had any man lost a limb. They followed us for -many a mile, peering into the hinder part of our traveling wigwam, and -ejaculating “How! How!” the normal salutation. It is supposed to mean -“good,” and the Western man, when he drinks to your health, says “Here, -how!” and expects a return in kind. The politeness of the savages -did not throw us off our guard; the Dakotah of these regions are -expert and daring kleptomaniacs; they only laughed, however, a little -knowingly as we raised the rear curtain, and they left us after begging -pertinaciously--bakhshish is an institution here as on the banks of the -Nile--for tobacco, gunpowder, ball, copper caps, lucifers, and what -not. The women, except the pretty party, looked, methought, somewhat -scowlingly, but one can hardly expect a smiling countenance from the -human biped trudging ten or twenty miles under a load fit for a mule. -A great contrast with these Indians was a train of “Pike’s Peakers,” -who, to judge from their grim looks, were returning disappointed from -the new gold diggings. I think that if obliged to meet one of the two -troops by moonlight alone, my choice would have fallen upon “messieurs -les sauvages.” - -At 6 P.M. we resumed our route, with a good but fidgety train, up the -Dark Valley, where musquetoes and sultry heat combined to worry us. -Slowly traveling and dozing the while, we arrived about 9 15 P.M. -at Diamond Springs, a bright little water much frequented by the -“lightning-bug” and the big-eyed “Devil’s darning-needle,”[37] where we -found whisky and its usual accompaniment, soldiers. The host related -an event which he said had taken place but a few days before. An old -mountaineer, who had married two squaws, was drinking with certain -Cheyennes, a tribe famous for ferocity and hostility to the whites. The -discourse turning upon topics stoical, he was asked by his wild boon -companions if he feared death. The answer was characteristic: “You may -kill me if you like!” Equally characteristic was their acknowledgment; -they hacked him to pieces, and threw the corpse under a bank. In these -regions the opposite races regard each other as wild beasts; the white -will shoot an Indian as he would a coyote. He expects to go under -whenever the “all-fired, red-bellied varmints”--I speak, oh reader, -Occidentally--get the upper hand, and _vice versâ_. - - [37] The first is the firefly, the second is the dragon-fly, called - in country parts of England “the Devil’s needle.” - -[THE PLATTE RIVER.] - -The Platte River divides at N. lat. 40° 05′ 05″, and W. long. (G.) -101° 21′ 24″. The northern, by virtue of dimensions, claims to be -the main stream. The southern, which is also called in obsolete maps -Padouca, from the Pawnee name for the Iatans, whom the Spaniards -term Comanches,[38] averages 600 yards, about 100 less than its -rival in breadth, and, according to the prairie people, affords the -best drinking. Hunters often ford the river by the Lower Crossing, -twenty-eight miles above the bifurcation. Those with heavily-loaded -wagons prefer this route, as by it they avoid the deep loose sands on -the way to the Upper Crossing. The mail-coach must endure the four -miles of difficulty, as the road to Denver City branches off from the -western ford. - - [38] The Kaumainsh (Comanche), a warlike and independent race, who, - with the Apaches, have long been the bane of New Spain, were in the - beginning of this century entirely erratic, without any kind of - cultivation, subsisting, in fact, wholly by the chase and plunder. - They were then bounded westward by New Mexico, where they have laid - waste many a thriving settlement; eastward by the Pawnees and Osages; - northward by the Utahs, Kiowas, and Shoshonees; and southward by the - nations on the Lower Red River. - -At 10 P.M., having “caught up” the mules, we left Diamond Springs, and -ran along the shallow river which lay like a thin sheet of shimmer -broken by clumps and islets that simulated, under the imperfect -light of the stars, houses and towns, hulks and ships, wharves and -esplanades. On the banks large bare spots, white with salt, glistened -through the glooms; the land became so heavy that our fagged beasts -groaned; and the descents, water-cuts, and angles were so abrupt that -holding on constituted a fair gymnastic exercise. The air was clear -and fine. My companions snored while I remained awake enjoying a -lovely aurora, and, Epicurean-like, reserving sleep for the Sybaritic -apparatus, which, according to report, awaited us at the grand -_établissement_ of the Upper Crossing of La Grande Platte. - -This was our fifth night in the mail-wagon. I could not but meditate -upon the difference between travel in the pure prairie air, despite an -occasional “chill,” and the perspiring miseries of an East Indian dawk, -or of a trudge in the miasmatic and pestilential regions of Central -Africa. Much may be endured when, as was ever the case, the highest -temperature in the shade does not exceed 98° F. - - _12th August. We cross the Platte._ - -[AURORA.] - -Boreal aurora glared brighter than a sunset in Syria. The long -streamers were intercepted and mysteriously confused by a massive -stratum of dark cloud, through whose narrow rifts and jagged chinks the -splendors poured in floods of magic fire. Near the horizon the tint -was an opaline white--a broad band of calm, steady light, supporting -a tender rose-color, which flushed to crimson as it scaled the upper -firmament. The mobility of the spectacle was its chiefest charm. The -streamers either shot out or shrank from full to half length; now they -flared up, widening till they filled the space between Lucifer rising -in the east and Aries setting in the west; then they narrowed to the -size of a span; now they stood like a red arch with steadfast legs and -oscillating summit; then, broadening at the apex, they apparently -revolved with immense rapidity; at times the stars shone undimmed -through the veil of light, then they were immersed in its exceeding -brilliancy. After a full hour of changeful beauty, paling in one place -and blushing in another, the northern lights slowly faded away with a -blush which made the sunrise look colder than its wont. It is no wonder -that the imaginative Indian, looking with love upon these beauties, -connects them with the ghosts of his ancestors. - -Cramped with cold and inaction--at 6 A.M. the thermometer showed only -56° F. in the sun--hungry, thirsty, and by no means in the mildest of -humors, we hear with a gush of joy, at 3 15 A.M., the savage Yep! yep! -yep! with which the driver announces our approach. The plank lodgings -soon appear; we spring out of the ambulance; a qualm comes over us; -all is dark and silent as the grave; nothing is prepared for us; the -wretches are all asleep. A heavy kick opens the door of the soon-found -restaurant, when a pheesy, drowsy voice from an inner room asks us, in -German-English--so strong is the causality, the crapulousness of why -and wherefore in this “divided, erudite race”--“And how ze komen in?” -Without attempting to gratify his intellectual cravings, we ordered him -out of bed, and began to talk of supper, refreshment, and repose. But -the “critter” had waxed surly after securing for himself a compound -epithet, of which “hunds--” is the first syllable, and his every -negative answer concluded with a faint murmur of “petampt.” I tried to -get his bed for Mrs. Dana, who was suffering severely from fatigue. He -grumbled out that his “lady and bebbé” were occupying it. At length I -hit upon the plan of placing the cushions and cloaks upon the table, -when the door opened for a second dog-Teuton, who objected to that -article of furniture being used otherwise than for his morning meal. -_Excédés_, and mastering with pain our desire to give these villain -“sausage-eaters” “particular fits,” we sat down, stared at the fire, -and awaited the vile food. For a breakfast cooked in the usual manner, -coffee boiled down to tannin (ever the first operation), meat subjected -to half sod, half stew, and, lastly, bread raised with sour milk -corrected with soda, and so baked that the taste of the flour is ever -prominent, we paid these German rascals 75 cents, a little dearer than -at the Trois Frères. - -At the Upper Crossing of the South Fork there are usually tender -adieux, the wenders toward Mormonland bidding farewell to those bound -for the perilous gold regions of Denver City and Pike’s Peak. If -“fresh,” they take leave of one another with sincere commiseration for -one another’s dooms, each deeming, of course, his own the brighter. -The wagons were unloaded, thus giving us the opportunity of procuring -changes of raiment and fresh caps--our felts had long disappeared under -the influence of sleeping on the perch. By some means we retained our -old ambulance, which, after five days and nights, we had learned to -look upon as a home; the Judiciary, however, had to exchange theirs -for one much lighter and far less comfortable. Presently those bound -to Denver City set out upon their journey. Conspicuous among them -was a fair woman who had made her first appearance at Cotton-wood -Creek--fit place for the _lune de mélasse_--with an individual, -apparently a well-to-do drover, whom she called “Tom” and “husband.” -She had forgotten her “fixins,” which, according to a mischievous and -scandalous driver, consisted of a reticule containing a “bishop,” a -comb, and a pomatum-pot, a pinchbeck watch, and a flask of “Bawme”--not -of Meccah. Being a fine young person of Scotch descent, she had, till -dire suspicions presented themselves, attracted the attentions of her -fellow-travelers, who pronounced her to be “all sorts of a gal.” But -virtue is rabid in these lands, and the purity of the ermine must not -be soiled. It was fortunate for Mr. and Mrs. Mann--the names were _noms -de voyage_--that they left us so soon. In a certain Southern city I -heard of a high official who, during a trip upon one of the floating -palaces of the Mississippi, had to repeat “deprendi miserum est;” the -fond, frail pair was summarily ejected with bag and baggage to furnish -itself with a down-stream passage on board a lumber raft. - -[THE “PADOUCA.”] - -We crossed the “Padouca” at 6 30 A.M., having placed our luggage and -the mails for security in an ox cart. The South Fork is here 600 to 700 -yards broad; the current is swift, but the deepest water not exceeding -250 feet, the teams are not compelled to cross diagonally. The channel -was broken with sand-banks and islets; the bed was dark and gravelly; -the water, though dark as hotel coffee, was clear, not, as described -by Captain Stansbury, “perfectly opaque with thick yellow mud,” and -the earth-banks, which rise to five feet, are never inundated. The -half-broken mules often halted, and seemed inclined to lie down; a -youth waded on the lower side of the team, shouting and swinging his -arms to keep them from turning their heads down stream; the instinct -of animals to find an easy ford ended with a few desperate struggles -up the black oozy mire. Having reloaded on the left bank, and cast one -last look of hatred upon the scene of our late disappointment, we set -out at 7 A.M. to cross the divide separating the Northern and Southern -Forks of the Platte. - -We had now entered upon the outskirts of the American wilderness, -which has not one feature in common with the deserts of the Old World. -In Arabia and Africa there is majesty in its monotony: those awful -wastes so brightly sunburnished that the air above them appears by -contrast black; one vast and burning floor, variegated only by the -mirage-reek, with nothing below the firmament to relieve or correct -the eye. Here it is a brown smooth space, insensibly curving out of -sight, wholly wanting “second distance,” and scarcely suggesting the -idea of immensity; we seem, in fact, to be traveling for twenty miles -over a convex, treeless hill-top. The air became sultry, white clouds -shut in the sky, and presently arose the high south wind, which at this -season blows a gale between 10 A.M. and 3 P.M. The ground, bleached -where sandy, was thinly scattered here and there with wiry grass, dun -and withered, and with coarse and sunburnt shrubs, among which the -“leadplant” (_Amorphe canescens_) was the characteristic. A dwarf -aloetic vegetation became abundant; vegetation was fast going the way -of all grass; after rain, however, it is doubtless fresh and copious. -The buffalo grass sought the shade of the wild sage. A small euphorbia, -the cotton-weed, a thistle haunted by the Cynthia cardua, that -butterfly common to the eastern and western hemispheres, and a bright -putoria, mingled with mushrooms like huge bulbs. The cactus was of two -kinds: the flat-leaved species is used by white men to filter water, -and by the savages, who peel and toast it, as provaunt:[39] there is -another globular variety (an _echinocactus_) lying stalkless, like a -half melon, with its brilliant flowers guarded by a panoply of spines. -We pursued a sandy tract, broken by beds of nullahs and fiumaras, -between two ridges of hillocks, draining to the right into a low bottom -denoted by a lively green, with bays and bends of lush, reed-like -grass. This is the well-known Lodge-Pole Creek or Fork, a mere ditch, -the longest and narrowest of its kind, rising from a mountain lakelet -near the “New Bayou” or “Park,” in the Black Hills, and falling -into the South Fork of the Platte, about seventy miles west of the -bifurcation. By following up this water along the Cherokee trail to its -head in the Cheyenne Pass of the Rocky Mountains, instead of describing -the arc _viâ_ Fort Laramie, the mail would gain 61 miles; emigrants, -indeed, often prefer the short cut. Moreover, from the Cheyenne Pass to -Great Salt Lake City, there is, according to accounts, a practicable -road south of the present line, which, as it would also save time and -labor, has been preferred for the mail line. - - [39] There is another kind of cactus called by the whites - “whisky-root,” and by the Indian “peioke,” used like the intoxicating - mushroom of Siberia. “It grows in Southern Texas, in the range of - sand-hills bordering on the Rio Grande, and in gravelly, sandy - soil. The Indians eat it for its exhilarating effect on the system, - producing precisely the same excitement as alcoholic drinks. It - is sliced as you would a cucumber; the small piece is chewed and - swallowed, and in about the same time as comfortably tight cocktails - would ‘stir the divinity within’ you, this indicates itself; only - its effects are what I might term a little _k-a-v-o-r-t-i-n-g_, - giving rather a wilder scope to the imagination and actions.”--(A - Correspondent of the _New Orleans Picayune_, quoted by Mr. Bartlett.) - -In the American Sahara animal life began to appear. The coyote turned -and stared at us as though we were trespassing upon his property. -This is the jackal of the Western world, the small prairie-wolf, the -_Canis latrans_, and the old Mexican coyotl, best depicted by the -old traveler, Abbé Clavigero, in these words: “It is a wild beast, -voracious like the wolf, cunning like the fox, in form like the dog, -and in some qualities like the jackal.” The animal has so often been -described that there is little new to say about it. The mountain men -are all agreed upon one thing, namely, that the meat is by no means -bad; most of them have tried “wolf-mutton” in hard times, and may -expect to do so again. The civilizee shudders at the idea of eating -wolf from a food-prejudice, whose consideration forms a curious -chapter in human history. It is not very easy, says Dr. Johnson, to -fix the principles upon which mankind have agreed to eat some animals -and reject others; and as the principle is not evident, so it is not -uniform. Originally invented for hygienic purposes, dietetic laws -soon became tenets of religion, and passed far beyond their original -intention: thus pork, for instance, injurious in Syria, would not be -eaten by a Jew in Russia. An extreme arbitrariness marks the modern -systems of civilized people: the Englishman, for instance, eats -oysters, periwinkles, shrimps, and frogs, while he is nauseated by the -snails, robins, and crows which the Frenchman uses; the Italian will -devour a hawk, while he considers a rabbit impure, and has refused to -touch potatoes even in a famine; and all delight in that foul feeder, -the duck, while they reject the meat of the cleanly ass. The Mosaic law -seems still to influence the European world, causing men to throw away -much valuable provision because unaccustomed to eat it or to hear of -its being eaten. The systems of China and Japan are far more sensible -for densely populated countries, and the hippophagists have shown, at -least, that one animal has been greatly wasted. The terrible famines, -followed by the equally fearful pestilences, which have scourged -mankind, are mainly owing to the prevalence of these food-prejudices, -which, as might be expected, are the most deeply rooted in the poorer -classes, who can least afford them. - -[THE PRAIRIE-DOG VILLAGE.] - -I saw to-day, for the first time, a prairie-dog village. The little -beast, hardly as large as a Guinea-pig, belongs to the family of -squirrels and the group of marmots--in point of manner it somewhat -resembles the monkey. “Wish-ton-Wish”[40]--an Indian onomatoplasm--was -at home, sitting posted like a sentinel upon the roof, and sunning -himself in the midday glow. It is not easy to shoot him; he is out of -doors all day; but, timid and alert, at the least suspicion of danger -he plunges with a jerking of the tail, and a somersault, quicker than -a shy young rabbit’s, into the nearest hole, peeping from the ground, -and keeping up a feeble little cry (wish! ton! wish!), more like the -note of a bird than a bark. If not killed outright, he will manage -to wriggle into his home. The villages are generally on the brow of -a hill, near a creek or pond, thus securing water without danger of -drowning. The earth burrowed out while making the habitations is -thrown up in heaps, which serve as sitting-places in the wet season, -and give a look-out upon the adjacent country; it is more dangerous -to ride over them than to charge a field of East Indian “T’hur,” and -many a broken leg and collar-bone have been the result. The holes, -which descend in a spiral form, must be deep, and they are connected -by long galleries, with sharp angles, ascents and descents, to puzzle -the pursuer. Lieutenant Pike had 140 kettles of water poured into one -without dislodging the occupant. The village is always cleared of -grass, probably by the necessities of the tenants, who, though they -enjoy insects, are mainly graminivorous, and rarely venture half a -mile from home. The limits are sometimes three miles square, and the -population must be dense, as a burrow will occur every few paces. The -_Cynomys Ludovicianus_ prepares for winter by stopping the mouth of -its burrow, and constructing a deeper cell, in which it hibernates -till spring appears. It is a graceful little animal, dark brown above -and white below, with teeth and nails, head and tail somewhat like -the gray sciurus of the States. The Indians and trappers eat this -American marmot, declaring its flesh to be fatter and better than -that of the squirrel. Some travelers advise exposing the meat for a -night or two to the frost, by which means the rankness of subterranean -flavor is corrected. It is undoubted that the rattlesnake--both of the -yellow and black species--and the small white burrowing-owl (_Strix -cunicularia_) are often found in the same warren with this rodent, a -curious happy family of reptile, bird, and beast, and in some places -he has been seen to associate with tortoises, rattlesnakes, and horned -frogs (_Phrynosoma_). According to some naturalists, however, the -fraternal harmony is not so perfect as it might be: the owl is accused -of occasionally gratifying his carnivorous lusts by laying open the -skull of Wish-ton-Wish with a smart stroke of the beak. We sighted, -not far from the prairie-dog village, an animal which I took to be a -lynx; but the driver, who had often seen the beast in Minnesota and Old -“Ouisconsinc,” declared that they are not to be found here. - - [40] The name will recall to mind one of Mr. Fennimore Cooper’s - admirable fictions, the “Wept of Wish-ton-Wish,” which was, however, - a bird, the “Whip-poor-will,” or American night-hawk. - -At 12 45 P.M., traveling over the uneven barren, and in a burning -sirocco, we reached Lodge-Pole Station, where we made our “noonin.” The -hovel fronting the creek was built like an Irish shanty, or a Beloch -hut, against a hill side, to save one wall, and it presented a fresh -phase of squalor and wretchedness. The mud walls were partly papered -with “Harper’s Magazine,” “Frank Leslie,” and the “New York Illustrated -News;” the ceiling was a fine festoon-work of soot, and the floor was -much like the ground outside, only not nearly so clean. In a corner -stood the usual “bunk,”[41] a mass of mingled rags and buffalo robes; -the centre of the room was occupied by a rickety table, and boxes, -turned up on their long sides, acted as chairs. The unescapable stove -was there, filling the interior with the aroma of meat. As usual, the -materials for ablution, a “dipper” or cup, a dingy tin skillet of -scanty size, a bit of coarse gritty soap, and a public towel, like a -rag of gunny bag, were deposited upon a rickety settle outside. - - [41] American writers derive this word from the Anglo-Saxon _benc_, - whence the modern English “bench.” It means a wooden case used in - country taverns and in offices, and serving alike for a seat during - the day and a bed at night. In towns it is applied to the tiers of - standing bed peculiar to the lowest class of lodging-houses. In the - West, it is a frame-work, in size and shape like a berth on board - ship, sometimes single, sometimes double or treble. - -[THE ANTELOPE.] - -There being no “lady” at the station on Lodge-Pole Creek, milk was -unprocurable. Here, however, began a course of antelope venison, which -soon told upon us with damaging effect. I well knew the consequences -of this heating and bilious diet in Asia and Africa; but thinking it -safe to do at Rome as the Romans do, I followed in the wake of my -companions, and suffered with them. Like other wild meats, bear, deer, -elk, and even buffalo, antelope will disagree with a stranger; it is, -however, juicy, fat, and well-flavored, especially when compared with -the hard, dry, stringy stuff which the East affords; and the hunter and -trapper, like the Indian, are loud in its praise. - -The habitat of the prong-horn antelope (_Antelocapra Americana_, called -“le cabris” by the Canadian, and “the goat” by the unpoetic mountain -man) extends from the plains west of the Missouri to the Pacific Ocean; -it is also abundant on Minnesota and on the banks of the Red River; -its southern limit is Northern Mexico, whence it ranges to 53° N. lat. -on the Saskatchewan. It is about the size of a small deer, the male -weighing 65 lbs. in good condition. The coat is coarse and wiry, yellow -dun on the back, with dull white under the belly, and the tanned skin -is worth three dollars. It is at once the fleetest and the wariest -animal on the prairies, and its sense of hearing as acute as its power -of smell. The best time for “still hunting” (_i.e._, stalking) is at -early dawn, when the little herds of four or five are busy grazing. -They disappear during the midday heats of summer, and in the evening, -as in India and Arabia, they are wild and wary. They assemble in -larger bodies near the Rocky Mountains, where pasturage--not sage, -which taints the meat--abounds, and the Indian savages kill them by -surrounds, especially in winter, when the flesh is fattest. White men -usually stalk them. During the migration season few are seen near the -road; at other times they are often sighted. They are gifted, like -the hippopotamus, with a truly feminine curiosity; they will stand -for minutes to stare at a red wagon-bed, and, despite their extreme -wariness, they will often approach, within shot, a scarlet kerchief -tied to a stick, or any similar decoy. In manner they much resemble -the Eastern gazelle. When the herd is disturbed, the most timid moves -off first, followed by the rest; the walk gradually increases from a -slow trot to a bounding gallop. At times they halt, one by one, and -turn to gaze, but they presently resume flight, till they reach some -prominent place where their keen vision can command the surrounding -country. When well roused, they are thoroughly on the alert; the hunter -will often find that, though he has moved toward them silently, up the -wind and under cover, they have suspected sinister intentions and have -shifted ground. - -Besides the antelope, there are three species of deer in the regions -east of the Rocky Mountains. Perhaps the most common is the red -deer of the Eastern States (_Cervus Virginianus_; _le chevreuil_): -it extends almost throughout the length of the continent, and is -seemingly independent of altitude as of latitude. The venison is not -considered equal to that of the antelope; travelers, however, kill off -the deer to save butchers’ bills, so that it is now seldom “glimpsed” -from the line of route. The black-tailed or long-eared deer (_Cervus -macrotis_) is confined to the higher ground; it has similar habits -to the red variety, and is hunted in the same way. The long-tailed, -or jumping deer (_Cervus leucrurus_, vulgarly called the roebuck), -affects, like the black-tailed, the Rocky Mountains. The elk (_Cervus -Canadensis_) is found in parts of Utah Territory and forty miles north -of the mail-road, near the Wind-River Mountains--a perfect paradise -for sportsmen. It is noble shooting, but poor eating as the Indian -sambar.[42] The moose (_Cervus Alces_), the giant of the deer kind, -sometimes rising seventeen hands high, and weighing 1200 lbs., is an -inhabitant of higher latitudes--Nova Scotia, Canada, Maine, and other -parts of New England. - - [42] The elk is being domesticated in the State of New York; it is - still, however, doubtful whether the animals will fatten well or - supply milk, or serve for other than ornamental purposes. - -At Lodge-Pole Station, the mules, as might be expected from animals -allowed to run wild every day in the week except one, were like -newly-caught mustangs.[43] The herdsman--each station boasts of this -official--mounted a nag barebacked, and, jingling a bell, drove the -cattle into the corral, a square of twenty yards, formed by a wall -of loose stones, four to five feet high. He wasted three quarters of -an hour in this operation, which a well-trained shepherd’s dog would -have performed in a few minutes. Then two men entering with lassos -or lariats, thongs of flexible plaited or twisted hide, and provided -with an iron ring at one end to form the noose--the best are made of -hemp, Russian, not Manilla--proceeded, in a great “muss” on a small -scale, to secure their victims. The lasso[44] in their hands was by no -means the “unerring necklace” which the Mexican _vaquéro_ has taught -it to be: they often missed their aim, or caught the wrong animal. -The effect, however, was magical: a single haul at the noose made the -most stiff-necked mule tame as a costermonger’s ass. The team took, -as usual, a good hour to trap and hitch up: the latter was a delicate -operation, for the beasts were comically clever with their hoofs. - - [43] The mustang is the Spanish mesteño. The animal was introduced - by the first colonists, and allowed to run at large. Its great - variety of coat proves the mustang’s degeneracy from the tame horse; - according to travelers, cream-color, skewbald, and piebald being not - uncommon. “Sparing in diet, a stranger to grain, easily satisfied - whether on growing or dead grass, inured to all weathers, and capable - of great labor,” the mustang-pony is a treasure to the prairie-man. - - [44] According to Mr. Bartlett, the lasso (Span., “lazo”) is - synonymous with “lariat” (Span. “lariata”). In common use, however, - the first word is confined to the rope with which buffaloes, - mustangs, or mules are caught; the second, which in the West is - popularly pronounced “lariet,” or “lariette,” more generally means - the article with which animals are picketed. Many authors, however, - have made “lariat” the equivalent of “lasso.” The Texans use, instead - of the hide lasso, a hair rope called “caberes,” from the Spanish - “cabestro,” a halter. - -[CLOUDS OF GRASSHOPPERS.] - -At 3 P.M., after a preliminary ringing, intended to soothe the fears of -Madame, we set out _au grand galop_, with a team that had never worked -together before. They dashed down the cahues with a violence that -tossed us as in a blanket, and nothing could induce them, while fresh, -to keep the path. The yawing of the vehicle was ominous: fortunately, -however, the road, though self-made, was excellent; the sides were -smooth, and the whole country fit to be driven over. At first the view -was sadly monotonous. It was a fair specimen of the rolling prairie, -in nowise differing from any other land except in the absence of -trees. According to some travelers, there is in several places an -apparently progressive decay of the timber, showing that formerly it -was more extensive than it is now. Others attribute the phenomenon -to the destruction of forests in a former era by fires or by the -aborigines. It is more satisfactory to account for it by a complication -of causes--a want of proper constituents, an insufficiency of rain, -the depth of the water below the surface, the severity of the eight -months of winter snow, the fierce winds--the hardiest growths that -present their heads above the level of the prairies have dead tops--the -shortness of the summers, and last, but not least, the clouds of -grasshoppers. According to Lieutenant Warren, whose graphic description -is here borrowed, these insects are “nearly the same as the locusts of -Egypt; and no one who has not traveled on the prairie, and seen for -himself, can appreciate the magnitude of the swarms. Often they fill -the air for many miles of extent, so that an inexperienced eye can -scarcely distinguish their appearance from that of a shower of rain or -the smoke of a prairie fire. The height of their flight may be somewhat -appreciated, as Mr. E. James saw them above his head, as far as their -size would render them visible, while standing on the top of a peak of -the Rocky Mountains, 8500 feet above the plain, and an elevation of -14,500 above that of the sea, in the region where the snow lies all the -year. To a person standing in one of these swarms as they pass over and -around him, the air becomes sensibly darkened, and the sound produced -by their wings resembles that of the passage of a train of cars on a -railroad when standing two or three hundred yards from the track. The -Mormon settlements have suffered more from the ravages of these insects -than probably all other causes combined. They destroyed nearly all the -vegetables cultivated last year at Fort Randall, and extended their -ravages east as far as Iowa.” - -As we advanced, the horizon, every where within musket-shot--a -wearying sight!--widened out, and the face of the country notably -changed. A scrap of blue distance and high hills--the “Court-house” -and others--appeared to the northwest. The long, curved lines, the -gentle slopes, and the broad hollows of the divide facing the South -Fork changed into an abrupt and precipitous descent, “gullied” like the -broken ground of sub-ranges attached to a mountain chain. Deep ravines -were parted by long narrow ridges, sharp-crested and water-washed, -exposing ribs and backbones of sandstone and silicious lime, like the -vertebræ of some huge saurian: scatters of kunker, with a detritus of -quartz and granite, clothed the ground, and, after passing Lodge-Pole -Creek, which bears away to the west, the rocky steps required the -perpetual application of the brake. Presently we saw a dwarf cliff -inclosing in an elliptical sweep a green amphitheatre, the valley of -our old friend the Platte. On the far bank of its northern fork lay a -forty-mile stretch of sandy, barren, glaring, heat-reeking ground, not -unlike that which the overland traveler looking southward from Suez -sees.[45] We left far to the right a noted spot, Ash Hollow, situated -at the mouth of the creek of the same prenomen. It is described as a -pretty bit in a barren land, about twenty acres, surrounded by high -bluffs, well timbered with ash and cedar, and rich in clematis and -other wild flowers. Here, in 1855, the doughty General Harney, with -700 to 800 men, “gave Jessie” to a large war-party of Brûlé Sioux -under their chief Little Thunder, of whom more anon, killing 150, and -capturing 60 squaws and children, with but seven or eight casualties in -his own force. - - [45] According to Lieutenant Warren, the tract called the Sand-hills - occupies an area, north of the Platte, not less than 20,000 square - miles: from between the Niobrara and White Rivers to the north, - probably beyond the Arkansas in the south. - -[AN IMPROMPTU BEDROOM.] - -Descending into the bed of a broad “arroyo,”[46] at this season bone -dry, we reached, at 5 45 P.M., Mud-Spring Station, which takes its -name from a little run of clear water in a black miry hollow. A kind -of cress grows in it abundantly, and the banks are bright with the -“morning-glory” or convolvulus. The station-house was not unlike an -Egyptian fellah’s hut. The material was sod, half peat with vegetable -matter; it is taken up in large flakes after being furrowed with the -plow, and is cut to proper lengths with a short-handled spade. Cedar -timber,[47] brought from the neighboring hills, formed the roof. The -only accommodation was an open shed, with a sort of doorless dormitory -by its side. We dined in the shed, and amused ourselves with feeding -the little brown-speckled swamp-blackbirds that hopped about us tame -and “peert” as wrens, and when night drew near we sought shelter -from the furious southern gale, and heard tales of Mormon suffering -which made us think lightly of our little hardships.[48] Dreading -the dormitory--if it be true that the sultan of fleas inhabits Jaffa -and his vizier Grand Cairo, it is certain that his vermin officials -have settled _pro tem._ on Emigration Road--I cast about for a -quieter retreat. Fortune favored me by pointing out the body of a -dismantled wagon, an article--like the Tyrian keels which suggested -the magalia--often used as a habitation in the Far West, and not -unfrequently honored by being converted into a bridal-chamber after the -short and sharp courtship of the “Perraries.” The host, who was a kind, -intelligent, and civil man, lent me a “buffalo” by way of bedding; the -water-proof completed my outfit, provided with which I bade adieu for -a while to this weary world. The thermometer sank before dawn to 62° -(F.). After five nights more or less in the cramping wagon, it might be -supposed that we should have enjoyed the unusual rest; on the contrary, -we had become inured to the exercise; we could have kept it up for a -month, and we now grumbled only at the loss of time. - - [46] The Arabo-Spanish “arroyo,” a word almost naturalized by the - Anglo-Americans, exactly corresponds with the Italian “fiumara” and - the Indian nullah. - - [47] The word “cedar,” in the United States, is applied to various - genera of the pine family. The red cedar (_J. Virginiana_) is a - juniper. The “white cedar” of the Southern swamps is a cypress. - - [48] The Mormon emigrants usually start from Council Bluffs, on - the left bank of the Missouri River, in N. lat, 41° 18′ 50″, - opposite Kanesville, otherwise called Winter Quarters. According - to the “Overland Guide,” Council Bluffs is the natural crossing of - the Missouri River, on the route destined by Nature for the great - thoroughfare to the Pacific. This was the road selected by “Nature’s - civil engineers,” the buffalo and the elk, for their western travel. - The Indians followed them in the same trail; then the travelers; next - the settlers came. After ninety-four miles’ marching, the Mormons - are ferried across Loup Fork, a stream thirteen rods wide, full of - bars, with banks and a bottom all quicksand. Another 150 miles takes - them to the Platte River, where they find good camping-places, with - plenty of water, buffalo-chips, and grass. Eighty-two miles beyond - that point (a total of 306), they arrive at “Last Timber,” a station - so called because, for the next 300 miles on the north side of the - Platte, the only sign of vegetation is “Lone Tree.” Many emigrants - avoid this dreary “spell” by crossing the Platte opposite Ash Hollow. - Others pass it at Platte-River Ferry, a short distance below the - mouth of Laramie River, while others keep the old road to the north. - - _Past the Court-house and Scott’s Bluffs. August 13th._ - -At 8 A.M., after breaking our fast upon a tough antelope steak, and -dawdling while the herdsman was riding wildly about in search of his -runaway mules--an operation now to become of daily occurrence--we -dashed over the Sandy Creek with an _élan_ calculated to make timid -passengers look “skeery,” and began to finish the rolling divide -between the two forks. We crossed several arroyos and “criks” heading -in the line of clay highlands to our left, a dwarf sierra which -stretches from the northern to the southern branch of the Platte. The -principal are Omaha Creek, more generally known as “Little Punkin,”[49] -and Lawrence Fork.[50] The latter is a pretty bubbling stream, -running over sand and stones washed down from the Court-house Ridge; -it bifurcates above the ford, runs to the northeast through a prairie -four to five miles broad, and swells the waters of old Father Platte: -it derives its name from a Frenchman slaughtered by the Indians, -murder being here, as in Central Africa, ever the principal source of -nomenclature. The heads of both streams afford quantities of currants, -red, black, and yellow, and cherry-sticks which are used for spears and -pipe-stems. - - [49] Punkin (_i.e._, pumpkin) and corn (_i.e._, zea maize) are, and - were from time immemorial, the great staples of native American - agriculture. - - [50] According to Webster, “forks” (in the plural)--the point where - a river divides, or rather where two rivers meet and unite in one - stream. Each branch is called a “fork.” The word might be useful to - English travelers. - -After twelve miles’ drive we fronted the Court-house, the remarkable -portal of a new region, and this new region teeming with wonders -will now extend about 100 miles. It is the _mauvaises terres_, or -Bad lands, a tract about 60 miles wide and 150 long, stretching in a -direction from the northeast to the southwest, or from the Mankizitah -(White-Earth) River, over the Niobrara (_Eau qui court_) and Loup -Fork to the south banks of the Platte: its eastern limit is the mouth -of the Keya Paha. The term is generally applied by the trader to any -section of the prairie country where the roads are difficult, and -by dint of an ill name the Bad lands have come to be spoken of as a -Golgotha, white with the bones of man and beast. American travelers, -on the contrary, declare that near parts of the White River “some as -beautiful valleys are to be found as any where in the Far West,” and -that many places “abound in the most lovely and varied forms in endless -variety, giving the most striking and pleasing effects of light and -shade.” The formation is the pliocene and miocene tertiary, uncommonly -rich in vertebrate remains: the _mauvaises terres_ are composed of -nearly horizontal strata, and “though diversified by the effects of -denuding agencies, and presenting in different portions striking -characteristics, yet they are, as a whole, a great uniform surface, -gradually rising toward the mountains, at the base of which they attain -an elevation varying between 3000 and 5500 feet above the level of the -sea.” - -The Court-house, which had lately suffered from heavy rain, resembled -any thing more than a court-house; that it did so in former days we -may gather from the tales of many travelers, old Canadian voyageurs, -who unanimously accounted it a fit place for Indian spooks, ghosts, -and hobgoblins to meet in powwow, and to “count their coups” delivered -in the flesh. The Court-house lies about eight miles from the river, -and three from the road; in circumference it may be half a mile, and -in height 300 feet; it is, however, gradually degrading, and the rains -and snows of not many years will lay it level with the ground. The -material is a rough conglomerate of hard marl; the mass is apparently -the flank or shoulder of a range forming the southern buttress of the -Platte, and which, being composed of softer stuff, has gradually -melted away, leaving this remnant to rise in solitary grandeur above -the plain. In books it is described as resembling a gigantic ruin, with -a huge rotunda in front, windows in the sides, and remains of roofs -and stages in its flanks: verily potent is the eye of imagination! To -me it appeared in the shape of an irregular pyramid, whose courses -were inclined at an ascendable angle of 35°, with a detached outwork -composed of a perpendicular mass based upon a slope of 45°; in fact, -it resembled the rugged earthworks of Sakkara, only it was far more -rugged. According to the driver, the summit is a plane upon which a -wagon can turn. My military companion remarked that it would make a -fine natural fortress against Indians, and perhaps, in the old days -of romance and Colonel Bonneville, it has served as a refuge for the -harried fur-hunter. I saw it when set off by weather to advantage. A -blazing sun rained fire upon its cream-colored surface--at 11 A.M. -the glass showed 95° in the wagon--and it stood boldly out against -a purple-black nimbus which overspread the southern skies, growling -distant thunders, and flashing red threads of “chained lightning.” - -[THE COMPATRIOT.] - -I had finished a hasty sketch, when suddenly appeared to us a most -interesting sight--a neat ambulance,[51] followed by a fourgon and -mounted soldiers, from which issued an officer in uniform, who -advanced to greet Lieutenant Dana. The traveler was Captain, or rather -Major Marcy, who was proceeding westward on leave of absence. After -introduction, he remembered that his vehicle contained a compatriot -of mine. The compatriot, whose length of facial hair at once told his -race--for - - “The larger the whisker, the greater the Tory”-- - -was a Mr. A----, British vice-consul at * * *’s, Minnesota. Having -lately tried his maiden hand upon buffalo, he naturally concluded that -I could have no other but the same object. Pleasant estimate, forsooth, -of a man’s brain, that it can find nothing in America worthy of its -notice but bison-shooting! However, the supposition had a _couleur -locale_. Every week the New York papers convey to the New World the -interesting information that some distinguished Britisher has crossed -the Atlantic and half crossed the States to enjoy the society of the -“monarch of our prairies.” Americans consequently have learned to look -upon this Albionic eccentricity as “the thing.” That unruly member the -tongue was upon the point of putting in a something about the earnest, -settled purpose of shooting a prairie-dog, when the reflection that it -was hardly fair so far from home to “chaff” a compatriot evidently big -with the paternity of a great exploit, with bit and bridle curbed it -fast. - - [51] The price of the strong light traveling wagon called an - ambulance in the West is about $250; in the East it is much cheaper. - With four mules it will vary from $750 to $900; when resold, - however, it rarely fetches half that sum. A journey between St. - Joseph and Great Salt Lake City can easily be accomplished in an - ambulance within forty days. Officers and sportsmen prefer it, - because they have their time to themselves, and they can carry stores - and necessaries. On the other hand, “strikers”--soldier-helps--or - Canadian _engagés_ are necessary; and the pleasure of traveling is by - no means enhanced by the nightly fear that the stock will “bolt,” not - to be recovered for a week, if then. - -[Illustration: CHIMNEY ROCK.] - -Shortly after “liquoring up” and shaking hands, we found ourselves once -more in the valley of the Platte, where a lively green relieved eyes -which still retained retina-pictures of the barren, Sindh-like divide. -The road, as usual along the river-side, was rough and broken, and -puffs of simoom raised the sand and dust in ponderous clouds. At 12 -30 P.M. we nooned for an hour at a little hovel called a ranch, with -the normal corral; and I took occasion to sketch the far-famed Chimney -Rock. The name is not, as is that of the Court-house, a misnomer: one -might almost expect to see smoke or steam jetting from the summit. Like -most of these queer malformations, it was once the knuckle-end of the -main chain which bounded the Platte Valley; the softer adjacent strata -of marl and earthy limestone were disintegrated by wind and weather, -and the harder material, better resisting the action of air and water, -has gradually assumed its present form. Chimney Rock lies two and a -half miles from the south bank of the Platte. It is composed of a -friable yellowish marl, yielding readily to the knife. The shape is a -thin shaft, perpendicular and quasi conical. Viewed from the southeast -it is not unlike a giant jack-boot based upon a high pyramidal mound, -which, disposed in the natural slope, rests upon the plain. The neck of -sandstone connecting it with the adjacent hills has been distributed -by the floods around the base, leaving an ever-widening gap between. -This “Pharos of the prairie sea” towered in former days 150 to 200 -feet above the apex of its foundation,[52] and was a landmark visible -for 40 to 50 miles: it is now barely 35 feet in height. It has often -been struck by lightning; _imber edax_ has gnawed much away, and the -beginning of the end is already at hand. It is easy to ascend the -pyramid; but, while Pompey’s Pillar, Peter Botte, and Ararat have all -felt the Anglo-Scandinavian foot, no venturous scion of the race has -yet trampled upon the top of Chimney Rock. Around the waist of the base -runs a white band which sets off its height and relieves the uniform -tint. The old sketches of this curious needle now necessarily appear -exaggerated; moreover, those best known represent it as a column rising -from a confused heap of boulders, thus conveying a completely false -idea. Again the weather served us: nothing could be more picturesque -than this lone pillar of pale rock lying against a huge black cloud, -with the forked lightning playing over its devoted head. - - [52] According to M. Preuss, who accompanied Colonel Frémont’s - expedition, “travelers who visited it some years since placed its - height at upward of 500 feet,” though in his day (1842) it had - diminished to 200 feet above the river. - -[ROBIDOUX’ FORT.] - -After a frugal dinner of biscuit and cheese we remounted and pursued -our way through airy fire, which presently changed from our usual -pest--a light dust-laden breeze--into a Punjaubian dust-storm, up the -valley of the Platte. We passed a ranch called “Robidoux’ Fort,” from -the well-known Indian trader of that name;[53] it is now occupied by -a Canadian or a French Creole, who, as usual with his race in these -regions, has taken to himself a wife in the shape of a Sioux squaw, -and has garnished his quiver with a multitude of whitey-reds. The -driver pointed out the grave of a New Yorker who had vainly visited -the prairies in search of a cure for consumption. As we advanced the -storm increased to a tornado of north wind, blinding our cattle till -it drove them off the road. The gale howled through the pass with all -the violence of a khamsin, and it was followed by lightning and a few -heavy drops of rain. The threatening weather caused a large party of -emigrants to “fort themselves” in a corral near the base of Scott’s -Bluffs. - -The corral, a Spanish and Portuguese word, which, corrupted to “kraal,” -has found its way through Southern Africa, signifies primarily a square -or circular pen for cattle, which may be made of tree-trunks, stones, -or any other convenient material. The corral of wagons is thus formed. -The two foremost are brought near and parallel to each other, and are -followed by the rest, disposed aslant, so that the near fore wheel of -the hinder touches the off hind wheel of that preceding it, and _vice -versâ_ on the other side. The “tongues,” or poles, are turned outward, -for convenience of yoking, when an attack is not expected, otherwise -they are made to point inward, and the gaps are closed by ropes and -yoke and spare chains. Thus a large oval is formed with a single -opening fifteen to twenty yards across; some find it more convenient -to leave an exit at both ends. In dangerous places the passages are -secured at night either by cords or by wheeling round the near wagons; -the cattle are driven in before sundown, especially when the area of -the oval is large enough to enable them to graze, and the men sleep -under their vehicles. In safer travel the tents are pitched outside the -corral with their doors outward, and in front of these the camp-fires -are lighted. The favorite spots with teamsters for corraling are the -re-entering angles of deep streams, especially where these have high -and precipitous banks, or the crests of abrupt hills and bluffs--the -position for nighting usually chosen by the Australian traveler--where -one or more sides of the encampment is safe from attack, and the others -can be protected by a cross fire. As a rule Indians avoid attacking -strong places; this, however, must not always be relied upon; in 1844 -the Utah Indians attacked Uintah Fort, a trading-post belonging to -M. A. Robidoux, then at St. Louis, slaughtered the men, and carried -off the women. The corral is especially useful for two purposes: it -enables the wagoners to yoke up with ease, and it secures them from the -prairie traveler’s prime dread--the stampede. The Western savages are -perfectly acquainted with the habits of animals, and in their marauding -expeditions they instinctively adopt the system of the Bedouins, the -Gallas, and the Somal. Providing themselves with rattles and other -implements for making startling noises, they ride stealthily up close -to the cattle, and then rush by like the whirlwind with a volley of -horrid whoops and screams. When the “cavallard” flies in panic fear, -the plunderers divide their party; some drive on the plunder, while the -others form a rear-guard to keep off pursuers. The prairie-men provide -for the danger by keeping their fleetest horses saddled, bridled, -and ready to be mounted at a moment’s notice. When the animals have -stampeded, the owners follow them, scatter the Indians, and drive, -if possible, the madriña, or bell-mare, to the front of the herd, -gradually turning her toward the camp, and slacking speed as the -familiar objects come in sight. Horses and mules appear peculiarly -timorous upon the prairies. A band of buffalo, a wolf, or even a deer, -will sometimes stampede them; they run to great distances, and not -unfrequently their owners fail to recover them. - - [53] From the _St. Joseph_ (Mo.) _Gazette_: “Obituary.--Departed - this life, at his residence in this city, on Wednesday, the 29th - day of August, 1860, after a long illness, Antoine Robidoux, in - the sixty-sixth year of his age. Mr. Robidoux was born in the city - of St. Louis, in the year 1794. He was one of the brothers of Mr. - Joseph Robidoux, founder of the city of St. Joseph. He was possessed - of a sprightly intellect and a spirit of adventure. When not more - than twenty-two years of age he accompanied Gen. Atkinson to the - then very wild and distant region of the Yellow Stone. At the age of - twenty-eight he went to Mexico, and lived there fifteen years. He - then married a very interesting Mexican lady, who returned with him - to the States. For many years he traded extensively with the Navajoes - and Apaches. In 1840 he came to this city with his family, and has - resided here ever since. In 1845 he went out to the mountains on a - trading expedition, and was caught by the most terrible storms, which - caused the death of one or two hundred of his horses, and stopped his - progress. His brother Joseph, the respectable founder of this city, - sent to his relief and had him brought in, or he would have perished. - He was found in a most deplorable condition, and saved. In 1846 he - accompanied Gen. Kearney, as interpreter and guide, to Mexico. In - a battle with the Mexicans he was lanced severely in three places, - but he survived his wounds, and returned to St. Joseph in 1849. Soon - after that he went to California, and remained until 1854. In 1855 - he removed to New Mexico with his family, and in 1856 he went to - Washington, and remained there a year, arranging some business with - the government. He then returned to St. Joseph, and has remained here - ever since. Mr. Robidoux was a very remarkable man. Tall, slender, - athletic, and agile, he possessed the most graceful and pleasing - manners, and an intellect of a superior order. In every company he - was affable, graceful, and highly pleasing. His conversation was - always interesting and instructive, and he possessed many of those - qualities which, if he remained in the States, would have raised him - to positions of distinction. He suffered for several years before - his death with a terrible soreness of the eyes, which defied the - curative skill of the doctors; and for the past ten years he has been - afflicted with dropsy. A week or two ago he was taken with a violent - hemorrhage of the lungs, which completely prostrated him, and from - the effects of which he never recovered. He was attended by the best - medical skill, and his wife and many friends were with him to the - hour of his dissolution, which occurred on Monday morning, at four - o’clock, at his residence in this city. He will be long remembered as - a courteous, cultivated, agreeable gentleman, whose life was one of - great activity and public usefulness, and whose death will be long - lamented.” - -[Illustration: SCOTT’S BLUFFS.] - -[SCOTT’S BLUFFS.] - -“Scott’s Bluffs,” situated 285 miles from Fort Kearney and 51 from Fort -Laramie, was the last of the great marl formations which we saw on this -line, and was of all by far the most curious. In the dull uniformity -of the prairies, it is a striking and attractive object, far excelling -the castled crag of Drachenfels or any of the beauties of romantic -Rhine. From a distance of a day’s march it appears in the shape of -a large blue mound, distinguished only by its dimensions from the -detached fragments of hill around. As you approach within four or five -miles, a massive medieval city gradually defines itself, clustering, -with a wonderful fullness of detail, round a colossal fortress, and -crowned with a royal castle. Buttress and barbican, bastion, demilune, -and guard-house, tower, turret, and donjon-keep, all are there: in -one place parapets and battlements still stand upon the crumbling -wall of a fortalice like the giant ruins of Château Gaillard, the -“Beautiful Castle on the Rock;” and, that nothing may be wanting to the -resemblance, the dashing rains and angry winds have cut the old line of -road at its base into a regular moat with a semicircular sweep, which -the mirage fills with a mimic river. Quaint figures develop themselves; -guards and sentinels in dark armor keep watch and ward upon the slopes, -the lion of Bastia crouches unmistakably overlooking the road; and as -the shades of an artificial evening, caused by the dust-storm, close -in, so weird is its aspect that one might almost expect to see some -spectral horseman, with lance and pennant, go his rounds about the -deserted streets, ruined buildings, and broken walls. At a nearer -aspect again, the quaint illusion vanishes; the lines of masonry become -yellow layers of boulder and pebble imbedded in a mass of stiff, -tamped, bald marly clay; the curtains and angles change to the gashings -of the rains of ages, and the warriors are metamorphosed into dwarf -cedars and dense shrubs, scattered singly over the surface. Travelers -have compared this glory of the _mauvaises terres_ to Gibraltar, to the -Capitol at Washington, to Stirling Castle. I could think of nothing in -its presence but the Arabs’ “City of Brass,” that mysterious abode of -bewitched infidels, which often appears at a distance to the wayfarer -toiling under the burning sun, but ever eludes his nearer search. - -Scott’s Bluffs derive their name from an unfortunate fur-trader there -put on shore in the olden time by his boat’s crew, who had a grudge -against him: the wretch, in mortal sickness, crawled up the mound to -die. The politer guide-books call them “Capitol Hills:” methinks the -first name, with its dark associations, must be better pleasing to -the _genius loci_. They are divided into three distinct masses. The -largest, which may be 800 feet high, is on the right, or nearest the -river. To its left lies an outwork, a huge, detached cylinder whose -capping changes aspect from every direction; and still farther to the -left is a second castle, now divided from, but once connected with the -others. The whole affair is a spur springing from the main range, and -closing upon the Platte so as to leave no room for a road. - -[METEOROLOGICAL PHENONMENON.] - -After gratifying our curiosity we resumed our way. The route lay -between the right-hand fortress and the outwork, through a degraded -bed of softer marl, once doubtless part of the range. The sharp, -sudden torrents which pour from the heights on both sides, and the -draughty winds--Scott’s Bluffs are the permanent head-quarters of -hurricanes--have cut up the ground into a labyrinth of jagged gulches -steeply walled in. We dashed down the drains and pitch-holes with -a violence which shook the nave-bands from our sturdy wheels.[54] -Ascending, the driver showed a place where the skeleton of an -“elephant” had been lately discovered. On the summit he pointed out, -far over many a treeless hill and barren plain, the famous Black Hills -and Laramie Peak, which has been compared to Ben Lomond, towering at -a distance of eighty miles. The descent was abrupt, with sudden turns -round the head of earth-cracks deepened to ravines by snow and rain; -and one place showed the remains of a wagon and team which had lately -come to grief. After galloping down a long slope of twelve miles, with -ridgelets of sand and gravel somewhat raised above the bottom, which -they cross on their way to the river, we found ourselves, at 5 30 P.M., -once more in the valley of the Platte. I had intended to sketch the -Bluffs more carefully from the station, but the western view proved -to be disappointingly inferior to the eastern. After the usual hour’s -delay we resumed our drive through alternate puffs of hot and cold -wind, the contrast of which was not easy to explain. The sensation was -as if Indians had been firing the prairies--an impossibility at this -season, when whatever herbage there is is still green. It may here be -mentioned that, although the meteorology of the earlier savans, namely, -that the peculiar condition of the atmosphere known as the Indian -summer[55] might be produced by the burning of the plain-vegetation, -was not thought worthy of comment, their hypothesis is no longer -considered trivial. The smoky canopy must produce a sensible effect -upon the temperature of the season. “During a still night, when a -cloud of this kind is overhead, no dew is produced; the heat which is -radiated from the earth is reflected or absorbed, and radiated back -again by the particles of soot, and the coating of the earth necessary -to prevent the deposition of water in the form of dew or hoar-frost is -prevented.” According to Professor Henry, of Washington, “it is highly -probable that a portion of the smoke or fog-cloud produced by the -burning of one of the Western prairies is carried entirely across the -eastern portion of the continent to the ocean.” - - [54] The dry heat of the prairies in summer causes the wood to warp - by the percolation of water, which the driver restores by placing the - wheels for a night to stand in some stream. Paint or varnish is of - little use. Moisture may be drawn out even through a nail-hole, and - exhaust the whole interior of the wood-work. - - [55] These remarks are borrowed from a paper by Professor Joseph - Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, entitled - “Meteorology in its Connection with Agriculture.” - -The Indian summer is synonymous with our St. Martin’s or Allhallows -summer, so called from the festival held on the 11th of November. -“The Indians avail themselves of this delightful time for harvesting -their corn; and the tradition is that they were accustomed to say they -always had a second summer of nine days before the winter set in. It -is a bland and genial time, in which the birds, insects, and plants -feel a new creation, and enjoy a short-lived summer ere they shrink -finally from the rigor of the winter’s blast. The sky, in the mean -time, is generally filled with a haze of orange and gold, intercepting -the direct rays of the sun, yet possessing enough of light and heat to -prevent sensations of gloom or chill, while the nights grow sharp and -frosty, and the necessary fires give cheerful forecast of the social -winter evenings near at hand.”--The _National Intelligencer_, Nov. -26th, 1857, quoted by Mr. Bartlett. - -Presently we dashed over the Little Kiowa Creek, forded the Horse -Creek, and, enveloped in a cloud of villainous musquetoes, entered -at 8 30 P.M. the station in which we were to pass the night. It was -tenanted by one Reynal, a French Creole--the son of an old soldier of -the Grand Armée, who had settled at St. Louis--a companionable man, -but an extortionate: he charged us a florin for every “drink” of his -well-watered whisky. The house boasted of the usual squaw, a wrinkled -old dame, who at once began to prepare supper, when we discreetly -left the room. These hard-working but sorely ill-favored beings are -accused of various horrors in cookery, such as grinding their pinole, -or parched corn, in the impurest manner, kneading dough upon the -floor, using their knives for any purpose whatever, and employing -the same pot, unwashed, for boiling tea and tripe. In fact, they are -about as clean as those Eastern pariah servants who make the knowing -Anglo-Indian hold it an abomination to sit at meat with a new arrival -or with an officer of a “home regiment.” The daughter was an unusually -fascinating half-breed, with a pale face and Franco-American features. -How comes it that here, as in Hindostan, the French half-caste is -pretty, graceful, amiable, coquettish, while the Anglo-Saxon is -plain, coarse, gauche, and ill-tempered? The beauty was married to -a long, lean down-Easter, who appeared most jealously attentive to -her, occasionally hinting at a return to the curtained bed, where she -could escape the admiring glances of strangers. Like her mother, she -was able to speak English, but she could not be persuaded to open her -mouth. This is a truly Indian prejudice, probably arising from the -savage, childish sensitiveness which dreads to excite a laugh; even a -squaw married to a white man, after uttering a few words in a moment of -_épanchement_, will hide her face under the blanket. - -The half-breed has a bad name in the land. Like the negro, the Indian -belongs to a species, sub-species, or variety--whichever the reader -pleases--that has diverged widely enough from the Indo-European -type to cause degeneracy, physical as well as moral, and often, -too, sterility in the offspring. These half-breeds are, therefore, -like the mulatto, quasi-mules. The men combine the features of both -races; the skin soon becomes coarse and wrinkled, and the eye is -black, snaky, and glittering like the Indian’s. The mongrels are -short-lived, peculiarly subject to infectious diseases, untrustworthy, -and disposed to every villainy. The half-breed women, in early youth, -are sometimes attractive enough, uniting the figure of the mother -to the more delicate American face; a few years, however, deprive -them of all litheness, grace, and agility. They are often married by -whites, who hold them to be more modest and humble, less capricious -and less exacting, than those of the higher type: they make good wives -and affectionate mothers, and, like the Quadroons, they are more -“ambitious”--that is to say, of warmer temperaments--than either of the -races from which they are derived. The so-called red is a higher ethnic -type than the black man; so, in the United States, where all admixture -of African blood is deemed impure, the aboriginal American entails no -disgrace--some of the noblest of the land are descended from “Indian -princesses.” The half-breed girls resemble their mothers in point of -industry, and they barter their embroidered robes and moccasins, and -mats and baskets, made of bark and bulrush, in exchange for blankets, -calicoes, glass beads--an indispensable article of dress--mirrors, -needles, rings, vermilion, and other luxuries. The children, with their -large black eyes, wide mouths, and glittering teeth, flattened heads, -and remarkable agility of motion, suggest the idea of little serpents. - -The day had been fatiguing, and our eyes ached with the wind and dust. -We lost no time in spreading on the floor the buffalo robes borrowed -from the house, and in defying the smaller tenants of the ranch. Our -host, M. Reynal, was a study, but we deferred the lesson till the next -morning. - - _To Fort Laramie. 14th August._ - -[M. REYNAL.] - -M. Reynal had been an Indian trader in his youth. Of this race there -were in his day two varieties: the regular trader and the _coureur -des bois_, or unlicensed peddler, who was subject to certain pains -and penalties. The former had some regard for his future; he had a -permanent interest in the Indians, and looked to the horses, arms, and -accoutrements of his _protégés_, so that hunting might not flag. The -_bois brûlé_ peddler, having--like an English advertising firm--no hope -of dealing twice with the same person, got all he could for what he -could. These men soon sapped the foundation of the Indian’s discipline. -One of them, for instance, would take protection with the chief, pay -presents, and by increasing the wealth, enhance the importance of -his protector. Another would place himself under the charge of some -ambitious aspirant to power, who was thus raised to a position of -direct rivalry. A split would ensue; the weaker would secede with his -family and friends, and declare independence; a murder or two would -be the result, and a blood-feud would be bequeathed from generation -to generation. The licensed traders have ever strenuously opposed the -introduction of alcohol, a keg of which will purchase from the Indian -every thing that is his, his arms, lodge, horses, children, and wives. -In olden times, however, the Maine Liquor Law was not, as now, in force -through the territories. The _coureur des bois_, therefore, entered -the country through various avenues, from the United States and from -Mexico, without other stock in trade but some kegs of whisky, which he -retailed at the modest price of $36 per gallon. He usually mixed one -part of fire with five of pure water, and then sold a pint-canful for -a buffalo robe. “Indian liquor” became a proverbial term. According -to some travelers, a barrel of “pure Cincinnati,” even after running -the gauntlet of railroad and lake travel, has afforded a hundred -barrels of “good Indian liquor.” A small bucketful is poured into -a wash-tub of water; a large quantity of “dog-leg” tobacco and red -pepper is then added, next a bitter root common in the country is cut -up into it, and finally it is colored with burnt sugar--a nice recipe -for a morning’s headache! The only drawback to this traffic is its -danger. The Indian, when intoxicated, is ready for any outrageous act -of violence or cruelty; vinosity brings out the destructiveness and -the utter barbarity of his character; it makes him thirst tiger-like -for blood. The _coureur des bois_, therefore, who in those days was -highly respected, was placed in the Trader’s Lodge, a kind of public -house, like the Iwanza of Central Africa, and the village chief took -care to station at the door a guard of sober youths, sometimes habited -like Europeans, ready to check the unauthorized attempts of ambitious -clansmen upon the whisky-vendor’s scalp. The Western men, who will -frequently be alluded to in these pages, may be divided, like the -traders, into two classes. The first is the true mountaineer, whom the -platitude and tame monotony of civilized republican life has in early -youth driven, often from an honored and wealthy family, to the wilds -and wolds, to become the forlorn hope in the march of civilization. The -second is the offscouring and refuse of the Eastern cities, compelled -by want, fatuity, or crime to exile himself from all he most loves. The -former, after passing through the preliminary stage greenhorn, is a man -in every sense of the term: to more than Indian bravery and fortitude, -he unites the softness of woman, and a child-like simplicity, which is -the very essence of a chivalrous character; you can read his nature in -his clear blue eyes, his sun-tanned countenance, his merry smile, and -his frank, fearless manner. The latter is a knave or a fool; it would -make “bad blood,” as the Frenchman says, to describe him. - -M. Reynal’s history had to be received with many grains of salt. The -Western man has been worked by climate and its consequences, by the -huge magnificence of nature and the violent contrasts of scenery, into -a remarkable resemblance to the wild Indian. He hates labor--which poet -and divine combine to deify in the settled states--as the dire effect -of a primeval curse; “loaf” he must and will; to him one hour out of -the twenty-four spent in honest industry is _satis superque_. His -imagination is inflamed by scenery and climate, difficulty and danger; -he is as superstitious as an old man-o’-war’s-man of the olden school; -and he is a transcendental liar, like his prototype the aborigine, who -in this point yields nothing to the African negro. I have heard of a -man riding eighty miles--forty into camp and forty out--in order to -enjoy the sweet delights of a lie. His yarns and stories about the land -he lives in have become a proverbial ridicule; he will tell you that -the sun rises north of what it did _se puero_; he has seen mountains -of diamonds and gold nuggets scattered like rocks over the surface of -our general mother. I have been gravely told of a herd of bison which -arrested the course of the Platte River, causing its waters, like those -of the Red Sea, to stand up, wall fashion, while the animals were -crossing. Of this Western order is the well-known account of a ride on -a buffalo’s horns, delivered for the benefit of a gaping world by a -popular author of the yellow-binding category. In this age, however, -the Western man has become sensitive to the operation of “smoking.” -A popular Joe Miller anent him is this: A traveler, informed of what -he might educe by “querying,” asked an old mountaineer, who shall be -nameless, what difference he observed in the country since he had first -settled in it. - -“Wal, stranger, not much!” was the reply; “only when I fust come here, -that ’ere mountain,” pointing to the tall Uinta range, “was a hole!” - -Disembarrassing M. Reynal’s recital of its mask of improbabilities and -impossibilities, remained obvious the naked fact that he had led the -life of a confirmed _coureur des bois_. The French Canadian and Creole -both, like the true Français de France, is loth to stir beyond the -devil-dispelling sound of his chapel-bell; once torn from his _chez -lui_, he apparently cares little to return, and, like the Englishman, -to die at home in his own land. The adventurous Canadians--in whom -extremes meet--have wandered through the length and breadth of the -continent; they have left their mark even upon the rocks in Utah -Territory. M. Reynal had quitted St. Louis at an early age as trader, -trapper, every thing in short, provided with a little outfit of powder, -ball, and whisky. At first he was unfortunate. In a war between the -Sioux and the Pawnees, he was taken prisoner by the latter, and with -much ado preserved, by the good aid of his squaw, that useful article -his scalp. Then fickle fortune turned in his favor. He married several -wives, identified himself with the braves, and became a little brother -of the tribe, while his whisky brought him in an abundance of furs -and peltries. After many years, waxing weary of a wandering life, he -settled down into the somewhat prosaic position in which we had the -pleasure of finding him. He was garrulous as a veteran soldier upon the -subject of his old friends the trappers, that gallant advance guard -who, sixty years ago, unconsciously fought the fight of civilization -for the pure love of fighting; who battled with the Indian in his own -way, surpassing him in tracking, surprising, ambuscading, and shooting, -and never failing to raise the enemy’s hair. They are well-nigh -extinct, those old pioneers, wild, reckless, and brave as the British -tar of a century past; they live but in story; their place knows them -no longer; it is now filled by the “prospector.” Civilization and the -silk hat have exterminated them. How many deeds of stern fight and -heroic endurance have been ignored by this world, which knows nothing -of its greatest men, _carent quia vale sacro_! We talk of Thermopylæ -and ignore Texas; we have all thrilled at the account of the Mameluke -Bey’s leap; but how many of us have heard of Major Macculloch’s spring -from the cliff? - -Our breakfast was prepared in the usual prairie style. First the -coffee--three parts burnt beans, which had been duly ground to a -fine powder and exposed to the air, lest the aroma should prove too -strong for us--was placed on the stove to simmer till every noxious -principle was duly extracted from it. Then the rusty bacon, cut into -thick slices, was thrown into the fry-pan: here the gridiron is -unknown, and if known would be little appreciated, because it wastes -the “drippings,” which form with the staff of life a luxurious sop. -Thirdly, antelope steak, cut off a corpse suspended for the benefit -of flies outside, was placed to stew within influence of the bacon’s -aroma. Lastly came the bread, which of course should have been “cooked” -first. The meal is kneaded with water and a pinch of salt; the raising -is done by means of a little sour milk, or more generally by the -deleterious yeast-powders of the trade. The carbonic acid gas evolved -by the addition of water must be corrected, and the dough must be -expanded by saleratus or prepared carbonate of soda or alkali, and -other vile stuff, which communicates to the food the green-yellow -tinge, and suggests many of the properties of poison. A hundred-fold -better, the unpretending chapati, flapjack, scone, or, as the Mexicans -prettily called it, “tortilla!” The dough, after being sufficiently -manipulated upon a long, narrow, smooth board, is divided into -“biscuits” and “dough-nuts,”[56] and finally it is placed to be half -cooked under the immediate influence of the rusty bacon and graveolent -antelope. “Uncle Sam’s stove,” be it said with every reverence for -the honored name it bears, is a triumph of convenience, cheapness, -unwholesomeness, and nastiness--excuse the word, nice reader. This -travelers’ bane has exterminated the spit and gridiron, and makes -every thing taste like its neighbor: by virtue of it, mutton borrows -the flavor of salmon trout, tomatoes resolve themselves into greens. I -shall lose my temper if the subject is not dropped. - - [56] The Western “biscuit” is English roll; “cracker” is English - biscuit. The “dough-nut” is, properly speaking, a “small roundish - cake, made of flour, eggs, and sugar, moistened with milk and - boiled in lard” (Webster). On the prairies, where so many different - materials are unprocurable, it is simply a diminutive loaf, like the - hot roll of the English passenger steamer. - -[LARAMIE PEAK.] - -We set out at 6 A.M. over a sandy bottom, from which the musquetoes -rose in swarms. After a twelve-mile stretch the driver pointed out -on the right of the road, which here runs between high earth-banks, -a spot still infamous in local story. At this place, in 1854, five -Indians, concealing themselves in the bed of a dwarf arroyo, fired -upon the mail-wagon, killing two drivers and one passenger, and then -plundered it of 20,000 dollars. “Long-chin,” the leader, and the other -murderers, when given up by the tribe, were carried to Washington, -D. C., where--with the ultra-philanthropy which has of modern days -distinguished the “Great Father’s” government of his “Poor Children -of the Plains”--the villains were liberally rewarded and restored to -their homes.[57] To cut off a bend of the Platte we once more left -the valley, ascended sundry slopes of sand and clay deeply cut by dry -creeks, and from the summit enjoyed a pretty view. A little to the left -rose the aerial blue cone of that noble landmark, Laramie Peak, based -like a mass of solidified air upon a dark wall, the Black Hills, and -lit up with the roseate hues of the morning. The distance was about -sixty miles; you would have guessed twenty. On the right lay a broad -valley, bounded by brown rocks and a plain-colored distance, with the -stream winding through it like a thread of quicksilver; in places it -was hidden from sight by thickets of red willow, cypress clumps, and -dense cool cotton-woods. All was not still life; close below us rose -the white lodges of the Ogalala tribe. - - [57] A United States official, fresh from Columbia, informed me that - the Indians there think twice before they murder a King George’s - man (Briton), while they hardly hesitate to kill a Boston man or - American citizen. He attributed this peculiarity principally to the - over lenity of his own government, and its want of persistency in - ferreting out and punishing the criminal. Under these circumstances, - it is hardly to be wondered at if the trader and traveler in Indian - countries take the law in their own hands. This excessive clemency - has acted evilly in “either Ind.” We may hope that its day is now - gone by. - -[INDIAN VILLAGES.] - -These Indian villages are very picturesque from afar when dimly seen -dotting the verdure of the valleys, and when their tall white cones, -half hidden by willow clumps, lie against a blue background. The river -side is the savages’ favorite site; next to it the hill foot, where -little groups of three or four tents are often seen from the road, -clustering mysteriously near a spring. Almost every prairie-band has -its own way of constructing lodges, encamping and building fires, and -the experienced mountaineer easily distinguishes them. - -The Osages make their lodges in the shape of a wagon-tilt, somewhat -like our gipsies’ tents, with a frame-work of bent willow rods planted -in the ground, and supporting their blankets, skins, or tree-basts. - -The Kickapoos build dwarf hay-stack huts, like some tribes of Africans, -setting poles in the earth, binding them over and lashing them together -at the top; they are generally covered with clothes or bark. - -The Witchetaws, Wakoes, Towakamis, and Tonkowas are described by the -“Prairie Traveler” as erecting their hunting lodges of sticks put up in -the form of the frustrum of a cone, and bushed over like “boweries.” - -All these tribes leave the frame-work of their lodges standing when -they shift ground, and thus the particular band is readily recognized. - -The Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, and Menomenes build lodges in the form -of an ellipse, some of them 30-40 feet long, by 14-15 wide, and large -enough to shelter twenty people permanently, and sixty temporarily.[58] -The covering is of plaited rush-mats bound to the poles, and a small -aperture in the lodge acts as chimney. - - [58] The wigwams, huts, or cabins of the Eastern American tribes - were like these, large, solid, and well roofed with skins. The word - “lodge” is usually applied to the smaller and less comfortable - habitations of the Prairie Indians. - -The Delawares and Shawnees, Cherokees and Choctaws, prefer the Indian -pal, a canvas covering thrown like a _tente d’abri_ over a stick -supported by two forked poles. - -The Sioux, Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Utahs, Snakes, Blackfeet, and Kiowas -use the Comanche lodge covered with bison skins, which by dressing -become flexible as canvas. They are usually of a shining white, save -where smoke-stained near the top; the lodges of great chiefs are -sometimes decorated with horizontal stripes of alternate black and -white, and ornamented with figures human and bestial, crosses, circles, -and arabesques. The lodge is made of eight to twenty-four straight -peeled poles or saplings of ash, pine, cedar, or other wood, hard and -elastic if possible, about 20 feet long; the largest marquees are 30 -feet in diameter by 35 feet high, and are comprised of 26-30 buffalo -skins; and they are sometimes planted round a “basement” or circular -excavation two or three feet deep. When pitching, three poles lashed -to one another with a long line, somewhat below the thinner points, -are raised perpendicularly, and the thicker ends are spread out in -a tripod to the perimeter of the circle which is to form the lodge -floor; the rest of the poles are then propped against the three first, -and disposed regularly and equidistantly to make a steady and secure -conical frame-work. The long line attached to the tripod is then -wound several times round the point where the poles touch, and the -lower end is made fast to the base of the lodge, thus securing the -props in position. The covering of dressed, hairless, and water-proof -cow-buffalo hide--traders prefer osnaburg--cut and sewn to fit the -frame like an envelope, and sometimes pinned together with skewers, -is either raised at first with the tripod, or afterward hoisted with -a perch and spread round the complete structure. It is pinned to the -ground with wooden pegs, and a narrow space forms a doorway, which -may be closed with a blanket suspended from above and spread out -with two small sticks. The apex is left open with a triangular wing -or flap, like a lateen sail, and is prevented from closing by a pole -inserted into a pocket at the end. The aperture points to windward -when ventilation is required, and, drawing like a wind-sail, it keeps -the interior cool and comfortable; when smoke is to be carried off, -it is turned to leeward, thus giving draught to the fire, and making -the abode warm in the severest weather; while in lodges of other -forms, you must lie down on the ground to prevent being asphyxiated. -By raising the lower part so as freely to admit the breeze, it is -kept perfectly free from musquetoes, which are unable to resist the -strong draught. The squaws are always the tent-pitchers, and they equal -Orientals in dexterity and judgment. Before the lodge of each warrior -stands his light spear, planted Bedouin-fashion in the ground, near -or upon a tripod of thin, cleanly-scraped, wands, seven to eight feet -long, which support his spotless white buffalo-skin targe, sometimes -decorated with his “totem”--we translate the word “crest”--and guarded -by the usual prophylactic, a buckskin sack containing medicine. -Readers of “Ivanhoe”--they are now more numerous in the New than in -the Old Country--ever feel “a passing impulse to touch one of these -spotless shields with the muzzle of the gun, expecting a grim warrior -to start from the lodge and resent the challenge.” The fire, as in the -old Hebridean huts, is built in the centre of the hard dirt floor; a -strong stick planted at the requisite angle supports the kettle, and -around the walls are berths divided by matted screens; the extremest -uncleanliness, however, is a feature never absent. In a quiet country -these villages have a simple and patriarchal appearance. The tents, -which number from fifteen to fifty, are disposed round a circular -central space, where animals can be tethered. Some have attached to -them corrals of wattled canes, and a few boast of fields where corn and -pumpkins are raised. - -[THE “SIBLEY TENT.”] - -The Comanche lodge is the favorite tenement of the Canadian and -Creole voyageurs, on account of its coolness or warmth when wanted, -its security against violent winds, and its freedom from musquetoes. -While traveling in an Indian country they will use no other. It has -been simplified by Major H. H. Sibley, of the United States Army, who -has changed the pole frame-work for a single central upright, resting -upon an iron tripod, with hooks for suspending cooking utensils over -the fire; when folded up, the tripod admits the upright between its -legs, thereby reducing the length to one half--a portable size. The -“Sibley tent” was the only shelter of the United States Army at Fort -Scott, in Utah Territory, during the hard winter of 1857-8, and gave -universal satisfaction. The officers still keep to the old wall-tent. -This will, however, eventually be superseded by the new form, which can -accommodate comfortably twelve, but not seventeen, the usual number -allotted to it. Captain Marcy is of opinion that of the tents used in -the different armies of Europe, “none in point of convenience, comfort, -and economy will compare with the ‘Sibley tent’ for campaigning in cold -weather.” In summer, however, it has, like all conical tents, many -disadvantages: there is always a loss of room; and for comfortably -disposing kit--chair, table, and camp couch--there is nothing equal to -the wall-tent. The price of a “Sibley,” when made of good material, -is from $40 to $50 (£8-£10), and it can be procured from Baltimore, -Philadelphia, and New York. - -At 10 20 A.M. we halted to change mules at Badeau’s Ranch, or, as it is -more grandiloquently called, “Laramie City.” The “city,” like many a -Western “town,” still appertains to the category of things about to be; -it is at present represented by a single large “store,” with out-houses -full of small half-breeds. The principal articles of traffic are -liquors and groceries for the whites, and ornaments for the Indians, -which are bartered for stock (i. e., animals) and peltries. The prices -asked for the skips were from $1-$1 30 for a fox or a coyote, $3 for -wolf, bear, or deer, $6-$7 for an elk, $5 for a common buffalo, and -from $8 to $35 for the same painted, pictographed, and embroidered. -Some of the party purchased moccasins, for which they paid $1-$2; the -best articles are made by the Snakes, and when embroidered by white -women rise as high as $25. I bought, for an old friend who is insane -upon the subject of pipes, one of the fine marble-like sandstone bowls -brought from the celebrated Côteau (slope) des Prairies, at the head of -Sioux River-- - - “On the mountains of the Prairie, - On the Great Red Pipe-stone Quarry.” - -This instrument is originally the gift of Gitchie Manitou, who, -standing on the precipice of the Red Pipe-stone Rock, broke off a -fragment and moulded it into a pipe, which, finished with a reed, he -smoked over his children to the north, south, east, and west. It is -of queer shape, not unlike the clay and steatite articles used by the -Abyssinians and the Turi or Sinaitic Bedouins. The length of the stick -is 23 inches, of the stem 9·50, and of the bowl 5 inches; the latter -stands at a right angle upon the former; both are circular; but the -2·75 inches of stem, which project beyond the bowl, are beveled off so -as to form an edge at the end. The peculiarity of the form is in the -part where the tobacco is inserted; the hole is not more than half an -inch broad, and descends straight without a bulge, while the aperture -in the stem is exactly similar. The red color soon mottles and the bowl -clogs if smoked with tobacco; in fact, it is fit for nothing but the -“kinnikinik” of the Indians. To prepare this hard material with the -rude tools of a savage must be a work of time and difficulty; also the -bowls are expensive and highly valued: for mine I paid $5, and farther -West I could have exchanged it for an Indian pony. - -[THE BRULÉS AND GENERAL HARNEY.] - -Having finished our _emplettes_ at M. Badeau’s, we set out at 11 -30 P.M. over a barren and reeking bit of sandy soil. Close to the -station, and a little to the right of the road, we passed the barrow -which contains the remains of Lieutenant Grattan and his thirty men. -A young second lieutenant of Irish origin and fiery temper, he was -marching westward with an interpreter, a small body of men, and two -howitzers, when a dispute arose, it is said, about a cow, between his -party and the Brûlés or Burnt-Thigh Indians. The latter were encamped -in a village of 450 to 500 lodges, which, reckoning five to each, -gives a total of 2200 to 2500 souls. A fight took place; the whites -imprudently discharged both their cannon, overshooting the tents of the -enemy; their muskets, however, did more execution, killing Matriya, -“the Scattering Bear,” who had been made chief of all the Sioux by -Colonel Mitchell of the Indian Bureau. The savages, seeing the fall of -Ursa Major, set to in real earnest; about 1200 charged the soldiers -before they could reload; the little detachment broke, and not a man -survived to tell the tale. The whites in the neighborhood narrowly -preserved their scalps--M. Badeau owned that he owed his to his Sioux -squaw--and among other acts of violence was the murder and highway -robbery which has already been recounted. Both these events occurred in -1854. As has been said, in 1855, General W. S. Harney, who, whatever -may be his faults as a diplomatist, is the most dreaded “Minahaska”[59] -in the Indian country, punished the Brûlés severely at Ash Hollow. They -were led by their chosen chief Little Thunder, who, not liking the -prospect, wanted to palaver; the general replied by a charge, which, -as usual, scattered the “chivalry of the prairies” to the four winds. -“Little Thunder” was solemnly deposed, and Mato Chigukesa, “Bear’s -Rib,” was ordered to reign in his stead; moreover, in 1856, a treaty -was concluded, giving to whites, among other things, the privilege -of making roads along the Platte and White-Earth Rivers (Mankisita -Wakpa--Smoking-earth Water) to Forts Pierre and Laramie, and to pass up -and down the Missouri in boats. Since that time, with the exception of -plundering an English sportsman, Sir G---- G----, opposing Lieutenant -Warren’s expedition to the Black Hills, and slaughtering a few traders -and obscure travelers, the Brûlés have behaved tolerably to their -pale-face rivals. - - [59] “Longknife.” The whites have enjoyed this title since 1758, when - Captain Gibson cut off with his sabre the head of Little Eagle, the - great Mingo or Chief, and won the title of Big-Knife Warrior. Savages - in America as well as Africa who ignore the sword always look upon - that weapon with horror. The Sioux call the Americans Wasichi, or bad - men. - -As we advanced the land became more barren; it sadly wanted rain: it -suffers from drought almost every year, and what vegetable matter the -soil will produce the grasshopper will devour. Dead cattle cumbered -the way-side; the flesh had disappeared; the bones were scattered over -the ground; but the skins, mummified, as it were, by the dry heat, lay -life-like and shapeless, as in the Libyan Desert, upon the ground. This -phenomenon will last till we enter the humid regions between the Sierra -Nevada and the Pacific Ocean, and men tell wonderful tales of the time -during which meat can be kept. The road was a succession of steep -ascents and jumps down sandy ground. A Sioux “buck,” mounted upon a -neat nag, and wrapped up, despite sun and glare, as if it had been the -depth of winter, passed us, sedulously averting his eyes. The driver -declared that he recognized the horse, and grumbled certain Western -facetiæ concerning “hearty-chokes and caper sauce.” - -In these lands the horse-thief is the great enemy of mankind; for him -there is no pity, no mercy; Lynch-law is held almost too good for him; -to shoot him _in flagrante delicto_ is like slaying a man-eating Bengal -royal tiger--it entitles you to the respect and gratitude of your -species. I asked our conductor whether dandiness was at the bottom of -the “buck’s” heavy dress. “’Guess,” was the reply, “what keeps cold -out, keeps heat out tew!” - -At 12 15 P.M., crossing Laramie’s Fork, a fine clear stream about forty -yards broad, we reached Fort Laramie--another “fort” by courtesy, or -rather by order--where we hoped to recruit our exhausted stores. - -The straggling cantonment requires no description: it has the usual -big flag, barracks, store-houses, officers’ quarters, guard-houses, -sutlers’ stores, and groceries, which doubtless make a good thing by -selling deleterious “strychnine” to passing trains who can afford to -pay $6 per gallon. - -Fort Laramie, called Fort John in the days of the American Fur Company, -was used by them as a store-house for the bear and buffalo skins, -which they collected in thousands. The old adobe _enceinte_, sketched -and described by Frémont and Stansbury, soon disappeared after the -place was sold to the United States government. Its former rival was -Fort Platte, belonging in 1842--when the pale face first opened this -road--to Messrs. Sybille, Adams, and Co., and situated immediately on -the point of land at the junction of Laramie Fort with the Platte. The -climate here is arid and parching in summer, but in winter tolerably -mild, considering the altitude--4470 feet--and the proximity of the -Black Hills; yet it has seen hard frost in September. It is also well -defended from the warm, moist, and light winds, which, coming from the -Mexican Gulf, cause “calentures” on the lower course of the river. The -soil around the settlement is gravelly and sterile, the rocks are sand, -lime, and clay, and there is a solitary, desolate look upon every thing -but the bright little stream that bubbles from the dark heights. The -course is from S.W. to N.E.: about half way it bifurcates, with a right -fork to the west and main fork east, and near Laramie it receives its -main affluent, the Chugwater. - -My companion kindly introduced me to the officer commanding the fort, -Colonel B. Alexander, 10th Infantry, and we were at once made at home. -The amiable mistress of the house must find charitable work enough to -do in providing for the wants of way-worn friends who pass through -Laramie from east to west. We rested and dined in the cool comfortable -quarters, with only one qualm at heart--we were so soon to leave them. -On these occasions the driver seems to know by instinct that you are -enjoying yourself, while he, as an outsider, is not. He becomes, -therefore, unusually impatient to start; perhaps, also, time runs more -rapidly than it is wont. At any rate, after a short two hours, we were -compelled to shake hands with our kind and considerate hosts, and to -return to limbo--the mail-wagon. - -From Fort Laramie westward the geological formation changes; the great -limestone deposits disappear, and are succeeded by a great variety of -sandstones, some red, argillaceous, and compact; others gray or yellow, -ferruginous, and coarse. Pudding-stones or conglomerates also abound, -and the main chain of the Laramie Mountains is supposed to be chiefly -composed of this rock. - -Beyond the fort there are two roads. The longer leads to the right, -near the Platte River. It was formerly, and perhaps is still, a -favorite with emigrants. We preferred the left, which, crossing the -edges of the Black Hills, is rough and uneven, but is “some shorter,” -as the guide-book says, than the other. The weather began to be -unusually disagreeable with heat and rain-drops from a heavy nimbus, -that forced us to curtain up the rattling vehicle; perhaps, too, we -were a little cross, contrasting the present with the past--civilized -society, a shady bungalow, and wonderfully good butter. At 4 P.M., -following the Platte Valley, after two hours’ drive we halted to change -mules at Ward’s Station, _alias_ the “Central Star,” where several -whites were killed by the Sioux in 1855, among them M. Montalan, a -Parisian. - -[HORSESHOE STATION.] - -Again we started for another twenty-five miles at 4 P.M. The road was -rough, and the driver had a curious proclivity for losing the way. I -have often found this to be the case after passing through a station. -There was little to remark, except that the country was poor and bad, -that there was clear water in a ravine to the right, and that we were -very tired and surly. But as sorrow comes to an end as well as joy, so, -at 9 30 P.M., we drove in, somewhat consoled, to Horseshoe Station--the -old _Fer à Cheval_--where one of the road agents, Mr. Slade, lived, and -where we anticipated superior comfort. - -We were _entichés_ by the aspect of the buildings, which were on an -extensive scale--in fact, got up regardless of expense. An ominous -silence, however, reigned around. At last, by hard knocking, we were -admitted into a house with the Floridian style of veranda previously -described, and by the pretensions of the room we at once divined our -misfortune--we were threatened with a “lady.” The “lady” will, alas! -follow us to the Pacific; even in hymns we read, - - “Now let the Prophet’s heart rejoice, - His noble lady’s too.” - -[“LADIES.”] - -Our mishap was really worse than we expected--we were exposed to two -“ladies,” and of these one was a Bloomer. It is only fair to state that -it was the only hermaphrodite of the kind that ever met my eyes in the -United States; the great founder of the order has long since subsided -into her original obscurity, and her acolytes have relapsed into the -weakness of petticoats. The Bloomer was an uncouth being; her hair, cut -level with her eyes, depended with the graceful curl of a drake’s tail -around a flat Turanian countenance, whose only expression was sullen -insolence. The body-dress, glazed brown calico, fitted her somewhat -like a soldier’s tunic, developing haunches which would be admired only -in venison; and--curious _inconséquence_ of woman’s nature!--all this -sacrifice of appearance upon the shrine of comfort did not prevent her -wearing that kind of crinoline depicted by Mr. _Punch_ upon “our Mary -Hanne.” The pantalettes of glazed brown calico, like the vest, tunic, -blouse, shirt, or whatever they may call it, were in peg-top style, -admirably setting off a pair of thin-soled Frenchified patent-leather -bottines, with elastic sides, which contained feet large, broad, and -flat as a negro’s in Unyamwezi. The dear creature had a husband: it was -hardly safe to look at her, and as for sketching her, I avoided it, as -men are bidden by the poet to avoid the way of Slick of Tennessee. The -other “lady,” though more decently attired, was like women in this wild -part of the world generally--cold and disagreeable in manner, full of -“proper pride,” with a touch-me-not air, which reminded me of a certain - - “Miss Baxter, - Who refused a man before he axed her.” - -Her husband was the renowned Slade: - - “Of gougers fierce, the eyes that pierce, the fiercest gouger he.” - -His was a noted name for “deadly strife;” he had the reputation of -having killed his three men; and a few days afterward the grave that -concealed one of his murders was pointed out to me. This pleasant -individual “for an evening party” wore the revolver and bowie-knife -here, there, and every where. He had lately, indeed, had a strong -hint not to forget his weapon. One M. Jules, a French trader, after -a quarrel which took place at dinner, walked up to him and fired a -pistol, wounding him in the breast. As he rose to run away Jules -discharged a second, which took effect upon his back, and then, without -giving him time to arm, fetched a gun and favored him with a dose -of slugs somewhat larger than revolver bullets. The fiery Frenchman -had two narrow escapes from Lynch-lawyers: twice he was hung between -wagons, and as often he was cut down. At last he disappeared in the -farther West, and took to lodge and squaw. The avenger of blood -threatens to follow him up, but as yet he has taken no steps. - -[Illustration: INDIANS. - -The Western Swell. - -The Sioux. - -The old Shoshonee. - -The Arapaho. - -Jake the Shoshonee. - -The Crow.] - -It at once became evident that the station was conducted upon the -principle of the Western hotel-keeper of the last generation, and -of Continental Europe about A.D. 1500--the innkeeper of “Anne of -Geierstein”--that is to say, for his own convenience; the public there -was the last thing thought of. One of our party who had ventured -into the kitchen was fiercely ejected by the “ladies.” In asking about -dormitories we were informed that “lady travelers” were admitted into -the house, but that the ruder sex must sleep where it could--or not -sleep at all if it preferred. We found a barn outside: it was hardly -fit for a decently brought-up pig; the floor was damp and knotty; there -was not even a door to keep out the night breeze, now becoming raw, and -several drunken fellows lay in different parts of it. Two were in one -bunk, embracing maudlingly, and freely calling for drinks of water. -Into this disreputable hole we were all thrust for the night: among -us, it must be remembered, was a federal judge, who had officiated for -years as minister at a European court. His position, poor man! procured -him nothing but a broken-down pallet. It was his first trip to the Far -West, and yet, so easily are Americans satisfied, and so accustomed are -they to obey the ridiculous jack-in-office who claims to be one of the -powers that be, he scarcely uttered a complaint. I, for one, grumbled -myself to sleep. May gracious Heaven keep us safe from all “ladies” in -future! better a hundred times the squaw, with her uncleanliness and -civility. - -We are now about to leave the land of that great and dangerous people, -the Sioux, and before bidding adieu to them it will be advisable to -devote a few pages to their ethnology. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -The Sioux or Dakotahs. - - -[THE SIOUX.] - -The Sioux belong essentially to the savage, in opposition to -the Aztecan peoples of the New World. In the days of Major Pike -(1805-1807), they were the dread of all the neighboring tribes, from -the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri to the Raven River -on the latter. According to Lieutenant Warren, they are still scattered -over an immense territory extending from the Mississippi on the east -to the Black Hills on the west, and from the forks of the Platte on -the south to Minsi Wakan, or the Devil’s Lake, on the north. Early in -the winter of 1837 they ceded to the United States all their lands -lying east of the Mississippi, which became the Territory of Minnesota. -They are to the North American tribes what the great Anizeh race is -among the Bedouins of Arabia. Their vernacular name, Dakotah, which -some pronounce Lakotah, and others Nakotah, is translated “leagued” or -“allied,” and they sometimes speak of themselves as Osheti Shakowin, or -the “Seven Council Fires.” The French call them “les Coupes-gorges,” -from their sign or symbol, and the whites generally know them as the -Sues or Sioux, from the plural form of Nadonaisi, which in Ojibwa -means an enemy. The race is divided into seven principal bands, viz.: - -1. Mdewakantonwan (Minowa Kantongs[60] or Gens du Lac), meaning -“Village of the Mdewakan”--Mille Lacs or Spirit Lake. They formerly -extended from Prairie du Chien to Prairie des Français, thirty-five -miles up the St. Peter’s River. They have now moved farther west. -This tribe, which includes seven bands, is considered the bravest -of the Sioux, and has even waged an internecine war with the Folles -Avoines[61] or Menomenes, who are reputed the most gallant of the -Ojibwas (Chippewas), and who, inhabiting a country intersected by -lakes, swamps, water-courses, and impenetrable morasses, long bade -defiance to all their neighbors. They have received annuities since -1838, and their number enrolled in 1850 was 2000 souls. - - [60] The first is the correct, the second is the old and incorrect - form of writing the name. - - [61] The Folles Avoines are a small tribe esteemed by the whites - and respected by their own race; their hunting-grounds are the - same as those of the Winnebagoes. They speak a peculiar dialect. - But all understand the copious and sonorous, but difficult and - complicated Algonquin or Ojibwa--the language of some of the old New - England races, Pequots, Delawares, Mohicans, Abenaki, Narragansets, - Penobscots, and the tribes about the Lake regions and the head-waters - of the Mississippi, viz., Ottawa, Potawotomies, Menomene, Knisteneaux - or Cree, Sac, Kickapoo, Maskigo, Shawnee, Miami, Kaskaskia, etc. - The other great northeastern language is that of the Mohawk, spoken - by the Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, Cayuga, Tuscarora, Wyandotte, and - Cherokee. - - “Folles Avoines” is the Canadian French for the wild rice (_Zizania - aquatica_), a tall, tubular, reedy water-plant, plentiful on the - marshy margins of the northern lakes and in the plashy waters of - the Upper Mississippi. Its leaves and spikes, though much larger, - resemble those of oats. Millions of migrating water-fowl fatten on - it before their autumnal flights to the south, while in autumn it - furnishes the Northern savages and the Canadian traders and hunters - with their annual supply of grain. It is used for bread by most of - the tribes to the northwest. - -2. Wahpekute (Washpeconte, translated Gens de Feuillestirées, and by -others the “Leaf Shooters”). Their habitation lies westward of the Des -Moines, Cannon, and Blue-Earth Rivers. According to Major Pike, they -were like the Bedouin Ghuzw, a band of vagabonds formed of refugees, -who for some bad deed had been expelled their tribes. The meaning of -their name is unknown; in 1850 they numbered 500 or 600 souls. - -3. Sisitonwan (Sussitongs, or the Village of the Marsh). This band -used to hunt over the vast prairies lying eastward of the Mississippi, -and up that stream as high as Raven River. They now plant their corn -about Lake Traverse (Lac Travers) and on the Côteau des Prairies, and -numbered in 1850 about 2500 souls. - -4. Wahpetonwans (Washpetongs, Gens des Feuilles, because they lived in -woods), the “Village in the Leaves.” They have moved from their old -home about the Little Rapids of the Minnesota River to Lac qui Parle -and Big Stone Lake. In 1850 they numbered 1000 to 1200 souls. They -plant corn, have substituted the plow for the hoe, and, according to -the missionaries, have made some progress in reading and writing their -own language. - -The above four constitute the Mississippi and Minnesota Sioux, and are -called by those on the Missouri “Isánti,” from Isanati or Isanyati, -because they once lived near Isantamde, one of the Mille Lacs. They -number, according to Major Pike, 5775 souls; according to Lieutenant -Warren, about 6200; and many of those on the Mississippi have long -since become semi-civilized by contact with the white settlements, and -have learned to cultivate the soil. Others, again, follow the buffalo -in their primitive wildness, and have of late years given much trouble -to the settlers of Northern Iowa. - -5. Ihanktonwans (Yanctongs, meaning “Village at the End”), also -sometimes called Wichiyela, or First Nation. They are found at the -mouth of the Big Sioux, between it and the Missouri River, as high -up as Fort Look-out, and on the opposite bank of the Missouri. In -1851 they were set down at 240 lodges = 2400 souls; they have since -increased to 360 lodges and 2880 souls, of whom 576 are warriors. -Distance from the buffalo country has rendered them poor; the proximity -of the pale face has degenerated them, and the United States have -purchased most of their lands. - -6. Ihanktonwannas (Yanctannas), one of the “End Village” bands. They -range between the James and the Missouri Rivers, as far north as -Devil’s Lake. The Dakotah Mission numbered them at 400 lodges = 4000 -souls; subsequent observers at 800 lodges = 6400 souls, and 1280 -warriors; and, being spirited and warlike, they give much trouble to -settlers in the Dakotah Territory. A small portion live in dirt lodges -during the summer. This band suffered severely from small-pox in the -winter of 1856-7. They are divided into the Hunkpatidans (of unknown -signification), Pabakse or Cut-heads, and Kiyuksa, deriders or breakers -of law. From their sub-tribe the Wazikute, or Pine Shooters, sprang, it -is said, the Assiniboin tribe of the Dakotahs. Major Pike divides the -“Yanctongs” into two grand divisions, the Yanctongs of the North and -the Yanctongs of the South. - -7. Titonwan (Teton, “Village of the Prairies”), inhabiting the -trans-Missourian prairies, and extending westward to the dividing ridge -between the Little Missouri and Powder River, and thence south on a -line near the 106° meridian. They constitute more than one half of -the whole Dakotah nation. In 1850 they were numbered at 1250 lodges = -12,500 souls, but that number was supposed to be overestimated. They -are allied by marriage with the Cheyennes and Arickarees, but are -enemies of the Pawnees and Crows. The Titonwan, according to Major -Pike, are, like the Yanctongs, the most erratic and independent not -only of the Sioux, but “of all the Indians in the world.” They follow -the buffalo as chance directs, clothing themselves with the robes, and -making their lodges, saddles, and bridles of the same material, the -flesh of the animal furnishing their food. None but the few families -connected with the whites have planted corn. Possessing an innumerable -stock of horses, they are here this day and five hundreds of miles -off in a week, moving with a rapidity scarcely to be imagined by the -inhabitants of the civilized world: they find themselves equally at -home in all places. The Titonwan are divided into seven principal -bands, viz.: - -The Hunkpapa, “they who camp by themselves” (?). They roam from the -Big Cheyenne up to the Yellow Stone, and west to the Black Hills, and -number 365 lodges, 2920 souls, and 584 warriors. - -The Sisahapa or Blackfeet live with the Hunkpapa, and, like them, have -little reverence for the whites: they number 165 lodges, 1321 souls, -and 264 warriors. - -The Itazipko, Sans Arc, or “No Bows;” a curious name--like the Sans -Arc Pawnees, they are good archers--perhaps given to them in olden -times, when, like certain tribes of negroes, they used the spear to -the exclusion of other weapons: others, however, translate the word -“Bow-pith.” They roam over nearly the same lands as the Hunkpapa, -number about 170 lodges, 1360 souls, and 272 warriors. - -The Minnikanye-wozhipu, “those who plant by the water,” dwell between -the Black Hills and the Platte. They number about 200 lodges, 1600 -inmates, and 320 warriors: they are favorably disposed toward the -whites. - -The Ogalala or Okandanda are generally to be found on or about the -Platte, near Fort Laramie, and are the most friendly of all the -Titonwan toward the whites. They number about 460 lodges, 3680 souls, -and 736 warriors. - -The Sichangu, Brûlés or Burnt-Thighs, living on the Niobrara and -White-Earth Rivers, and ranging from the Platte to the Cheyenne, number -about 380 lodges, containing 3680 inmates. - -The Oohenonpa, “Two Boilings” or “Two Kettle-band,” are much scattered -among other tribes, but are generally to be found in the vicinity -of Fort Pierre. They number about 100 lodges, 800 inmates, and 160 -warriors. - -The author of the above estimate, allotting eight to ten inmates to -a lodge, of whom between one fifth and one sixth are warriors, makes -an ample allowance. It is usual to reckon in a population between one -fourth, one fifth, and one sixth--according to the work--as capable -of bearing arms, but the civilized rule will not apply to the North -American Indian. The grand total of the number of the Sioux nations, -including the Isánti, would amount to 30,200 souls. Half a century -ago it was estimated by Major Pike at 21,675, and in 1850 the Dakotah -Mission set them down at 25,000. It is the opinion of many that, -notwithstanding the ravages of cholera and small-pox, the Dakotah -nation, except when mingled with the frontier settlements, rather -increases than diminishes. It has been observed by missionaries that -whenever an account of births and deaths has been kept in a village the -former usually exceed the latter. The original numbers of the Prairie -Indians have been greatly overestimated both by themselves and by -strangers; the only practicable form of census is the rude proceeding -of counting their “tipi,” or skin tents. It is still a moot question -how far the Prairie Indians have diminished in numbers, which can not -be decided for some years.[62] - - [62] At the time of the first settlement of the country by the - English no certain estimate was made; at the birth of the thirteen - original states, the Indians, according to Dr. Trumbull, did not - exceed 150,000. In 1860, the number of Indians within the limits of - the United States was estimated by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs - at 350,000. - -The Dakotahs are mostly a purely hunting tribe in the lowest condition -of human society: they have yet to take the first step, and to become a -pastoral people. The most civilized are the Mdewakantonwans, who, even -at the beginning of the present century, built log huts and “stocked” -land with corn, beans, and pumpkins. The majority of the bands hunt -the buffalo within their own limits throughout the summer, and in -the winter pitch their lodges in the clumps or fringes of tree and -underwood along the banks of the lakes and streams. The bark of the -cotton-wood furnishes fodder for their horses during the snowy season, -and to obtain it the creeks and branches have been thinned or entirely -denuded of their beautiful groves. They buy many animals from the -Southern Indians, who have stolen them from New Mexico, or trapped them -on the plains below the Rocky Mountains. Considerable numbers are also -bred by themselves. The Dakotah nation is one of the most warlike and -numerous in the United States territory. In single combat on horseback -they are described as having no superiors; a skill acquired by constant -practice enables them to spear their game at full speed, and the -rapidity with which they discharge their arrows, and the accuracy -of their aim, rival the shooting which may be made with a revolver. -They are not, however, formidable warriors; want of discipline and -of confidence in one another render them below their mark. Like the -Moroccans in their last war with Spain, they never attack when they -should, and they never fail to attack when they should not. - -[THE OJIBWA.] - -The Dakotahs, when first visited by the whites, lived around the -head-waters of the Mississippi and the Red River of the north. They -have gradually migrated toward the west and southwest, guarded by -their allies the Cheyennes, who have given names successively to the -Cheyenne of Red River, to the Big Cheyenne of the Missouri, and to the -section of the country between the Platte and the Arkansas which they -now occupy. The Dakotah first moved to the land now occupied by the -Ojibwa (anciently known as Chippewas, Orechipewa, or Sauteurs[63]), -which tribe inhabited the land between Sault[64] St. Marie and Lake -Winnipeg, while their allies the Crees occupied the country from Lake -Winnipeg to the Kisiskadjiwan and Assiniboin Rivers. The plains lying -southward of the latter river were the fields of many a fierce and -bloody fight between the Dakotahs and the other allied two tribes, -until a feud caused by jealousy of the women arose among the former, -and made a division which ended in their becoming irreconcilable -enemies, as they are indeed to the present day. The defeated party fled -to the craggy precipices of the Lake of the Woods, and received from -the Ojibwa the name of Assiniboin or Dakotah of the Rocks, by which -they are now universally known to the whites. They retain, however, -among themselves the term Dakotah, although their kinsmen universally, -when speaking of them, called them “hohe” or enemies, and they still -speak the Sioux language. After this feud the Assiniboins strengthened -themselves by alliance with the Ojibwa and Cree tribes, and drove the -Dakotah from all the country north of the Cheyenne River, which is now -regarded as the boundary-line. The three races are still friendly, and -so hostile to the Dakotah that no lasting peace can be made between -them; in case of troubles with either party, the government of the -United States might economically and effectually employ one against the -other. The common war-ground is the region about Lake Minsiwakan, where -they all meet when hunting buffalo. The Assiniboin tribe now extends -from the Red River westward along the Missouri as far as the mouth of -Milk River: a large portion of their lands, like those of the Cree, is -British territory. They suffered severely from small-pox in 1856-7, -losing about 1500 of their tribe, and now number about 450 lodges, or -3600 souls. Having comparatively few horses, they rely mainly upon the -dog for transportation, and they use its flesh as food. - - [63] The Rev. Peter Jones (Kahkewagquody), in his history of the - Ojibwa Indians, makes “Chippewa” a corrupted word, signifying - the “Puckered-Moccasin People;” the Abbé Domenech (“Seven Years’ - Residence in the Great Deserts of North America”--a mere compilation) - draws an unauthorized distinction between Chippewas and Ojibwas, but - can not say what it is. He explains Ojibwa, the form of Ojidwa, to - mean “a singularity in the voice or pronunciation.” - - [64] Pronounced “Soo:” the word is old French, still commonly used in - Canada and the North, and means rapids. - -[THE INDIAN’S FUTURE.] - -The Dakotah, according to Lieutenant Warren, are still numerous, -independent, warlike, and powerful, and have the means of prolonging -an able resistance to the advance of the Western settlers. Under -the present policy of the United States government--this is written -by an American--which there is no reason to believe likely to be -changed, encroachments will continue, and battle and murder will be -the result. There are many inevitable causes at work to produce war -with the Dakotah before many years.[65] The conflict will end in the -discomfiture of the natives, who will then fast fall away. Those -dispossessed of their lands can not, as many suppose, retire farther -west; the regions lying beyond one tribe are generally occupied by -another, with whom deadly animosity exists. Even when the white -settlers advance their frontier, the natives linger about till their -own poverty and vice consign them to oblivion, and the present policy -adopted by the government is the best that could be devised for their -extermination. It is needless to say that many of the Sioux look -forward to the destruction of their race with all the feelings of -despair with which the civilized man would contemplate the extinction -of his nationality. How indeed, poor devils, are they to live when the -pale face comes with his pestilent fire-water and small-pox, followed -up with paper and pen work, to be interpreted under the gentle auspices -of fire and steel? - - [65] Lieutenant Warren considered the greatest point of his - explorations to be the knowledge of the proper routes by which to - invade their country and to conquer them. The project may be found - in the Report of the Secretary of War. I quote Mr. Warren’s opinion - concerning the future of the Dakotahs as a contrast to that of the - Dakotah Mission. My own view will conclude the case in p. 102. - -The advance of the settlements is universally acknowledged by the -people of the United States to be a political necessity in the -national development, and on that ground only is the displacement -of the rightful owners of the soil justifiable. But the government, -instead of preparing the way for settlements by wise and just purchases -from those in possession, and proper support and protection for the -indigent and improvident race thus dispossessed, is sometimes behind -its obligations. There are instances of Congress refusing or delaying -to ratify the treaties made by its duly authorized agents. The settler -and pioneer are thus precipitated into the Indian country, without the -savage having received the promised consideration, and he often, in a -manner that enlists the sympathies of mankind, takes up the tomahawk -and perishes in the attempt. It frequently happens that the Western -settlers are charged with bringing about these wars; they are now, -however, fighting the battles of civilization exactly as they were -fought three centuries ago upon the Atlantic shore, under circumstances -that command equal admiration and approval. While, therefore, we -sympathize with the savage, we can not but feel for the unhappy -squatter, whose life is sacrificed to the Indian’s vengeance by the -errors or dilatoriness of those whose duty it is to protect him. - -The people of the United States, of course, know themselves to be -invincible by the hands of these half-naked savages. But the Indians, -who on their own ground still outnumber the whites, are by no means -so convinced of the fact. Until the army of Utah moved westward, many -of them had never seen a soldier. At a grand council of the Dakotah, -in the summer of 1857, on the North Fork of the Platte River, they -solemnly pledged themselves to resist the encroachments of the whites, -and, if necessary, to “whip” them out of the country. The appearance of -the troops has undoubtedly produced a highly beneficial effect; still, -something more is wanted. Similarly in Hindostan, though the natives -knew that the British army numbered hundreds of thousands, every petty -independent prince thought himself fit to take the field against the -intruder, till the failure of the attempt suggested to him some respect -for _les gros bataillons_. - -The Sioux differ greatly in their habits from the Atlantic tribes of -times gone by. The latter lived in wigwams or villages of more stable -construction than the lodge; they cultivated the soil, never wandered -far from home, made their expeditions on foot, having no horses, and -rarely came into action unless they could “tree” themselves. They -inflicted horrid tortures on their prisoners, as every English child -has read; but, Arab-like, they respected the honor of their female -captives. The Prairie tribes are untamed and untamable savages, -superior only to the “Arab” hordes of great cities, who appear -destined to play in the history of future ages the part of Goth and -Vandal, Scythian, Bedouin, and Turk. Hitherto the _rôle_ which these -hunters have sustained in the economy of nature has been to prepare, -by thinning off its wild animals, a noble portion of the world for -the higher race about to succeed them. Captain Mayne Reid somewhere -derides the idea of the Indian’s progress toward extinction. A cloud -of authorities bear witness against him. East of the Mississippi the -savage has virtually died out, and few men allow him two prospective -centuries of existence in the West, unless he be left, which he will -not be, to himself. - -“Wolves of women born,” the Prairie Indians despise agriculture as the -Bedouin does. Merciless freebooters, they delight in roaming; like -all equestrian and uncivilized people, they are perfect horsemen, but -poor fighters when dismounted, and they are nothing without their -weapons. As a rule they rarely torture their prisoners, except when -an old man or woman is handed over to the squaws and pappooses “pour -les amuser,” as a Canadian expressed it. Near and west of the Rocky -Mountains, however, the Shoshonees and the Yutas (Utahs) are as cruel -as their limited intellects allow them to be. Moreover, all the Prairie -tribes never fail to subject women to an ordeal worse than death. The -best character given of late years to the Sioux was by a traveler in -1845, who writes that “their freedom and power have imparted to their -warriors some gentlemanly qualities; they are cleanly, dignified and -graceful in manners, brave, proud, and independent in bearing and deed.” - -[THE SIOUX CHARACTER.] - -The qualities of the Sioux, and of the Prairie tribes generally, are -little prized by those who have seen much of them. They ignore the -very existence of gratitude; the benefits of years can not win their -affections. After boarding and lodging with a white for any length of -time, they will steal his clothes; and, after receiving any number of -gifts, they will haggle for the value of the merest trifle. They are -inveterate thieves and beggars; the Western settlers often pretend -not to understand their tongue for fear of exposing themselves to -perpetual pilfering and persecution; and even the squaws, who live with -the pale faces, annoy their husbands by daily applications for beads -and other coveted objects; they are cruel to one another as children. -The obstinate revengefulness of their vendetta is proverbial; they -hate with the “hate of Hell;” and, like the Highlanders of old, if -the author of an injury escape them, they vent their rage upon the -innocent, because he is of the same clan or color. If struck by a white -man, they must either kill him or receive damages in the shape of a -horse; and after the most trivial injury they can never be trusted. -Their punishments are Draconic; for all things death, either by -shooting or burning. Their religion is a low form of fetichism. They -place their women in the most degraded position. The squaw is a mere -slave, living a life of utter drudgery; and when the poor creature -wishes, according to the fashion of her sex, to relieve her feelings -by a domestic “scene,” followed by a “good cry,” or to use her knife -upon a sister squaw, as the Trasteverina mother uses her bodkin, the -husband, after squatting muffled up, in hope that the breeze will -blow over, enforces silence with a cudgel. The warrior, considering -the chase an ample share of the labor-curse, is so lazy that he will -not rise to saddle or unsaddle his pony; he will sit down and ask -a white man to fetch him water, and only laugh if reproved. Like a -wild beast, he can not be broken to work; he would rather die than -employ himself in honest industry--a mighty contrast to the negro, -whose only happiness is in serving. He invariably attributes an act -of kindness, charity, or forbearance to fear. Ungenerous, he extols, -like the Bedouin, generosity to the skies. He never makes a present -except for the purpose of receiving more than its equivalent; and an -“Indian gift” has come to be a proverb, meaning any thing reclaimed -after being given away. Impulsive as the African, his mind is blown -about by storms of unaccountable contradictions. Many a white has -suddenly seen the scalping-knife restored to its sheath instead of -being buried in his flesh, while others have been as unexpectedly -assaulted and slain by those from whom they expected kindness and -hospitality. The women are mostly cold and chaste. The men have vices -which can not be named: their redeeming points are fortitude and -endurance of hardship; moreover, though they care little for their -wives, they are inordinately fond of their children. Of their bravery -Indian fighters do not speak highly: they are notoriously deficient -in the civilized quality called moral courage, and, though a brave -will fight single-handed stoutly enough, they rarely stand up long in -action. They are great at surprises, ambuscades, and night attacks: as -with the Arabs and Africans, their favorite hour for onslaught is that -before dawn, when the enemy is most easily terrified--they know that -there is nothing which tries man’s nerve so much, as an unexpected -night attack--and when the cattle can be driven off to advantage. In -some points their characters have been, it is now granted, greatly -misunderstood. Their forced gravity and calmness--purely “company -manners”--were not suspected to cloak merriment, sociability, and a -general fondness of feasts and fun. Their apathy and sternness, which -were meant for reserve and dignity among strangers, gave them an air of -ungeniality which does not belong to their mental constitutions. Their -fortitude and endurance of pain is the result, as in the prize-fighter, -of undeveloped brain. - -The Sioux are tall men, straight, and well made: they are never -deformed, and are rarely crippled, simply because none but the -able-bodied can live. The shoulders are high and somewhat straight; the -figure is the reverse of the sailor’s, that is to say, while the arms -are smooth, feeble, and etiolated, the legs are tolerably muscular; the -bones are often crooked or bowed in the equestrian tribes; they walk -as if they wanted the ligamentum teres; there is a general looseness -of limb, which promises, however, lightness, endurance, and agility, -and which, contrasted with the Caucasian race, suggests the gait of a -wild compared with that of a tame animal. Like all savages, they are -deficient in corporeal strength: a civilized man finds no difficulty in -handling them: on this road there is only one Indian (a Shoshonee) who -can whip a white in a “rough and tumble.” The temperament is usually -bilious-nervous; the sanguine is rare, the lymphatic rarer, and I never -knew or heard of an albino. The hands, especially in the higher tribes, -are decidedly delicate, but this is more observable in the male than in -the female; the type is rather that of the Hindoo than of the African -or the European. The feet, being more used than the other extremities, -and unconfined by boot or shoe, are somewhat splay, spreading out -immediately behind the toes, while the heel is remarkably narrow. -In consequence of being carried straight to the fore--the only easy -position for walking through grass--they tread, like the ant-eater, -more heavily on the outer than on the inner edge. The sign of the -Indian is readily recognized by the least experienced tracker. - -It is erroneously said that he who has seen a single Indian has seen -them all. Of course there is a great similarity among savages and -barbarians of the same race and climate. The same pursuits, habits, -and customs naturally produce an identity of expression which, as in -the case of husband and wife, parent and child, moulds the features -into more or less of likeness. On the other hand, a practiced eye -will distinguish the Indian individually or by bands as easily as the -shepherd, by marks invisible to others, can swear to his sheep. I have -little doubt that to the savages all white men look alike. - -[THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION.] - -The Prairie Indian’s hair and complexion have already been described. -According to some savages the build of the former differs materially -from that of the European and the Asiatic. The animal development -varies in the several races: the Pawnee’s and Yuta’s scalp-lock -rarely exceeds eighteen inches in length, while that of the Crow, -like the East Indian Jatawala’s, often sweeps the ground. There are -salient characteristics in the cranium which bear testimony to many -phrenological theories. The transverse diameter of the rounded skull -between the parietal bones, where destructiveness and secretiveness -are placed, is enormous, sometimes exceeding the longitudinal line -from sinciput to occiput, the direct opposite of the African negro’s -organization. The region of the cerebellum is deficient and shrunken, -as with the European in his second childhood: it sensibly denotes that -the subject wants “vim.” The coronal region, where the sentiments are -supposed to lie, is rather flat than arched; in extreme cases the -face seems to occupy two thirds instead of half the space between -poll and chin. The low conical forehead recedes, as in Robespierre’s -head, from the region of benevolence, and rises high at the apex, -where firmness and self-esteem reside: a common formation among -wild tribes, as every traveler in Asia and Africa has remarked. The -facial angle of Camper varies, according to phrenologists, between -70° and 80°. The projecting lower brow is strong, broad, and massive, -showing that development of the perceptions which is produced by the -constant and minute observation of a limited number of objects. The -well-known Indian art of following the trail is one result of this -property. The nose is at once salient and dilated--in fact, partaking -of the Caucasian and African types. The nostrils are broad and deeply -whorled; the nasal orifice is wide, and, according to osteologists, -the bones that protect it are arched and expanded; the eyebrows are -removed, like the beard and mustache, by vellication, giving a dull -and bald look to the face; the lashes, however, grow so thickly that -they often show a sooty black line, suggesting the presence of the -Oriental kohl or surma. The orbits are large and square: largeness and -squareness are, in fact, the general character of the features: it -doubtless produces that peculiar besotted look which belongs to the -Indian as to the Mongolian family. The conjunctival membrane has the -whiteness and clearness of the European and the Asiatic; it is not, as -in the African, brown, yellow, or red. The pupil, like the hair, is of -different shades between black and brown: when the organ is blue--an -accident which leads to a suspicion of mixed blood--the owner generally -receives a name from the peculiarity. Travelers, for the most part, -describe the organ as “black and piercing, snaky and venomous;” others -as “dull and sleepy;” while some detect in its color a mingling of -black and gray. The only peculiarity which I observed in the pupil -was its similarity to that of the gipsy. The Indian first fixes upon -you a piercing glance, which seems to look below the surface. After a -few seconds, however, the eye glazes as though a film passed over it, -and gazes, as it were, on vacancy. The look would at once convict -him of Jattatura and Molocchio in Italy, and of El Ayn, or the Evil -Eye, in the East. The mouth is at once full and compressed; it opens -widely; the lips are generally _bordés_ or everted--decidedly the most -unpleasant fault which that feature can have--the corners are drawn -down as if by ill temper, and the two seams which spring from the alæ -of the nostrils are deeply traced. This formation of the oral, combined -with the fullness of the circumoral regions, and the length and -fleshiness of the naked upper lip, communicates a peculiar animality -to the countenance. The cheek-bones are high and bony; they are not, -however, expanded or spread backward, nor do they, as in the Chinese, -alter the appearance of the eyes by making them oblique. The cheeks -are rather lank and falling in than full or oval. The whole maxillary -organ is projecting and ponderous. The wide condyles of the lower jaw -give a remarkable massiveness to the jowl, while the chin--perhaps the -most characteristic feature--is long, bony, large, and often parted in -the centre. The teeth are faultless, full-sized and white, even and -regular, strong and lasting; and they are vertical, not sloping forward -like the African’s. To sum up, the evanishing of the forehead, the -compression of the lips, the breadth and squareness of the jaw, and -the massiveness of the chin, combine to produce a normal expression of -harshness and cruelty, which, heightened by red and black war-paint, -locks like horsehair, plumes, and other savage decorations, form a -“rouge dragon” whose _tout ensemble_ is truly revolting. - -The women when in their teens have often that _beauté du diable_, which -may be found even among the African negresses; nothing, however, can be -more evanescent. When full grown the figure becomes dumpy and _trapu_; -and the face, though sometimes not without a certain comeliness, -has a Turanian breadth and flatness. The best portrait of a sightly -Indian woman is that of Pocahontas, the Princess, published by Mr. -Schoolcraft. The drudgery of the tent and field renders the squaw cold -and unimpassioned; and, like the coarsest-minded women in civilized -races, her eye and her heart mean one and the same thing. She will -administer “squaw medicine,” a love philter, to her husband, but rather -for the purpose of retaining his protection than his love. She has all -the modesty of a savage, and is not deficient in sense of honor. She -has no objection to a white man, but, Affghan-like, she usually changes -her name to “John” or some other alias. Her demerits are a habit of -dunning for presents, and a dislike to the virtue that ranks next to -godliness, which nothing but the fear of the rod will subdue. She has -literally no belief, not even in the rude fetichism of her husband, and -consequently she has no religious exercises. As she advances in years -she rapidly descends in _physique_ and _morale_: there is nothing on -earth more fiendlike than the vengeance of a cretin-like old squaw. - -The ancient Persians taught their progeny archery, riding, and -truth-telling; the Prairie Indian’s curriculum is much the same, only -the last of the trio is carefully omitted. The Indian, like other -savages, never tells the truth; verity is indeed rather an intellectual -than an instinctive virtue, which, as children prove, must be taught -and made intelligible; except when “counting his coups,” in other -words, recounting his triumphs, his life is therefore one system of -deceit, the strength of the weak. Another essential part of education -is to close the mouth during sleep: the Indian has a superstition -that all disease is produced by inhalation. The children, “born like -the wild ass’s colts,” are systematically spoiled with the view of -fostering their audacity; the celebrated apophthegm of the Wise -King--to judge from his notable failure at home, he probably did not -practice what he preached--which has caused such an expenditure of -birch and cane in higher races, would be treated with contempt by the -Indians. The fond mother, when chastening her child, never goes beyond -dashing a little cold water in its face--for which reason to besprinkle -a man is a mortal insult--a system which, perhaps, might be naturalized -with advantage in some parts of Europe. The son is taught to make his -mother toil for him, and openly to disobey his sire; at seven years -of age he has thrown off all parental restraint; nothing keeps him in -order but the fear of the young warriors. At ten or twelve he openly -rebels against all domestic rule, and does not hesitate to strike his -father; the parent then goes off rubbing his hurt, and boasting to his -neighbors of the brave boy whom he has begotten. - -[THE INDIAN’S RELIGION.] - -The religion of the North American Indians has long been a subject of -debate. Some see in it traces of Judaism, others of Sabæanism; Mr. -Schoolcraft detects a degradation of Guebrism. His faith has, it is -true, a suspicion of duality; Hormuzd and Ahriman are recognizable -in Gitche Manitou and Mujhe Manitou, and the latter, the Bad god, is -naturally more worshiped, because more feared, than the Good god. -Moreover, some tribes show respect for and swear by the sun, and -others for fire: there is a north god and a south god, a wood god, a -prairie god, an air god, and a water god; but--they have not risen -to monotheism--there is not one God. None, however, appear to have -that reverence for the elements which is the first article of the -Zoroastrian creed; the points of difference are many, while those -of resemblance are few and feeble, and it is hard to doubt that the -instincts of mankind have been pressed by controversialists into the -service of argument as traditional tenets. - -To judge from books and the conversation of those who best know the -Indians, he is distinctly a Fetichist like the African negro, and, -indeed, like all the child-like races of mankind.[66] The medicine-man -is his mganga, angekok, sorcerer, prophet, physician, exorciser, -priest, and rain-doctor; only, as he is rarely a cultivator of the -soil, instead of heavy showers and copious crops, he is promised -scalps, salmon trout, and buffalo beef in plenty. He has the true -Fetichist’s belief--invariably found in tribes who live dependent -upon the powers of Nature--in the younger brothers of the human -family, the bestial creation: he holds to a metamorphosis like that -of Abyssinia, and to speaking animals. Every warrior chooses a totem, -some quadruped, bird, or fish, to which he prays, and which he will -on no account kill or eat. Dr. Livingstone shows (chap. i.) that the -same custom prevails in its entirety among the Kaffir Bakwaina, and -opines that it shows traces of addiction to animal worship, like the -ancient Egyptians; in the prophecies of Israel the tribes are compared -with animals, a true totemic practice. The word totem also signifies a -sub-clan or sub-tribe; and some nations, like the African Somal, will -not allow marriage in the same totem. The medicine-men give away young -children as an atonement when calamities impend: they go clothed, not -in sackcloth and ashes, but in coats of mire, and their macerations -and self-inflicted tortures rival those of the Hindoos: a fanatic has -been known to drag about a buffalo skull with a string cut from his own -skin till it is torn away. In spring-time, the braves, and even the -boys, repairing to lonely places and hill-tops, their faces and bodies -being masked, as if in mourning, with mud, fast and pray, and sing rude -chants to propitiate the ghosts for days consecutively. The Fetichist -is ever grossly superstitious; and the Indians, as might be expected, -abound in local rites. Some tribes, as the Cheyennes, will not go -to war without a medicine-man, others without sacred war-gourds[67] -containing the tooth of the drum-head fish. Children born with teeth -are looked upon as portents, and when gray at birth the phenomenon is -attributed to evil ghosts. - - [66] The reader who cares to consult my studies upon the subject - of Fetichism in Africa, where it is and ever has been the national - creed, is referred to “The Lake Regions of Central Africa,” chap. - xix. The modes of belief, and the manners and customs of savage and - barbarous races are so similar, that a knowledge of the African is an - excellent introduction to that of the American. - - [67] This gourd or calabash is the produce of the _Cucurbita - lagenaria_, or calabash vine. In Spanish, Central, and Southern - America, Cuba and the West Indies, they use the large round fruit of - the _Crescentia cujete_. - -I can not but think that the two main articles of belief which have -been set down to the credit of the Indian, namely, the Great Spirit -or Creator, and the Happy Hunting-grounds in a future world, are -the results of missionary teaching, the work of Fathers Hennepin, -Marquette, and their noble army of martyred Jesuit followers. In later -days they served chiefly to inspire the Anglo-American muse, _e. g._: - - “By midnight moons o’er moistening dews, - In vestments for the chase arrayed, - The hunter still the deer pursues-- - The hunter and the deer, a shade! - - And long shall timorous fancy see - The painted chief and pointed spear, - And Reason’s self shall bow the knee - To shadows and delusions here.” - -My conviction is, that the English and American’s popular ideas upon -the subject are unreliable, and that their embodiment, beautiful -poetry, “Lo the poor Indian,” down to “his faithful dog shall bear -him company,” are but a splendid myth. The North American aborigine -believed, it is true, in an unseen power, the Manitou, or, as we are -obliged to translate it, “Spirit,” residing in every heavenly body, -animal, plant, or other natural object. This is the very essence of -that form of Fetichism which leads to Pantheism and Polytheism. There -was a Manitou, as he conceived, which gave the spark from the flint, -lived in every blade of grass, flowed in the streams, shone in the -stars, and thundered in the waterfall; but in each example--a notable -instance of the want of abstractive and generalizing power--the idea -of the Deity was particular and concrete. When the Jesuit fathers -suggested the unity of the Great Spirit pervading all beings, it was -very readily recognized; but the generalization was not worked out by -the Indian mind. He was, therefore, like all savages, atheistic in -the literal sense of the word. He had not arrived at the first step, -Pantheism, which is so far an improvement that it opens out a grand -idea, the omnipresence, and consequently the omnipotence, of the -Deity. In most North American languages the Theos is known, not as the -“Great Spirit,” but as the “Great Father,” a title also applied to the -President of the United States, who is, I believe, though sometimes a -step-father, rather the more reverenced of the twain. With respect to -the happy hunting-grounds, it is a mere corollary of the monotheistic -theorem above proved. It is doubtful whether these savages ever grasped -the idea of a human soul. The Chicury of New England, indeed, and other -native words so anglicized, appear distinctly to mean the African -Pepo--ghost or larva. - -Certain missionaries have left us grotesque accounts of the simple -good sense with which the Indians of old received the Glad Tidings. -The strangers were courteously received, the calumet was passed round, -and they were invited to make known their wants in a “big talk.” They -did so by producing a synopsis of their faith, beginning at Adam’s -apple and ending at the Savior’s cross. The patience of the Indian in -enduring long speeches, sermons, and harangues has ever been exemplary -and peculiar, as his fortitude in suffering lingering physical -tortures. The audience listened with a solemn demeanor, not once -interrupting what must have appeared to them a very wild and curious -story. Called upon to make some remark, these antipomologists simply -ejaculated, - -“Apples are not wholesome, and those who crucified Christ were bad -men!” - -In their turn, some display of oratory was required. They avoided the -tedious, long-drawn style of argument, and spoke, as was their wont, -briefly to the point. “It is good of you,” said they, “to cross the -big water, and to follow the Indian’s trail, that ye may relate to us -what ye have related. Now listen to what our mothers told us. Our first -father, after killing a beast, was roasting a rib before the fire, when -a spirit, descending from the skies, sat upon a neighboring bluff. She -was asked to eat. She ate fat meat. Then she arose and silently went -her way. From the place where she rested her two hands grew corn and -pumpkin; and from the place where she sat sprang tobacco!” - -The missionaries listened to the savage tradition with an excusable -disrespect, and, not unnaturally, often interrupted it. This want of -patience and dignity, however, drew upon them severe remarks. “Pooh!” -observed the Indians. “When you told us what your mothers told you, we -gave ear in silence like men. When we tell you what our mothers told -us, ye give tongue like squaws. Go to! Ye are no medicine-men, but -silly fellows!” - -Besides their superstitious belief in ghosts, spirits, or familiars, -and the practice of spells and charms, love-philters, dreams -and visions, war-medicine, hunting-medicine, self-torture, and -incantations, the Indians had, it appears to me, but three religious -observances, viz., dancing, smoking, and scalping. - -The war-dances, the corn-dances, the buffalo-dances, the scalp-dances, -and the other multiform and solemn saltations of these savages, have -been minutely depicted and described by many competent observers. The -theme also is beyond the limits of an essay like this. - -Smoking is a boon which the Old owes to the New World. It is a heavy -call upon our gratitude, for which we have naturally been very -ungrateful. - - “Non epulis tantum, non Bacchi pascimur usu, - Pascimur et fumis, ingeniosa gula est.” - -[THE SMOKING RITE.] - -We began by calling our new gift the “holy herb;” it is now, like the -Balm of Gilead, entitled, I believe, a weed. Among the North American -Indians even the spirits smoke; the “Indian summer” is supposed to -arise from the puffs that proceed from the pipe of Nanabozhoo, the -Ojibwa Noah. The pipe may have been used in the East before the days -of tobacco, but if so it was probably applied to the inhalation of -cannabis and other intoxicants.[68] On the other hand, the Indian had -no stimulants. He never invented the beer of Osiris, though maize -grew abundantly around him;[69] the koumiss of the Tartar was beyond -his mental reach; and though “Jimsen weed”[70] overruns the land, -he neglected its valuable intoxicating properties. His is almost the -only race that has ever existed wholly without a stimulant; the fact -is a strong proof of its autochthonic origin. It is indeed incredible -that man, having once learned, should ever forget the means of getting -drunk. Instead of the social cup the Indian smoked. As tobacco does -not grow throughout the continent, he invented kinnikinik. This Indian -word has many meanings. By the hunters and settlers it is applied to a -mixture of half and half, or two thirds tobacco and one of red willow -bark; others use it for a mixture of tobacco, sumach leaves, and willow -rind; others, like Ruxton (“Life in the Far West,” p. 116), for the -cortex of the willow only. This tree grows abundantly in copses near -the streams and water-courses. For smoking, the twigs are cut when the -leaves begin to redden. Some tribes, like the Sioux, remove the outer -and use only the highly-colored inner bark; others again, like the -Shoshonees, employ the external as well as the internal cuticle. It is -scraped down the twig in curling ringlets, without, however, stripping -it off; the stick is then planted in the ground before the fire, -and, when sufficiently parched, the material is bruised, comminuted, -and made ready for use. The taste is pleasant and aromatic, but the -effect is that of the puerile ratan rather than the manly tobacco. The -Indian, be it observed, smokes like all savages by inhaling the fumes -into the lungs, and returning them through the nostrils; he finds pure -tobacco, therefore, too strong and pungent. As has been said, he is -catholic in his habits of smoking; he employs indifferently rose-bark -(_Rosa blanda?_)[71] and the cuticle of a cornus, the lobelia,[72] the -larb, a vaccinium, a Daphne-like plant, and many others. The Indian -smokes incessantly, and the “calumet”[73] is an important part of his -household goods. He has many superstitions about the practice. It is -a sacred instrument, and its red color typifies the smoker’s flesh. -The Western travelers mention offerings of tobacco to, and smoking of -pipes in honor of, the Great Spirit. Some men will vow never to use the -pipe in public, others to abstain on particular days. Some will not -smoke with their moccasins on, others with steel about their persons; -some are pledged to abstain inside, others outside the wigwam, and -many scatter buffalo chip over their tobacco. When beginning to smoke -there are certain observances; some, _exempli gratiâ_, direct, after -the fashion of Gitche Manitou, the first puff upward or heavenward, -the second earthward, and the third and fourth over the right and left -shoulders, probably in propitiation of the ghosts, who are being smoked -for in proxy; others, before the process of inhaling, touch the ground -with the heel of the pipe-bowl, and turn the stem upward and averted. - - [68] The word tobacco (West Indian, tobago or tobacco, a peculiar - pipe), which has spread through Europe, Asia, and Africa, seems to - prove the origin of the nicotiana, and the non-mention of smoking - in the “Arabian Nights” disproves the habit of inhaling any other - succedaneum. - - [69] It has long been disputed whether maize was indigenous to - America or to Asia; learned names are found on both sides of the - question. In Central Africa the cereal is now called as in English, - “Indian corn,” proving that in that continent it first was introduced - from Hindostan. The Italians have named it Gran’ Turco, showing - whence it was imported by them. The word maiz, mays, maize, or - mahiz, is a Carib word introduced by the Spaniards into Europe; - in the United States, where “corn” is universally used, maize is - intelligible only to the educated. - - [70] Properly Jamestown weed, the _Datura stramonium_, the English - thorn-apple, unprettily called in the Northern States of America - “stinkweed.” It found its way into the higher latitudes from - Jamestown (Virginia), where it was first observed springing on heaps - of ballast and other rubbish discharged from vessels. According to - Beverly (“History of Virginia,” book ii., quoted by Mr. Bartlett), - it is “one of the greatest coolers in the world;” and in some young - soldiers who ate plentifully of it as a salad, to pacify the troubles - of bacon, the effect was “a very pleasant remedy, for they turned - natural fools upon it for several days.” - - [71] The wild rose is every where met with growing in bouquets on the - prairies. - - [72] The _Lobelia inflata_, or Indian tobacco, is corrupted by the - ignorant Western man to low belia in contradistinction to high belia, - better varieties of the plant. - - [73] The calumet, a word introduced by the old French, is the red - sandstone pipe, described in a previous page, with a long tube, - generally a reed, adorned with feathers. It is the Indian symbol of - hatred or amity; there is a calumet of war as well as a calumet of - peace. To accept the calumet is to come to terms; to refuse it is - to reject them. The same is expressed by burying and digging up the - tomahawk or hatchet. The tomahawk and calumet are sometimes made of - one piece of stone; specimens, however, have become very rare since - the introduction of the iron axe. The “Song of Hiawatha” (Canto - I., The Peace Pipe) and the interesting “Letters and Notes on the - Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North American Indians” (vol. - ii., p. 160), have made the Red Pipe-stone Quarry familiar to the - Englishman. - -[THE SCALPING RITE.] - -According to those who, like Pennant, derive the North American from -the Scythians, scalping is a practice that originated in High and -Northeastern Asia. The words of the Father of History are as follows: -“Of the first enemy a Scythian sends down, he quaffs the blood; he -carries the heads of all that he has slain in battle to the king; -for when he has brought a head, he is entitled to a share of the -booty that may be taken--not otherwise; to skin the head, he makes -a circular incision from ear to ear, and then, laying hold of the -crown, shakes out the skull; after scraping off the flesh with an -ox’s rib, he rumples it between his hands, and having thus softened -the skin, makes use of it as a napkin; he appends it to the bridle -of the horse he rides, and prides himself on this, for the Scythian -that has most of these skin napkins is adjudged the best man, etc., -etc. They also use the entire skins as horse-cloths, also the skulls -for drinking-cups.”--(“Melpomene,” iv., 64, Laurent’s trans.) The -underlying idea is doubtless the natural wish to preserve a memorial of -a foeman done to death, and at the same time to dishonor his hateful -corpse by mutilation. Fashion and tradition regulate the portions of -the human frame preferred. - -Scalping is generally, but falsely, supposed to be a peculiarly -American practice. The Abbé Em. Domenech (“Seven Years’ Residence -in the Great Deserts of North America,” chap. xxxix.) quotes the -_decalvare_ of the ancient Germans, the _capillos et cutem detrahere_ -of the code of the Visigoths, and the annals of Flude, which prove that -the “Anglo-Saxons” and the Franks still scalped about A.D. 879. And as -the modern American practice is traceable to Europe and Asia, so it -may be found in Africa, where aught of ferocity is rarely wanting. “In -a short time after our return,” says Mr. Duncan (“Travels in Western -Africa in 1845 and 1846”), “the Apadomey regiment passed, on their -return, in single file, each leading in a string a young male or female -slave, carrying also the dried scalp of one man supposed to have been -killed in the attack. On all such occasions, when a person is killed in -battle, the skin is taken from the head and kept as a trophy of valor. -It must not be supposed that these female warriors kill according to -the number of scalps presented; the scalps are the accumulation of -many years. If six or seven men are killed during one year’s war it is -deemed a great thing; one party always run away in these slave-hunts; -but where armies meet the slaughter is great. I counted 700 scalps -pass in this manner.” But mutilation, like cannibalism, tattooing, and -burying in barrows, is so natural under certain circumstances to man’s -mind that we distinctly require no traditional derivation. - -Scalp-taking is a solemn rite. In the good old times braves -scrupulously awaited the wounded man’s death before they “raised his -hair;” in the laxity of modern days, however, this humane custom is too -often disregarded. Properly speaking, the trophy should be taken after -fair fight with a hostile warrior; this also is now neglected. When -the Indian sees his enemy fall he draws his scalp-knife--the modern is -of iron, formerly it was of flint, obsidian, or other hard stone--and -twisting the scalp-lock, which is left long for that purpose, and -boastfully braided or decorated with some gaudy ribbon or with the -war-eagle’s plume, round his left hand, makes with the right two -semicircular incisions, with and against the sun, about the part to be -removed. The skin is next loosened with the knife-point, if there be -time to spare and if there be much scalp to be taken. The operator then -sits on the ground, places his feet against the subject’s shoulders -by way of leverage, and, holding the scalp-lock with both hands, he -applies a strain which soon brings off the spoils with a sound which, -I am told, is not unlike “flop.” Without the long lock it would be -difficult to remove the scalp; prudent white travelers, therefore, are -careful, before setting out through an Indian country, to “shingle -off” their hair as closely as possible; the Indian, moreover, hardly -cares for a half-fledged scalp. To judge from the long love-locks -affected by the hunter and mountaineer, he seems to think lightly of -this precaution; to hold it, in fact, a point of honor that the savage -should have a fair chance. A few cunning men have surprised their -adversaries with wigs. The operation of scalping must be exceedingly -painful; the sufferer turns, wriggles, and “squirms” upon the ground -like a scotched snake. It is supposed to induce brain fever; many -instances, however, are known of men and even women recovering from -it, as the former do from a more dreadful infliction in Abyssinia and -Galla-land; cases are of course rare, as a disabling wound is generally -inflicted before the bloodier work is done. - -After taking the scalp, the Indian warrior--proud as if he had won -a _médaille de sauvetage_--prepares for return to his village. He -lingers outside for a few days, and then, after painting his hands and -face with lampblack, appears slowly and silently before his lodge. -There he squats for a while; his relatives and friends, accompanied by -the elders of the tribe, sit with him dumb as himself. Presently the -question is put; it is answered with truth, although these warriors at -other times will lie like Cretans. The “coup” is recounted, however, -with abundant glorification; the Indians, like the Greek and Arab of -their classical ages, are allowed to vent their self-esteem on such -occasions without blame, and to enjoy a treat for which the civilized -modern hero longs ardently, but in vain. Finally the “green scalp,” -after being dried and mounted, is consecrated by the solemn dance, and -becomes then fit for public exhibition. Some tribes attach it to a long -pole used as a standard, and others to their horses’ bridles, others -to their targes, while others ornament with its fringes the outer -seams of their leggins; in fact, its uses are many. The more scalps -the more honor; the young man who can not boast of a single murder or -show the coveted trophy is held in such scant esteem as the English -gentleman who contents himself with being passing rich on a hundred -pounds a year. Some great war-chiefs have collected a heap of these -honorable spoils. It must be remembered by “curio” hunters that only -one scalp can come off one head; namely, the centre lock or long tuft -growing upon the coronal apex, with about three inches in diameter of -skin. This knowledge is the more needful, as the Western men are in the -habit of manufacturing half a dozen cut from different parts of the -same head; they sell readily for $50 each, but the transaction is not -considered reputable. The connoisseur, however, readily distinguishes -the real article from “false scalping” by the unusual thickness of -the cutis, which is more like that of a donkey than of a man. Set in -a plain gold circlet it makes a very pretty brooch. Moreover, each -tribe has its own fashion of scalping derived from its forefathers. The -Sioux, for instance, when they have leisure to perform the operation, -remove the whole headskin, including a portion of the ears; they then -sit down and dispose the ears upon the horns of a buffalo skull, and -a bit of the flesh upon little heaps of earth or clay, disposed in -quincunx, apparently as an offering to the manes of their ancestors, -and they smoke ceremoniously, begging the manitou to send them plenty -more. The trophy is then stretched upon a willow twig bent into an -oval shape, and lined with two semi-ovals of black or blue and scarlet -cloth. The Yutas and the Prairie tribes generally, when pressed for -time, merely take off the poll skin that grows the long tuft of hair, -while the Chyuagara or Nez Percés prefer a long strip about two inches -wide, extending from the nape to the commissure of the hair and -forehead. The fingers of the slain are often reserved for sévignés -and necklaces. Indians are aware of the aversion with which the pale -faces regard this barbarity. Near Alkali Lake, where there was a large -Dakotah “tipi” or encampment of Sioux, I tried to induce a tribesman to -go through the imitative process before me; he refused with a gesture -indignantly repudiating the practice. A glass of whisky would doubtless -have changed his mind, but I was unwilling to break through the -wholesome law that prohibits it. - -It is not wonderful that the modern missionary should be unable to -influence such a brain as the Prairie Indian’s. The old propagandists, -Jesuits and Franciscans, became medicine-men: like the great fraternity -in India, they succeeded by the points of resemblance which the savages -remarked in their observances, such as their images and rosaries, which -would be regarded as totems, and their fastings and prayers, which -were of course supposed to be spells and charms. Their successors -have succeeded about as well with the Indian as with the African; the -settled tribes have given ear to them, the Prairie wanderers have not; -and the Europeanization of the Indian generally is hopeless as the -Christianization of the Hindoo. The missionaries usually live under the -shadow of the different agencies, and even they own that nothing can be -done with the children unless removed from the parental influence. I do -not believe that an Indian of the plains ever became a Christian. He -must first be humanized, then civilized, and lastly Christianized; and, -as has been said before, I doubt his surviving the operation. - -[INDIAN NAMES.] - -As might be expected of the Indian’s creed, it has few rites and -ceremonies; circumcision is unknown, and it ignores the complicated -observances which, in the case of the Hindoo Pantheist, and in many -African tribes, wait upon gestation, parturition, and allactation. The -child is seldom named.[74] There are but five words given in regular -order to distinguish one from another. There are no family names. The -men, after notable exploits, are entitled by their tribes to assume -the titles of the distinguished dead, and each fresh deed brings a -new distinction. Some of the names are poetical enough: the “Black -Night,” for instance, the “Breaker of Arrows,” or the “War Eagle’s -Wing;” others are coarse and ridiculous, such as “Squash-head,” -“Bull’s-tail,” “Dirty Saddle,” and “Steam from a Cow’s Belly;” not a -few bear a whimsical likeness to those of the African negroes, as “His -Great Fire,” “The Water goes in the Path,” and “Buffalo Chips”--the -“Mavi yá Gnombe” of Unyamwezi. The son of a chief succeeding his -father usually assumes his name, so that the little dynasty, like that -of the Pharaohs, the Romuli, or the Numas, is perpetuated. The women -are not unfrequently called after the parts and properties of some -admired or valued animal, as the White Martin, the Young Mink,[75] or -the Muskrat’s Paw. In the north there have been men with as many as -seven wives, all “Martins.” The Prairie Indians form the names of the -women like those of men, adding the feminine suffix, as Cloud-woman, -Red-earth-woman, Black-day-woman. The white stranger is ever offending -Indian etiquette by asking the savage “What’s your name?” The person -asked looks aside for a friend to assist him; he has learned in boyhood -that some misfortune will happen to him if he discloses his name. Even -husbands and wives never mention each other’s names. The same practice -prevails in many parts of Asia. - - [74] The Ojibwa and other races have the ceremony of a burnt-offering - when the name is given. - - [75] Putorius vison, a pretty dark-chestnut-colored animal of the - weasel kind, which burrows in the banks of streams near mills and - farm-houses, where it preys upon the poultry like the rest of the - family. It swims well, and can dive for a long time. Its food is - small fish, mussels, and insects, but it will also devour rats and - mice. - -[FEMALE CONDUCT.] - -Marriage is a simple affair with them. In some tribes the bride, as -among the Australians, is carried off by force. In others the man -who wants a wife courts her with a little present, and pickets near -the father’s lodge the number of horses which he supposes to be her -equivalent. As among all savage tribes, the daughter is a chattel, an -item of her father’s goods, and he will not part with her except for a -consideration. The men are of course polygamists; they prefer to marry -sisters, because the tent is more quiet, and much upon the principle -with which marriage with a deceased wife’s sister is advocated in -England. The women, like the Africans, are not a little addicted to -suicide. Before espousal the conduct of the weaker sex in many tribes -is far from irreproachable. The “bundling” of Wales and of New England -in a former day[76] is not unknown to them, and many think little of -that _prœgustatio matrimonii_ which, in the eastern parts of the New -World, goes by the name of Fanny Wrightism and Free-loveism. Several -tribes make trial, like the Highlanders before the reign of James the -Fifth, of their wives for a certain time--a kind of “hand-fasting,” -which is to morality what fetichism is to faith. There are few nations -in the world among whom this practice, originating in a natural desire -not to “make a leap in the dark,” can not be traced. Yet after marriage -they will live, like the Spartan matrons, a life of austerity in -relation to the other sex. In cases of divorce, the children, being -property, are divided, and in most tribes the wife claims the odd one. -If the mother takes any care to preserve her daughter’s virtue, it is -only out of regard to its market value. In some tribes the injured -husband displays all the philosophy of Cato and Socrates. In others -the wife is punished, like the native of Hindostan, by cutting, or, -more generally, by biting off the nose-tip. Some slay the wife’s lover; -others accept a pecuniary compensation for their dishonor, and take -as damages skins or horses. Elopement, as among the Arabs, prevails -in places. The difference of conduct on the part of the women of -course depends upon the bearing of the men. “There is no adulteress -without an adulterer”--meaning that the husband is ever the first to -be unfaithful--is a saying as old as the days of Mohammed. Among the -Arapahoes, for instance, there is great looseness; the Cheyennes, -on the contrary, are notably correct. Truth demands one unpleasant -confession, viz., on the whole, chastity is little esteemed among those -Indians who have been corrupted by intercourse with whites. - - [76] Traces of this ancient practice may be found in the four - quarters of the globe. Mr.Bartlett, in his instructive volume, quotes - the Rev. Samuel Pike (“General History of Connecticut,” London, - 1781), who quaintly remarks: “Notwithstanding the great modesty of - the females is such that it would be accounted the greatest rudeness - for a gentleman to speak before a lady of a garter or a leg, yet - it is thought but a piece of civility to ask her to _bundle_.” The - learned and pious historian endeavored to prove that bundling was - not only a Christian, but a very polite and prudent practice. So the - Rev. Andrew Barnaby, who traveled in New England in 1759-60, thinks - that though bundling may “at first appear the effect of grossness of - character, it will, upon deeper research, be found to proceed from - simplicity and innocence.” - -[CHIEFS.] - -The dignity of chief denotes in the Indian language a royal title. -It is hereditary as a rule, but men of low birth sometimes attain -it by winning a name as warriors or medicine-men. When there are -many sons it often happens that each takes command of a small clan. -Personal prowess is a necessity in sagamore and sachem: an old man, -therefore, often abdicates in favor of his more vigorous son, to whom -he acts as guide and counselor. There is one chief to every band, -with several sub-chiefs. The power possessed by the ruler depends -upon his individual character, and the greater or lesser capacity for -discipline in his subjects. Some are obeyed grudgingly, as the Sheikh -of a Bedouin tribe. Others are absolute monarchs, who dispose of the -lives and properties of their followers without exciting a murmur. The -counteracting element to despotism resides in the sub-chief and in the -council of warriors, who obstinately insist upon having a voice in -making laws, raising subsidies, declaring wars, and ratifying peace. - -[MODE OF LIFE.] - -Their life is of course simple; they have no regular hours for meals -or sleep. Before eating they sometimes make a heave-offering of a -bit of food toward the heavens, where their forefathers are, and a -second toward the earth, the mother of all things: the pieces are then -burned. They are not cannibals, except when a warrior, after slaying -a foe, eats, porcupine-like, the heart or liver, with the idea of -increasing his own courage. The women rarely sit at meals with the -men. In savage and semi-barbarous societies the separation of the -sexes is the general rule, because, as they have no ideas in common, -each prefers the society of its own. They are fond of adoption and -of making brotherhoods, like the Africans; and so strong is the tie, -that marriage with the sister of an adopted brother is within the -prohibited degrees. Gambling is a passion with them: they play at -cards, an art probably learned from the Canadians, and the game is -that called in the States “matching,” on the principle of dominoes or -beggar-my-neighbor. When excited they ejaculate Will! Will!--sharp and -staccato--it is possibly a conception of the English well. But it often -comes out in the place of bad, as the Sepoy orderly in India reports -to his captain, “Ramnak Jamnak dead, Joti Prasad very sick--all vell!” -The savages win and lose with the stoicism habitual to them, rarely -drawing the “navajon,” like the Mexican “lepero,” over a disputed -point; and when a man has lost his last rag, he rises in nude dignity -and goes home. Their language ignores the violent and offensive abuse -of parents and female relatives, which distinguishes the Asiatic and -the African from the European Billingsgate: the worst epithets that -can be applied to a man are miser, coward, dog, woman. With them good -temper is good breeding--a mark of gentle blood. A brave will stand -up and harangue his enemies, exulting how he scalped their sires, and -squaws, and sons, without calling forth a grunt of irritation. Ceremony -and manners, in our sense of the word, they have none, and they lack -the profusion of salutations which usually distinguishes barbarians. -An Indian appearing at your door rarely has the civility to wait till -beckoned in; he enters the house, with his quiet catlike gait and his -imperturbable countenance, saying, if a Sioux, “How!” or “How! How!” -meaning Well? shakes hands, to which he expects the same reply, if he -has learned “paddling with the palms” from the whites--this, however, -is only expected by the chiefs and braves--and squats upon his hams in -the Eastern way, I had almost said the natural way, but to man, unlike -all other animals, every way is equally natural, the chair or the seat -upon the ground. He accepts a pipe if offered to him, devours what you -set before him--those best acquainted with the savage, however, avoid -all unnecessary civility or generosity: Milesian-like, he considers a -benefit his due, and if withheld, he looks upon his benefactor as a -“mean man”--talks or smokes as long as he pleases, and then rising, -stalks off without a word. His ideas of time are primitive. The hour is -denoted by pointing out the position of the sun; the days, or rather -the nights, are reckoned by sleeps; there are no weeks; the moons, -which are literally new, the old being nibbled away by mice, form the -months, and suns do duty for years. He has, like the Bedouin and the -Esquimaux, sufficient knowledge of the heavenly bodies to steer his -course over the pathless sage-sea. Night-work, however, is no favorite -with him except in cases of absolute necessity. Counting is done upon -man’s first abacus, the fingers, and it rarely extends beyond ten. The -value of an article was formerly determined by beads and buffaloes; -dollars, however, are now beginning to be generally known. - -The only arts of the Indians are medicine and the use of arms. They are -great in the knowledge of simples and tisanes. The leaves of the white -willow are the favorite emetic; wounds are dressed with astringent -herbs, and inflammations are reduced by scarification and the actual -cautery. Among some tribes, the hammam, or Turkish bath, is invariably -the appendage to a village. It is an oven sunk in the earth, with -room for about a score of persons, and a domed roof of tamped and -timber-propped earth--often mistaken for a bulge in the ground--pierced -with a little square window for ventilation when not in use. A fire is -kindled in the centre, and the patient, after excluding the air, sits -quietly in this rude calidarium till half roasted and stifled by the -heat and smoke. Finally, like the Russian peasant, he plunges into the -burn that runs hard by, and feels his ailments dropping off him with -the dead cuticle. The Indians associating with the horse have learned a -rude farriery which often succeeds where politer practice would fail. -I heard of one who cured the bites of rattlesnakes and copperheads by -scarifying the wounded beast’s face, plastering the place with damped -gunpowder paste and setting it on fire. - -[FIRE-ARMS.--BOWS AND ARROWS.] - -Among the Prairie tribes are now to be found individuals provided -not only with the old muskets formerly supplied to them, but with -yägers,[77] Sharp’s breech-loaders, alias “Beecher’s Bibles,” Colt’s -revolvers, and other really good fire-arms. Their shooting has improved -with their tools: many of them are now able to “draw a bead” with -coolness and certainty. Those who can not afford shooting-irons content -themselves with their ancient weapons, the lance and bow. The former -is a poor affair, a mere iron spike from two to three inches long, -inserted into the end of a staff about as thick as a Hindostanee’s -bamboo lance; it is whipped round with sinew for strength, decorated -with a few bunches of gaudy feathers, and defended with the usual -medicine-bag. The bow varies in dimensions with the different tribes. -On the prairies, for convenient use on horseback, it seldom exceeds -three feet in length; among the Southern Indians its size doubles, and -in parts of South America it is like that of the Andamans, a gigantic -weapon with an arrow six feet long, and drawn by bringing the aid of -the feet to the hands. The best bows among the Sioux and Yutas are of -horn, hickory being unprocurable; an inferior sort is made of a reddish -wood, in hue and grain not unlike that called “mountain mahogany.” A -strip of raw-hide is fitted to the back for increase of elasticity, -and the string is a line of twisted sinew. When not wanted for use -the weapon is carried in a skin case slung over the shoulder. It is -drawn with the two forefingers--not with the forefinger and thumb, -as in the East--and generally the third or ring-finger is extended -along the string to give additional purchase. Savage tribes do little -in the way of handicraft, but that little they do patiently, slowly, -and therefore well. The bow and arrow are admirably adapted to their -purpose. The latter is either a reed or a bit of arrow-wood (_Viburnum -dentatum_), whose long, straight, and tough stems are used by the -fletcher from the Mississippi to the Pacific. The piles are triangles -of iron, agate, flint, chalcedony, opal, or other hard stone: for war -purposes they are barbed, and bird-bolts tipped with hard wood are used -for killing small game. Some tribes poison their shafts: the material -is the juice of a buffalo’s or an antelope’s liver when it has become -green and decomposed after the bite of a rattlesnake; at least this -is the account which all the hunters and mountaineers give of it. -They have also, I believe, vegetable poisons. The feathers are three -in number; those preferred are the hawk’s and the raven’s; and some -tribes glue, while others whip them on with tendon-thread. The stele is -invariably indented from the feathers to the tip with a shallow spiral -furrow: this vermiculation is intended, according to the traders, to -hasten death by letting air into or letting blood out of the wound. It -is probably the remnant of some superstition now obsolete, for every -man does it, while no man explains why or wherefore. If the Indian -works well, he does not work quickly; he will expend upon half a dozen -arrows as many months. Each tribe has its own mark; the Pawnees, for -instance, make a bulge below the notch. Individuals also have private -signs which enable them to claim a disputed scalp or buffalo robe. In -battle or chase the arrows are held in the left hand, and are served -out to the right with such rapidity that one long string of them seems -to be cleaving the air. A good Sioux archer will, it is said, discharge -nine arrows upward before the first has fallen to the ground. He will -transfix a bison and find his shaft upon the earth on the other side; -and he shows his dexterity by discharging the arrow up to its middle -in the quarry and by withdrawing it before the animal falls. Tales are -told of a single warrior killing several soldiers; and as a rule, at -short distances, the bow is considered by the whites a more effectual -weapon than the gun. It is related that when the Sioux first felt the -effects of Colt’s revolver, the weapon, after two shots, happened to -slip from the owner’s grasp; when he recovered it and fired a third -time all fled, declaring that a white was shooting them with buffalo -chips. Wonderful tales are told of the Indians’ accuracy with the -bow: they hold it no great feat to put the arrow into a keyhole at -the distance of forty paces. It is true that I never saw any thing -surprising in their performances, but the savage will not take the -trouble to waste his skill without an object. - - [77] An antiquated sort of German rifle, formerly used by the federal - troops. - -[THE SIOUX LANGUAGE.] - -The Sioux tongue, like the Pawnee, is easily learned; government -officials and settlers acquire it as the Anglo-Indian does Hindostanee. -They are assisted by the excellent grammar and dictionary of the -Dakotah language, collated by the members of the Dakotah Mission, -edited by the Rev. S. R. Riggs, M.A., and accepted for publication by -the Smithsonian Institution, December, 1851. The Dakotah-English part -contains about 16,000 words, and the bibliography (spelling-books, -tracts, and translations) numbered ten years ago eighteen small -volumes. The work is compiled in a scholar-like manner. The -orthography, though rather complicated, is intelligible, and is a -great improvement upon the old and unartistic way of writing the -polysynthetic Indian tongues, syllable by syllable, as though they were -monosyllabic Chinese; the superfluous _h_ (as Dakota_h_ for Dakota), by -which the broad sound of the terminal _a_ is denoted, has been justly -cast out. The peculiar letters _ch_, _p_, and _t_, are denoted by a dot -beneath the simple sound; similarly the _k_ (or Arabic _kaf_), the _gh_ -(the Semitic _ghain_) and the _kh_ (_khá_), which, as has happened in -Franco-Arabic grammars, was usually expressed by an _R_. An apostrophe -(_s’a_) denotes the hiatus, which is similar to the Arab’s hamzah. - -Vater long ago remarked that the only languages which had a character, -if not similar, at any rate analogous to the American, are the -Basque and the Congo, that is, the South African or Kaffir family. -This is the case in many points: in Dakotah, for instance, as in -Kisawahili, almost every word ends in a pure or a nasalized vowel. -But the striking novelty of the African tongues, the inflexion of -words by an initial, not, as with us, by a terminal change and the -complex system of euphony, does not appear in the American, which in -its turn possesses a dual unknown to the African. The Dakotah, like -the Kaffir, has no gender; it uses the personal and impersonal, which -is an older distinction in language. It follows the primitive and -natural arrangement of speech: it says, for instance, “aguyapi maku -ye,” bread to me give; as in Hindostanee, to quote no other, “roti -hamko do.” So in logical argument it begins with the conclusion and -proceeds to the premisses, which renders it difficult for a European -to think in Dakotah. Like other American tongues, it is polysynthetic, -which appears to be the effect of arrested development. Human speech -begins with inorganic sounds, which represent symbolism by means of -arrows pointed in a certain direction, bent trees, crossed rods, and -other similar contrivances. Its first step is monosyllabic, which -corresponds with the pictograph, the earliest attempt at writing among -the uncivilized.[78] The next advance is polysynthesis, which is -apparently built upon monosyllabism, as the idiograph of the Chinese -upon a picture or glyph. The last step is the syllabic and inflected, -corresponding with the Phœnico-Arabian alphabet, which gave rise to -the Greek, the Latin, and their descendants. The complexity of Dakotah -grammar is another illustration of the phenomenon that man in most -things, in language especially, begins with the most difficult and -works on toward the facile. Savages, who have no mental exercise but -the cultivation of speech, and semi-barbarous people, who still retain -the habit, employ complicated and highly elaborate tongues, _e. g._, -Arabic, Sanscrit, Latin, Greek, Kaffir, and Anglo-Saxon. With time -these become more simple; the _modus operandi_ appears to be admixture -of race. - - [78] A Kaffir girl wishing to give a hint to a friend of mine drew a - setting sun, a tree, and two figures standing under it; intelligible - enough, yet the Kaffirs ignore a syllabarium. - -The Dakotahs have a sacred language, used by medicine-men, and rendered -unintelligible to the vulgar by words borrowed from other Indian -dialects, and by synonyms, _e. g._, biped for man, quadruped for -wolf. A chief, asking for an ox or cow, calls it a dog, and a horse, -moccasins: possibly, like Orientals, he superstitiously avoids direct -mention, and speaks of the object wanted by a humbler name. Poetry is -hardly required in a language so highly figurative: a hi-hi-hi-hi-hi, -occasionally interrupted by a few words, composes their songs. The Rev. -Mr. Pond gives the following specimen of “Blackboy’s” Mourning Song for -his Grandson, addressed to those of Ghostland: - - Friend, pause, and look this way; - Friend, pause, and look this way; - Friend, pause, and look this way; - Say ye, - A Grandson of Blackboy is coming. - -Their speech is sometimes metaphorical to an extent which conveys an -opposite meaning: “Friend, thou art a fool; thou hast let the Ojibwa -strike thee,” is the highest form of eulogy to a brave who has killed -and scalped a foe; possibly a Malocchio-like fear, the dread of praise, -which, according to Pliny, kills in India, underlies the habit. - -The funerals differ in every tribe; the Sioux expose their dead, -wrapped in blankets or buffalo robes, upon tall poles--a custom that -reminds us of the Parsee’s “Tower of Silence.” The Yutas make their -graves high up the kanyons, usually in clefts of rock. Some bury the -dead at full length; others sitting or doubled up; others on horseback, -with a barrow or tumulus of earth heaped up over their remains. The -absence of grave-yards in an Indian country is as remarkable as in the -African interior; thinness of population and the savage’s instinctive -dislike to any _memento mori_ are the causes. After deaths the -“keening” is long, loud, and lasting: the women, and often the men, cut -their hair close, not allowing it to fall below the shoulders, and not -unfrequently gash themselves, and amputate one or more fingers. The -dead man, especiallly a chief, is in almost all tribes provided with a -viaticum, dead or alive, of squaws and boys--generally those taken from -another tribe--horses and dogs; his lodge is burned, his arms, cooking -utensils, saddles, and other accoutrements are buried with him, and a -goodly store of buffalo meat or other provision is placed by his side, -that his ghost may want nothing which it enjoyed in the flesh. Like all -savages, the Indian is unable to separate the idea of man’s immaterial -spirit from man’s material wants: an impalpable and invisible form of -matter--called “spirit” because it is not cognizable to the senses, -which are the only avenues of all knowledge--is as unintelligible -to them as to a Latter-Day Saint, or, indeed, as to the mind of man -generally. Hence the Indian’s smoking and offerings over the graves of -friends. Some tribes mourn on the same day of each moon till grief is -satisfied; others for a week after the death. - -[THE INDIAN PANTOMIME.] - -A remarkable characteristic of the Prairie Indian is his habit of -speaking, like the deaf and dumb, with his fingers. The pantomime is a -system of signs, some conventional, others instinctive or imitative, -which enables tribes who have no acquaintance with each other’s -customs and tongues to hold limited but sufficient communication. -An interpreter who knows all the signs, which, however, are so -numerous and complicated that to acquire them is the labor of years, -is preferred by the whites even to a good speaker. Some writers, as -Captain H. Stansbury, consider the system purely arbitrary; others, -Captain Marcy, for instance, hold it to be a natural language similar -to the gestures which surd-mutes use spontaneously. Both views are -true, but not wholly true; as the following pages will, I believe, -prove, the pantomimic vocabulary is neither quite conventional nor the -reverse. - -The sign-system doubtless arose from the necessity of a communicating -medium between races speaking many different dialects, and debarred -by circumstances from social intercourse. Its area is extensive: it -prevails among many of the Prairie tribes, as the Hapsaroke, or Crows, -the Dakotah, the Cheyenne, and the Shoshonee; the Pawnees, Yutas, and -Shoshoko, or Diggers, being vagrants and outcasts, have lost or never -had the habit. Those natives who, like the Arapahoes, possess a very -scanty vocabulary, pronounced in a quasi-unintelligible way, can hardly -converse with one another in the dark: to make a stranger understand -them they must always repair to the camp fire for “powwow.” A story is -told of a man who, being sent among the Cheyennes to qualify himself -for interpreting, returned in a week, and proved his competence: all -that he did, however, was to go through the usual pantomime with a -running accompaniment of grunts. I have attempted to describe a few -of the simpler signs: the reader, however, will readily perceive that -without diagrams the explanation is very imperfect, and that in half an -hour, with an Indian or an interpreter, he would learn more than by a -hundred pages of print. - -The first lesson is to distinguish the signs of the different tribes, -and it will be observed that the French voyageurs and traders have -often named the Indian nations from their totemic or masonic gestures. - -The Pawnees (Les Loups) imitate a wolf’s ears with the two -forefingers--the right hand is always understood unless otherwise -specified[79]--extended together, upright, on the left side of the head. - - [79] The left, as a rule, denotes inversion or contradiction. - -The Arapahoes, or Dirty Noses, rub the right side of that organ with -the forefinger: some call this bad tribe the Smellers, and make their -sign to consist of seizing the nose with the thumb and forefinger. - -The Comanches (Les Serpents) imitate, by the waving of the hand or -forefinger, the forward crawling motion of a snake. - -The Cheyennes, Paikanavos, or Cut-Wrists, draw the lower edge of the -hand across the left arm as if gashing it with a knife. - -The Sioux (Les Coupe-gorges), by drawing the lower edge of the hand -across the throat: it is a gesture not unknown to us, but forms a truly -ominous salutation considering those by whom it is practiced; hence the -Sioux are called by the Yutas Pámpe Chyimina, or Hand-cutters. - -The Hapsaroke (Les Corbeaux), by imitating the flapping of the birds’ -wings with the two hands--palms downward--brought close to the -shoulders. - -The Kiowas, or Prairie-men, make the signs of the prairie and of -drinking water. These will presently be described. - -The Yutas, “they who live on mountains,” have a complicated sign which -denotes “living in mountains;” these will be explained under “sit” and -“mountains.” - -The Blackfeet, called by the Yutas Paike or Goers, pass the right hand, -bent spoon-fashion, from the heel to the little toe of the right foot. - -The following are a few preliminaries indispensable to the prairie -traveler: - - _Halt!_--Raise the hand, with the palm in front, and push it backward - and forward several times--a gesture well known in the East. - - _I don’t know you!_--Move the raised hand, with the palm in front, - slowly to the right and left. - - _I am angry!_--Close the fist, place it against the forehead, and - turn it to and fro in that position. - - _Are you friendly?_--Raise both hands, grasped, as if in the act of - shaking hands, or lock the two forefingers together while the hands - are raised. - -These signs will be found useful upon the prairie in case of meeting a -suspected band. The Indians, like the Bedouin and N. African Moslem, -do honor to strangers and guests by putting their horses to speed, -couching their lances, and other peculiarities which would readily be -dispensed with by gentlemen of peaceful pursuits and shaky nerves. If -friendly, the band will halt when the hint is given and return the -salute; if surly, they will disregard the command to stop, and probably -will make the sign of anger. Then--ware scalp! - - _Come!_--Beckon with the forefinger, as in Europe, not as is done in - the East. - - _Come back!_--Beckon in the European way, and draw the forefinger - toward yourself. - - _Go!_--Move both hands edgeways (the palms fronting the breast) - toward the left with a rocking-horse motion. - - _Sit!_--Make a motion toward the ground, as if to pound it with the - ferient of the closed hand. - - _Lie down!_--Point to the ground, and make a motion as if of lying - down. - - _Sleep!_--Ditto, closing the eyes. - - _Look!_--Touch the right eye with the index and point it outward. - - _Hear!_--Tap the right ear with the index tip. - -Colors are expressed by a comparison with some object in sight. Many -things, as the blowing of wind, the cries of beasts and birds, and the -roaring of the sea, are imitated by sound. - - _See!_--Strike out the two forefingers forward from the eyes. - - _Smell!_--Touch the nose-tip. A bad smell is expressed by the same - sign, ejaculating at the same time “Pooh!” and making the sign of bad. - - _Taste!_--Touch the tongue-tip. - - _Eat!_--Imitate the action of conveying food with the fingers to the - mouth. - - _Drink!_--Scoop up with the hand imaginary water into the mouth. - - _Smoke!_--With the crooked index describe a pipe in the air, - beginning at the lips; then wave the open hand from the mouth to - imitate curls of smoke. - - _Speak!_--Extend the open hand from the chin. - - _Fight!_--Make a motion with both fists to and fro, like a pugilist - of the eighteenth century who preferred a high guard. - - _Kill!_--Smite the sinister palm earthward with the dexter fist - sharply, in sign of “going down;” or strike out with the dexter fist - toward the ground, meaning to “shut down;” or pass the dexter index - under the left forefinger, meaning to “go under.” - -To show that fighting is actually taking place, make the gestures as -above described; tap the lips with the palm like an Oriental woman when -“keening,” screaming the while O-a! O-a! to imitate the war-song. - - _Wash!_--Rub the hand as with invisible soap in imperceptible water. - - _Think!_--Pass the forefinger sharply across the breast from right to - left. - - _Hide!_--Place the hand inside the clothing of the left breast. This - means also to put away or to keep secret. To express “I won’t say,” - make the signs of “I” and “no” (which see), and hide the hand as - above directed. - - _Love!_--Fold the hands crosswise over the breast, as if embracing - the object, assuming at the same time a look expressing the desire - to carry out the operation. This gesture will be understood by the - dullest squaw. - - _Tell truth!_--Extend the forefinger from the mouth (“one word”). - - _Tell lie!_--Extend the two first fingers from the mouth (“double - tongue,” a significant gesture). - - _Steal!_--Seize an imaginary object with the right hand from under - the left fist. To express horse-stealing they saw with the right - hand down upon the extended fingers of the left, thereby denoting - rope-cutting. - - _Trade or exchange!_--Cross the forefingers of both hands before the - breast--“diamond cut diamond.” - -This sign also denotes the Americans, and, indeed, any white men, who -are generically called by the Indians west of the Rocky Mountains -“Shwop,” from our swap or swop, an English Romany word for barter or -exchange. - -The pronouns are expressed by pointing to the person designated. For -“I,” touch the nose-tip, or otherwise indicate self with the index. The -second and third persons are similarly made known. - -Every animal has its precise sign, and the choice of gesture is -sometimes very ingenious. If the symbol be not known, the form may -be drawn on the ground, and the strong perceptive faculties of the -savage enable him easily to recognize even rough draughts. A cow or a -sheep denotes white men, as if they were their totems. The Indian’s -high development of locality also enables him to map the features of -a country readily and correctly upon the sand. Moreover, almost every -grand feature has a highly significant name, Flintwater, for instance, -and nothing is easier than to combine the signs. - -The _bear_ is expressed by passing the hand before the face to mean -ugliness, at the same time grinning and extending the fingers like -claws. - -The _buffalo_ is known by raising the forefingers crooked inward, in -the semblance of horns on both sides of the head. - -The _elk_ is signified by simultaneously raising both hands with the -fingers extended on both sides of the head to imitate palmated horns. - -For the _deer_, extend the thumbs and the two forefingers of each hand -on each side of the head. - -For the _antelope_, extend the thumbs and forefingers along the sides -of the head, to simulate ears and horns. - -_Mountain sheep_ are denoted by placing the hands on a level with the -ears, the palms facing backward and the fingers slightly reversed, to -imitate the ammonite-shaped horns. - -For the _beaver_, describe a parenthesis, _e. g._ ( ), with the thumb -and index of both hands, and then with the dexter index imitate the -wagging of the tail. - -The _dog_ is shown by drawing the two forefingers slightly opened -horizontally across the breast from right to left. This is a highly, -appropriate and traditional gesture: before the introduction of horses, -the dog was taught to carry the tent poles, and the motion expressed -the lodge trail. - -To denote the _mule_ or _ass_, the long ears are imitated by the -indices on both sides and above the head. - -For the _crow_, and, indeed, any bird, the hands are flapped near -the shoulders. If specification be required, the cry is imitated or -some peculiarity is introduced. The following will show the ingenuity -with which the Indian can convey his meaning under difficulties. A -Yuta wishing to explain that the torpedo or gymnotus eel is found in -Cotton-wood Kanyon Lake, took to it thus: he made the body by extending -his sinister index to the fore, touched it with the dexter index at two -points on both sides to show legs, and finally sharply withdrew his -right forefinger to convey the idea of an electric shock. - -Some of the symbols of relationship are highly appropriate, and not -ungraceful or unpicturesque. Man is denoted by a sign which will not -admit of description; woman, by passing the hand down both sides of -the head as if smoothing or stroking the long hair. A son or daughter -is expressed by making with the hand a movement denoting issue from -the loins: if the child be small, a bit of the index held between the -antagonized thumb and medius is shown. The same sign of issue expresses -both parents, with additional explanations: To say, for instance, -“_my mother_,” you would first pantomime “_I_,” or, which is the same -thing, “_my_;” then “_woman_;” and, finally, the symbol of parentage. -“_My grandmother_” would be conveyed in the same way, adding to the -end clasped hands, closed eyes, and like an old woman’s bent back. The -sign for brother and sister is perhaps the prettiest: the two first -finger-tips are put into the mouth, denoting that they fed from the -same breast. For the wife--squaw is now becoming a word of reproach -among the Indians--the dexter forefinger is passed between the extended -thumb and index of the left. - -Of course there is a sign for every weapon. The _knife_--scalp or -other--is shown by cutting the sinister palm with the dexter ferient -downward and toward one’s self: if the cuts be made upward with the -palm downward, meat is understood. The _tomahawk_, hatchet, or axe is -denoted by chopping the left hand with the right; the _sword_ by the -motion of drawing it; the _bow_ by the movement of bending it; and a -_spear_ or _lance_ by an imitation of darting it. For the _gun_, the -dexter thumb and fingers are flashed or scattered, _i. e._, thrown -outward or upward to denote fire. The same movement made lower down -expresses a _pistol_. The _arrow_ is expressed by nocking it upon -an imaginary bow, and by “snapping” with the index and medius. The -_shield_ is shown by pointing with the index over the left shoulder, -where it is slung ready to be brought over the breast when required. - -The following are the most useful words: - - _Yes._--Wave the hands straight forward from the face. - - _No._--Wave the hand from right to left, as if motioning away. This - sign also means “I’ll have nothing to do with you.” Done slowly and - insinuatingly, it informs a woman that she is _charmante_--“not to be - touched” being the idea. - - _Good._--Wave the hand from the mouth, extending the thumb from the - index and closing the other three fingers. This sign means also “I - know.” “I don’t know” is expressed by waving the right hand with the - palm outward before the right breast, or by moving about the two - forefingers before the breast, meaning “two hearts.” - - _Bad._--Scatter the dexter fingers outward, as if spirting away water - from them. - - _Now_ (_at once_).--Clap both palms together sharply and repeatedly, - or make the sign of “to-day.” - - _Day._--Make a circle with the thumb and forefinger of both, in sign - of the sun. The _hour_ is pointed out by showing the luminary’s place - in the heavens. The _moon_ is expressed by a crescent with the thumb - and forefinger: this also denotes a month. For a _year_ give the sign - of rain or snow. - -Many Indians ignore the quadripartite division of the seasons, -which seems to be an invention of European latitudes; the Persians, -for instance, know it, but the Hindoos do not. They have, however, -distinct terms for the month, all of which are pretty and descriptive, -appropriate and poetical; _e. g._, the moon of light nights, the moon -of leaves, the moon of strawberries, for April, May, and June. The -Ojibwa have a queer quaternal division, called Of sap, Of abundance, Of -fading, and Of freezing. The Dakotah reckon five moons to winter and -five to summer, leaving one to spring and one to autumn; the year is -lunar, and as the change of season is denoted by the appearance of sore -eyes and of raccoons, any irregularity throws the people out. - - _Night._--Make a closing movement as if of the darkness by bringing - together both hands with the dorsa upward and the fingers to the - fore: the motion is from right to left, and at the end the two - indices are alongside and close to each other. This movement must be - accompanied by bending forward with bowed head, otherwise it may be - misunderstood for the freezing over of a lake or river. - - _To-day._--Touch the nose with the index tip, and motion with the - fist toward the ground. - - _Yesterday._--Make with the left hand the circle which the sun - describes from sunrise to sunset, or invert the direction from sunset - to sunrise with the right hand. - - _To-morrow._--Describe the motion of the sun from east to west. Any - number of days may be counted upon the fingers. The latter, I need - hardly say, are the only numerals in the pantomimic vocabulary. - -Among the Dakotahs, when they have gone over the fingers and thumbs -of both hands, one is temporarily turned down for one ten; at the end -of another ten a second finger is turned down, and so on, as among -children who are learning to count. “Opawinge,” one hundred, is derived -from “pawinga,” to go round in circles, as the fingers have all been -gone over again for their respective tens; “kektopawinge” is from “ake” -and “opawinge”--“hundred again”--being about to recommence the circle -of their fingers already completed in hundreds. For numerals above a -thousand there is no method of computing. There is a sign and word for -one half of a thing, but none to denote any smaller aliquot part. - - _Peace._--Intertwine the fingers of both hands. - - _Friendship._--Clasp the left with the right hand. - - _Glad_ (_pleased_).--Wave the open hand outward from the breast, to - express “good heart.” - - _A Cup._--Imitate its form with both hands, and make the sign of - drinking from it. In this way any utensil can be intelligibly - described--of course, provided that the interlocutor has seen it. - - _Paint._--Daub both the cheeks downward with the index. - - _Looking-glass._--Place both palms before the face, and admire your - countenance in them. - - _Bead._--Point to a bead, or make the sign of a necklace. - - _Wire._--Show it, or where it ought to be, in the ear-lobe. - - _Whisky._--Make the sign of “bad” and “drink” for “bad water.” - - _Blanket or Clothes._--Put them on in pantomime. - - _A Lodge._--Place the fingers of both hands ridge-fashion before the - breast. - - _Fire._--Blow it, and warm the hands before it. To express the - boiling of a kettle, the sign of fire is made low down, and an - imaginary pot is eaten from. - - _It is cold._--Wrap up, shudder, and look disagreeable. - - _Rain._--Scatter the fingers downward. The same sign denotes snow. - - _Wind._--Stretch the fingers of both hands outward, puffing violently - the while. - - _A Storm._--Make the rain sign; then, if thunder and lightning are to - be expressed, move, as if in anger, the body to and fro, to show the - wrath of the elements. - - _A Stone._--If light, act as if picking it up; if heavy, as if - dropping it. - - _A Hill._--Close the finger-tips over the head: if a mountain is to - be expressed, raise them high. To denote an ascent on rising ground, - pass the right palm over the left hand, half doubling up the latter, - so that it looks like a ridge. - - _A Plain._--Wave both the palms outward and low down. - - _A River._--Make the sign of drinking, and then wave both the palms - outward. A rivulet, creek, or stream is shown by the drinking sign, - and by holding the index tip between the thumb and medius; an arroyo - (dry water-course), by covering up the tip with the thumb and middle - finger. - - _A Lake._--Make the sign of drinking, and form a basin with both - hands. If a large body of water is in question, wave both palms - outward as in denoting a plain. The Prairie savages have never seen - the sea, so it would be vain to attempt explanation. - - _A Book._--Place the right palm on the left palm, and then open both - before the face. - - _A Letter._--Write with the thumb and dexter index on the sinister - palm. - - _A Wagon._--Roll hand over hand, imitating a wheel. - - _A Wagon-road._--Make the wagon sign, and then wave the hand along - the ground. - - _Grass._--Point to the ground with the index, and then turn the - fingers upward to denote growth. If the grass be long, raise the hand - high; and if yellow, point out that color. - -The pantomime, as may be seen, is capable of expressing detailed -narratives. For instance, supposing an Indian would tell the following -tale--“Early this morning I mounted my horse, rode off at a gallop, -traversed a kanyon or ravine, then over a mountain to a plain where -there was no water, sighted bison, followed them, killed three of them, -skinned them, packed the flesh upon my pony, remounted, and returned -home”--he would symbolize it thus: - - Touches nose--“_I_.” - - Opens out the palms of his hand--“_this morning_.” - - Points to east--“_early_.” - - Places two dexter forefingers astraddle over sinister - index--“_mounted my horse_.” - - Moves both hands upward and rocking-horse fashion toward the - left--“_galloped_.” - - Passes the dexter hand right through thumb and forefinger of the - sinister, which are widely extended--“_traversed a kanyon_.” - - Closes the finger-tips high over the head, and waves both palms - outward--“_over a mountain to a plain_.” - - Scoops up with the hand imaginary water into the mouth, and then - waves the hand from the face to denote “no”--“_where there was no - water_.” - - Touches eye--“_sighted_.” - - Raises the forefingers crooked inward on both sides of the - head--“_bison_.” - - Smites the sinister palm downward with the dexter fist--“_killed_.” - - Shows three fingers--“_three of them_.” - - Scrapes the left palm with the edge of the right hand--“_skinned - them_.” - - Places the dexter on the sinister palm, and then the dexter palm on - the sinister dorsum--“_packed the flesh upon my pony_.” - - Straddles the two forefingers on the index of the - left--“_remounted_;” and, finally, - - Beckons toward self--“_returned home_.” - -To conclude, I can hardly flatter myself that these descriptions have -been made quite intelligible to the reader. They may, however, serve -to prepare his mind for a _vivâ voce_ lesson upon the prairies, should -fate have such thing in store for him. - -After this digression I return to my prosaic Diary. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -Concluding the Route to the Great Salt Lake City. - - -[SUNRISE.] - - _Along the Black Hills to Box-Elder. 15th August._ - -I arose “between two days,” a little before 4 A.M., and watched the -dawn, and found in its beauties a soothing influence, which acted upon -stiff limbs and discontented spirit as if it had been a spell. - -The stars of the Great Bear--the prairie night-clock--first began -to pale without any seeming cause, till presently a faint streak of -pale light--_dum i gurg_, or the wolf’s tail, as it is called by the -Persian--began to shimmer upon the eastern verge of heaven. It grew -and grew through the dark blue air: one unaccustomed to the study -of the “gray-eyed morn” would have expected it to usher in the day, -when, gradually as it had struggled into existence, it faded, and a -deeper darkness than before once more invaded the infinitude above. -But now the unrisen sun is more rapidly climbing the gloomy walls of -Koh i Kaf--the mountain rim which encircles the world, and through -whose lower gap the false dawn had found its way--preceded by a warm -flush of light, which chases the shades till, though loth to depart, -they find neither on earth nor in the firmament a place where they -can linger. Warmer and warmer waxes the heavenly radiance, gliding -up to the keystone of the vault above; fainter and fainter grows -the darkness, till the last stain disappears behind the Black Hills -to the west, and the stars one by one, like glow-worms, “pale their -ineffectual fires”--the “Pointers” are the longest to resist--retreat -backward, as it were, and fade away into endless space. Slowly, almost -imperceptibly, the marvelous hues of “glorious morn,” here truly a -fresh “birth of heaven and earth,” all gold and sapphire, acquire depth -and distinctness, till at last a fiery flush ushers from beneath the -horizon the source of all these splendors, - - “Robed in flames and amber light;” - -and another day, with its little life of joys and sorrows, of hopes and -fears, is born to the world. - -Though we all rose up early, packed, and were ready to proceed, there -was an unusual _vis inertiæ_ on the part of the driver: Indians were -about; the mules, of course, had bolted; but that did not suffice as -explanation. Presently the “wonder leaked out:” our companions were -transferred from their comfortable vehicle to a real “shandridan,” a -Rocky-Mountain bone-setter. They were civil enough to the exceedingly -drunken youth--a runaway New Yorker--who did us the honor of driving -us; for _quand on a besoin du diable on lui dit, “Monsieur.”_ One -can not expect, however, the _diable_ to be equally civil: when we -asked him to tidy our vehicle a little, he simply replied that he’d -be darned if he did. Long may be the darning-needle and sharp to him! -But tempers seriously soured must blow up or burst, and a very pretty -little quarrel was the result: it was settled bloodlessly, because one -gentleman, who, to do him justice, showed every disposition to convert -himself into a target, displayed such perfect unacquaintance with the -weapons--revolvers--usually used on similar occasions, that it would -have been mere murder to have taken pistol in hand against him. - -As we sat very disconsolate in the open veranda, five Indians stalked -in, and the biggest and burliest of the party, a middle-aged man, with -the long, straight Indian hair, high, harsh features, and face bald -of eyebrows and beard, after offering his paw to Mrs. Dana and the -rest of the party, sat down with a manner of natural dignity somewhat -trenching upon the impertinent. Presently, diving his hand into his -breast, the old rat pulled out a thick fold of leather, and, after much -manipulation, disclosed a dirty brown, ragged-edged sheet of paper, -certifying him to be “Little Thunder,” and signed by “General Harney.” -This, then, was the chief who showed the white feather at Ash Hollow, -and of whom some military poet sang: - - “We didn’t make a blunder, - We rubbed out Little Thunder, - And we sent him to the other side of Jordan.” - -Little Thunder did not look quite rubbed out; but for poesy fiction -is, of course, an element far more appropriate than fact. I remember a -similar effusion of the Anglo-Indian muse, which consigned “Akbar Khan -the Yaghi” to the tune and fate of the King of the Cannibal Isles, with -a contempt of actualities quite as refreshing. The Western Indians are -as fond of these testimonials as the East Indians: they preserve them -with care as guarantees of their good conduct, and sometimes, as may -be expected, carry about certificates in the style of Bellerophons’ -letters. Little Thunder was _en route_ to Fort Laramie, where he -intended to lay a complaint against the Indian agent, who embezzled, he -said, half the rations and presents intended for his tribe. Even the -whites owned that the “Maje’s” bear got more sugar than all the Indians -put together. - -[THE INDIAN DEPARTMENT.] - -Nothing can be worse, if the _vox populi occidentalis_ be taken as -the _vox Dei_, than the modern management of the Indian Bureau at -Washington. In former times the agencies were in the hands of the -military authorities, and the officer commanding the department -was responsible for malversation of office. This was found to work -well; the papers signed were signed on honor. But in the United -States, the federal army, though well paid, is never allowed to keep -any appointment that can safely be taken away from it. The Indian -Department is now divided into six superintendencies, viz., Northern, -Central, Southern, Utah, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon Territories, -who report to the Indian Office or Bureau of the Commissioners of -Indian Affairs at Washington, under the charge of the Department of the -Interior. The bond varies from $50,000 to $75,000, and the salary from -$2000 to $2500 per annum. The northern superintendency contains four -agencies, the central fourteen, the southern five, the Utah three, New -Mexico six, and the miscellaneous, including Washington, eight. The -grand total of agents, including two specials for Indians in Texas, -is forty-two. Their bond is between $5000 and $75,000, and the salary -between $1000 and $1550. There are also various sub-agencies, with -pay of $1000 each, and giving in bonds $2000. There ought to be no -perquisites; an unscrupulous man, however, finds many opportunities -of making free with the presents; and the reflection that his office -tenure shall expire after the fourth year must make him but the more -reckless. As fifty or sixty appointments = 50 or 60 votes, × 20 in -President electioneering, fitness for the task often becomes quite -a subordinate consideration; the result is, necessarily, peculation -producing discontent among the Indians, and the finale, death to the -whites. To become a good Indian agent, a man requires the variety of -qualifications which would fit him for the guardianship of children, -experience and ability, benevolence and philanthropy: it would be -difficult to secure such phœnix for $200 per annum, and it is found -easier not to look for it. The remedy of these evils is not far from -the surface--the restoration of the office into the hands of the -responsible military servant of the state, who would keep it _quamdiu -se benè gesserit_, and become better capable of serving his masters, -the American people, by the importance which the office would give him -in the eyes of his _protégés_. This is the system of the French Bureau -Arabe, which, with its faults, I love still. But the political mind -would doubtless determine the cure to be worse than the disease. After -venting his grievances, Little Thunder arose, and, accompanied by his -braves, remounted and rode off toward the east. - -While delayed by the mules and their masters, we may amuse ourselves -and divert our thoughts from the battle, and, perhaps, murder and -sudden death, which may happen this evening, by studying the geography -of the Black Hills. The range forms nearly a right angle, the larger -limb--ninety miles--running east to west with a little southing along -the Platte, the shorter leg--sixty miles--trending from north to south -with a few degrees of easting and westing. Forming the easternmost -part of the great trans-Mississippian mountain region, in the 44th -parallel and between the 103d and 105th meridians, these masses cover -an area of 6000 square miles. They are supposed to have received their -last violent upheaval at the close of the cretaceous period; their -bases are elevated from 2500 to 3500 feet--the highest peaks attaining -6700 feet--above river level, while their eastern is from 2000 to 3000 -feet below the western foundation. Their materials, as determined -by Lieutenant Warren’s exploration, are successively metamorphosed -azoic rock, including granite, lower Silurian (Potsdam sandstone), -Devonian (?), carboniferous, Permian, Jurassic, and cretaceous. Like -Ida, they are abundant in springs and flowing streams, which shed -mainly to the northeast and the southeast, supplying the Indians with -trout and salmon trout, catfish (_Prinelodus_), and pickerel. They -abound in small rich valleys, well grown with grass, and wild fruits, -choke-cherries (_P. Virginiana_), currants, sand-buttes fruit (_C. -pumila?_), and buffalo berries (_Shepherdia argentea_, or grains de -bœuf). When irrigated, the bottoms are capable of high cultivation. -They excel in fine timber for fuel and lumber, covering an area of -1500 square miles; in carboniferous rock of the true coal measures; -and in other good building material. As in most of the hill ranges -which are offsets from the Rocky Mountains, they contain gold in -valuable quantities, and doubtless a minute examination will lead -to the discovery of many other useful minerals. The Black Hills are -appropriately named: a cloak of gloomy forest, pine and juniper, -apparently springing from a rock denuded of less hardy vegetation, -seems to invest them from head to foot. The Laramie Hills are -sub-ranges of the higher ridge, and the well-known peak, the Pharos of -the prairie mariner, rises about 1° due west of Fort Laramie to the -height of 6500 feet above sea level. Beyond the meridian of Laramie -the country totally changes. The broad prairie lands, unencumbered by -timber, and covered with a rich pasturage, which highly adapts them -for grazing, are now left behind. We are about to enter a dry, sandy, -and sterile waste of sage, and presently of salt, where rare spots are -fitted for rearing stock, and this formation will continue till we -reach the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. - -[LA BONTÉ.] - -At length, the mules coming about 10 45 A.M., we hitched up, and, -nothing loth, bade adieu to Horseshoe Creek and the “ladies.” The -driver sentimentally informed us that we were to see no more specimens -of ladyhood for many days--gladdest tidings to one of the party, at -least. The road, which ran out of sight of the river, was broken and -jagged; a little labor would have made it tolerable, but what could the -good pastor of Oberlin do with a folk whose only thought in life is -dram-drinking, tobacco-chewing, trading, and swapping?[80] The country -was cut with creeks and arroyos, which separated the several bulges of -ground, and the earth’s surface was of a dull brick-dust red, thinly -scrubbed over with coarse grass, ragged sage, and shrublets fit only -for the fire. After a desolate drive, we sighted below us the creek -La Bonté--so called from a French _voyageur_--green and bisected by a -clear mountain stream whose banks were thick with self-planted trees. -In the labyrinth of paths we chose the wrong one: presently we came -to a sheer descent of four or five feet, and after deliberation as to -whether the vehicle would “take it” or not, we came to the conclusion -that we had better turn the restive mules to the right-about. Then, -cheered by the sight of our consort, the other wagon, which stood -temptingly shaded by the grove of cotton-wood, willows, box elder -(_Negundo aceroides_), and wild cherry, at the distance of about half -a mile, we sought manfully the right track, and the way in which the -driver charged the minor obstacles was “a caution to mules.” We ought -to have arrived at 2 45 P.M.; we were about an hour later. The station -had yet to be built; the whole road was in a transition state at the -time of our travel; there was, however, a new corral for “forting” -against Indians, and a kind of leafy arbor, which the officials had -converted into a “cottage near a wood.” - - [80] The civilized Anglo-Americans are far more severe upon their - half-barbarous brethren than any stranger; to witness, the following: - - A Hoosier (native of Indiana) was called upon the stand, away out - West, to testify to the character of a brother Hoosier. It was as - follows: - - “How long have you known Bill Bushwhack?” - - “Ever since he war born.” - - “What is his general character?” - - “Letter A, No. 1--’bove par a very great way.” - - “Would you believe him on oath?” - - “Yes, Sir-ee, on or off, or any other way.” - - “What is your opinion on his qualifications to good conduct?” - - “He’s the best shot on the prairies or in the woods; he can shave the - eye-bristles off a wolf as far as a shootin’-iron’ll carry a ball; - he can drink a quart of grog any day, and he chaws tobacker like a - horse.” - - So Bill Bushwhack passed muster.--_N. Y. Spirit of the Times._ - -[THE RED REGION.] - -A little after 4 P.M. we forded the creek painfully with our new -cattle--three rats and a slug. The latter was pronounced by our driver, -when he condescended to use other language than anathemata, “the -meanest cuss he ever seed.” We were careful, however, to supply him at -the shortest intervals with whisky-drams, which stimulated him, after -breaking his whip, to perform a tattoo with clods and stones, kicks and -stamps, upon the recreant animals’ haunches, and by virtue of these -we accomplished our twenty-five miles in tolerable time. For want of -other pleasantries to contemplate, we busied ourselves in admiring -the regularity and accuracy with which our consort wagon secured for -herself all the best teams. The land was a red waste, such as travelers -find in Eastern Africa, which after rains sheds streams like blood. -The soil was a decomposition of ferruginous rock, here broken with -rugged hills, precipices of ruddy sandstone 200 feet high, shaded or -dotted with black-green cedars, there cumbered by huge boulders; the -ravine-like water-courses which cut the road showed that after heavy -rains a net-work of torrents must add to the pleasures of traveling, -and the vegetation was reduced to the dull green artemisia, the azalia, -and the jaundiced potentilla. After six miles we saw on the left of -the path a huge natural pile or burrow of primitive boulders, about 200 -feet high, and called “Brigham’s Peak,” because, according to Jehu’s -whiskyfied story, the prophet, revelator, and seer of the Latter-Day -Saints had there, in 1857 (!), pronounced a 4th of July oration in the -presence of 200 or 300 fair devotees. - -Presently we emerged from the red region into the normal brown clay, -garnished with sage as moors are with heather, over a road which might -have suggested the nursery rhyme, - - “Here we go up, up, up, - There we go down, down, down.” - -At last it improved, and once more, as if we never were to leave it, -we fell into the Valley of the Platte. About eight miles from our -destination we crossed the sandy bed of the La Prêle River, an arroyo -of twenty feet wide, which, like its brethren, brims in spring with -its freight of melted snow. In the clear shade of evening we traversed -the “timber,” or well-wooded lands lying upon Box-Elder Creek--a -beautiful little stream some eight feet broad, and at 9 P.M. arrived -at the station. The master, Mr. Wheeler, was exceptionably civil and -communicative; he lent us buffalo robes for the night, and sent us to -bed after the best supper the house could afford. We were not, however, -to be balked of our proper pleasure, a “good grumble,” so we hooked it -on to another peg. One of the road-agents had just arrived from Great -Salt Lake City in a neat private ambulance after a journey of three -days, while we could hardly expect to make it under treble that time. -It was agreed on all sides that such conduct was outrageous; that -Messrs. Russell and Co. amply deserved to have their contract taken -from them, and--on these occasions your citizen looks portentous, and -deals darkly in threatenings, as if his single vote could shake the -spheres--we came to a mutual understanding that _that_ firm should -never enjoy our countenance or support. We were unanimous; all, even -the mortal quarrel, was “made up” in the presence of the general foe, -the Mail Company. Briefly we retired to rest, a miserable Public, and, -soothed by the rough lullaby of the coyote, whose shrieks and screams -perfectly reproduced the Indian jackal, we passed into the world of -dreams. - - _To Platte Bridge. August 16th._ - -[CLIMATE.] - -At 8 30 A.M. we were once more under way along the valley of Father -Platte, whose physiognomy had now notably changed for the better. -Instead of the dull, dark, silent stream of the lower course, whose -muddy monotonous aspect made it a grievance to behold, we descried with -astonishment a bright little river, hardly a hundred yards wide--one’s -ideas of potamology are enlarged with a witness by American travel! a -mirrory surface, and waters clear and limpid as the ether above them. -The limestones and marls which destroy the beauty of the Lower Platte -do not extend to the upper course. The climate now became truly -delicious. The height above sea-level--5000 feet--subjects the land to -the wholesome action of gentle winds, which, about 10-11 A.M., when -the earth has had time to air, set in regularly as the sea-breezes -of tropical climes, and temper the keen shine of day. These higher -grounds, where the soil is barren rather for want of water than from -the character of its constituents, are undoubtedly the healthiest part -of the plains: no noxious malaria is evolved from the sparse growth of -tree and shrub upon the banks of the river; and beyond them the plague -of brûlés (sand-flies) and musquetoes is unknown; the narrowness of -the bed also prevents the shrinking of the stream in autumn, at which -season the Lower Platte exposes two broad margins of black infected -mire. The three great elements of unhealthiness, heavy and clammy -dews, moisture exhaled from the earth’s surface, and the overcrowding -of population--which appears to generate as many artificial diseases -as artificial wants--are here unknown: the soil is never turned up, -and even if it were, it probably would not have the deleterious effect -which climatologists have remarked in the damp hot regions near the -equator. The formation of the land begins to change from the tertiary -and cretaceous to the primary--granites and porphyries--warning us that -we are approaching the Rocky Mountains. - -[THE FIRST MORMONS.] - -On the road we saw for the first time a train of Mormon wagons, -twenty-four in number, slowly wending their way toward the Promised -Land. The “Captain”--those who fill the dignified office of guides are -so designated, and once a captain always a captain is the Far Western -rule--was young Brigham Young, a nephew of the Prophet; a _blondin_, -with yellow hair and beard, an intelligent countenance, a six-shooter -by his right, and a bowie-knife by his left side. It was impossible -to mistake, even through the veil of freckles and sun-burn with which -a two months’ journey had invested them, the nationality of the -emigrants; “British-English” was written in capital letters upon the -white eyelashes and tow-colored curls of the children, and upon the -sandy brown hair and staring eyes, heavy bodies, and ample extremities -of the adults. One young person concealed her facial attractions under -a manner of mask. I thought that perhaps she might be a sultana, -reserved for the establishment of some very magnificent Mormon bashaw; -but the driver, when appealed to, responded with contempt, “’Guess old -Briggy wont stampede many o’ that ’ere lot!” Though thus homely in -appearance, few showed any symptoms of sickness or starvation; in fact, -their condition first impressed us most favorably with the excellence -of the Perpetual Emigration Funds’ traveling arrangements. - -The Mormons who can afford such luxury generally purchase for the -transit of the plains an emigrant’s wagon, which in the West seldom -costs more than $185. They take a full week before well _en route_, -and endeavor to leave the Mississippi in early May, when “long forage” -is plentiful upon the prairies. Those prospecting parties who are bound -for California set out in March or April, feeding their animals with -grain till the new grass appears; after November the road over the -Sierra Nevada being almost impassable to way-worn oxen. The ground in -the low parts of the Mississippi Valley becomes heavy and muddy after -the first spring rains, and by starting in good time the worst parts of -the country will be passed before the travel becomes very laborious. -Moreover, grass soon disappears from the higher and less productive -tracts; between Scott’s Bluffs and Great Salt Lake City we were seldom -out of sight of starved cattle, and on one spot I counted fifteen -skeletons. Travelers, however, should not push forward early, unless -their animals are in good condition and are well supplied with grain; -the last year’s grass is not quite useless, but cattle can not thrive -upon it as they will upon the grammas, festucas, and buffalo clover -(_Trifolium reflexum_) of Utah and New Mexico. The journey between St. -Jo and the Mormon capital usually occupies from two to three months. -The Latter-Day Saints march with a quasi-military organization. Other -emigrants form companies of fifty to seventy armed men--a single -wagon would be in imminent danger from rascals like the Pawnees, -who, though fonder of bullying than of fighting, are ever ready to -cut off a straggler--elect their “Cap.,” who holds the office only -during good conduct, sign and seal themselves to certain obligations, -and bind themselves to stated penalties in case of disobedience or -defection. The “Prairie Traveler” strongly recommends this systematic -organization, without which, indeed, no expedition, whether emigrant, -commercial, or exploratory, ought ever or in any part of the world -to begin its labors; justly observing that, without it, discords and -dissensions sooner or later arise which invariably result in breaking -up the company. - -[MORMON OUTFIT.] - -In this train I looked to no purpose for the hand-carts with which the -poorer Saints add to the toils of earthly travel a semi-devotional work -of supererogation expected to win a proportionate reward in heaven.[81] - - [81] The following estimate of outfit was given to me by a Mormon - elder, who has frequently traveled over the Utah route. He was - accompanied by his wife, and family, and help--six persons in total; - and having money to spare, he invested it in a speculation which - could hardly fail at least to quadruple his outlay at the end of - the march: the stove, for instance, bought at $28, would sell for - $80 to $120. The experienced emigrant, it may be observed, carries - with him a little of every thing that may or might be wanted, such - as provisions, clothing, furniture, drugs, lint, stationery, spices, - ammunition, and so forth; above all things, he looks to his weapons - as likely to be, at a pinch, his best friends: - - 2 yokes oxen at $180 to $200 00 - 1 cow (milch) 25 00 - 1 wagon 87 30 - 1 double cover 8 50 - 2 ox yokes 8 00 - 1 ox chain 1 50 - 1 tar-bucket 1 00 - 1 large tent ($9 for smaller sizes) 15 00 - Camp equipment, axes, spades, shovels, triangles for fires, etc. 10 00 - 600 lbs. flour 25 50 - 100 lbs. ham and bacon 14 00 - 150 lbs. crackers (sea biscuits) 13 13 - 100 lbs. sugar 9 50 - 25 lbs. crystallized ditto 3 00 - 24 lbs. raisins 4 00 - 20 lbs. currants 3 00 - 25 lbs. rice 2 25 - 1 bushel dried apples 6 00 - 1 „ „ peaches 4 30 - 1 „ beans 2 00 - 1 stove 28 00 - ------- - Grand total $490 98 - -After ten miles of the usual number of creeks, “Deep,” “Small,” “Snow,” -“Muddy,” etc., and heavy descents, we reached at 10 A.M. Deer Creek, -a stream about thirty feet wide, said to abound in fish. The station -boasts of an Indian agent, Major Twiss, a post-office, a store, and of -course a grog-shop. M. Bissonette, the owner of the two latter and an -old Indian trader, was the usual Creole, speaking a French not unlike -that of the Channel Islands, and wide awake to the advantages derivable -from travelers: the large straggling establishment seemed to produce in -abundance large squaws and little half-breeds. Fortunately stimulants -are not much required on the plains: I wish my enemy no more terrible -fate than to drink excessively with M. Bissonette of M. Bissonette’s -liquor. The good Creole, when asked to join us, naïvely refused: he -reminded me of certain wine-merchants in more civilized lands, who, -when dining with their pratique, sensibly prefer small-beer to their -own concoctions. - -[BUNCH-GRASS.] - -A delay of fifteen minutes, and then we were hurried forward. The -ravines deepened; we were about entering the region of kanyons.[82] -Already we began to descry bunch-grass clothing the hills. This -invaluable and anomalous provision of nature is first found, I believe, -about fifty miles westward of the meridian of Fort Laramie, and it -extends to the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. On the Pacific -water-shed it gives way to the wild oats (_Avena fatua_), which are -supposed to have been introduced into California by the Spaniards. The -festuca is a real boon to the land, which, without it, could hardly be -traversed by cattle. It grows by clumps, as its name denotes, upon the -most unlikely ground, the thirsty sand, and the stony hills; in fact, -it thrives best upon the poorest soil. In autumn, about September, when -all other grasses turn to hay, and their nutriment is washed out by the -autumnal rains, the bunch-grass, after shedding its seed, begins to put -forth a green shoot within the apparently withered sheath. It remains -juicy and nutritious, like winter wheat in April, under the snows, and, -contrary to the rule of the _gramineæ_, it pays the debt of nature, -drying and dying about May; yet, even when in its corpse-like state, a -light yellow straw, it contains abundant and highly-flavored nutriment; -it lasts through the summer, retiring up the mountains, again becomes -grass in January, thus feeding cattle all the year round. The small -dark pyriform seed, about half the size of an oat, is greedily devoured -by stock, and has been found to give an excellent flavor to beef and -mutton. It is curious how little food will fatten animals upon the -elevated portions of the prairies and in the valleys of the Rocky -Mountains. I remarked the same thing in Somaliland, where, while far as -the eye could see the country wore the semblance of one vast limestone -ledge, white with desolation, the sheep and bullocks were round and -plump as stall-fed animals. The idea forces itself upon one’s mind -that the exceeding purity and limpidity of the air, by perfecting -the processes of digestion and assimilation, must stand in lieu of -quantity. I brought back with me a small packet of the bunch-grass -seed, in the hope that it may be acclimatized: the sandy lands about -Aldershott, for instance, would be admirably fitted for the growth. - - [82] The Spanish cañon--Americanized to kanyon--signifies, primarily, - a cannon or gun-barrel; secondarily, a tube, shaft of a mine, or a - ravine of peculiar form, common in this part of America. The word - is loosely applied by the Western men, but properly it means those - gorges through a line of mountains whose walls are high and steep, - even to a tunnel-like overhanging, while their soles, which afford - passages to streams, are almost flat. In Northern Mexico the kanyon - becomes of stupendous dimensions; it is sometimes a crack in the - plains 2000 feet deep, exposing all the layers that clothe earth’s - core, with a stream at the bottom, in sight, but impossible for the - traveler dying of thirst to drink at. - -We arrived at a station, called the “Little Muddy Creek,” after a hot -drive of twenty miles. It was a wretched place, built of “dry stones,” -viz., slabs without mortar, and the interior was garnished with certain -efforts of pictorial art, which were rather _lestes_ than otherwise. -The furniture was composed of a box and a trunk, and the negative -catalogue of its supplies was extensive--whisky forming the only -positive item. - -We were not sorry to resume our journey at 1 15 P.M. After eight miles -we crossed the vile bridge which spans “Snow Creek,” a deep water, and -hardly six feet wide. According to the station-men, water here was once -perennial, though now reduced to an occasional freshet after rain: this -phenomenon, they say, is common in the country, and they attribute it -to the sinking of the stream in the upper parts of the bed, which have -become porous, or have given way. It is certain that in the Sinaitic -regions many springs, which within a comparatively few years supplied -whole families of Bedouins, have unaccountably dried up; perhaps the -same thing happens in the Rocky Mountains. - -After about two hours of hot sun, we debouched upon the bank of the -Platte at a spot where once was the Lower Ferry.[83] The river bed is -here so full of holes and quicksands, and the stream is so cold and -swift, that many have been drowned when bathing, more when attempting -to save time by fording it. A wooden bridge was built at this point -some years ago, at an expense of $26,000, by one Regshaw, who, if -report does not belie him, has gained and lost more fortunes than a -Wall Street professional “lame duck.” We halted for a few minutes at -the indispensable store--the _tête de pont_--and drank our whisky with -ice, which, after so long a disuse, felt unenjoyably cold. Remounting, -we passed a deserted camp, where in times gone by two companies of -infantry had been stationed: a few stumps of crumbling wall, broken -floorings, and depressions in the ground, were the only remnants which -the winds and rains had left. The banks of the Platte were stained with -coal: it has been known to exist for some years, but has only lately -been worked. Should the supply prove sufficient for the wants of the -settlers, it will do more toward the civilization of these regions than -the discovery of gold. - - [83] The first ferry, according to the old guide-books, was at Deer - Creek; the second was at this place, thirty-one miles above the - former; and the third was four miles still farther on. - -[COAL-BEDS.] - -The lignite tertiary of Nebraska extends north and west to the British -line; the beds are found throughout this formation sometimes six and -seven feet thick, and the article would make good fuel. The true -coal-measures have been discovered in the southeastern portion of the -Nebraska prairies, and several small seams at different points of the -Platte Valley. Dr. F. V. Hayden, who accompanied Lieutenant Warren -as geologist, appears to think that the limestones which contain the -supplies, though belonging to the true coal-measures, hold a position -above the workable beds of coal, and deems it improbable that mines of -any importance will be found north of the southern line of Nebraska. -But, as his examination of the ground was somewhat hurried, there is -room to hope that this unfavorable verdict will be canceled. The coal -as yet discovered is all, I believe, bituminous. That dug out of the -Platte bank runs in a vein about six feet thick, and is as hard as -cannel coal: the texture of the rock is a white limestone. The banks -of the Deer and other neighboring creeks are said also to contain the -requisites for fuel. - -[TOLL-BRIDGE.] - -Our station lay near the upper crossing or second bridge, a short -distance from the town. It was also built of timber at an expense -of $40,000, about a year ago, by Louis Guenot, a Quebecquois, who -has passed the last twelve years upon the plains. He appeared very -downcast about his temporal prospects, and handed us over, with the -_insouciance_ of his race, to the tender mercies of his venerable -squaw. The usual toll is 50 cents, but from trains, especially of -Mormons, the owner will claim $5; in fact, as much as he can get -without driving them to the opposition lower bridge, or to the -ferry-boat. It was impossible to touch the squaw’s supper; the tin cans -that contained the coffee were slippery with grease, and the bacon -looked as if it had been dressed side by side with “boyaux.” I lighted -my pipe, and, air-cane in hand, sallied forth to look at the country. - -The heights behind the station were our old friends the Black Hills, -which, according to the Canadian, extend with few breaks as far as -Denver City. They are covered with dark green pine; at a distance it -looks black, and the woods shelter a variety of wild beasts, the -grizzly bear among the number. In the more grassy spaces mustangs, -sure-footed as mountain goats, roam uncaught; and at the foot of the -hills the slopes are well stocked with antelope, deer, and hares, -here called rabbits. The principal birds are the sage-hen (_Tetrao -urophasianus_) and the prairie-hen (_T. pratensis_). The former, -also called the cock of the plains, is a fine, strong-flying grouse, -about the size of a full-grown barn-door fowl, or, when younger, of -a European pheasant, which, indeed, the form of the tail, as the -name denotes, greatly resembles, and the neck is smooth like the -partridge of the Old World.[84] Birds of the year are considered good -eating: after their first winter the flesh is so impregnated with the -intolerable odor of wild sage that none but a starving man can touch -it. The prairie-hen, also called the “heath-hen” and the “pinnated -grouse,” affects the plains of Illinois and Missouri, and is rarely -found so far west as the Black Hills: it is not a migratory bird. The -pinnæ from which it derives its name are little wing-like tufts on both -sides of the neck, small in the female, large in the male. The cock, -moreover, has a stripe of skin running down the neck, which changes its -natural color toward pairing-time, and becomes of a reddish yellow: it -swells like a turkey-cock’s wattles, till the head seems buried between -two monstrous protuberances, the owner spreading out its tail, sweeping -the ground with its wings, and booming somewhat like a bittern. Both of -these birds, which are strong on the wing, and give good sport, might -probably be naturalized in Europe, and the “Société d’Acclimatisation” -would do well to think of it. - - [84] The trivial names for organic nature are as confused and - confusing in America as in India, in consequence of the Old Country - terms applied, _per fas et nefas_, to New Country growths: for - instance, the spruce grouse is the Canadian partridge; the ruffled - grouse is the partridge of New England and New York, and the pheasant - of New Jersey and the Southern States; while in the latter the common - quail (_O. Virginiana_) is called “partridge.” - -[THE WAR-PARTY.] - -Returning to the station, I found that a war-party of Arapahoes had -just alighted in a thin copse hard by. They looked less like warriors -than like a band of horse-stealers; and, though they had set out with -the determination of bringing back some Yuta scalps and fingers,[85] -they had not succeeded. On these occasions the young braves are -generally very sulky--a fact which they take care to show by short -speech and rude gestures, throwing about and roughly handling, like -spoiled children, whatever comes in their way. At such times one must -always be prepared for a word and a blow; and, indeed, most Indian -fighters justify themselves in taking the initiative, as, of course, it -is a great thing to secure first chance. However we may yearn toward -our “poor black brother,” it is hard not to sympathize with the white -in many aggressions against the ferocious and capricious so-called -Red Man. The war-party consisted of about a dozen warriors, with a -few limber, lither-looking lads. They had sundry lean, sore-backed -nags, which were presently turned out to graze. Dirty rags formed the -dress of the band; their arms were the usual light lances, garnished -with leather at the handles, with two cropped tufts and a long loose -feather dangling from them. They had bows shaped like the Grecian -Cupid’s, strengthened with sinews and tipped with wire, and arrows of -light wood, with three feathers--Captain Marcy says, two intersecting -at right angles; but I have never seen this arrangement--and small -triangular iron piles. Their shields were plain targes--double folds -of raw buffalo hide, apparently unstuffed, and quite unadorned. They -carried mangy buffalo robes; and scattered upon the ground was a -variety of belts, baldricks, and pouches, with split porcupine quills -dyed a saffron yellow. - - [85] The enemy’s fore or other finger, crooked and tied with two - bits of the skin which are attached to the wrist or the forehead, - is a favorite and picturesque ornament. That failing, the bear’s - (especially the grizzly’s) talons, bored at the base, and strung upon - their sinews, are considered highly honorable. - -The Arapahoes, generally pronounced ’Rapahoes--called by their -Shoshonee neighbors Sháretikeh, or Dog-eaters, and by the French -Gros Ventres--are a tribe of thieves living between the South Fork -of the Platte and the Arkansas Rivers. They are bounded north by the -Sioux, and hunt in the same grounds with the Cheyennes. This breed is -considered fierce, treacherous, and unfriendly to the whites, who have -debauched and diseased them, while the Cheyennes are comparatively -chaste and uninfected. The Arapaho is distinguished from the Dakotah -by the superior gauntness of his person, and the boldness of his -look; there are also minor points of difference in the moccasins, -arrow-marks, and weapons. His language, like that of the Cheyennes, -has never, I am told, been thoroughly learned by a stranger: it is -said to contain but a few hundred words, and these, being almost all -explosive growls or guttural grants, are with difficulty acquired by -the civilized ear. Like the Cheyennes, the Arapahoes have been somewhat -tamed of late by the transit of the United States army in 1857. - -Among the Prairie Indians, when a war-chief has matured the plans -for an expedition, he habits himself in the garb of battle. Then, -mounting his steed, and carrying a lance adorned with a flag and -eagle’s feathers, he rides about the camp chanting his war-song. Those -disposed to volunteer join the parade, also on horseback, and, after -sufficiently exhibiting themselves to the admiration of the village, -return home. This ceremony continues till the requisite number is -collected. The war-dance, and the rites of the medicine-man, together -with perhaps private penances and propitiations, are the next step. -There are also copious powwows, in which, as in the African parlance, -the chiefs, elders, and warriors sit for hours in grim debate, solemn -as if the fate of empires hung upon their words, to decide the -momentous question whether Jack shall have half a pound more meat than -Jim. Neither the chief nor the warriors are finally committed by the -procession to the expedition; they are all volunteers, at liberty to -retire; and jealousy, disappointment, and superstition often interpose -between themselves and glory. - -The war-party, when gone, is thoroughly gone; once absent, they love to -work in mystery, and look forward mainly to the pleasure of surprising -their friends. After an absence which may extend for months, a loud, -piercing, peculiar cry suddenly announces the vanguard courier of the -returning braves. The camp is thrown at once from the depths of apathy -to the height of excitement, which is also the acmé of enjoyment for -those whose lives must be spent in forced inaction. The warriors enter -with their faces painted black, and their steeds decorated in the -most fantastic style; the women scream and howl their exultation, and -feasting and merriment follow with the ceremonious scalp-dance. The -braves are received with various degrees of honor according to their -deeds. The highest merit is to ride single-handed into the enemy’s -camp, and to smite a lodge with lance or bow. The second is to take -a warrior prisoner. The third is to strike a dead or fallen man--an -idea somewhat contrary to the Englishman’s fancies of fair play, -but intelligible enough where it is the custom, as in Hindostan, to -lie upon the ground “playing ’possum,” and waiting the opportunity -to hamstring or otherwise disable the opponent. The least of great -achievements is to slay an enemy in hand-to-hand fight. A Pyrrhic -victory, won even at an inconsiderable loss, is treated as a defeat; -the object of the Indian guerrilla chief is to destroy the foe with as -little risk to himself and his men as possible; this is his highest -boast, and in this are all his hopes of fame. Should any of the party -fall in battle, the relatives mourn by cutting off their hair and the -manes and tails of their horses, and the lugubrious lamentations of the -women introduce an ugly element into the triumphal procession. - -In the evening, as Mrs. Dana, her husband, and I were sitting outside -the station, two of the warriors came and placed themselves without -ceremony upon the nearest stones. They were exceedingly unprepossessing -with their small gipsy eyes, high, rugged cheek-bones, broad flat -faces, coarse sensual mouths everted as to the lips, and long heavy -chins; they had removed every sign of manhood from their faces, and -their complexions were a dull oily red, the result of vermilion, ochre, -or some such pigment, of which they are as fond as Hindoos, grimed in -for years. They watched every gesture, and at times communicated their -opinions to each other in undistinguishable gruntings, with curious -attempts at cachinnation. It is said that the wild dog is unable to -bark, and that the tame variety has acquired the faculty by attempting -to imitate the human voice; it is certain that, as a rule, only the -civilized man can laugh loudly and heartily. I happened to mention to -my fellow-travelers the universal dislike of savages to any thing -like a sketch of their physiognomies; they expressed a doubt that the -Indians were subject to the rule. Pencil and paper were at hand, so -we proceeded to proof. The savage at first seemed uneasy under the -operation, as the Asiatic or African will do, averting his face at -times, and shifting position to defeat my purpose. When I passed the -caricature round it excited some merriment; the subject, forthwith -rising from his seat, made a sign that he also wished to see it. At -the sight, however, he screwed up his features with an expression of -intense disgust, and managing to “smudge” over the sketch with his -dirty thumb, he left us with a “pooh!” that told all his outraged -feelings. - -[SMOKING.] - -Presently the warriors entered the station to smoke and tacitly beg for -broken victuals. They squatted in a circle, and passed round the red -sandstone calumet with great gravity, puffing like steam-tugs, inhaling -slowly and lingeringly, swallowing the fumes, and with upturned faces -exhaling them through the nostrils. They made no objection to being -joined by us, and always before handing the pipe to a neighbor, they -wiped the reed mouth-piece with the cushion of the thumb. The contents -of their calumet were kinnikinik, and, though they accepted tobacco, -they preferred replenishing with their own mixture. They received a -small present of provisions, and when the station-people went to supper -they were shut out. - -[MORMONLAND NEAR.] - -We are now slipping into Mormonland; one of the station-keepers -belonged to the new religion. The “madam,” on entering the room, had -requested him to depose a cigar which tainted the air with a perfume -like that of greens’-water; he took the matter so coolly that I -determined he was not an American, and, true enough, he proved to be -a cabinet-maker from Birmingham. I spent the evening reading poor -Albert Smith’s “Story of Mont Blanc”--Mont Blanc in sight of the -Rocky Mountains!--and admiring how the prince of entertainers led -up the reader to what he called the crowning glory of his life, the -unperilous ascent of that monarch of the Alps, much in the spirit with -which one would have addressed the free and independent voters of some -well-bribed English borough. - -We are now about to quit the region which Nature has prepared, by -ready-made roads and embankments, for a railway; all beyond this -point difficulties are so heaped upon difficulties--as the sequel -will prove--that we must hope against hope to see the “iron horse” (I -believe he is so called) holding his way over the mountains. - - _17th August. To the Valley of the Sweetwater._ - -The morning was bright and clear, cool and pleasant. The last night’s -abstinence had told upon our squeamishness: we managed to secure a -fowl, and with its aid we overcame our repugnance to the massive slices -of eggless bacon. At 6 30 A.M. we hitched up, crossed the rickety -bridge at a slow pace, and proceeded for the first time to ascend -the left bank of the Platte. The valley was grassy; the eternal sage, -however, haunted us; the grouse ran before us, and the prairie-dogs -squatted upon their house-tops, enjoying the genial morning rays. After -ten miles of severe ups and downs, which, by-the-by, nearly brought our -consort, the official’s wagon, to grief, we halted for a few minutes at -an old-established trading-post called “Red Buttes.”[86] The feature -from which it derives its name lies on the right bank of, and about -five miles distant from the river, which here cuts its way through a -ridge. These bluffs are a fine bold formation, escarpments of ruddy -argillaceous sandstones and shells, which dip toward the west: they are -the eastern wall of the mass that hems in the stream, and rear high -above it their conical heads and fantastic figures. The ranch was on -the margin of a cold, clear spring, of which we vainly attempted to -drink. The banks were white, as though by hoar-frost, with nitrate and -carbonate of soda efflorescing from the dark mould. Near Red Buttes the -water is said to have a chalybeate flavor, but of that we were unable -to judge. - - [86] The French word is extensively used in the Rocky Mountains and - Oregon, “where,” says Colonel Frémont (“Expedition to the Rocky - Mountains,” p. 145), “it is naturalized, and which, if desirable to - render into English, there is no word which would be its precise - equivalent. It is applied to the detached hills and ridges which rise - abruptly and reach too high to be called hills or ridges, and are not - high enough”--he might have added, are not massive enough--“to be - called mountains. _Knob_, as applied in the Western States, is their - most descriptive term in English; but no translation or periphrasis - would preserve the identity of these picturesque landmarks.” - -Having allowed the squaws and half-breeds a few minutes to gaze, we -resumed our way, taking off our caps in token of adieu to old Father -Platte, our companion for many a weary mile. We had traced his course -upward, through its various phases and vicissitudes, from the dignity -and portliness of his later career as a full-grown river to his small -and humble youth as a mountain rivulet, and--interest, either in man -or stream, often results from the trouble we take about them--I looked -upon him for the last time with a feeling akin to regret. Moreover, -we had been warned that from the crossing of the North Platte to the -Sweetwater all is a dry, and dreary, and desolate waste. - -On the way we met a mounted Indian, armed with a rifle, and habited -in the most grotesque costume. “Jack”--he was recognized by the -driver--wore a suit of buckskin, and a fool’s cap made out of an old -blanket, with a pair of ass-ear appendages that hung backward viciously -like a mule’s; his mouth grinned from ear to ear, and his eyes were -protected by glass and wire goggles, which gave them the appearance -of being mounted on stalks like a crustacean’s. He followed us for -some distance, honoring us by riding close to the carriage, in hopes -of a little black-mail; but we were not generous, and we afterward -heard something which made us glad that we had not been tempted to -liberality. He was followed by an ill-favored squaw, dressed in a kind -of cotton gown, remarkable only for the shoulders being considerably -narrower than the waist. She sat her bare nag cavalierly, and eyed us -as we passed with that peculiarly unpleasant glance which plain women -are so fond of bestowing. - -[THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE.] - -After eighteen miles’ drive we descended a steep hill, and were shown -the Devil’s Backbone. It is a jagged, broken ridge of huge sandstone -boulders, tilted up edgeways, and running in a line over the crest of -a long roll of land: the _tout ensemble_ looks like the vertebræ of -some great sea-serpent or other long crawling animal; and, on a nearer -view, the several pieces resolve themselves into sphinxes, veiled -nuns, Lot’s pillars, and other freakish objects. I may here remark -that the _aut Cæsar aut diabolus_ of the medieval European antiquary, -when accounting for the architecture of strange places, is in the Far -West consigned without partnership to the genius loci, the fiend who, -here as in Europe, has monopolized all the finest features of scenery. -We shall pass successively the Devil’s Gate, the Devil’s Post-office, -and the Devil’s Hole--in fact, we shall not be thoroughly rid of his -Satanic majesty’s appurtenances till Monte Diablo, the highest of -the Californian coast-range, dips slowly and unwillingly behind the -Pacific’s tepid wave. - -[WILLOW SPRINGS.] - -We nooned at Willow Springs, a little doggery boasting of a shed and a -bunk, but no corral; and we soothed, with a drink of our whisky, the -excited feelings of the rancheros. The poor fellows had been plundered -of their bread and dried meat by some petty thief, who had burrowed -under the wall, and they sorely suspected our goggled friend, Jack the -Arapaho. Master Jack’s hair might have found itself suspended near -the fireplace if he had then been within rifle-shot; as it was, the -two victims could only indulge in consolatory threats about wreaking -their vengeance upon the first “doggond red-bellied crittur” whom good -fortune might send in their way. The water was unusually good at Willow -Springs; unfortunately, however, there was nothing else. - -At 2 30 P.M. we resumed our way through the yellow-flowered -rabbit-bush--it not a little resembled wild mustard--and a thick -sage-heath, which was here and there spangled with the bright blossoms -of the wilderness. After about twenty miles we passed, to the west of -the road, a curious feature, to which the Mormon exodists first, _on -dit_, gave the name of Saleratus Lake.[87] It lies to the west of -the road, and is only one of a chain of alkaline waters and springs -whose fetor, without exaggeration, taints the land. Cattle drinking of -the fluid are nearly sure to die; even those that eat of the _herbe -salée_, or salt grass growing upon its borders, and known by its -reddish-yellow and sometimes bluish tinge, will suffer from a disease -called the “Alkali,” which not unfrequently kills them. The appearance -of the Saleratus Lake startles the traveler who, in the full blaze of -midday upon this arid waste, where mirage mocks him at every turn, -suddenly sees outstretched before his eyes a kind of Wenham Lake -solidly overfrozen. The illusion is so perfect that I was completely -deceived, nor could the loud guffaws of the driver bring me at once to -the conclusion that seeing in this case is not believing. On a near -inspection, the icy surface turns out to be a dust of carbonate of -soda, concealing beneath it masses of the same material, washed out -of the adjacent soil, and solidified by evaporation. The Latter-Day -Saints were charmed with their _trouvaille_, and laid in stores of the -fetid alkaline matter, as though it had been manna, for their bread and -pastry. It is still transported westward, and declared to be purer than -the saleratus of the shops. Near the lake is a deserted ranch, which -once enjoyed the title of “Sweetwater Station.” - - [87] According to Dr. L. D. Gale (Appendix F. to Captain Stansbury’s - “Expedition to the Great Salt Lake”), who tested specimens of this - saleratus, “it is composed of the sesquicarbonate of soda, mixed - with the sulphate of soda and chloride of soda, and is one of the - native salts called _Trona_, found in the Northern Lakes, in Hungary, - Africa, and other countries.” - - “Three grammes of this salt in dry powder, cleared of its earthy - impurities, gave carbonic acid 0·9030 of a gramme, which would - indicate 1·73239 grammes of the sesquicarbonate. The other salts were - found to be the muriate and sulphate of soda: the proportions were - not determined.” - -[ROCK INDEPENDENCE.] - -Four miles beyond this “Waterless Lake”--Bahr bila Ma as the Bedouin -would call it--we arrived at Rock Independence, and felt ourselves -in a new region, totally distinct from the clay formation of the -mauvaises terres over which we have traveled for the last five days. -Again I was startled by its surprising likeness to the scenery of -Eastern Africa: a sketch of Jiwe la Mkoa, the Round Rock in eastern -Unyamwezi,[88] would be mistaken, even by those who had seen both, -for this grand _échantillon_ of the Rocky Mountains. It crops out -of an open plain, not far from the river bed, in dome shape wholly -isolated, about 1000 feet in length by 400-500 in breadth; it is 60 to -100 feet in height,[89] and in circumference 1¹⁄₂ to 2 miles. Except -upon the summit, where it has been weathered into a feldspathic soil, -it is bare and bald; a scanty growth of shrubs protrudes, however, -from its poll. The material of the stern-looking dome is granite, in -enormous slabs and boulders, cracked, flaked, seared, and cloven, as -if by igneous pressure from below. The prevailing tradition in the -West is, that the mass derived its name from the fact that Colonel -Frémont there delivered an Independence-day oration; but read a -little farther. It is easily ascended at the northern side and the -southeastern corner, and many climb its rugged flanks for a peculiarly -Anglo-American purpose--Smith and Brown have held high jinks here. -In Colonel Frémont’s time (1842), every where within six or eight -feet of the ground, where the surface is sufficiently smooth, and in -some places sixty or eighty feet above, the rock was inscribed with -the names of travelers. Hence the Indians have named it Timpe Nabor, -or the Painted Rock, corresponding with the Sinaitic “Wady Mukattab.” -In the present day, though much of the writing has been washed away -by rain, 40,000-50,000 souls are calculated to have left their dates -and marks from the coping of the wall to the loose stones below this -huge sign-post. There is, however, some reason in the proceeding; it -does not in these lands begin and end with the silly purpose, as among -climbers of the Pyramids, and _fouilleurs_ of the sarcophagi of Apis, -to bequeath one’s few poor letters to a little athanasia. Prairie -travelers and emigrants expect to be followed by their friends, and -leave, in their vermilion outfit, or their white house-paint, or their -brownish-black tar--a useful article for wagons--a homely but hearty -word of love or direction upon any conspicuous object. Even a bull or a -buffalo’s skull, which, lying upon the road, will attract attention, is -made to do duty at this _Poste Restante_. - - [88] I crave the reader’s pardon for referring him to my own - publications; but the only account of this Round Rock which has - hitherto been published is to be found in the “Lake Regions of - Central Africa,” chap. viii. - - [89] Colonel Frémont gives its dimensions as 650 yards long and 40 - feet high. - -I will here take the liberty of digressing a little, with the -charitable purpose of admiring the serious turn with which the United -States explorers perform their explorations. - -Colonel Frémont[90] thus calls to mind the earnest deeds of a bygone -day. “One George Weymouth was sent out to Maine by the Earl of -Southampton, Lord Arundel, and others, and in the narrative of their -discoveries he says, ‘The next day we ascended in our pinnace that -part of the river which lies more to the westward, carrying with us -a cross--a thing never omitted by any Christian traveler--which we -erected at the ultimate end of our route.’ This was in the year 1605, -and in 1842 I obeyed the feeling of early travelers, and left the -impressions of the cross deeply engraved on the vast rock, one thousand -miles beyond the Mississippi, to which discoverers have given the -national name of Rock Independence.” - - [90] Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, p. 72. - -Captain Stansbury[91] is not less scrupulous upon the subject of -traveling proprieties. One of his entries is couched as follows: -“Sunday, June 10, barometer 28·82, thermometer 70°. The camp rested: -it had been determined, from the commencement of the expedition, to -devote this day, whenever practicable, to its legitimate purpose, as -an interval of rest for man and beast. I here beg to record, as the -result of my experience, derived not only from the present journey, but -from the observations of many years spent in the performance of similar -duties, that, as a mere matter of pecuniary consideration, apart from -all higher obligations, it is wise to keep the Sabbath.” - - [91] Stansbury’s Expedition, ch. i., p. 22. - -Lieutenant W. F. Lynch, United States Navy, who in 1857 commanded the -United States Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea,[92] and -published a narrative not deficient in interest, thus describes his -proceedings at El Meshra, the bathing-place of the Christian pilgrims: - - [92] Chap. iii. Authorized Edition. Sampson Low, Son, and Co., 47 - Ludgate Hill, 1859. - -“This ground is consecrated by tradition as the place where the -Israelites passed over with the ark of the covenant, and where -the blessed Savior was baptized by John. Feeling that it would be -desecration to moor the boats at a place so sacred, we passed it, and -with some difficulty found a landing below. - -“My first act was to bathe in the consecrated stream, thanking God, -first, for the precious favor of being permitted to visit such a spot; -and, secondly, for his protecting care throughout our perilous passage. -For a long time after I sat upon the bank, my mind oppressed with awe, -as I mused upon the great and wondrous events which had here occurred.” -In strange contrast with these passages stands the characteristic -prophecy, “The time is coming--the beginning is come now--when the -whole worthless list of kings, with all their myrmidons, will be swept -from their places, and made to bear a part in the toils and sufferings -of the great human family,” etc., etc. - -I would not willingly make light in others of certain finer -sentiments--veneration, for instance, and conscientiousness--which -Nature has perhaps debarred me from overenjoying; nor is it in my mind -to console myself for the privation by debasing the gift in those -gifted with it. But--the but, I fear, will, unlike “if,” be any thing -rather than a great peacemaker in this case--there are feelings which, -when strongly felt, when they well from the bottom of the heart, man -conceals in the privacy of his own bosom; and which, if published to -the world, are apt to remind the world that it has heard of a form -of speech, as well as of argument, ranking under the category of _ad -captandum vulgus_. - -About a mile beyond Independence Rock we forded the Sweetwater. We had -crossed the divide between this stream and the Platte, and were now to -ascend our fourth river valley, the three others being the Missouri, -the Big Blue, and the Nebraska. The Canadian voyageurs have translated -the name Sweetwater from the Indian Pina Pa; but the term is here more -applicable in a metaphorical than in a literal point of view. The water -of the lower bed is rather hard than otherwise, and some travelers -have detected brackishness in it, yet the banks are free from the -saline hoar, which deters the thirstiest from touching many streams on -this line. The Sweetwater, in its calmer course, is a perfect Naiad -of the mountains; presently it will be an Undine hurried by that -terrible Anagké, to which Jove himself must bend his omniscient head, -into the grisly marital embrace of the gloomy old Platte. Passing -pleasant, after the surly ungenial silence of the Shallow River, is the -merry prattle with which she answers the whisperings of those fickle -flatterers, the winds, before that wedding-day when silence shall -become her doom. There is a something in the Sweetwater which appeals -to the feelings of rugged men: even the drivers and the station-keepers -speak of “her” with a bearish affection. - -[THE DEVIL’S GATE.--RATTLESNAKE HILLS.] - -After fording the swift Pina Pa, at that point about seventy feet wide -and deep to the axles, we ran along its valley about six miles, and -reached at 9 15 P.M. the muddy station kept by M. Planté, the usual -Canadian. En route we had passed by the Devil’s Gate, one of the great -curiosities of this line of travel. It is the beau ideal of a kanyon, -our portal opening upon the threshold of the Rocky Mountains: I can -compare its form from afar only with the Brêche de Roland in the -Pyrenees. The main pass of Aden magnified twenty fold is something -of the same kind, but the simile is too unsavory. The height of the -gorge is from 300 to 400 feet perpendicular, and on the south side -threatening to fall: it has already done so in parts, as the masses -which cumber the stream-bed show. The breadth varies from a minimum -of 40 to a maximum of 105 feet, where the fissure yawns out, and the -total length of the cleft is about 250 yards. The material of the -walls is a gray granite, traversed by dikes of trap; and the rock in -which the deep narrow crevasse has been made runs right through the -extreme southern shoulder of a ridge, which bears appropriately enough -the name of “Rattlesnake Hills.” Through this wild gorge the bright -stream frets and forces her way, singing, unlike Liris, with a feminine -untaciturnity, that awakes the echoes of the pent-up channel--tumbling -and gurgling, dashing and foaming over the snags, blocks, and boulders, -which, fallen from the cliffs above, obstruct the way, and bedewing -the cedars and bright shrubs which fringe the ragged staples of the -gate. Why she should not have promenaded gently and quietly round, -instead of through, this grisly barrier of rock, goodness only knows: -however, willful and womanlike, she has set her heart upon an apparent -impossibility, and, as usual with her sex under the circumstances, she -has had her way. Sermons in stones--I would humbly suggest to my gender. - -Procrastination once more stole my chance; I had reserved myself for -sketching the Devil’s Gate from the southwest, but the station proved -too distant to convey a just idea of it. For the truest representation -of the gate, the curious reader will refer to the artistic work of -Mr. Frederick Piercy;[93] that published in Captain Marcy’s “List of -Itineraries” is like any thing but the Devil’s Gate; even the rough -lithograph in Colonel Frémont’s report is more truthful. - - [93] Route from Liverpool to Great Salt Lake City. - -We supped badly as mankind well could at the _cabaret_, where a very -plain young person, and no neat-handed Phyllis withal, supplied us with -a cock whose toughness claimed for it the honors of grandpaternity. -Chickens and eggs there were none; butcher’s meat, of course, was -unknown, and our hosts ignored the name of tea; their salt was a -kind of saleratus, and their sugar at least half Indian-meal. When -asked about fish, they said that the Sweetwater contained nothing but -suckers,[94] and that these, though good eating, can not be caught -with a hook. They are a queer lot, these French Canadians, who have -“located” themselves in the Far West. Travelers who have hunted with -them speak highly of them as a patient, submissive, and obedient race, -inured to privations, and gifted with the reckless _abandon_--no -despicable quality in prairie traveling--of the old Gascon adventurer; -armed and ever vigilant, hardy, handy, and hearty children of Nature, -combining with the sagacity and the instinctive qualities all the -superstitions of the Indians; enduring as mountain goats; satisfied -with a diet of wild meat, happiest when it could be followed by a -cup of strong milkless coffee, a “chasse café” and a “brule-gueule;” -invariably and contagiously merry; generous as courageous; handsome, -active, and athletic; sashed, knived, and dressed in buckskin, to the -envy of every Indian “brave,” and the admiration of every Indian belle, -upon whom, if the adventurer’s heart had not fallen into the snares of -the more attractive half-breed, he would spend what remained of his -$10 a month, after coffee, alcohol, and tobacco had been extravagantly -paid for, in presents of the gaudiest trash. Such is the voyageur of -books: I can only speak of him as I found him, a lazy dog, somewhat shy -and proud, much addicted to loafing and to keeping cabarets, because, -as the old phrase is, the cabarets keep him--in idleness too. Probably -his good qualities lie below the surface: those who hide a farthing -rush-light under a bushel can hardly expect us, in this railway age, to -take the trouble of finding it. I will answer, however, for the fact, -that the bad points are painfully prominent. By virtue of speaking -French and knowing something of Canada, I obtained some buffalo robes, -and after a look at the supper, which had all the effect of a copious -feed, I found a kind of out-house, and smoked till sleep weighed down -my eyelids. - - [94] A common fish of the genus Labio, of which there are many - species--chub, mullet, barbel, horned dace, etc.: they are found in - almost all the lakes and rivers of North America. - - _Up the Sweetwater. 19th August._ - -We arose at 6 A.M., before the rest of the household, who, when -aroused, “hifered” and sauntered about all _desœuvrés_ till their -wool-gathering wits had returned. The breakfast was a little picture -of the supper; for watered milk, half-baked bread, and unrecognizable -butter, we paid the somewhat “steep” sum of 75 cents; we privily -had our grumble, and set out at 7 A.M. to ascend the Valley of the -Sweetwater. The river-plain is bounded by two parallel lines of -hills, or rather rocks, running nearly due east and west. Those to -the north are about a hundred miles in extreme length, and, rising -from a great plateau, lie perpendicular to the direction of the real -Rocky Mountains toward which they lead: half the course of the Pina -Pa subtends their southern base. The Western men know them as the -Rattlesnake Hills, while the southern are called after the river. The -former--a continuation of the ridge in which the Sweetwater has burst -a gap--is one of those long lines of lumpy, misshapen, barren rock, -that suggested to the Canadians for the whole region the name of Les -Montagnes Rocheuses. In parts they are primary, principally syenite and -granite, with a little gneiss, but they have often so regular a line of -cleavage, perpendicular as well as horizontal, that they may readily be -mistaken for stratifications. The stratified are slaty micaceous shale -and red sandstone, dipping northward, and cut by quartz veins and trap -dikes. The remarkable feature in both formations is the rounding of the -ridges or blocks of smooth naked granite: hardly any angles appeared; -the general effect was, that they had been water-washed immediately -after birth. The upper portions of this range shelter the bighorn, or -American moufflon, and the cougar,[95] the grizzly bear, and the wolf. -The southern or Sweetwater range is vulgarly known as the Green-River -Mountains: seen from the road, their naked, barren, and sandy flanks -appear within cannon shot, but they are distant seven miles. - - [95] Locally called the mountain lion. This animal (_F. unicolor_) - is the largest and fiercest feline of the New World: it is a beast - of many names--puma, cougar, American lion, panther or painter, etc. - Its habit of springing upon its prey from trees makes it feared by - hunters. It was once in the Kaatskills. - -[“ALKALI LAKE.”] - -After a four-miles’ drive up the pleasant valley of the little -river-nymph, to whom the grisly hills formed an effective foil, we saw -on the south of the road “Alkali Lake,” another of the Trona formations -with which we were about to become familiar; in the full glare of -burning day it was undistinguishable as to the surface from the round -pond in Hyde Park. Presently ascending a little rise, we were shown for -the first time a real bit of the far-famed Rocky Mountains, which was -hardly to be distinguished from, except by a shade of solidity, the -fleecy sunlit clouds resting upon the horizon: it was Frémont’s Peak, -the sharp, snow-clad apex of the Wind River range. Behind us and afar -rose the distant heads of black hills. The valley was charming with its -bright glad green, a tapestry of flowery grass, willow copses where the -grouse ran in and out, and long lines of aspen, beech, and cotton-wood, -while pine and cedar, cypress and scattered evergreens, crept up the -cranks and crannies of the rocks. In the midst of this Firdaus--so -it appeared to us after the horrid unwithering artemisia Jehennum of -last week--flowed the lovely little stream, transparent as crystal, -and coquettishly changing from side to side in her bed of golden sand. -To see her tamely submit to being confined within those dwarf earthen -cliffs, you would not have known her to be the same that had made that -terrible breach in the rock-wall below. “Varium et mutabile semper,” -etc.: I will not conclude the quotation, but simply remark that the -voyageurs have called her “She.” And every where, in contrast with the -deep verdure and the bright flowers of the valley, rose the stern forms -of the frowning rocks, some apparently hanging as though threatening a -fall, others balanced upon the slenderest foundations, all split and -broken as though earthquake-riven, loosely piled into strange figures, -the lion couchant, sugar-loaf, tortoise, and armadillo--not a mile, in -fact, was without its totem. - -The road was good, especially when hardened by frost. We are now in -altitudes where, as in Tibet, parts of the country for long centuries -never thaw. After passing a singular stone bluff on the left of the -road, we met a party of discharged soldiers, who were traveling -eastward comfortably enough in government wagons drawn by six mules. -Not a man saluted Lieutenant Dana, though he was in uniform, and all -looked surly as Indians after a scalpless raid. Speeding merrily along, -we were shown on the right of the road a ranch belonging to a Canadian, -a “mighty mean man,” said the driver, “who onst gin me ole mare’s meat -for b’ar.” We were much shocked by this instance of the awful depravity -of the unregenerate human heart, but our melancholy musings were -presently interrupted by the same youth, who pointed out on the other -side of the path a mass of clay (conglomerate, I presume), called the -Devil’s Post-office. It has been lately washed with rains so copious -that half the edifice lies at the base of that which is standing. The -structure is not large: it is highly satisfactory--especially to a man -who in this life has suffered severely, as the Anglo-Indian ever must -from endless official and semi-official correspondence--to remark that -the London Post-office is about double its size. - -[MISS MOORE AND HER HUSBAND.] - -Beyond the Post-office was another ranch belonging to a Portuguese -named Luis Silva, married to an Englishwoman who had deserted the Salt -Lake Saints. We “staid a piece” there, but found few inducements to -waste our time. Moreover, we had heard from afar of an “ole ’ooman,” -an Englishwoman, a Miss Moore--Miss is still used for Mrs. by Western -men and negroes--celebrated for cleanliness, tidiness, civility, and -housewifery in general, and we were anxious to get rid of the evil -flavor of Canadians, squaws, and “ladies.” - -At 11 A.M. we reached “Three Crossings,” when we found the “miss” -a stout, active, middle-aged matron, deserving of all the praises -that had so liberally been bestowed upon her. The little ranch was -neatly swept and garnished, papered and ornamented. The skull of a -full-grown bighorn hanging over the doorway represented the spoils of -a stag of twelve. The table-cloth was clean, so was the cooking, so -were the children; and I was reminded of Europe by the way in which -she insisted upon washing my shirt, an operation which, after leaving -the Missouri, _ça va sans dire_, had fallen to my own lot. In fact, -this day introduced me to the third novel sensation experienced on the -western side of the Atlantic. The first is to feel (practically) that -all men are equal; that you are no man’s superior, and that no man is -yours. The second--this is spoken as an African wanderer--to see one’s -quondam acquaintance, the Kaffir, laying by his grass kilt and coat of -grease, invest himself in broadcloth, part his wool on one side, shave -what pile nature has scattered upon his upper lip, chin, and cheeks -below a line drawn from the ear to the mouth-corner after the fashion -of the times when George the Third was king, and call himself, not -Sambo, but Mr. Scott. The third was my meeting in the Rocky Mountains -with this refreshing specimen of that far Old World, where, on the -whole, society still lies in strata, as originally deposited, distinct, -sharply defined, and rarely displaced, except by some violent upheaval -from below, which, however, never succeeds long in producing total -inversion. Miss Moore’s husband, a decent appendage, had transferred -his belief from the Church of England to the Church of Utah, and the -good wife, as in duty bound, had followed in his wake whom she was -bound to love, honor, and obey. But when the serpent came and whispered -in Miss Moore’s modest, respectable, one-idea’d ear that the Abrahams -of Great Salt Lake City are mere “sham Abrams”--that, not content with -Sarahs, they add to them an unlimited supply of Hagars, then did our -stout Englishwoman’s power of endurance break down never to rise again. -“Not an inch would she budge;” not a step toward Utah Territory would -she take. She fought pluckily against the impending misfortune, and--_à -quelque chose malheur est bon!_--she succeeded in reducing her husband -to that state which is typified by the wife using certain portions of -the opposite sex’s wardrobe, and in making him make a good livelihood -as station-master on the wagon-line. - -After a copious breakfast, which broke the fast of the four days that -had dragged on since our civilized refection at Fort Laramie, we spread -our buffalos and water-proofs under the ample eaves of the ranch, -and spent the day in taking time with the sextant--every watch being -wrong--in snoozing, dozing, chatting, smoking, and contemplating the -novel view. Straight before us rose the Rattlesnake Hills, a nude and -grim horizon, frowning over the soft and placid scene below, while at -their feet flowed the little river--_splendidior vitro_--purling over -its pebbly bed with graceful meanderings through clover prairillons -and garden-spots full of wild currants, strawberries, gooseberries, -and rattlesnakes; while, contrasting with the green River Valley and -the scorched and tawny rock-wall, patches of sand-hill, raised by the -winds, here and there cumbered the ground. The variety of the scene was -much enhanced by the changeful skies. The fine breeze which had set -in at 8 A.M. had died in the attempt to thread these heat-refracting -ridges, and vapory clouds, sublimated by the burning sun, floated -lazily in the empyrean, casting fitful shadows that now intercepted, -then admitted, a blinding glare upon the mazy stream and its rough -cradle. - -In the evening we bathed in the shallow bed of the Sweetwater. It is -vain to caution travelers against this imprudence. _Video meliora -proboque_--it is doubtless unwise--but it is also _mera stultitia_ -to say to men who have not enjoyed ablutions for a week or ten days, -“If you do take that delicious dip you may possibly catch fever.” -_Deteriora sequor_--bathed. Miss Moore warned us strongly against the -rattlesnakes, and during our walk we carefully observed the Indian -rule, to tread upon the log and not to overstep it. The crotalus, I -need hardly say, like other snakes, is fond of lurking under the shade -of fallen or felled trunks, and when a heel or a leg is temptingly -set before it, it is not the beast to refuse a bite. Accidents are -very common, despite all precautions, upon this line, but they seldom, -I believe, prove fatal. The remedies are almost endless: _e. g._, -hartshorn, used externally and drunk in dilution; scarification and -irrumation of the part, preceded, of course, by a ligature between the -limb and the heart; application of the incised breast of a live fowl or -frog to the wound; the dried and powdered blood of turtle, of this two -pinches to be swallowed and a little dropped upon the place bitten; a -plaster of chewed or washed plantain-leaves--it is cooling enough, but -can do little more--bound upon the puncture, peppered with a little -finely-powdered tobacco; pulverized indigo made into a poultice with -water; cauterization by gunpowder, hot iron, or lunar caustic; cedron, -a nut growing on the Isthmus of Panama--of this remedy I heard, _in -loco_, the most wonderful accounts, dying men being restored, as if -by magic, after a bit about the size of a bean had been placed in -their mouths. As will be seen below, the land is rich in snakeroots, -but the superstitious snakestone of Hindostan--which acts, if it -does act, as an absorbent of the virus by capillary attraction--is -apparently unknown. The favorite remedy now in the United States is -the “whisky cure,” which, under the form of arrack, combined in the -case of a scorpion-sting with a poultice of chewed tobacco, was known -for the last fifty years to the British soldier in India. It has the -advantage of being a palatable medicine; it must also be taken in large -quantities, a couple of bottles sometimes producing little effect. With -the lighted end of a cigar applied as moxa to the wound, a _quantum -sufficit_ of ardent spirits, a couple of men to make me walk about -when drowsy by the application of a stick, and, above all, with the -serious resolution not to do any thing so mean as to “leap the twig,” I -should not be afraid of any snake yet created. The only proviso is that -our old enemy must not touch an artery, and that the remedies must be -at hand. Fifteen minutes lost, you are “down among the dead men.” The -history of fatal cases always shows some delay.[96] - - [96] The author of “The Quadroon” (chap. xxxii., etc.) adduces a - happy instance of a “hero” who, after a delay and an amount of - exertion which certainly would have cost him his life, was relieved - by tobacco and cured by the snakeroot (_Polygala Senega_). The - popular snakeroots quoted by Mr. Bartlett are the Seneca snakeroot - above alluded to, the black snakeroot (_Cimicifuga racemosa_), and - the Virginia snakeroot (_Aristolochia serpentaria_). - -[A HUBBUB.--“YES, SURR!”] - -We supped in the evening merrily. It was the best coffee we had tasted -since leaving New Orleans; the cream was excellent, so was the cheese. -But an antelope had unfortunately been brought in; we had insisted upon -a fry of newly-killed flesh, which was repeated in the morning, and we -had bitterly to regret it. While I was amusing myself by attempting to -observe an immersion of Jupiter’s satellites with a notable failure in -the shape of that snare and delusion, a portable telescope, suddenly -there arose a terrible hubbub. For a moment it was believed that -the crotalus horridus had been taking liberties with one of Miss -Moore’s progeny. The seat of pain, however, soon removed the alarming -suspicion, and--the rattlesnake seldom does damage at night--we soon -came to the conclusion that the dear little fellow who boo-hoo’d for -forty had been bitten by a musqueto somewhat bigger than its fellows. -The poor mother soon was restored to her habits of happiness and hard -labor. Not contented with supporting her own family, she was doing -supererogation by feeding a little rat-eyed, snub-nosed, shark-mouthed -half-breed girl, who was, I believe, in the market as a “chattel.” Mrs. -Dana pointed out to me one sign of demoralization on the part of Miss -Moore. It was so microscopic that only a woman’s acute eye could detect -it. Miss Moore was teaching her children to say “Yes, surr!” to every -driver. - - _To the Foot of South Pass. 19th August._ - -With renewed spirit, despite a somewhat hard struggle with the -musquetoes, we set out at the respectable hour of 5 45 A.M. We had -breakfasted comfortably, and an interesting country lay before us. -The mules seemed to share in our gayety. Despite a long ringing, -the amiable animals kicked and bit, bucked and backed, till their -recalcitrances had almost deposited us in the first ford of the -Sweetwater. For this, however, we were amply consoled by the greater -misfortunes of our consort, the official wagon. After long luxuriating -in the pick of the teams, they were to-day so thoroughly badly “muled” -that they were compelled to apply for our assistance. - -We forded the river twice within fifty yards, and we recognized with -sensible pleasure a homely-looking magpie (_Pica Hudsonica_), and a -rattlesnake, not inappropriately, considering where we were, crossed -the road. Our path lay between two rocky ridges, which gradually closed -inward, forming a regular kanyon, quite shutting out the view. On both -sides white and micaceous granite towered to the height of 300 or 400 -feet, terminating in jagged and pointed peaks, whose partial disruption -covered the angle at their base. Arrived at Ford No. 5, we began an -ascent, and reaching the summit, halted to enjoy the fine back view of -the split and crevassed mountains. - -A waterless and grassless track of fifteen to sixteen miles led us to -a well-known place--the Ice Springs--of which, somewhat unnecessarily, -a marvel is made. The ground, which lies on the right of the road, is -a long and swampy trough between two waves of land which permit the -humidity to drain down, and the grass is discolored, suggesting the -presence of alkali. After digging about two feet, ice is found in small -fragments. Its presence, even in the hottest seasons, may be readily -accounted for by the fact that hereabouts water will freeze in a tent -during July, and by the depth to which the wintry frost extends. Upon -the same principle, snow gathering in mountain ravines and hollows long -outlasts the shallower deposits. A little beyond Ice Springs, on the -opposite side of, and about a quarter of a mile distant from the road, -lie the Warm Springs, one of the many alkaline pans which lie scattered -over the face of the country. From the road nothing is to be seen but a -deep cunette full of percolated water. - -Beyond the Warm Springs lay a hopeless-looking land, a vast slope, -barren and desolate as Nature could well make it. The loose sands and -the granite masses of the valley had disappeared; the surface was a -thin coat of hard gravelly soil. Some mosses, a scanty yellow grass, -and the dark gray artemisia, now stunted and shrunk, were sparsely -scattered about. It had already begun to give way before an even -hardier creation, the rabbit-bush and the greasewood. The former, -which seems to thrive under the wintry snow, is a favorite food with -hares, which abound in this region; the latter (_Obione_, or _Atriplex -canescens_, the chamizo of the Mexicans) derives its name from the -oleaginous matter abundant in its wood, and is always a sign of a -poor and sterile soil. Avoiding a steep descent by a shorter road, -called “Landers’ Cut-off,” we again came upon the Sweetwater, which -was here somewhat broader than below, and lighted upon good grass -and underbrush, willow copses, and a fair halting-place. At Ford No. -6--three followed one another in rapid succession--we found the cattle -of a traveling trader scattered over the pasture-grounds, He proved to -be an Italian driven from the low country by a band of Sioux, who had -slain his Shoshonee wife, and at one time had thought of adding his -scalp to his squaw’s. After Ford No. 8, we came upon a camping-ground, -usually called in guide-books “River Bank and Stream.” The Sweetwater -is here twenty-five feet wide. About three miles beyond it lay -the “Foot of Ridge Station,” near a willowy creek, called from its -principal inhabitants the Muskrat.[97] The ridge from which it derives -its name is a band of stone that will cross the road during to-morrow’s -ascent. Being a frontier place, it is a favorite camping-ground with -Indians. To-day a war party of Sioux rode in, _en route_ to provide -themselves with a few Shoshonee scalps. - - [97] _Fiber zibeticus_, a beaver-like animal that inhabits the banks - of ponds and streams: it has a strong musky odor in summer only, and - is greedily eaten by the Indians. - -[TEMPERATURE.] - -We made a decided rise to-day, and stood at least 6000 feet above the -level of the sea. The altitude of St. Louis being in round numbers -500 feet, and reckoning the diminution of temperature at 1° F. = 100 -yards, we are already 19° to 20° F. colder than before. The severity -of the atmosphere and the rapid evaporation from the earth cause an -increase of frigidity, to which the salts and nitrates upon the surface -of the soil, by absorbing the hydrogen of the atmosphere--as is shown -by the dampness of the ground and the absence of dust around the -Saleratus Lakes--greatly add. Another remark made by every traveler -in these regions is the marked influence upon the temperature caused -by the presence and the absence of the sun. The day will be sultry -and oppressive, and a fire will be required at night. In the morning, -about 11 A.M., the thermometer showed 80° Fahrenheit; at 4 P.M., the -sky being clouded over, it fell 25°; before dawn, affected by the cold -north wind from the snows about the Pass, it stood at 40°. - -[FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.] - -The lowering firmament threatened rain, of which, however, the thirsty -land was disappointed. Moreover, all were agreed that snow was to -be expected in another fortnight, if not sooner. Glacial storms -occasionally occur in July and August, so that in some years the -land may be said to have no summer. In winter the sharpness of the -cold is such that it can be kept out only by clothes of the closest -texture; the mountain-men, like the Esquimaux, prefer to clothe -themselves cap-a-piè in the prepared skins of animals. We were all -animated with a nervous desire for travel, but there was the rub. The -station-master declared that he had no driver, no authority to forward -two wagonsful, and no cattle; consequently, that the last comers must -be last served, and wait patiently at Rocky Ridge till they could be -sent on. They would find antelopes in plenty, perhaps a grizzly, and -plenty of plover, crows, and delicate little ground-squirrels[98] by -the burrowful, to “keep their hands in.” We being the first comers, -a title to preference rarely disputed in this law-and-rule-abiding -land, prudently held ourselves aloof. The Judiciary, however, was -sorely “exercised.” Being a “professor,” that is, a serious person, he -could not relieve his mind by certain little _moyens_ which naturally -occurred to the rest of the party. Many and protracted were the powwows -that took place on this momentous occasion. Sometimes our quondam -companions--we now looked upon them as friends lost to us--would -mysteriously disappear as though the earth had opened and swallowed -them, and presently they would return with woe-begone step and the -wrinkled brow of care, simulating an ease which they were far from -feeling. - - [98] I had no opportunity of observing this clean, pretty, and - vivacious little animal, whose chirruping resembles that of - a bird; but it appeared to be quite a different species from - the common striped and spotted prairie-squirrel (_Spermophilus - tredecimlineatus_), or the chipmonk or chipmuk (_S. striatus_). - -The station rather added to than took from our discomfort: it was a -terrible unclean hole; milk was not procurable within thirty-five -miles; one of the officials was suffering sorely from a stomach-ache; -there was no sugar, and the cooking was atrocious. With a stray -title-pageless volume of some natural history of America, and another -of agricultural reports--in those days, before reform came, these -scientific and highly elaborate compositions, neatly printed and -expensively got up at the public expense, were apparently distributed -to every ranch and station in the line of road--I worked through the -long and tedious afternoon. We were not sorry when the night came, -but then the floor was knobby, the musquetoes seemed rather to enjoy -the cold, and the banks swarmed with “chinches.”[99] The coyotes and -wolves made night vocal with their choruses, and had nearly caused an -accident. One of the station-men arose, and, having a bone to pick with -the animals for having robbed his beef-barrel, cocked his revolver, and -was upon the point of firing, when the object aimed at started up and -cried out in the nick of time that he was a federal marshal, not a wolf. - - [99] The chinch or chints is the Spanish _chinche_--the popular word - for the _Cimex lectularius_ in the Southern States. In other parts of - the United States the English bug is called a bed-bug: without the - prefix it is applied to beetles and a variety of Coleopters, as the - May-bug, June-bug, golden-bug, etc. - - _To the South Pass. August 20th._ - -We rose with the daybreak; we did not start till nearly 8 A.M., the -interim having been consumed by the tenants of our late consort in a -vain palaver. We bade adieu to them and mounted at last, loudly pitying -their miseries as they disappeared from our ken. But the driver bade -us reserve our sympathy and humane expressions for a more fitting -occasion, and declared--it was probably a little effort of his own -imagination--that those faithless friends had spent all their spare -time in persuading him to take them on and to leave us behind. I, for -one, will never believe that any thing of the kind had been attempted; -a man must be created with a total absence of the bowels of compassion -who would leave a woman and a young child for days together at the foot -of Ridge Station. - -[WILLOW CREEK.--SOUTH-PASS CITY.] - -The road at once struck away from the Sweetwater, winding up and -down rugged hills and broken hollows. From Fort Laramie the land is -all a sandy and hilly desert where one can easily starve, but here -it shows its worst features. During a steep descent a mule fell, -and was not made to regain its footing without difficulty. Signs of -wolves, coyotes, and badgers were abundant, and the _coqs de prairie_ -(sage-chickens), still young and toothsome at this season, were at -no pains to get out of shot. After about five miles we passed by -“Three Lakes,” dirty little ponds north of the road, two near it and -one distant, all about a quarter of a mile apart, and said by those -fond of tasting strange things to have somewhat the flavor, as they -certainly have the semblance, of soapsuds. Beyond this point we crossed -a number of influents of the pretty Sweetwater, some dry, others full: -the most interesting was Strawberry Creek: it supplies plenty of the -fragrant wild fruit, and white and red willows fringe the bed as long -as it retains its individuality. To the north a mass of purple nimbus -obscured the mountains--on Frémont’s Peak it is said always to rain -or snow--and left no visible line between earth and sky. Quaking-Asp -Creek was bone dry. At MacAchran’s Branch of the Sweetwater we found, -pitched upon a sward near a willow copse, a Provençal Frenchman--by -what “hasard que les sceptiques appellent l’homme d’affaires du bon -Dieu” did he come here?--who begged us to stop and give him the news, -especially about the Indians: we could say little that was reassuring. -Another spell of rough, steep ground placed us at Willow Creek, a -pretty little prairillon, with verdure, water, and an abundance of the -larger vegetation, upon which our eyes, long accustomed to artemisia -and rabbit-bush, dwelt with a compound sense of surprise and pleasure. -In a well-built ranch at this place of plenty were two Canadian -traders, apparently settled for life; they supplied us, as we found it -necessary to “liquor up,” with a whisky which did not poison us, and -that is about all that I can say for it. At Ford No. 9, we bade adieu -to the Sweetwater with that natural regret which one feels when losing -sight of the only pretty face and pleasant person in the neighborhood; -and we heard with a melancholy satisfaction the driver’s tribute to -departing worth, viz., that its upper course is the “healthiest water -in the world.” Near this spot, since my departure, has been founded -“South-Pass City,” one of the many mushroom growths which the presence -of gold in the Rocky Mountains has caused to spring up. - -Ten miles beyond Ford No. 9, hilly miles, ending in a long champaign -having some of the characteristics of a rolling prairie, with scatters -of white, rose, and smoky quartz, granite, hornblende, porphyry, -marble-like lime, sandstone, and mica slate--the two latter cropping -out of the ground and forming rocky ridges--led us to the South Pass, -the great _Wassersheide_ between the Atlantic and the Pacific, and the -frontier points between the territory of Nebraska and the State of -Oregon. From the mouth of the Sweetwater, about 120 miles, we have been -rising so gradually, almost imperceptibly, that now we unexpectedly -find ourselves upon the summit. The distance from Fort Laramie is 320 -miles, from St. Louis 1580, and from the mouth of the Oregon about -1400: it is therefore nearly midway between the Mississippi and the -Pacific. The dimensions of this memorial spot are 7490 feet above -sea-level, and 20 miles in breadth. The last part of the ascent is -so gentle that it is difficult to distinguish the exact point where -the versant lies: a stony band crossing the road on the ridge of the -table-land is pointed out as the place, and the position has been fixed -at N. lat. 48° 19′, and W. long. 108° 40′.[100] The northern limit is -the noble chain of Les Montagnes Rocheuses, which goes by the name of -the Wind River; the southern is called Table Mountain, an insignificant -mass of low hills. - - [100] Some guide-books place the water-shed between two small hills, - the “Twin Peaks,” about fifty or sixty feet high; the road, however, - no longer passes between them. - -A pass it is not: it has some of the features of Thermopylæ or the -Gorge of Killiecrankie; of the European St. Bernard or Simplon; of -the Alleghany Passes or of the Mexican _Barrancas_. It is not, as -it sounds, a ghaut between lofty mountains, or, as the traveler may -expect, a giant gateway, opening through Cyclopean walls of beetling -rocks that rise in forbidding grandeur as he passes onward to the -Western continent. And yet the word “Pass” has its significancy. In -that New World where Nature has worked upon the largest scale, where -every feature of scenery, river and lake, swamp and forest, prairie and -mountain, dwarf their congeners in the old hemisphere, this majestic -level-topped bluff, the highest steppe of the continent, upon whose -iron surface there is space enough for the armies of the globe to march -over, is the grandest and the most appropriate of avenues. - -A water-shed is always exciting to the traveler. What shall I say -of this, where, on the topmost point of American travel, you drink -within a hundred yards of the waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific -Oceans--that divides the “doorways of the west wind” from the “portals -of the sunrise?” On the other side of yon throne of storms, within -sight, did not the Sierra interpose, lie separated by a trivial space -the fountain-heads that give birth to the noblest rivers of the -continent, the Columbia, the Colorado, and the Yellow Stone, which -is to the Missouri what the Missouri is to the Mississippi, whence -the waters trend to four opposite directions: the Wind River to the -northeast; to the southeast the Sweetwater and the Platte; the various -branches of the Snake River to the northeast; and to the southwest the -Green River, that finds its way into the Californian Gulf.[101] It -is a suggestive spot, this “divortia aquarum:” it compels Memory to -revive past scenes before plunging into the mysterious “Lands of the -Hereafter,” which lie before and beneath the feet. The Great Ferry, -which steam has now bridged, the palisaded banks of the Hudson, the -soft and sunny scenery of the Ohio, and the kingly course of the -Upper Mississippi, the terrible beauty of Niagara, and the marvels of -that chain of inland seas which winds its watery way from Ontario to -Superior; the rich pasture-lands of the North, the plantations of the -semi-tropical South, and the broad corn-fields of the West; finally, -the vast meadow-land and the gloomy desert-waste of sage and saleratus, -of clay and _mauvaise terre_, of red _butte_ and tawny rock, all pass -before the mind in rapid array ere they are thrust into oblivion by the -excitement of a new departure. - - [101] As early as A.D. 1772 (Description of the Province of Carolana, - etc., etc., by Daniel Cox) it was suggested that there was a line of - water communication by means of the “northern branch of the Great - Yellow River, by the natives called the River of the Massorites” - (Missouri River), and a branch of the Columbia River, which, however, - was erroneously supposed to disembogue through the Great Salt Lake - into the Pacific. The idea has been revived in the present day. Some - assert that the upper waters of the Yellow Stone, which approach - within three hundred miles of Great Salt Lake City, are three - feet deep, and therefore navigable for flat-bottomed boats during - the annual inundation. Others believe that, as in the case of the - Platte, shallowness would be an insuperable obstacle, except for - one or two months. This point will doubtless be settled by Captain - W. F. Raynolds, of the United States Topographical Engineers, who, - accompanied by Colonel J. Bridger, was, at the time of my visit to - Great Salt Lake City, exploring the Valley of the Yellow Stone. - -[THE SOUTH PASS.] - -But we have not yet reached our destination, which is two miles below -the South Pass. Pacific Springs is our station; it lies a little down -the hill, and we can sight it from the road. The springs are a pond of -pure, hard, and very cold water, surrounded by a strip of shaking bog, -which must be boarded over before it will bear a man. The hut would be -a right melancholy abode were it not for the wooded ground on one hand, -and the glorious snow-peaks on the other side of the “Pass.” We reached -Pacific Springs at 3 P.M., and dined without delay, the material being -bouilli and potatoes--unusual luxuries. About an hour afterward the -west wind, here almost invariable, brought up a shower of rain, and -swept a vast veil over the forms of the Wind-River Mountains. Toward -sunset it cleared away, and the departing luminary poured a flood of -gold upon the majestic pile--I have seldom seen a view more beautiful. - -From the south, the barren rolling table-land that forms the Pass -trends northward till it sinks apparently below a ridge of offsets from -the main body, black with timber--cedar, cypress, fir, and balsam pine. -The hand of Nature has marked, as though by line and level, the place -where vegetation shall go and no farther. Below the waist the mountains -are robed in evergreens; above it, to the shoulders, they would be -entirely bare but for the atmosphere, which has thrown a thin veil -of light blue over their tawny gray, while their majestic heads are -covered with ice and snow, or are hidden from sight by thunder-cloud -or the morning mist. From the south, on clear days, the cold and -glittering radiance may be seen at a distance of a hundred miles. The -monarch of these mountains is “Frémont’s Peak;” its height is laid down -at 13,570 feet above sea level; and second to it is a hoary cone called -by the station-people Snowy Peak. - -That evening the Wind-River Mountains appeared in marvelous majesty. -The huge purple hangings of rain-cloud in the northern sky set off -their huge proportions, and gave prominence, as in a stereoscope, to -their gigantic forms, and their upper heights, hoar with the frosts -of ages. The mellow radiance of the setting sun diffused a charming -softness over their more rugged features, defining the folds and -ravines with a distinctness which deceived every idea of distance. And -as the light sank behind the far western horizon, it traveled slowly up -the mountain side, till, reaching the summit, it mingled its splendors -with the snow--flashing and flickering for a few brief moments, then -wasting them in the dark depths of the upper air. Nor was the scene -less lovely in the morning hour, as the first effulgence of day fell -upon the masses of dew-cloud--at this time mist always settles upon -their brows--lit up the peaks, which gleamed like silver, and poured -its streams of light and warmth over the broad skirts reposing upon the -plain. - -This unknown region was explored in August, 1842, by Colonel, then -Brevet Captain, J. C. Frémont, of the United States Topographical -Engineers; and his eloquent descriptions of the magnificent scenery -that rewarded his energy and enterprise prove how easily men write -well when they have a great subject to write upon. The concourse -of small green tarns, rushing waters, and lofty cascades, with the -gigantic disorder of enormous masses, the savage sublimity of the naked -rock, broken, jagged cones, slender minarets, needles, and columns, -and serrated walls, 2000 to 3000 feet high, all naked and destitute -of vegetable earth; the vertical precipices, chasms, and fissures, -insecure icy passages, long moraines, and sloping glaciers--which had -nearly proved fatal to some of the party; the stern recesses, shutting -out from the world dells and ravines of exquisite beauty, smoothly -carpeted with soft grass, kept green and fresh by the moisture of the -atmosphere, and sown with gay groups of brilliant flowers, of which -yellow was the predominant color: all this glory and grandeur seems -to be placed like a picture before our eyes. The reader enjoys, like -the explorer, the fragrant odor of the pines, and the pleasure of -breathing, in the bright, clear morning, that “mountain air which -makes a constant theme of the hunter’s praise,” and which causes -man to feel as if he had been inhaling some exhilarating gas. We -sympathize with his joy in having hit upon “such a beautiful entrance -to the mountains,” in his sorrow, caused by accidents to barometer -and thermometer, and in the honest pride with which, fixing a ramrod -in the crevice of “an unstable and precarious slab, which it seemed a -breath would hurl into the abyss below,” he unfurled the Stars and the -Stripes, to wave in the breeze where flag never waved before--over the -topmost crest of the Rocky Mountains. And every driver upon the road -now can tell how, in the profound silence and terrible stillness and -solitude that affect the mind as the great features of the scene, while -sitting on a rock at the very summit, where the silence was absolute, -unbroken by any sound, and the stillness and solitude were completest, -a solitary “humble-bee”[102] winging through the black-blue air his -flight from the eastern valley, alit upon the knee of one of the men, -and, helas! “found a grave in the leaves of the large book, among the -flowers collected on the way.” - - [102] A species of _bromus_ or _bombus_. In the United States, as - in England, the word is often pronounced bumble-bee. Johnson says - we call a bee an humble bee that wants a sting; so the States call - black cattle without horns “humble cows.” It is the general belief of - the mountaineers that the bee, the partridge, the plantain, and the - “Jamestown weed” follow the footsteps of the white pioneers westward. - -[GOLD.--GAME.--MUSQUETOES.--A “SMUDGE.”] - -The Wind-River Range has other qualities than mere formal beauty to -recommend it. At Horseshoe Creek I was shown a quill full of large -gold-grains from a new digging. Probably all the primitive masses of -the Rocky Mountains will be found to contain the precious metal. The -wooded heights are said to be a very paradise of sport, full of elk and -every kind of deer; pumas; bears, brown[103] as well as grizzly; the -wolverine;[104] in parts the mountain buffalo--briefly, all the noble -game of the Continent. The Indian tribes, Shoshonees and Blackfeet, are -not deadly to whites. Washiki, the chief of the former, had, during the -time of our visit, retired to hilly ground, about forty miles north of -the Foot of Ridge Station. This chief--a fine, manly fellow, equal in -point of physical strength to the higher race--had been a firm friend, -from the beginning, to emigrant and settler; but he was complaining, -according to the road officials, that the small amount of inducement -prevented his affording good conduct any longer--that he must rob, like -the rest of the tribe. Game, indeed, is not unfrequently found near -the Pacific Springs; they are visited, later in the year, by swans, -geese, and flights of ducks. At this season they seem principally to -attract coyotes--five mules have lately been worried by the little -villains--huge cranes, chicken-hawks, a large species of trochilus, and -clouds of musquetoes, which neither the altitude, the cold, nor the -eternal wind-storm that howls through the Pass can drive from their -favorite breeding-bed. Near nightfall a flock of wild geese passed -over us, audibly threatening an early winter. We were obliged, before -resting, to insist upon a smudge,[105] without which fumigation sleep -would have been impossible. - - [103] Some authorities doubt that the European brown bear is found in - America. - - [104] The wolverine (_Gulo luscus_), carcajou, or glutton, extends - throughout Utah Territory: its carnivorous propensities render it an - object of peculiar hatred to fur-hunters. The first name is loosely - used in the States: the people of Michigan are called Wolverines, - from the large number of _mischievous prairie wolves_ found there - (Bartlett). - - [105] This old North of England word is used in the West for a - heap of green bush or other damp combustibles, placed inside or to - windward of a house or tent, and partially lighted, so as to produce - a thick, pungent steam. - -The shanty was perhaps a trifle more uncomfortable than the average; -our only seat was a kind of trestled plank, which suggested a -certain obsolete military punishment called riding on a rail. The -station-master was a _bon enfant_; but his help, a Mormon lad, still -in his teens, had been trained to go in a “sorter” jibbing and -somewhat uncomfortable “argufying,” “highfalutin’” way. He had the -furor for fire-arms that characterizes the ingenuous youth of Great -Salt Lake City, and his old rattletrap of a revolver, which always -reposed by his side at night, was as dangerous to his friends as to -himself. His vernacular was peculiar; like Mr. Boatswain Chucks (Mr. -D----s), he could begin a sentence with polished and elaborate diction, -but it always ended, like the wicked, badly. He described himself, -for instance, as having lately been “slightly inebriated;” but the -euphuistic periphrasis concluded with an asseveration that he would be -“Gord domned” if he did it again. - -The night was, like the day, loud and windy, the log hut being somewhat -crannied and creviced, and the door had a porcelain handle, and a -shocking bad fit--a characteristic combination. We had some trouble to -keep ourselves warm. At sunrise the thermometer showed 35° Fahrenheit. - - _To Green River. August 21st._ - -We rose early, despite the cold, to enjoy once more the lovely aspect -of the Wind-River Mountains, upon whose walls of snow the rays of -the unrisen sun broke with a splendid effect; breakfasted, and found -ourselves _en route_ at 8 A.M. The day did not begin well: Mrs. Dana -was suffering severely from fatigue, and the rapid transitions from -heat to cold; Miss May, poor child! was but little better, and the team -was re-enforced by an extra mule returning to its proper station: this -four-footed Xantippe caused us, without speaking of the dust from her -hoofs, an immensity of trouble. - -At the Pacific Creek, two miles below the springs, we began the -descent of the Western water-shed, and the increase of temperature -soon suggested a lower level. We were at once convinced that those who -expect any change for the better on the counterslope of the mountains -labor under a vulgar error. The land was desolate, a red waste, dotted -with sage and greasebush, and in places pitted with large rain-drops. -But, looking backward, we could admire the Sweetwater’s Gap heading far -away, and the glorious pile of mountains which, disposed in crescent -shape, curtained the horizon; their southern and western bases wanted, -however, one of the principal charms of the upper view: the snow -had well-nigh been melted off. Yet, according to the explorer, they -supply within the space of a few miles the Green River with a number -of tributaries, which are all called the New Forks. We kept them in -sight till they mingled with the upper air like immense masses of -thunder-cloud gathering for a storm. - -[THE GLISTENING GRAVEL WATER.] - -From Pacific Creek the road is not bad, but at this season the emigrant -parties are sorely tried by drought, and when water is found it is -often fetid or brackish. After seventeen miles we passed the junction -of the Great Salt Lake and Fort Hall roads. Near Little Sandy Creek--a -feeder of its larger namesake--which after rains is about 2·5 feet -deep, we found nothing but sand, caked clay, sage, thistles, and the -scattered fragments of camp-fires, with large ravens picking at the -bleaching skeletons, and other indications of a halting-ground, an eddy -in the great current of mankind, which, ceaseless as the Gulf Stream, -ever courses from east to west. After a long stage of twenty-nine miles -we made Big Sandy Creek, an important influent of the Green River; the -stream, then shrunken, was in breadth not less than five rods, each = -16·5 feet, running with a clear, swift current through a pretty little -prairillon, bright with the blue lupine, the delicate pink malvacea, -the golden helianthus, purple aster acting daisy, the white mountain -heath, and the green Asclepias tuberosa,[106] a weed common throughout -Utah Territory. The Indians, in their picturesque way, term this stream -Wágáhongopá, or the Glistening Gravel Water.[107] We halted for an hour -to rest and dine; the people of the station, man and wife, the latter -very young, were both English, and of course Mormons; they had but -lately become tenants of the ranch, but already they were thinking, as -the Old Country people will, of making their surroundings “nice and -tidy.” - - [106] Locally called milkweed. The whites use the silky cotton of - the pods, as in Arabia, for bed-stuffings, and the Sioux Indians - of the Upper Platte boil and eat the young pods with their buffalo - flesh. Colonel Frémont asserts that he never saw this plant without - remarking “on the flower a large butterfly, so nearly resembling it - in color as to be distinguishable at a little distance only by the - motion of its wings.” - - [107] Similarly the Snake River, an eastern influent of the Colorado, - is called Yampa Pa, or Sweet Root (_Anethum graveolens_) Water. - -Beyond the Glistening Gravel Water lies a _mauvaise terre_, sometimes -called the First Desert, and upon the old road water is not found in -the dry season within forty-nine miles--a terrible _jornada_[108] for -laden wagons with tired cattle. We prepared for drought by replenishing -all our canteens--one of them especially, a tin flask, covered outside -with thick cloth, kept the fluid deliciously cold--and we amused -ourselves by the pleasant prospect of seeing wild mules taught to bear -harness. The tricks of equine viciousness and asinine obstinacy played -by the mongrels were so distinct, that we had no pains in determining -what was inherited from the father and what from the other side of the -house. Before they could be hitched up they were severally hustled into -something like a parallel line with the pole, and were then forced -into their places by a rope attached to the fore wheel, and hauled at -the other end by two or three men. Each of these pleasant animals had a -bell: it is sure, unless corraled, to run away, and at night sound is -necessary to guide the pursuer. At last, being “all aboord,” we made -a start, dashed over the Big Sandy, charged the high stiff bank with -an impetus that might have carried us up an otter-slide or a Montagne -Russe, and took the right side of the valley, leaving the stream at -some distance. - - [108] The Spanish-Mexican term for a day’s march. It is generally - applied to a waterless march, _e. g._, “Jornada del Muerto” in New - Mexico, which, like some in the Sahara, measures ninety miles across. - -Rain-clouds appeared from the direction of the hills: apparently they -had many centres, as the distant sheet was rent into a succession of -distinct streamers. A few drops fell upon us as we advanced. Then -the fiery sun “ate up” the clouds, or raised them so high that they -became playthings in the hands of the strong and steady western gale. -The thermometer showed 95° in the carriage, and 111° exposed to the -reflected heat upon the black leather cushions. It was observable, -however, that the sensation was not what might have been expected from -the height of the mercury, and perspiration was unknown except during -severe exercise; this proves the purity and salubrity of the air. -In St. Jo and New Orleans the effect would have been that of India -or of a Turkish steam-bath. The heat, however, brought with it one -evil--a green-headed horsefly, that stung like a wasp, and from which -cattle must be protected with a coating of grease and tar. Whenever -wind blew, tourbillons of dust coursed over the different parts of -the plain, showing a highly electrical state of the atmosphere. When -the air was unmoved the mirage was perfect as the sarab in Sindh or -Southern Persia; earth and air were both so dry that the refraction -of the sunbeams elevated the objects acted upon more than I had ever -seen before. A sea lay constantly before our eyes, receding of course -as we advanced, but in all other points a complete _lusus naturæ_. -The color of the water was a dull cool sky-blue, not white, as the -“looming” generally is; the broad expanse had none of that tremulous -upward motion which is its general concomitant; it lay placid, still, -and perfectly reflecting in its azure depths--here and there broken by -projecting capes and bluff headlands--the forms of the higher grounds -bordering the horizon. - -After twelve miles’ driving we passed through a depression called -Simpson’s Hollow, and somewhat celebrated in local story. Two -semicircles of black still charred the ground; on a cursory view they -might have been mistaken for burnt-out lignite. Here, in 1857, the -Mormons fell upon a corraled train of twenty-three wagons, laden with -provisions and other necessaries for the federal troops, then halted -at Camp Scott awaiting orders to advance. The wagoners, suddenly -attacked, and, as usual, unarmed--their weapons being fastened inside -their awnings--could offer no resistance, and the whole convoy was -set on fire except two conveyances, which were left to carry back -supplies for the drivers till they could reach their homes. On this -occasion the _dux facti_ was Lot Smith, a man of reputation for hard -riding and general gallantry. The old Saint is always spoken of as a -good man who lives by “Mormon rule of wisdom.” As at Fort Sumter, no -blood was spilled. So far the Mormons behaved with temper and prudence; -but this their first open act of rebellion against, or secession from, -the federal authority nearly proved fatal to them; had the helm of -government been held by a firmer hand than poor Mr. Buchanan’s, the -scenes of Nauvoo would have been acted again at Great Salt Lake City. -As it was, all turned out _à merveille_ for the saints militant. They -still boast loudly of the achievement, and on the marked spot where it -was performed the juvenile emigrants of the creed erect dwarf graves -and nameless “wooden” tomb-“stones” in derision of their enemies. - -[VALLEY OF THE GREEN RIVER.] - -As sunset drew near we approached the banks of the Big Sandy River. -The bottom through which it flowed was several yards in breadth, -bright green with grass, and thickly feathered with willows and -cotton-wood. It showed no sign of cultivation; the absence of cereals -may be accounted for by its extreme cold; it freezes there every -night, and none but the hardiest grains, oats and rye, which here are -little appreciated, could be made to grow. We are now approaching -the valley of the Green River, which, like many of the rivers in the -Eastern States, appears formerly to have filled a far larger channel. -Flat tables and elevated terraces of horizontal strata--showing that -the deposit was made in still waters--with layers varying from a few -lines to a foot in thickness, composed of hard clay, green and other -sandstones, and agglutinated conglomerates, rise like islands from -barren plains, or form escarpments that buttress alternately either -bank of the winding stream. Such, according to Captain Stansbury, is -the general formation of the land between the South Pass and the “Rim” -of the Utah Basin. - -Advancing over a soil alternately sandy and rocky--an iron flat that -could not boast of a spear of grass--we sighted a number of coyotes, -fittest inhabitants of such a waste, and a long, distant line of dust, -like the smoke of a locomotive, raised by a herd of mules which were -being driven to the corral. We were presently met by the Pony Express -rider; he reined in to exchange news, which _de part et d’autre_ were -simply _nil_. As he pricked onward over the plain, the driver informed -us, with a portentous rolling of the head, that Ichabod was an a’mighty -fine “shyoot.” Within five or six miles of Green River we passed the -boundary stone which bears Oregon on one side and Utah on the other. We -had now traversed the southeastern corner of the country of Long-eared -men,[109] and were entering Deserét, the Land of the Honey-bee. - - [109] Oregon is supposed by Mr. Edward to have been named by the - Spaniards from the immensely lengthened ears (_orejones_) of the - Indians who inhabited it. - -At 6 30 P.M. we debouched upon the bank of the Green River. The station -was the home of Mr. Macarthy, our driver. The son of a Scotchman -who had settled in the United States, he retained many signs of his -origin, especially freckles, and hair which one might almost venture -to describe as sandy; perhaps also, at times, he was rather o’er fond -of draining “a cup o’ kindness yet.” He had lately taken to himself -an English wife, the daughter of a Birmingham mechanic, who, before -the end of her pilgrimage to “Zion on the tops of the mountains,” had -fallen considerably away from grace, and had incurred the risk of being -buffeted by Satan for a thousand years--a common form of commination -in the New Faith--by marrying a Gentile husband.[110] The station had -the indescribable scent of a Hindoo village, which appears to result -from the burning of _bois de vache_ and the presence of cattle: there -were sheep, horses, mules, and a few cows, the latter so lively that -it was impossible to milk them. The ground about had the effect of an -oasis in the sterile waste, with grass and shrubs, willows and flowers, -wild geraniums, asters, and various _cruciferæ_. A few trees, chiefly -quaking asp, lingered near the station, but dead stumps were far more -numerous than live trunks. In any other country their rare and precious -shade would have endeared them to the whole settlement; here they were -never safe when a log was wanted. The Western man is bred and perhaps -born--I believe devoutly in transmitted and hereditary qualities--with -an instinctive dislike to timber in general. He fells a tree naturally -as a bull-terrier worries a cat, and the admirable woodsman’s axe which -he has invented only serves to whet his desire to try conclusions with -every more venerable patriarch of the forest.[111] Civilized Americans, -of course, lament the destructive mania, and the Latter-Day Saints -have learned by hard experience the inveterate evils that may arise in -such a country from disforesting the ground. We supped comfortably at -Green-River Station, the stream supplying excellent salmon trout. The -kichimichi, or buffalo berry,[112] makes tolerable jelly, and alongside -of the station is a store where Mr. Burton (of Maine) sells “Valley -Tan” whisky.[113] - - [110] Mr. Brigham Young, one of the most tolerant of a people whose - motto is toleration, would not, I believe, offer any but an official - objection to a Mormon member marrying a worthy Gentile; but even - he--and it could hardly be expected that he should--can not overlook - the sin of apostasy. The order of the faith runs thus: “We believe - that it is not right to prohibit members of the Church from marrying - out of the Church, if it be their determination so to do, but such - persons will be considered weak in the faith of our Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ.” The same view of the subject is taken, I need hardly - say, by the more rigid kind of Roman Catholic. - - [111] Many of the blades, being made by convicts at the state - prisons, are sold cheap. The extent of the timber regions - necessitated this excellent implement, and the saving of labor on the - European article is enormous. - - [112] A shrub 10-15 feet high, with a fruit about the size of a pea, - red like a wild rose-hip, and with a pleasant sub-acid flavor: the - Indians eat it with avidity, and it is cultivated in the gardens at - Great Salt Lake City. - - [113] Tannery was the first technological process introduced into the - Mormon Valley; hence all home industry has obtained the sobriquet of - “Valley Tan.” - -[EXPLORATION YET TO BE DONE.] - -The Green River is the Rio Verde of the Spaniards, who named it from -its timbered shores and grassy islets: it is called by the Yuta Indians -Piya Ogwe, or the Great Water; by the other tribes Sitskidiágí, or -“Prairie-grouse River.” It was nearly at its lowest when we saw it; the -breadth was not more than 330 feet. In the flood-time it widens to 800 -feet, and the depth increases from three to six. During the inundation -season a ferry is necessary, and when transit is certain the owner -sometimes nets $500 a week, which is not unfrequently squandered in -a day. The banks are in places thirty feet high, and the bottom may -average three miles from side to side. It is a swift-flowing stream, -running as if it had no time to lose, and truly it has a long way to -go. Its length, volume, and direction entitle it to the honor of being -called the head water of the great Rio Colorado, or Colored River, a -larger and more important stream than even the Columbia. There is some -grand exploration still to be done upon the line of the Upper Colorado, -especially the divides which lie between it and its various influents, -the Grand River and the Yaquisilla, of which the wild trapper brings -home many a marvelous tale of beauty and grandeur. Captain T. A. Gove, -of the 10th Regiment of Infantry, then stationed at Camp Floyd, told -me that an expedition had often been projected: a party of twenty-five -to thirty men, well armed and provided with inflatable boats, might -pass without unwarrantable risk through the sparsely populated Indian -country: a true report concerning regions of which there are so many -false reports, all wearing more or less the garb of fable--beautiful -valleys inclosed in inaccessible rocks, Indian cities and golden -treasures--would be equally interesting and important. I can not -recommend the undertaking to the European adventurer: the United States -have long since organized and perfected what was proposed in England -during the Crimean war, and which fell, as other projects then did, -to the ground, namely, a corps of Topographical Engineers, a body of -well-trained and scientific explorers, to whose hands the task may -safely be committed.[114] - - [114] The principal explorers under the United States government of - the regions lying west of the Mississippi, and who have published - works upon the subject, are the following: - - 1. Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, in 1804-6, first explored the Rocky - Mountains to the Columbia River. - - 2. Major Z. M. Pike, in 1805-7, visited the upper waters of the - Mississippi and the western regions of Louisiana. - - 3. Major, afterward Colonel S. H. Long, of the United States - Topographical Engineers, made two expeditions, one in 1819-20 to the - Rocky Mountains, another in 1823 to the Sources of the St. Peter and - the Lake of the Woods, whereby four volumes octavo were filled. - - 4. Governor Cass and Mr. Schoolcraft in 1820 explored the Sources of - the Mississippi and the regions west and south of Lake Superior. - - 5. Colonel H. Dodge, U. S. Army, in 1835 traveled 1600 miles from - Fort Leavenworth, and visited the regions between the Arkansas and - the Platte Rivers. - - 6. Captain Canfield, United States Topographical Engineers, in 1838 - explored the country between Forts Leavenworth and Snelling. - - 7. Mr. M‘Cox, of Missouri, surveyed the boundaries of the Indian - reservations: his work was in part revised by the late Captain Hood, - United States Topographical Engineers. - - 8. Mr. Nicollet (French) in 1833-38 mapped the country west of the - Upper Mississippi: he was employed in 1838-9 to make a similar - scientific reconnoissance between the Mississippi and the Missouri, - on which occasion he was accompanied by Mr. Frémont. He died in 1842. - - The explorations of Colonel Frémont, Captain Howard Stansbury, - Lieutenant Gunnison, and Lieutenant Warren have been frequently - alluded to in these pages. - - 9. Lieutenant, afterward Captain Charles Wilkes, U. S. Navy, set out - in 1838, and, after a long voyage of discovery in South America, - Oceanica, and the Antarctic continent, made San Francisco on August - 11, 1841. It is remarkable that this officer’s party were actually - pitched upon the spot (New Helvetia, afterward called Sacramento - City) where Californian gold was dug by the Mormons. - - 10. Captain R. B. Marcy, U. S. Army, “discovered and explored, - located and marked out the wagon-road from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to - Santa Fé, New Mexico.” The road explorers, however, are too numerous - to specify. - - 11. Governor I. I. Stevens, of Washington Territory, surveyed in 1853 - the northern land proposed for a Pacific railway near the 47°-49° - parallels, from St. Paul to Puget Sound. No portion of that line - had been visited since the days of Lewis and Clarke, except a small - portion toward the Pacific Ocean. - - 12. Captain Raynolds, United States Topographical Engineers, - accompanied by Colonel Bridger as guide and interpreter, is still - (1860) exploring the head-waters of the Yellow Stone River. - -We passed a social evening at Green-River Station. It boasted of no -less than three Englishwomen, two married, and one, the help, still -single. Not having the Mormonite _retenue_, the dames were by no means -sorry to talk about Birmingham and Yorkshire, their birthplaces. At 9 -P.M. arrived one of the road-agents, Mr. Cloete, from whom I gathered -that the mail-wagon which once ran from Great Salt Lake City had lately -been taken off the road. The intelligence was by no means consolatory, -but a course of meditation upon the saying of the sage, “in for a -penny, in for a pound,” followed by another visit to my namesake’s -grog-shop, induced a highly philosophical turn, which enabled me--with -the aid of a buffalo--to pass a comfortable night in the store. - - _22d August. To Ham’s Fork and Millersville._ - -We were not under way before 8 A.M. Macarthy was again to take the -lines, and a _Giovinetto_ returning after a temporary absence to a -young wife is not usually rejoiced to run his course. Indeed, he felt -the inconveniences of a semi-bachelor life so severely, that he often -threatened in my private ear, _chemin faisant_, to throw up the whole -concern. - -[MICHAEL MARTIN’S STORE.--AN ORIGINAL.] - -After the preliminary squabble with the mules, we forded the pebbly -and gravelly bed of the river--in parts it looks like a lake exhausted -by drainage--whose swift surging waters wetted the upper spokes of the -wheels, and gurgled pleasantly around the bags which contained the mail -for Great Salt Lake City.[115] We then ran down the river valley, -which was here about one mile in breadth, in a smooth flooring of clay, -sprinkled with water-rolled pebbles, overgrown in parts with willow, -wild cherry, buffalo berries, and quaking asp. Macarthy pointed out in -the road-side a rough grave, furnished with the normal tomb-stone, two -pieces of wagon-board: it was occupied by one Farren, who had fallen by -the revolver of the redoubtable Slade. Presently we came to the store -of Michael Martin, an honest Creole, who vended the staple of prairie -goods, Champagne, bottled cocktail, “eye-opener,” and other liquors, -dry goods--linen drapery--a few fancy goods, ribbons, and finery; -brandied fruits, jams and jellies, potted provisions, buckskins, -moccasins, and so forth. Hearing that Lieutenant Dana was _en route_ -for Camp Floyd, he requested him to take charge of $500, to be paid to -Mr. Livingston, the sutler, and my companion, with the obligingness -that marked his every action, agreed to deliver the dollars, _sauve_ -the judgment of God in the shape of Indians, or “White Indians.”[116] -At the store we noticed a paralytic man. This original lived under the -delusion that it was impossible to pass the Devil’s Gate: his sister -had sent for him to St. Louis, and his friends tried to transport -him eastward in chairs; the only result was that he ran away before -reaching the Gate, and after some time was brought back by Indians. - - [115] Sticklers for strict democracy in the United States maintain, - on the principle that the least possible power should be delegated - to the federal government, that the transmission of correspondence - is no more a national concern than the construction of railways and - telegraphs, or the transit of passengers and goods. The present - system was borrowed from the monopolies of Europe, and was introduced - into America at a time when individual enterprise was inadequate - to the task; in the year one of the Republic it became, under the - direction of Benjamin Franklin, a state department, and, though men - argue in the abstract, few care to propose a private mail system, - which would undertake the management of some 27,000 scattered offices - and 40,000 poorly paid clerks. - - On this line we saw all the evils of the contract system. The - requisite regularity and quickness was neglected, letters and papers - were often lost, the mail-bags were wetted or thrown carelessly - upon the ground, and those intrusted to the conductors were perhaps - destroyed. Both parties complain--the postmaster that the contractors - seek to drive too hard a bargain with the department, and the - contractors that they are carrying the mails at a loss. Since the - restoration (in 1858) of the postal communication with the United - States which was interrupted in 1857, the Mormons attempt to secure - good service by advertising their grievances, and with tolerable - success. Postmaster Morrill--a Gentile--complained energetically of - the mail service during the last year, that letters were wetted and - jumbled together, two of one month perhaps and one of another; that - magazines often arrived four months after date, and that thirty sacks - left at Rocky Ridge were lost. The consequence was that during my - stay at Great Salt Lake City the contractors did their duty. - - When salaries are small and families large, post-office robberies - must at times be expected. The postal department have long adopted - the system of registered letters: upon payment of five cents instead - of three, the letter is placed in a separate bag, entered separately - in the office books, forwarded with certain precautions, and - delivered to the address only after a receipt from the recipient. - But the department disclaims all responsibility in case of loss or - theft, and the only value of the higher stamp is a somewhat superior - facility of tracking the document that bears it. - - [116] A cant term for white thieves disguised as savages, which has a - terrible significancy a little farther West. - -Resuming our journey, we passed two places where trains of fifty-one -wagons were burned in 1857 by the Mormon Rangers: the black stains -had bitten into the ground like the blood-marks in the palace of -Holyrood--a neat foundation for a structure of superstition. Not far -from it was a deep hole, in which the plunderers had “cached” the -iron-work which they were unable to carry away. Emerging from the -river plain we entered upon another _mauvaise terre_, with knobs and -elevations of clay and green gault, striped and banded with lines of -stone and pebbles: it was a barren, desolate spot, the divide between -the Green River and its western influent, the shallow and somewhat -sluggish Black’s Fork. The name is derived from an old trader: it is -called by the Snakes Ongo Ogwe Pa, or “Pine-tree Stream;” it rises in -the Bear-River Mountains, drains the swamps and lakelets on the way, -and bifurcates in its upper bed, forming two principal branches, Ham’s -Fork and Muddy Fork. - -Near the Pine-tree Stream we met a horse-thief driving four bullocks: -he was known to Macarthy, and did not look over comfortable. We had -now fallen into the regular track of Mormon emigration, and saw the -wayfarers in their worst plight, near the end of the journey. We passed -several families, and parties of women and children trudging wearily -along: most of the children were in rags or half nude, and all showed -gratitude when we threw them provisions. The greater part of the men -were armed, but their weapons were far more dangerous to themselves -and their fellows than to the enemy. There is not on earth a race of -men more ignorant of arms as a rule than the lower grades of English; -becoming an emigrant, the mechanic hears that it may be necessary -to beat off Indians, so he buys the first old fire-arm he sees, and -probably does damage with it. Only last night a father crossed Green -River to beg for a piece of cloth; it was intended to shroud the body -of his child, which during the evening had been accidentally shot, and -the station people seemed to think nothing of the accident, as if it -were of daily recurrence. I was told of three, more or less severe, -that happened in the course of a month. The Western Americans, who are -mostly accustomed to the use of weapons, look upon these awkwardnesses -with a profound contempt. We were now in a region of graves, and their -presence in this wild was not a little suggestive. - -Presently we entered a valley in which green grass, low and dense -willows, and small but shady trees, an unusually vigorous vegetation, -refreshed, as though with living water, our eyes, parched and dazed by -the burning glare. Stock strayed over the pasture, and a few Indian -tents rose at the farther side; the view was probably _pas grand’ -chose_, but we thought it splendidly beautiful. At midday we reached -Ham’s Fork, the northwestern influent of Green River, and there we -found a station. The pleasant little stream is called by the Indians -Turugempa, the “Blackfoot Water.” - -[THE DIRTY HOUSE.] - -The station was kept by an Irishman and a Scotchman--“Dawvid Lewis:” -it was a disgrace; the squalor and filth were worse almost than -the two--Cold Springs and Rock Creek--which we called our horrors, -and which had always seemed to be the _ne plus ultra_ of Western -discomfort. The shanty was made of dry stone piled up against a -dwarf cliff to save back wall, and ignored doors and windows. The -flies--unequivocal sign of unclean living!--darkened the table and -covered every thing put upon it; the furniture, which mainly consisted -of the different parts of wagons, was broken, and all in disorder; the -walls were impure, the floor filthy. The reason was at once apparent. -Two Irishwomen, sisters,[117] were married to Mr. Dawvid, and the house -was full of “childer,” the noisiest and most rampageous of their kind. -I could hardly look upon the scene without disgust. The fair ones had -the porcine Irish face--I need hardly tell the reader that there are -three orders of physiognomy in that branch of the Keltic family, viz., -porcine, equine, and simian--the pig-faced, the horse-faced, and the -monkey-faced. Describing one I describe both sisters; her nose was -“pugged,” apparently by gnawing hard potatoes before that member had -acquired firmness and consistency; her face was powdered with freckles; -her hair, and, indeed, her general costume, looked, to quote Mr. Dow’s -sermon, as though she had been rammed through a bush fence into a world -of wretchedness and woe. Her dress was unwashed and in tatters, and her -feet were bare; she would not even take the trouble to make for herself -moccasins. Moreover, I could not but notice that, though the house -contained two wives, it boasted only of one cubile, and had only one -cubiculum. Such things would excite no surprise in London or Naples, or -even in many of the country parts of Europe; but here, where ground is -worthless, where building material is abundant, and where a few hours -of daily labor would have made the house look at least respectable, -I could not but wonder at it. My first impulse was to attribute the -evil, uncharitably enough, to Mormonism; to renew, in fact, the -stock-complaint of nineteen centuries’ standing-- - - “Fœcunda culpæ secula nuptias - Primùm inquinavere, et genus et domus.” - - [117] A man (Mormon) may even marry a mother and her daughters: - usually the relationship with the former is Platonic; the tie, - however, is irregular, and has been contracted in ignorance of the - prohibited degrees. - -[A SCOTCH IDLER.] - -A more extended acquaintance with the regions west of the Wasach taught -me that the dirt and discomfort were the growth of the land. To give -the poor devils their due, Dawvid was civil and intelligent, though a -noted dawdler, as that rare phenomenon, a Scotch idler, generally is. -Moreover, his wives were not deficient in charity; several Indians came -to the door, and none went away without a “bit” and a “sup.” During -the process of sketching one of these men, a Snake, distinguished -by his vermilion’d hair-parting, eyes blackened, as if by lines of -soot or surma, and delicate Hindoo-like hands, my eye fell upon the -German-silver handle of a Colt’s revolver, which had been stowed away -under the blankets, and a revolver in the Lamanite’s hands breeds evil -suspicions. - -Again we advanced. The air was like the breath of a furnace; the sun -was a blaze of fire--accounting, by-the-by, for the fact that the human -nose in these parts seems invariably to become cherry-red--all the -nullahs were dried up, and the dust-pillars and mirage were the only -moving objects on the plain. Three times we forded Black’s Fork, and -then debouched once more upon a long flat. The ground was scattered -over with pebbles of granite, obsidian, flint, and white, yellow, and -smoky quartz, all water-rolled. After twelve miles we passed Church -Butte, one of many curious formations lying to the left hand or south -of the road. This isolated mass of stiff clay has been cut and ground -by wind and rain into folds and hollow channels which from a distance -perfectly simulate the pillars, groins, and massive buttresses of a -ruinous Gothic cathedral. The foundation is level, except where masses -have been swept down by the rain, and not a blade of grass grows upon -any part. An architect of genius might profitably study this work of -Nature: upon that subject, however, I shall presently have more to say. -The Butte is highly interesting in a geological point of view; it shows -the elevation of the adjoining plains in past ages, before partial -deluges and the rains of centuries had effected the great work of -degradation. - -Again we sighted the pretty valley of Black’s Fork, whose cool clear -stream flowed merrily over its pebbly bed. The road was now populous -with Mormon emigrants; some had good teams, others hand-carts, which -looked like a cross between a wheel-barrow and a tax-cart. There was -nothing repugnant in the demeanor of the party; they had been civilized -by traveling, and the younger women, who walked together and apart -from the men, were not too surly to exchange a greeting. The excessive -barrenness of the land presently diminished; gentian and other -odoriferous herbs appeared, and the greasewood, which somewhat reminded -me of the Sindhian camel-thorn, was of a lighter green than elsewhere, -and presented a favorable contrast with the dull glaucous hues of the -eternal prairie sage. We passed a dwarf copse so strewed with the bones -of cattle as to excite our astonishment: Macarthy told us that it was -the place where the 2d Dragoons encamped in 1857, and lost a number of -their horses by cold and starvation. The wolves and coyotes seemed to -have retained a predilection for the spot; we saw troops of them in -their favorite “location”--the crest of some little rise, whence they -could keep a sharp look-out upon any likely addition to their scanty -larder. - -[THE UNGENIAL MAN.] - -After sundry steep inclines we forded another little stream, with a -muddy bed, shallow, and about thirty feet wide: it is called Smith’s -Fork, rises in the “Bridger Range” of the Uinta Hills, and sheds into -Black’s Fork, the main drain of these parts. On the other side stood -Millersville, a large ranch with a whole row of unused and condemned -wagons drawn up on one side. We arrived at 5 15 P.M., having taken -three hours and fifteen minutes to get over twenty miles. The tenement -was made of the component parts of vehicles, the chairs had backs of -yoke-bows, and the fences which surrounded the corral were of the same -material. The station was kept by one Holmes, an American Mormon, and -an individual completely the reverse of genial; he dispensed his words -as if shelling out coin, and he was never--by us at least--seen to -smile. His wife was a pretty young Englishwoman, who had spent the best -part of her life between London and Portsmouth; when alone with me she -took the opportunity of asking some few questions about old places, -but this most innocent _tête-à-tête_ was presently interrupted by the -protrusion through the open door of a _tête de mari au naturel_, with -a truly _renfrogné_ and vinegarish aspect, which made him look like a -calamity. After supplying us with a supper which was clean and neatly -served, the pair set out for an evening ride, and toward night we heard -the scraping of a violin, which reminded me of Tommaso Scarafaggio: - - “Detto il sega del villagio - Perché suona il violino.” - -The “fiddle” was a favorite instrument with Mr. Joseph Smith, as the -harp with David; the Mormons, therefore, at the instance of their -prophet, are not a little addicted to the use of the bow. We spent a -comfortable night at Millersville. After watching the young moon as she -sailed through the depths of a firmament unstained by the least fleck -of mist, we found some scattered volumes which rendered us independent -of our unsocial Yankee host. - - _23d August. Fort Bridger._ - -[“UNCLE JACK.”] - -We breakfasted early the next morning, and gladly settled accounts with -the surly Holmes, who had infected--probably by following the example -of Mr. Caudle in later life--his pretty wife with his own surliness. -Shortly after starting--at 8 30 A.M.--we saw a little clump of seven -Indian lodges, which our experience soon taught us were the property -of a white; the proprietor met us on the road, and was introduced with -due ceremony by Mr. Macarthy. “Uncle Jack” (Robinson, really) is a -well-known name between South Pass and Great Salt Lake City; he has -spent thirty-four years in the mountains, and has saved some $75,000, -which have been properly invested at St. Louis; as might be expected, -he prefers the home of his adoption and his Indian spouse, who has made -him the happy father of I know not how many children, to good society -and bad air farther east. - -Our road lay along the valley of Black’s Fork, which here flows -from the southwest to the northeast; the bottom produced in plenty -luxuriant grass, the dandelion, and the purple aster, thickets of a -shrub-like hawthorn (_cratægus_), black and white currants, the willow -and the cotton-wood. When almost in sight of the military post we were -addressed by two young officers, one of them an assistant surgeon, who -had been engaged in the healthful and exciting pursuit of a badger, -whose markings, by-the-by, greatly differ from the European; they -recognized the uniform, and accompanied us to the station. - -Fort Bridger lies 124 miles from Great Salt Lake City; according to -the drivers, however, the road might be considerably shortened. The -position is a fertile basin cut into a number of bits by Black’s -Fork, which disperses itself into four channels about 1·5 mile above -the station, and forms again a single bed about two miles below. The -fort is situated upon the westernmost islet. It is, as usual, a mere -cantonment, without any attempt at fortification, and at the time of -my visit was garrisoned by two companies of foot, under the command of -Captain F. Gardner, of the 10th Regiment. The material of the houses -is pine and cedar brought from the Uinta Hills, whose black flanks -supporting snowy cones rise at the distance of about thirty-five miles. -They are a sanitarium, except in winter, when under their influence the -mercury sinks to -20° F., not much less rigorous than Minnesota, and -they are said to shelter grizzly bears and an abundance of smaller game. - -The fort was built by Colonel James Bridger, now the oldest trapper on -the Rocky Mountains, of whom Messrs. Frémont and Stansbury have both -spoken in the highest terms. He divides with Christopher Carson, the -Kit Carson of the Wind River and the Sierra Nevada explorations, the -honor of being the best guide and interpreter in the Indian country: -the palm for prudence is generally given to the former; for dash and -hard fighting to the latter, although, it is said, the mildest mannered -of men. Colonel Bridger, when an Indian trader, placed this post upon -a kind of neutral ground between the Snakes and Crows (Hapsaroke) on -the north, the Ogalalas and other Sioux to the east, the Arapahoes and -Cheyennes on the south, and the various tribes of Yutas (Utahs) on the -southwest. He had some difficulties with the Mormons, and Mrs. Mary -Ettie Smith, in a volume concerning which something will be said at -a future opportunity, veraciously reports his barbarous murder, some -years ago, by the Danite band. He was at the time of my visit absent on -an exploratory expedition with Captain Raynolds. - -[A SORE SUBJECT.] - -Arrived at Fort Bridger, our first thought was to replenish our -whisky-keg: its emptiness was probably due to the “rapid evaporation in -such an elevated region imperfectly protected by timber;” but, however -that may be, I never saw liquor disappear at such a rate before. _Par -parenthèse_, our late friends the officials had scarcely been more -fortunate: they had watched their whisky with the eyes of Argus, -yet, as the driver facetiously remarked, though the quantity did not -diminish too rapidly, the quality lost strength every day. We were -conducted by Judge Carter to a building which combined the function -of post-office and sutler’s store, the judge being also sutler, and -performing both parts, I believe, to the satisfaction of every one. -After laying in an ample provision of biscuits for Miss May and -korn-schnapps for ourselves, we called upon the commanding officer, who -introduced us to his officers, and were led by Captain Cumming to his -quarters, where, by means of chat, “solace-tobacco,” and toddy--which -in these regions signifies “cold with”--we soon worked our way -through the short three quarters of an hour allowed us. The officers -complained very naturally of their isolation and unpleasant duty, which -principally consists in keeping the roads open for, and the Indians -from cutting off, parties of unmanageable emigrants, who look upon the -federal army as their humblest servants. At Camp Scott, near Bridger, -the army of the federal government halted under canvas during the -severe winter of 1857-1858, and the subject is still sore to military -ears. - -[BEER SPRINGS.] - -We left Bridger at 10 A.M. Macarthy explained away the disregard for -the comfort of the public on the part of the contractors in not having -a station at the fort by declaring that they could obtain no land in -a government reservation; moreover, that forage there would be scarce -and dear, while the continual influx of Indians would occasion heavy -losses in cattle. At Bridger the road forks: the northern line leads -to Soda or Beer Springs,[118] the southern to Great Salt Lake City. -Following the latter, we crossed the rough timber bridges that spanned -the net-work of streams, and entered upon another expanse of degraded -ground, covered as usual with water-rolled pebbles of granite and -porphyry, flint and greenstone. On the left was a butte with steep -bluff sides, called the Race-course: the summit, a perfect _mesa_, is -said to be quite level, and to measure exactly a mile round--the rule -of the American hippodrome. Like these earth formations generally, it -points out the ancient level of the land before water had washed away -the outer film of earth’s crust. The climate in this part, as indeed -every where between the South Pass and the Great Salt Lake Valley, -was an exaggeration of the Italian, with hot days, cool nights, and an -incomparable purity and tenuity of atmosphere. We passed on the way a -party of emigrants, numbering 359 souls and driving 39 wagons. They -were commanded by the patriarch of Mormondom, otherwise Captain John -Smith, the eldest son of Hyrum Smith, a brother of Mr. Joseph Smith the -Prophet, and who, being a child at the time of the murderous affair at -Carthage, escaped being coiffe’d with the crown of martyrdom. He rose -to the patriarchate on the 18th of February, 1855; his predecessor -was “old John Smith”--uncle to Mr. Joseph, and successor to Mr. Hyrum -Smith--who died the 23d of May, 1854. He was a fair-complexioned man, -with light hair. His followers accepted gratefully some provisions with -which we could afford to part. - - [118] These springs of sadly prosaic name are the greatest curiosity - to be seen on the earth. They lie but a short distance east of the - junction of the Fort Hall and the California roads, and are scattered - over, perhaps, 40 acres of volcanic ground. They do not, like most - springs, run out of the sides of hills, but boil up directly from a - level plain. The water contains a gas, and has quite an acid taste: - when exposed to the sun or air, it passes but a short distance before - it takes the formation of a crust or solid coat of scarlet hue, so - that the continued boiling of any of these fountains will “create a - stone to the height of its source (15 or twenty feet) some 10 to 20 - feet in diameter at the bottom, and from 2 to 3 feet at the top.” - After arriving at a uniform height, the water has ceased to run from - several of the “eyes” to burst out in some other place. The water - spurts from some of these very beautifully.--Horn’s “Overland Guide - to California,” p. 38. They are also described by Colonel Frémont: - “Expedition to Oregon and North California (1843-44),” p. 136. - -After passing the Mormons we came upon a descent which appeared little -removed from an angle of 35°, and suggested the propriety of walking -down. There was an attempt at a zigzag, and, for the benefit of wagons, -a rough wall of stones had been run along the sharper corners. At the -foot of the hill we remounted, and, passing through a wooded bottom, -reached at 12 15 P.M.--after fording the Big Muddy--Little Muddy Creek, -upon whose banks stood the station. Both these streams are branches of -the Ham’s Fork of Green River; and, according to the well-known “rule -of contrairy,” their waters are clear as crystal, showing every pebble -in their beds. - -Little Muddy was kept by a Canadian, a chatty, lively, good-humored -fellow blessed with a sour English wife. Possibly the heat--the -thermometer showed 95° F. in the shade--had turned her temper; -fortunately, it had not similarly affected the milk and cream, which -were both unusually good. Jean-Baptiste, having mistaken me for a -_Française de France_, a being which he seemed to regard as little -lower than the angels--I was at no pains to disabuse him--was profuse -in his questionings concerning his imperial majesty, the emperor, -carefully confounding him with the first of the family; and so pleased -was he with my responses, that for the first time on that route I found -a man ready to spurn _cet animal féroce qu’on appelle la pièce de cinq -francs_--in other words, the “almighty dollar.” - -We bade adieu to Little Muddy at noon, and entered a new country, a -broken land of spurs and hollows, in parts absolutely bare, in others -clothed with a thick vegetation. Curiously shaped hills, and bluffs of -red earth capped with a clay which much resembled snow, bore a thick -growth of tall firs and pines whose sombre uniform contrasted strangely -with the brilliant leek-like, excessive green foliage, and the tall, -note-paper-colored trunks of the ravine-loving quaking asp (_Populus -tremuloides_). The mixture of colors was bizarre in the extreme, and -the lay of the land, an uncouth system of converging, diverging, and -parallel ridges, with deep divisions--in one of these ravines, which is -unusually broad and grassy, rise the so-called Copperas Springs--was -hardly less striking. We ran winding along a crest of rising ground, -passing rapidly, by way of farther comparison, two wretched Mormons, -man and woman, who were driving, at a snail’s pace, a permanently lamed -ox, and after a long ascent stood upon the summit of Quaking-Asp Hill. - -[QUAKING-ASP HILL.] - -Quaking-Asp Hill, according to the drivers, is 1000 feet higher than -the South Pass, which would exalt its station to 8400 feet; other -authorities, however, reduce it to 7900. The descent was long and -rapid--so rapid, indeed, that oftentimes when the block of wood which -formed our brake dropped a bit of the old shoe-sole nailed upon it -to prevent ignition, I felt, as man may be excused for feeling, that -catching of the breath that precedes the first five-barred gate after -a night of “heavy wet.” The sides of the road were rich in vegetation, -stunted oak, black-jack, and box elder of the stateliest stature; above -rose the wild cherry, and the service-tree formed the bushes below. -The descent, besides being decidedly sharp, was exceedingly devious, -and our frequent “shaves”--a train of Mormon wagons was crawling down -at the same time--made us feel somewhat thankful that we reached the -bottom without broken bones. - -The train was commanded by a Captain Murphy, who, as one might expect -from the name, had hoisted the Stars and Stripes--it was the only -instance of such loyalty seen by us on the Plains. The emigrants had -left Council Bluffs on the 20th of June, an unusually late date, and, -though weather-beaten, all looked well. Inspirited by our success in -surmounting the various difficulties of the way, we “poked fun” at an -old Yorkshireman, who was assumed, by way of mirth, to be a Cœlebs in -search of polygamy at an epoch of life when perhaps the blessing might -come too late; and at an exceedingly plain middle-aged and full-blooded -negro woman, who was fairly warned--the children of Ham are not -admitted to the communion of the Saints, and consequently to the -forgiveness of sins and a free seat in Paradise--that she was “carrying -coals to Newcastle.” - -[SULPHUR CREEK.] - -As the rays of the sun began to slant we made Sulphur Creek; it lies at -the foot of a mountain called Rim Base, because it is the eastern wall -of the great inland basin; westward of this point the waters can no -longer reach the Atlantic or the Pacific; each is destined to feed the -lakes, - - “Nec Oceani pervenit ad undas.” - -Beyond Sulphur Creek, too, the face of the country changes; the -sedimentary deposits are no longer seen; the land is broken and -confused, upheaved into huge masses of rock and mountains broken by -deep kanyons, ravines, and water-gaps, and drained by innumerable -streamlets. The exceedingly irregular lay of the land makes the road -devious, and the want of level ground, which is found only in dwarf -parks and prairillons, would greatly add to the expense of a railway. -We crossed the creek, a fetid stagnant water, about ten feet wide, -lying in a bed of black infected mud: during the spring rains, when -flowing, it is said to be wholesome enough. On the southern side of the -valley there are some fine fountains, and on the eastern are others -strongly redolent of sulphur; broad seams of coal crop out from the -northern bluffs, and about a mile distant in the opposite direction -are the Tar Springs, useful for greasing wagon-wheels and curing -galled-backed horses. - -Following the valley, which was rough and broken as it well could be, -we crossed a small divide, and came upon the plain of the Bear River, -a translation of the Indian Kuiyápá. It is one of the most important -tributaries of the Great Salt Lake. Heading in the Uinta Range to -the east of Kamas Prairie,[119] it flows with a tortuous course to -the northwest, till, reaching Beer Springs, it turns sharply round -with a horseshoe bend, and sets to the southwest, falling into the -general reservoir at a bight called Bear-River Bay. According to the -mountaineers, it springs not far from the sources of the Weber River -and of the Timpanogos Water. Coal was found some years ago upon the -banks of the Bear River, and more lately near Weber River and Silver -Creek. It is the easternmost point to which Mormonism can extend -_main forte_; for fugitives from justice “over Bear River” is like -“over Jordan.” The aspect of the valley, here half a mile broad, was -prepossessing. Beyond a steep terrace, or step which compelled us all -to dismount, the clear stream, about 400 feet in width, flowed through -narrow lines of willows, cotton-wood, and large trees, which waved in -the cool refreshing western wind; grass carpeted the middle levels, and -above all rose red cliffs and buttresses of frowning rock. - - [119] So called from the _Camassia esculenta_, the Pomme des - Prairies or Pomme Blanche of the Canadians, and the prairie turnip - and breadroot of the Western hunters. The Kamas Prairie is a pretty - little bit of clear and level ground near the head of the Timpanogos - River. - -[ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE.--MR. MACARTHY.] - -We reached the station at 5 30 P.M. The valley was dotted with the -tents of the Mormon emigrants, and we received sundry visits of -curiosity; the visitors, mostly of the sex conventionally termed -the fair, contented themselves with entering, sitting down, looking -hard, tittering to one another, and departing with Parthian glances -that had little power to hurt. From the men we heard tidings of “a -massacree” of emigrants in the north, and a defeat of Indians in the -west. Mr. Myers, the station-master, was an English Saint, who had -lately taken to himself a fifth wife, after severally divorcing the -others; his last choice was not without comeliness, but her reserve -was extreme; she could hardly be coaxed out of a “Yes, sir.” I found -Mr. Myers diligently perusing a translation of “Volney’s Ruins of -Empire;” we had a chat about the Old and the New Country, which led us -to sleeping-teme. I had here a curious instance of the effect of the -association of words, in hearing a by-stander apply to the Founder -of Christianity the “Mr.” which is the “_Kyrios_” of the West, and -is always prefixed to “Joseph Smith:” he stated that the mission of -the latter was “far ahead of” that of the former prophet, which, -by-the-by, is not the strict Mormon doctrine. My companion and his -family preferred as usual the interior of the mail-wagon, and it was -well that they did so; after a couple of hours entered Mr. Macarthy, -very drunk and “fighting mad.” He called for supper, but supper was -past and gone, so he supped upon “fids” of raw meat. Excited by this -lively food, he began a series of caprioles, which ended, as might -be expected, in a rough-and-tumble with the other three youths who -occupied the hard floor of the ranch. To Mr. Macarthy’s language on -that occasion _horresco referens_; every word was apparently English, -but so perverted, misused, and mangled, that the home reader would -hardly have distinguished it from High-Dutch: _e. g._, “I’m intire -mad as a meat-axe; now du don’t, I tell ye; say, _you_, shut up in a -winkin’, or I’ll be chawed up if I don’t run over _you_; ’can’t come -that ’ere tarnal carryin’ on over _me_,” and--_O si sic omnia!_ As no -weapons, revolvers, or bowie-knives were to the fore, I thought the -best thing was to lie still and let the storm blow over, which it did -in a quarter of an hour. Then, all serene, Mr. Macarthy called for a -pipe, excused himself ceremoniously to himself for taking the liberty -with the “Cap’s.” meerschaum solely upon the grounds that it was the -only article of the kind to be found at so late an hour, and presently -fell into a deep slumber upon a sleeping contrivance composed of a -table for the upper and a chair for the lower portion of his person. -I envied him the favors of Morpheus: the fire soon died out, the cold -wind whistled through the crannies, and the floor was knotty and uneven. - - _Echo Kanyon. August 24th._ - -At 8 15 A.M. we were once more _en voyage_. Mr. Macarthy was very -red-eyed as he sat on the stool of penitence: what seemed to vex -him most was having lost certain newspapers directed to a friend -and committed to his private trust, a mode of insuring their safe -arrival concerning which he had the day before expressed the highest -opinion. After fording Bear River--this part of the land was quite -a grave-yard--we passed over rough ground, and, descending into a -bush, were shown on a ridge to the right a huge Stonehenge, a crown -of broken and somewhat lanceolate perpendicular conglomerates or -cemented pudding-stones called not inappropriately Needle Rocks. At -Egan’s Creek, a tributary of the Yellow Creek, the wild geraniums and -the willows flourished despite the six feet of snow which sometimes -lies in these bottoms. We then crossed Yellow Creek, a water trending -northeastward, and feeding, like those hitherto forded, Bear River: the -bottom, a fine broad meadow, was a favorite camping-ground, as the -many fire-places proved. Beyond the stream we ascended Yellow-Creek -Hill, a steep chain which divides the versant of the Bear River -eastward from that of Weber River to the west. The ascent might be -avoided, but the view from the summit is a fine panorama. The horizon -behind us is girt by a mob of hills, Bridger’s Range, silver-veined -upon a dark blue ground; nearer, mountains and rocks, cones and -hog-backs, are scattered about in admirable confusion, divided by -shaggy rollers and dark ravines, each with its own little water-course. -In front the eye runs down the long bright red line of Echo Kanyon, -and rests with astonishment upon its novel and curious features, the -sublimity of its broken and jagged peaks, divided by dark abysses, and -based upon huge piles of disjointed and scattered rock. On the right, -about half a mile north of the road, and near the head of the kanyon, -is a place that adds human interest to the scene. Cache Cave is a dark, -deep, natural tunnel in the rock, which has sheltered many a hunter -and trader from wild weather and wilder men: the wall is probably of -marl and earthy limestone, whose whiteness is set off by the ochrish -brick-red of the ravine below. - -[ECHO KANYON.] - -Echo Kanyon has a total length of twenty-five to thirty miles, and -runs in a southeasterly direction to the Weber River. Near the head it -is from half to three quarters of a mile wide, but its irregularity -is such that no average breadth can be assigned to it. The height of -the buttresses on the right or northern side varies from 300 to 500 -feet; they are denuded and water-washed by the storms that break upon -them under the influence of southerly gales; their strata here are -almost horizontal; they are inclined at an angle of 45°, and the strike -is northeast and southwest. The opposite or southern flank, being -protected from the dashing and weathering of rain and wind, is a mass -of rounded soil-clad hills, or sloping slabs of rock, earth-veiled, -and growing tussocks of grass. Between them runs the clear, swift, -bubbling stream, in a pebbly bed now hugging one, then the other side -of the chasm: it has cut its way deeply below the surface; the banks -or benches of stiff alluvium are not unfrequently twenty feet high; in -places it is partially dammed by the hand of Nature, and every where -the watery margin is of the brightest green, and overgrown with grass, -nettles, willow thickets, in which the hop is conspicuous, quaking asp, -and other taller trees. Echo Kanyon has but one fault: its sublimity -will make all similar features look tame. - -We entered the kanyon in somewhat a serious frame of mind; our team -was headed by a pair of exceedingly restive mules; we had remonstrated -against the experimental driving being done upon our vile bodies, -but the reply was that the animals must be harnessed at some time. -We could not, however, but remark the wonderful picturesqueness of a -scene--of a nature which in parts seemed lately to have undergone some -grand catastrophe. The gigantic red wall on our right was divided into -distinct blocks or quarries by a multitude of minor lateral kanyons, -which, after rains, add their tribute to the main artery, and each -block was subdivided by the crumbling of the softer and the resistance -of the harder material--a clay conglomerate. The color varied in -places from white and green to yellow, but for the most part it was a -dull ochrish red, that brightened up almost to a straw tint where the -sunbeams fell slantingly upon it from the strip of blue above. All -served to set off the curious architecture of the smaller masses. A -whole Petra was there, a system of projecting prisms, pyramids, and -pagoda towers, a variety of form that enabled you to see whatever your -peculiar vanity might be--columns, porticoes, façades, and pedestals. -Twin lines of bluffs, a succession of buttresses all fretted and -honeycombed, a double row of steeples slipped from perpendicularity, -frowned at each other across the gorge. And the wondrous variety was -yet more varied by the kaleidoscopic transformation caused by change -of position: at every different point the same object bore a different -aspect. - -And now, while we are dashing over the bouldered crossings; while -our naughty mules, as they tear down the short steep pitches, swing -the wheels of the mail-wagon within half a foot of the high bank’s -crumbling edge; while poor Mrs. Dana closes her eyes and clasps her -husband’s hand, and Miss May, happily unconscious of all peril, amuses -herself by perseveringly perching upon the last toe that I should have -been inclined to offer, the monotony of the risk may be relieved by -diverting our thoughts to the lessons taught by the scenery around. - -[ART IN AMERICA.] - -An American artist might extract from such scenery as Church Butte -and Echo Kanyon a system of architecture as original and national -as Egypt ever borrowed from her sandstone ledges, or the North of -Europe from the solemn depths of her fir forests. But Art does not at -present exist in America; as among their forefathers farther east, of -artists they have plenty, of Art nothing. We can explain the presence -of the phenomenon in England, where that grotesqueness and bizarrerie -of taste which is observable in the uneducated, and which, despite -collections and art-missions, hardly disappears in those who have -studied the purest models, is the natural growth of man’s senses and -perceptions exposed for generation after generation to the unseen, -unceasing, ever-active effect of homely objects, the desolate aspects -of the long and dreary winters, and the humidity which shrouds the -visible world with its dull gray coloring. Should any one question the -fact that Art is not yet English, let him but place himself in the -centre of the noblest site in Europe, Trafalgar Square, and own that -no city in the civilized world ever presented such a perfect sample of -barbarous incongruity, from mast-headed Nelson with his coil behind -him, the work of the Satirist’s “one man and small boy,” to the two -contemptible squirting things that throw water upon the pavement at -his feet. Mildly has the “Thunderer” described it as the “chosen home -of exquisite dullness and stilted mediocrity.” The cause above assigned -to the fact is at least reasonable. Every traveler, who, after passing -through the fruitful but unpicturesque orchard grounds lying between -La Manche and Paris, and the dull flats, with their melancholy poplar -lines, between Paris and Lyons, arrives at Avignon, and observes the -picturesqueness which every object, natural or artificial, begins to -assume, the grace and beauty which appear even in the humblest details -of scenery, must instinctively feel that he is entering the land of -Art. Not of that Art which depends for development upon the efforts of -a few exceptional individuals, but the living Art which the constant -contemplation of a glorious nature, - - “That holy Virgin of the sage’s creed,” - -makes part of a people’s organization and development. Art, heavenly -maid, is not easily seduced to wander far from her place of birth. -Born and cradled upon the all-lovely shores of that inland sea, so -choicely formed by Nature’s hand to become the source and centre of -mankind’s civilization, she loses health and spirits in the frigid -snowy north, while in the tropical regions--Nubia and India--her mind -is vitiated by the rank and luxuriant scenery around her. A “pretty bit -of home scenery,” with dumpy church tower--battlemented as the house of -worship ought _not_ to be--on the humble hill, red brick cottages, with -straight tiled roofs and parallelogramic casements, and dwelling-houses -all stiff-ruled lines and hard sharp angles, the straight road and the -trimmed hedgerow--such scenery, I assert, never can make an artistic -people; it can only lead, in fact, to a nation’s last phase of artistic -bathos--a Trafalgar Square. - -The Anglo-Americans have other excuses, but not this. Their broad -lands teem with varied beauties of the highest order, which it would -be tedious to enumerate. They have used, for instance, the Indian corn -for the acanthus in their details of architecture--why can not they -try a higher flight? Man may not, we readily grant, expect to be a -great poet because Niagara is a great cataract; yet the presence of -such objects must quicken the imagination of the civilized as of the -savage race that preceded him. It is true that in America the class -that can devote itself exclusively to the cultivation and the study of -refinement and art is still, comparatively speaking, small; that the -care of politics, the culture of science, mechanical and theoretic, -and the pursuit of cash, have at present more hold upon the national -mind than what it is disposed to consider the effeminating influences -of the humanizing studies; that, moreover, the efforts of youthful -genius in the body corporate, as in the individual, are invariably -imitative, leading through the progressive degrees of reflection and -reproduction to originality. But, valid as they are, these reasons -will not long justify such freaks as the Americo-Grecian capitol at -Richmond, a barn with the tritest of all exordiums, a portico which -is original in one point only, viz., that it wants the portico’s only -justification--steps; or the various domes originally borrowed from -that bulb which has been demolished at Washington, scattered over the -country, and suggesting the idea that the shape has been borrowed from -the butt end of a sliced cucumber. Better far the warehouses of Boston, -with their monoliths and frontages of rough Quincy granite; they, at -least, are unpretending, and of native growth: no bad test of the -native mind. - -[ECHO STATION.--AN EXPERIMENT.] - -After a total of eighteen miles we passed Echo Station, a half-built -ranch, flanked by well-piled haystacks for future mules. The ravine -narrowed as we advanced to a mere gorge, and the meanderings of the -stream contracted the road and raised the banks to a more perilous -height. A thicker vegetation occupied the bottom, wild roses and -dwarfish oaks contending for the mastery of the ground. About four -miles from the station we were shown a defile where the Latter-Day -Saints, in 1857, headed by General D. H. Wells, now the third member -of the Presidency, had prepared modern Caudine Forks for the attacking -army of the United States. Little breastworks of loose stones, very -like the “sangahs” of the Affghan Ghauts, had been thrown up where the -precipices commanded the road, and there were four or five remains of -dams intended to raise the water above the height of the soldiers’ -ammunition pouches. The situation did not appear to me well chosen. -Although the fortified side of the bluff could not be crowned on -account of deep chasms that separated the various blocks, the southern -acclivities might have been occupied by sharpshooters so effectually -that the fire from the breastworks would soon have been silenced; -moreover, the defenders would have risked being taken in rear by a -party creeping through the chapparal[120] in the sole of the kanyon. -Mr. Macarthy related a characteristic trait concerning two warriors of -the Nauvoo Legion. Unaccustomed to perpendicular fire, one proposed -that his comrade should stand upon the crest of the precipice and see -if the bullet reached him or not; the comrade, thinking the request -highly reasonable, complied with it, and received a yäger-ball through -his forehead. - - [120] The Spanish “chapparal” means a low oak copse. The word has - been naturalized in Texas and New Mexico, and applied to the dense - and bushy undergrowth, chiefly of briers and thorns, disposed in - patches from a thicket of a hundred yards to the whole flank of a - mountain range (especially in the Mexican Tierra Caliente), and so - closely entwined that nothing larger than a wolf can force a way - through it. - -Traces of beaver were frequent in the torrent-bed; the “broad-tailed -animal” is now molested by the Indians rather than by the whites. On -this stage magpies and ravens were unusually numerous; foxes slunk -away from us, and on one of the highest bluffs a coyote stood as on -a pedestal; as near Baffin Sea, these craggy peaks are their favorite -howling-places during the severe snowy winters. We longed for a -thunder-storm: flashing lightnings, roaring thunders, stormy winds, -and dashing rains--in fact, a tornado--would be the fittest setting -for such a picture, so wild, so sublime as Echo Kanyon. But we longed -in vain. The day was persistently beautiful, calm and mild as a May -forenoon in the Grecian Archipelago. We were also disappointed in -our natural desire to hold some converse with the nymph who had lent -her name to the ravine--the reverberation is said to be remarkably -fine--but the temper of our animals would not have endured it, and the -place was not one that admitted experiments. Rain had lately fallen, -as we saw from the mud-puddles in the upper course of the kanyon, and -the road was in places pitted with drops which were not frequent enough -to allay the choking dust. A fresh yet familiar feature now appeared. -The dews, whose existence we had forgotten on the prairies, were cold -and clammy in the early mornings; the moist air, condensed by contact -with the cooler substances on the surface of the ground, stood in -large drops upon the leaves and grasses. As we advanced the bed of the -ravine began to open out, the angle of descent became more obtuse; a -stretch of level ground appeared in front, where for some hours the -windings of the kanyon had walled us in, and at 2 30 P.M. we debouched -upon the Weber-River Station. It lies at the very mouth of the ravine, -almost under the shadow of lofty red bluffs, called “The Obelisks;” and -the green and sunny landscape, contrasting with the sterile grandeur -behind, is exceedingly pleasing. - -After the emotions of the drive, a little rest was by no means -unpleasant. The station was tolerably comfortable, and the welcome -addition of potatoes and onions to our usual fare was not to -be despised. The tenants of the ranch were Mormons, civil and -communicative. They complained sadly of the furious rain-storms, which -the funnel-like gorge brings down upon them, and the cold draughts from -five feet deep of snow which pour down upon the milder valley. - -[BAUCHMIN’S CREEK.--CARSON-HOUSE STATION.] - -At 4 30 we resumed our journey along the plain of the Weber or Webber -River. It is second in importance only to the Bear River: it heads near -the latter, and, flowing in a devious course toward the northwest, -falls into the Great Salt Lake a few miles south of its sister stream, -and nearly opposite Frémont’s Island. The valley resembles that -described in yesterday’s diary; it is, however, narrower, and the steep -borders, which, if water-washed, would be red like the kanyon rocks, -are well clothed with grass and herbages. In some places the land is -defended by snake-fences in zigzags,[121] to oppose the depredations of -emigrants’ cattle upon the wheat, barley, and stunted straggling corn -within. After fording the river and crossing the bottom, we ascended -steep banks, passed over a spring of salt water five miles from the -station, and halted for a few minutes to exchange news with the -mail-wagon that had left Great Salt Lake City this (Friday) morning. -Followed a rough and rugged tract of land apparently very trying to the -way-worn cattle; many deaths had taken place at this point, and the -dead lay well preserved as the monks of St. Bernard. After a succession -of chuck-holes, rises, and falls, we fell into the valley of Bauchmin’s -Creek. It is a picturesque hollow; at the head is a gateway of red -clay, through which the stream passes; the sides also are red, and as -the glow and glory of the departing day lingered upon the heights, even -artemisia put on airs of bloom and beauty, blushing in contrast with -the sharp metallic green of the quaking asp and the duller verdure of -the elder (_Alnus viridis_). As the evening closed in, the bottom-land -became more broken, the path less certain, and the vegetation thicker: -the light of the moon, already diminished by the narrowness of the -valley, seemed almost to be absorbed by the dark masses of copse and -bush. We were not sorry to make, at 7 45 P.M., the “Carson-House -Station” at Bauchmin’s Fork--the traveling had been fast, seven miles -an hour--where we found a log hut, a roaring fire, two civil Mormon -lads, and some few “fixins” in the way of food. We sat for a time -talking about matters of local importance, the number of emigrants, -and horse-thieves, the prospects of the road, and the lay of the land. -Bauchmin’s Fork, we learned, is a branch of East Kanyon Creek, itself -a tributary of the Weber River;[122] from the station an Indian trail -leads over the mountains to Provo City. I slept comfortably enough upon -the boards of an inner room, not, however, without some apprehensions -of accidentally offending a certain skunk (_Mephitis mephitica_), -which was in the habit of making regular nocturnal visits. I heard its -puppy-like bark during the night, but escaped what otherwise might have -happened. - - [121] This is the simplest of all fences, and therefore much used - in the West. Tree-trunks are felled, and either used whole or split - into rails; they are then disposed in a long serrated line, each - resting upon another at both ends, like the fingers of a man’s right - hand extended and inserted between the corresponding fingers of the - left. The zigzag is not a picturesque object: in absolute beauty it - is inferior even to our English trimmed hedgerow; but it is very - economical, it saves space, it is easily and readily made, it can - always serve for fuel, and, therefore, is to be respected, despite - the homeliness of its appearance. - - [122] In Captain Stansbury’s map, Bauchmin’s Fork is a direct - influent, and one of the largest, too, of the Weber River. - -And why, naturally asks the reader, did you not shut the door? Because -there was none. - - _The End--Hurrah! August 25th._ - -To-day we are to pass over the Wasach,[123] the last and highest chain -of the mountain mass between Fort Bridger and the Great Salt Lake -Valley, and--by the aid of St. James of Compostella, who is, I believe, -bound over to be the patron of pilgrims in general--to arrive at our -destination, New Hierosolyma, or Jerusalem, alias Zion on the tops of -the mountains, the future city of Christ, where the Lord is to reign -over the Saints, as a temporal king, in power and great glory. - - [123] The word is generally written _Wasatch_ or _Wahsatch_. In the - latter the _h_ is, as usual, _de trop_; and in both the _t_, though - necessary in French, is totally uncalled for in English. - -So we girt our loins, and started, after a cup of tea and a biscuit, -at 7 A.M., under the good guidance of Mr. Macarthy, who, after a -whiskyless night, looked forward not less than ourselves to the run -in. Following the course of Bauchmin’s Creek, we completed the total -number of fordings to thirteen in eight miles. The next two miles were -along the bed of a water-course, a complete fiumara, through a bush -full of tribulus, which accompanied us to the end of the journey. -Presently the ground became rougher and steeper: we alighted, and set -our beasts manfully against “Big Mountain,” which lies about four miles -from the station. The road bordered upon the wide arroyo, a tumbled -bed of block and boulder, with water in places oozing and trickling -from the clay walls, from the sandy soil, and from beneath the heaps of -rock--living fountains these, most grateful to the parched traveler. -The synclinal slopes of the chasm were grandly wooded with hemlocks, -firs, balsam-pines, and other varieties of abies, some tapering up to -the height of ninety feet, with an admirable regularity of form, color, -and foliage. The varied hues of the quaking asp were there; the beech, -the dwarf oak, and a thicket of elders and wild roses; while over -all the warm autumnal tints already mingled with the bright green of -summer. The ascent became more and more rugged: this steep pitch, at -the end of a thousand miles of hard work and semi-starvation, causes -the death of many a wretched animal, and we remarked that the bodies -are not inodorous among the mountains as on the prairies. In the most -fatiguing part we saw a hand-cart halted, while the owners, a man, a -woman, and a boy, took breath. We exchanged a few consolatory words -with them and hurried on. The only animal seen on the line, except the -grasshopper, whose creaking wings gave forth an ominous note, was the -pretty little chirping squirrel. The trees, however, in places bore the -marks of huge talons, which were easily distinguished as the sign of -bears. The grizzly does not climb except when young: this was probably -the common brown variety. At half way the gorge opened out, assuming -more the appearance of a valley; and in places, for a few rods, were -dwarf stretches of almost level ground. Toward the Pass-summit the rise -is sharpest: here we again descended from the wagon, which the four -mules had work enough to draw, and the total length of its eastern rise -was five miles. Big Mountain lies eighteen miles from the city. The top -is a narrow crest, suddenly forming an acute based upon an obtuse angle. - -From that eyrie, 8000 feet above sea level, the weary pilgrim first -sights his shrine, the object of his long wanderings, hardships, and -perils, the Happy Valley of the Great Salt Lake. The western horizon, -when visible, is bounded by a broken wall of light blue mountain, the -Oquirrh, whose northernmost bluff buttresses the southern end of the -lake, and whose eastern flank sinks in steps and terraces into a river -basin, yellow with the sunlit golden corn, and somewhat pink with its -carpeting of heath-like moss. In the foreground a semicircular sweep -of hill-top and an inverted arch of rocky wall shuts out all but a few -spans of the valley. These heights are rough with a shaggy forest, in -some places black-green, in others of brownish-red, in others of the -lightest ash-color, based upon a ruddy soil; while a few silvery veins -of snow still streak the bare gray rocky flanks of the loftiest peak. - -[BIG KANYON CREEK.--THE DANITE.] - -After a few minutes’ delay to stand and gaze, we resumed the footpath -way, while the mail-wagon, with wheels rough-locked, descended what -appeared to be an impracticable slope. The summit of the Pass was -well-nigh cleared of timber; the woodman’s song informed us that the -evil work was still going on, and that we are nearly approaching a -large settlement. Thus stripped of their protecting fringes, the -mountains are exposed to the heat of summer, that sends forth countless -swarms of devastating crickets, grasshoppers, and blue-worms; and to -the wintry cold, that piles up, four to six feet high--the mountain-men -speak of thirty and forty--the snows drifted by the unbroken force -of the winds. The Pass from November to February can be traversed by -nothing heavier than “sleighs,” and during the snow-storms even these -are stopped. Falling into the gorge of Big Kanyon Creek, after a total -of twelve hard miles from Bauchmin’s Fork, we reached at 11 30 the -station that bears the name of the water near which it is built. We -were received by the wife of the proprietor, who was absent at the time -of our arrival; and half stifled by the thick dust and the sun, which -had raised the glass to 103°, we enjoyed copious draughts--_tant soit -peu_ qualified--of the cool but rather hard water that trickled down -the hill into a trough by the house side. Presently the station-master, -springing from his light “sulky,” entered, and was formally introduced -to us by Mr. Macarthy as Mr. Ephe Hanks. I had often heard of this -individual as one of the old triumvirate of Mormon desperadoes, the -other two being Orrin Porter Rockwell and Bill Hickman--as the leader -of the dreaded Danite band, and, in short, as a model ruffian. The ear -often teaches the eye to form its pictures: I had eliminated a kind of -mental sketch of those assassin faces which one sees on the Apennines -and Pyrenees, and was struck by what met the eye of sense. The “vile -villain,” as he has been called by anti-Mormon writers, who verily do -not try to _ménager_ their epithets, was a middle-sized, light-haired, -good-looking man, with regular features, a pleasant and humorous -countenance, and the manly manner of his early sailor life, touched -with the rough cordiality of the mountaineer. “Frank as a bear-hunter” -is a proverb in these lands. He had, like the rest of the triumvirate, -and like most men (Anglo-Americans) of desperate courage and fiery, -excitable temper, a clear, pale blue eye, verging upon gray, and -looking as if it wanted nothing better than to light up, together with -a cool and quiet glance that seemed to shun neither friend nor foe. - -The terrible Ephe began with a facetious allusion to all our new -dangers under the roof of a Danite, to which, in similar strain, I -made answer that Danite or Damnite was pretty much the same to me. -After dining, we proceeded to make trial of the air-cane, to which he -took, as I could see by the way he handled it, and by the nod with -which he acknowledged the observation, “almighty convenient sometimes -not to make a noise, Mister,” a great fancy. He asked me whether I -had a mind to “have a slap” at his namesake,[124] an offer which was -gratefully accepted, under the promise that “cuffy” should previously -be marked down so as to save a long ride and a troublesome trudge over -the mountains. His battery of “killb’ars” was heavy and in good order, -so that on this score there would have been no trouble, and the only -tool he bade me bring was a Colt’s revolver, dragoon size. He told me -that he was likely to be in England next year, when he had set the “ole -woman” to her work. I suppose my look was somewhat puzzled, for Mrs. -Dana graciously explained that every Western wife, even when still, as -Mrs. Ephe was, in her teens, commands that venerable title, venerable, -though somehow not generally coveted. - - [124] “Ole Ephraim” is the mountain-man’s _sobriquet_ for the grizzly - bear. - -From Big Kanyon Creek Station to the city, the driver “reckoned,” was -a distance of seventeen miles. We waited till the bright and glaring -day had somewhat burned itself out; at noon heavy clouds came up from -the south and southwest, casting a grateful shade and shedding a few -drops of rain. After taking friendly leave of the “Danite” chief--whose -cordiality of manner had prepossessed me strongly in his favor--we -entered the mail-wagon, and prepared ourselves for the finale over the -westernmost ridge of the stern Wasach. - -[Illustration: - - H. Adlard, sc. - - London, Longman & C^{o}. - - GREAT SALT LAKE CITY SURVEYS. - - _All the blocks contain 8 lots of 1¹⁄₄ acre each = 10 acres._ - - _All the streets are 8 rods wide, including side walks. 20 feet each._ - - _The lots number from the South East corner N^{o}. 1._ - - _Plot A was laid off in 1847 contains 135 blocks. - B „ ------ „ 48 „ 63 „ - C „ ------ „ 49 „ 24 „ occupied. - D the lots have 4 blocks and contain 2¹⁄₂ acres._ - - _South of this plot are the five acre lots._ - - _The West boundry is the River Jordan._ - - _North of this plot are the Warm Springs._ - - _North East of plot B is the Cemetery._ - - _The City is divided into 20 Wards under 20 Bishops._ - - _PLATTED FOR CAP. RICHARD F. BURTON. - BY - THOMAS BULLOCK. - G. S. L. CITY _UTAH_ - SEPT. 20. 1860._] - -[A TICKLISH ROAD.] - -After two miles of comparatively level ground we came to the foot of -“Little Mountain,” and descended from the wagon to relieve the poor -devils of mules. The near slope was much shorter, but also it was -steeper far than “Big Mountain.” The counterslope was easier, though by -no means pleasant to contemplate with the chance of an accident to the -brake, which in all inconvenient places would part with the protecting -shoe-sole. Beyond the eastern foot, which was ten miles distant from -our destination, we were miserably bumped and jolted over the broken -ground at the head of Big Kanyon. Down this pass, whose name is a -translation of the Yuta name Obitkokichi, a turbulent little mountain -stream tumbles over its boulder-bed, girt with the usual sunflower, -vines of wild hops, red and white willows, cotton-wood, quaking asp, -and various bushes near its cool watery margin, and upon the easier -slopes of the ravine, with the shin or dwarf oak (_Quercus nana_), -mountain mahogany, balsam, and other firs, pines, and cedars. The road -was a narrow shelf along the broader of the two spaces between the -stream and the rock, and frequent fordings were rendered necessary by -the capricious wanderings of the torrent. I could not but think how -horrid must have been its appearance when the stout-hearted Mormon -pioneers first ventured to thread the defile, breaking their way -through the dense bush, creeping and clinging like flies to the sides -of the hills. Even now accidents often occur; here, as in Echo Kanyon, -we saw in more than one place unmistakable signs of upsets in the shape -of broken spokes and yoke-bows. At one of the most ticklish turns -Macarthy kindly pointed out a little precipice where four of the mail -passengers fell and broke their necks, a pure invention on his part, I -believe, which fortunately, at that moment, did not reach Mrs. Dana’s -ears. He also entertained us with many a tale, of which the hero was -the redoubtable Hanks: how he had slain a buffalo bull single-handed -with a bowie-knife; and how, on one occasion, when refused hospitality -by his Lamanite brethren, he had sworn to have the whole village to -himself, and had redeemed his vow by reappearing _in cuerpo_, with -gestures so maniacal that the sulky Indians all fled, declaring him to -be “bad medicine.” The stories had at least local coloring. - -[EMIGRATION KANYON.] - -In due time, emerging from the gates, and portals, and deep serrations -of the upper course, we descended into a lower level: here Big, now -called Emigration Kanyon, gradually bulges out, and its steep slopes of -grass and fern, shrubbery and stunted brush, fall imperceptibly into -the plain. The valley presently lay full before our sight. At this -place the pilgrim emigrants, like the hajjis of Mecca and Jerusalem, -give vent to the emotions long pent up within their bosoms by sobs -and tears, laughter and congratulations, psalms and hysterics. It is -indeed no wonder that the children dance, that strong men cheer and -shout, and that nervous women, broken with fatigue and hope deferred, -scream and faint; that the ignorant should fondly believe that the -“Spirit of God pervades the very atmosphere,” and that Zion on the tops -of the mountains is nearer heaven than other parts of earth. In good -sooth, though uninfluenced by religious fervor--beyond the natural -satisfaction of seeing a bran-new Holy City--even I could not, after -nineteen days in a mail-wagon, gaze upon the scene without emotion. - -The sublime and the beautiful were in present contrast. Switzerland and -Italy lay side by side. The magnificent scenery of the past mountains -and ravines still floated before the retina, as emerging from the -gloomy depths of the Golden Pass--the mouth of Emigration Kanyon is -more poetically so called--we came suddenly in view of the Holy Valley -of the West. - -The hour was about 6 P.M.; the atmosphere was touched with a dreamy -haze, as it generally is in the vicinity of the lake; a little bank of -rose-colored clouds, edged with flames of purple and gold, floated in -the upper air, while the mellow radiance of an American autumn, that -bright interlude between the extremes of heat and cold, diffused its -mild soft lustre over the face of earth. - -The sun, whose slanting rays shone full in our eyes, was setting in a -flood of heavenly light behind the bold, jagged outline of “Antelope -Island,” which, though distant twenty miles to the northwest, hardly -appeared to be ten. At its feet, and then bounding the far horizon, -lay, like a band of burnished silver, the Great Salt Lake, that still -innocent Dead Sea. Southwestward also, and equally deceptive as regards -distance, rose the boundary of the valley plain, the Oquirrh Range, -sharply silhouetted by a sweep of sunshine over its summits, against -the depths of an evening sky, in that direction so pure, so clear, -that vision, one might fancy, could penetrate behind the curtain into -regions beyond the confines of man’s ken. In the brilliant reflected -light, which softened off into a glow of delicate pink, we could -distinguish the lines of Brigham’s, Coon’s, and other kanyons, which -water has traced through the wooded flanks of the Oquirrh down to -the shadows already purpling the misty benches at their base. Three -distinct and several shades, light azure, blue, and brown-blue, -graduated the distances, which extended at least thirty miles. - -The undulating valley-plain between us and the Oquirrh Range is 12·15 -miles broad, and markedly concave, dipping in the centre like the -section of a tunnel, and swelling at both edges into bench-lands, which -mark the ancient bed of the lake. In some parts the valley was green; -in others, where the sun shot its oblique beams, it was of a tawny -yellowish-red, like the sands of the Arabian desert, with scatters of -trees, where the Jordan of the West rolls its opaline wave through -pasture-lands of dried grass dotted with flocks and herds, and fields -of ripening yellow corn. Every thing bears the impress of handiwork, -from the bleak benches behind to what was once a barren valley in -front. Truly the Mormon prophecy had been fulfilled: already the -howling wilderness--in which twelve years ago a few miserable savages, -the half-naked Digger Indians, gathered their grass-seed, grasshoppers, -and black crickets to keep life and soul together, and awoke with their -war-cries the echo of the mountains, and the bear, the wolf, and the -fox prowled over the site of a now populous city--“has blossomed like -the rose.” - -This valley--this lovely panorama of green, and azure, and gold--this -land, fresh, as it were, from the hands of God, is apparently girt on -all sides by hills: the highest peaks, raised 7000 to 8000 feet above -the plain of their bases, show by gulches veined with lines of snow -that even in this season winter frowns upon the last smile of summer. - -Advancing, we exchanged the rough cahues and the frequent fords of -the ravine for a broad smooth highway, spanning the easternmost -valley-bench--a terrace that drops like a Titanic step from the midst -of the surrounding mountains to the level of the present valley-plain. -From a distance--the mouth of Emigration Kanyon is about 4·30 miles -from the city--Zion, which is not on a hill, but, on the contrary, -lies almost in the lowest part of the river-plain, is completely hid -from sight, as if no such thing existed. Mr. Macarthy, on application, -pointed out the notabilia of the scene. - -[MOUNTAIN POINT.] - -Northward, curls of vapor ascending from a gleaming sheet--the Lake -of the Hot Springs--set in a bezel of emerald green, and bordered -by another lake-bench upon which the glooms of evening were rapidly -gathering, hung like a veil of gauze around the waist of the mountains. -Southward for twenty-five miles stretched the length of the valley, -with the little river winding its way like a silver thread in a brocade -of green and gold. The view in this direction was closed by “Mountain -Point,” another formation of terraced range, which forms the water-gate -of Jordan, and which conceals and separates the fresh water that feeds -the Salt Lake--the Sea of Tiberias from the Dead Sea. - -[THE HAPPY VALLEY.] - -As we descend the Wasach Mountains, we could look back and enjoy the -view of the eastern wall of the Happy Valley. A little to the north -of Emigration Kanyon, and about one mile nearer the settlement, is -the Red Butte, a deep ravine, whose quarried sides show mottlings of -the light ferruginous sandstone which was chosen for building the -Temple wall.[125] A little beyond it lies the single City of the Dead, -decently removed three miles from the habitations of the living, and -farther to the north is City-Creek Kanyon, which supplies the Saints -with water for drinking and for irrigation. Southeast of Emigration -Kanyon are other ravines, Parley’s, Mill Creek, Great Cotton-wood, and -Little Cotton-wood, deep lines winding down the timbered flanks of the -mountains, and thrown into relief by the darker and more misty shading -of the farther flank-wall. - - [125] At first a canal was dug through the bench to bring this - material: the gray granite now used for the Temple is transported in - carts from the southern part of the valley. - -The “Twin Peaks,” the highest points of the Wasach Mountains, are the -first to be powdered over with the autumnal snow. When a black nimbus -throws out these piles, with their tilted-up rock strata, jagged edges, -black flanks, rugged brows, and bald heads gilt by a gleam of sunset, -the whole stands boldly out with that phase of sublimity of which the -sense of immensity is the principal element. Even in the clearest of -weather they are rarely free from a fleecy cloud, the condensation of -cold and humid air rolling up the heights and vanishing only to be -renewed. - -The bench-land then attracted our attention. The soil is poor, -sprinkled with thin grass, in places showing a suspicious whiteness, -with few flowers, and chiefly producing a salsolaceous plant like the -English samphire. In many places lay long rows of bare circlets, like -deserted tent-floors; they proved to be ant-hills, on which light -ginger-colored swarms were working hard to throw up the sand and gravel -that every where in this valley underlie the surface. The eastern -valley-bench, upon whose western declivity the city lies, may be traced -on a clear day along the base of the mountains for a distance of twenty -miles: its average breadth is about eight miles. - -After advancing about 1·50 mile over the bench ground, the city by -slow degrees broke upon our sight. It showed, one may readily believe, -to special advantage after the succession of Indian lodges, Canadian -ranchos, and log-hut mail-stations of the prairies and the mountains. -The site has been admirably chosen for drainage and irrigation--so -well, indeed, that a “Deus ex machinâ” must be brought to account for -it.[126] About two miles north, and overlooking the settlements from -a height of 400 feet, a detached cone, called Ensign Peak or Ensign -Mount, rises at the end of a chain which, projected westward from the -main range of the heights, overhangs and shelters the northeastern -corner of the valley. Upon this “big toe of the Wasach range,” as -it is called by a local writer, the spirit of the martyred prophet, -Mr. Joseph Smith, appeared to his successor, Mr. Brigham Young, and -pointed out to him the position of the New Temple, which, after Zion -had “got up into the high mountain,” was to console the Saints for -the loss of Nauvoo the Beautiful. The city--it is about two miles -broad--runs parallel with the right bank of the Jordan, which forms its -western limit. It is twelve to fifteen miles distant from the western -range, ten from the debouchure of the river, and eight to nine from -the nearest point of the lake--a respectful distance, which is not -the least of the position’s merits. It occupies the rolling brow of a -slight decline at the western base of the Wasach--in fact, the lower, -but not the lowest level of the eastern valley-bench; it has thus a -compound slope from north to south, on the line of its water supplies, -and from east to west, thus enabling it to drain off into the river. - - [126] I have frequently heard this legend from Gentiles, never from - Mormons; yet even the Saints own that as early as 1842 visions of the - mountains and kanyons, the valley and the lake, were revealed to Mr. - Joseph Smith, jun., who declared it privily to the disciples whom - he loved. Thus Messrs. O. Pratt and E. Snow, apostles, were enabled - to recognize the Promised Land, as, the first of the pioneers, they - issued from the ravines of the Wasach. Of course the Gentiles declare - that the exodists hit upon the valley by the purest chance. The - spot is becoming classical: here Judge and Apostle Phelps preached - his “Sermon on the Mount,” which, anti-Mormons say, was a curious - contrast to the first discourse so named. - -The city revealed itself, as we approached, from behind its screen, the -inclined terraces of the upper table-land, and at last it lay stretched -before us as upon a map. At a little distance the aspect was somewhat -Oriental, and in some points it reminded me of modern Athens without -the Acropolis. None of the buildings, except the Prophet’s house, -were whitewashed. The material--the thick, sun-dried adobe, common -to all parts of the Eastern world[127]--was of a dull leaden blue, -deepened by the atmosphere to a gray, like the shingles of the roofs. -The number of gardens and compounds--each tenement within the walls -originally received 1·50 square acre, and those outside from five to -ten acres, according to their distance--the dark clumps and lines of -bitter cotton-wood, locust, or acacia, poplars and fruit-trees, apples, -peaches, and vines--how lovely they appeared, after the baldness of -the prairies!--and, finally, the fields of long-eared maize and sweet -sorghum strengthened the similarity to an Asiatic rather than to an -American settlement. The differences presently became as salient. The -farm-houses, with their stacks and stock, strongly suggested the Old -Country. Moreover, domes and minarets--even churches and steeples--were -wholly wanting, an omission that somewhat surprised me. The only -building conspicuous from afar was the block occupied by the present -Head of the Church. The court-house, with its tinned Muscovian dome, -at the west end of the city; the arsenal, a barn-like structure, on a -bench below the Jebel Nur of the valley--Ensign Peak; and a saw-mill, -built beyond the southern boundary, were the next in importance. - - [127] The very word is Spanish, derived from the Arabic ألطوب - meaning “the brick;” it is known throughout the West, and is written - _adobies_, and pronounced _dobies_. - -[BULWARKS OF ZION.] - -On our way we passed the vestiges of an old moat, from which was taken -the earth for the bulwarks of Zion. A Romulian wall, of puddle, mud, -clay, and pebbles, six miles--others say 2600 acres--in length, twelve -feet high, six feet broad at the base, and two and three quarters -at the top, with embrasures five to six feet above the ground, and -semi-bastions at half musket range, was decided, in 1853-54, to be -necessary, as a defense against the Lamanites, whose name in the vulgar -is Yuta Indians. Gentiles declare that the bulwarks were erected -because the people wanting work were likely to “strike” faith, and -that the amount of labor expended upon this folly would have irrigated -as many thousand acres. Anti-Mormons have, of course, detected in the -proceeding treacherous and treasonable intentions. Parenthetically, -I must here warn the reader that in Great Salt Lake City there are -three distinct opinions concerning, three several reasons for, and -three diametrically different accounts of, every thing that happens, -viz., that of the Mormons, which is invariably one-sided; that of -the Gentiles, which is sometimes fair and just; and that of the -anti-Mormons, which is always prejudiced and violent. A glance will -show that this much-talked-of fortification is utterly harmless; it is -commanded in half a dozen places; it could not keep out half a dozen -sappers for a quarter of an hour; and now, as it has done its work, its -foundations are allowed to become salt, and to crumble away. - -The road ran through the Big Field, southeast of the city, six miles -square, and laid off in five-acre lots. Presently, passing the -precincts of habitation, we entered, at a slapping pace, the second -ward, called Denmark, from its tenants, who mostly herd together. The -disposition of the settlement is like that of the nineteenth century -New-World cities--from Washington to the future metropolis of the -great Terra Australis--a system of right angles, the roads, streets, -and lanes, if they can be called so, intersecting one another. The -advantages or disadvantages of the rectangular plan have been exhausted -in argument; the new style is best suited, I believe, for the New, as -the old must, perforce, remain in the Old World. The suburbs are thinly -settled; the mass of habitations lie around and south of Temple Block. -The streets of the suburbs are mere roads, cut by deep ups and downs, -and by gutters on both sides, which, though full of pure water, have no -bridge save a plank at the _trottoirs_. In summer the thoroughfares are -dusty, in wet weather deep with viscid mud. - -The houses are almost all of one pattern--a barn shape, with wings and -lean-tos, generally facing, sometimes turned endways to the street, -which gives a suburban look to the settlement; and the diminutive -casements show that window-glass is not yet made in the Valley. In the -best abodes the adobe rests upon a few courses of sandstone, which -prevent undermining by water or ground-damp, and it must always be -protected by a coping from the rain and snow. The poorer are small, -low, and hut-like; others are long single-storied buildings, somewhat -like stables, with many entrances. The best houses resemble East Indian -bungalows, with flat roofs, and low, shady verandas, well trellised, -and supported by posts or pillars. All are provided with chimneys, -and substantial doors to keep out the piercing cold. The offices are -always placed, for hygienic reasons, outside; and some have a story and -a half--the latter intended for lumber and other stores. I looked in -vain for the out-house harems, in which certain romancers concerning -things Mormon had informed me that wives are kept, like any other -stock. I presently found this but one of a multitude of delusions. -Upon the whole, the Mormon settlement was a vast improvement upon its -contemporaries in the valleys of the Mississippi and the Missouri. - -[Illustration: STORES IN MAIN STREET.] - -[GARDENS.] - -The road through the faubourg was marked by posts and rails, which, -as we advanced toward the heart of the city, were replaced by neat -palings. The garden-plots were small, as sweet earth must be brought -down from the mountains; and the flowers were principally those of -the Old Country--the red French bean, the rose, the geranium, and -the single pink; the ground or winter cherry was common; so were -nasturtiums; and we saw tansy, but not that plant for which our -souls, well-nigh weary of hopes of juleps long deferred, chiefly -lusted--mint. The fields were large and numerous, but the Saints have -too many and various occupations to keep them, Moravian-like, neat -and trim; weeds overspread the ground; often the wild sunflower-tops -outnumbered the heads of maize. The fruit had suffered from an -unusually nipping frost in May; the peach-trees were barren; the vines -bore no produce; only a few good apples were in Mr. Brigham Young’s -garden, and the watermelons were poor, yellow, and tasteless, like the -African. On the other hand, potatoes, onions, cabbages, and cucumbers -were good and plentiful, the tomato was ripening every where, fat -full-eared wheat rose in stacks, and crops of excellent hay were -scattered about near the houses. The people came to their doors to see -the mail-coach, as if it were the “Derby dilly” of old, go by. I could -not but be struck by the modified English appearance of the colony, and -by the prodigious numbers of the white-headed children. - -[THE HOTEL IN NEW ZION.] - -Presently we debouched upon the main thoroughfare, the centre of -population and business, where the houses of the principal Mormon -dignitaries and the stores of the Gentile merchants combine to form the -city’s only street which can be properly so called. It is, indeed, both -street and market, for, curious to say, New Zion has not yet built for -herself a bazar or market-place. Nearly opposite the Post-office, in a -block on the eastern side, with a long veranda, supported by trimmed -and painted posts, was a two-storied, pent-roofed building, whose -sign-board, swinging to a tall, gibbet-like flag-staff, dressed for the -occasion, announced it to be the Salt Lake House, the principal, if not -the only establishment of the kind in New Zion. In the Far West, one -learns not to expect much of the hostelry;[128] I had not seen aught -so grand for many a day. Its depth is greater than its frontage, and -behind it, secured by a _porte cochère_, is a large yard for corraling -cattle. A rough-looking crowd of drivers, drivers’ friends, and idlers, -almost every man openly armed with revolver and bowie-knife, gathered -round the doorway to greet Jim, and “prospect” the “new lot;” and the -host came out to assist us in transporting our scattered effects. We -looked vainly for a bar on the ground floor; a bureau for registering -names was there, but (temperance, in public at least, being the order -of the day) the usual tempting array of bottles and decanters was -not forthcoming; up stairs we found a Gentile ballroom, a tolerably -furnished sitting-room, and bedchambers, apparently made out of a -single apartment by partitions too thin to be strictly agreeable. The -household had its deficiencies; blacking, for instance, had run out, -and servants could not be engaged till the expected arrival of the -hand-cart train. However, the proprietor, Mr. Townsend, a Mormon, from -the State of Maine--when expelled from Nauvoo, he had parted with land, -house, and furniture for $50--who had married an Englishwoman, was -in the highest degree civil and obliging, and he attended personally -to our wants, offered his wife’s services to Mrs. Dana, and put us -all in the best of humors, despite the closeness of the atmosphere, -the sadness ever attending one’s first entrance into a new place, -the swarms of “emigration flies”--so called because they appear in -September with the emigrants, and, after living for a month, die off -with the first snow--and a certain populousness of bedstead, concerning -which the less said the better. Such, gentle reader, are the results of -my first glance at Zion on the tops of the mountains, in the Holy City -of the Far West. - - [128] I subjoin one of the promising sort of advertisements: - - “Tom Mitchell!!! dispenses comfort to the weary (!), feeds the hungry - (!!), and cheers the gloomy (!!!), at his old, well-known stand, - thirteen miles east of Fort Des Moines. _Don’t pass by me._” - -Our journey had occupied nineteen days, from the 7th to the 25th of -August, both included; and in that time we had accomplished not less -than 1136 statute miles. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -First Week at Great Salt Lake City.--Preliminaries. - - -Before entering upon the subject of the Mormons I would fain offer -to the reader a few words of warning. During my twenty-four days at -head-quarters, ample opportunities of surface observation were afforded -me. I saw, as will presently appear, specimens of every class, from the -Head of the Church down to the field-hand, and, being a stranger in -the land, could ask questions and receive replies upon subjects which -would have been forbidden to an American of the States, more especially -to an official. But there is in Mormondom, as in all other exclusive -faiths, whether Jewish, Hindoo, or other, an inner life into which I -can not flatter myself or deceive the reader with the idea of my having -penetrated. At the same time, it is only fair to state that no Gentile, -even the unprejudiced, who are _raræ aves_, however long he may live -or intimately he may be connected with Mormons, can expect to see any -thing but the superficies. The writings of the Faithful are necessarily -wholly presumed. And, finally, the accounts of Life in the City of -the Saints published by anti-Mormons and apostates are venomous, and, -as their serious discrepancies prove, thoroughly untrustworthy. I may -therefore still hope, by recounting honestly and truthfully as lies in -my power what I heard, and felt, and saw, and by allowing readers to -draw their own conclusions, to take new ground. - -[BIBLIOLOGY.] - -The Mormons have been represented, and are generally believed to be, -an intolerant race; I found the reverse far nearer the fact. The best -proof of this is that there is hardly one anti-Mormon publication, -however untruthful, violent, or scandalous, which I did not find in -Great Salt Lake City.[129] The extent of the subjoined bibliographical -list would deter me from a theme so used up by friend and foe, were -it not for these considerations. In the first place, I have found, -since my return to England, a prodigious general ignorance of the -“Mormon rule;” the mass of the public has heard of the Saints, but -even well-educated men hold theirs to be a kind of socialistic or -communist concern, where, as in the world to come, there is no marrying -nor giving in marriage. Even where this is not the case, the reader -of travels will not dislike to peruse something more of a theme with -which he is already perhaps familiar; for in this department of -literature, as in history and biography, the more we know of a subject, -the more we want to know. Moreover, since 1857, no book of general -interest has appeared, and the Mormons are a progressive people, -whose “go-a-headitiveness” in social growth is only to be compared -with their obstinate conservatism in adhering to institutions that -date from the days of Abraham. Secondly, the natural history of the -New Faith--for such it is--through the several periods of conception, -birth, and growth to vigorous youth, with fair promise of stalwart -manhood, is a subject of general and no small importance. It interests -the religionist, who looks upon it as the “scourge of corrupted -Christianity,” as much as the skeptic, that admires how, in these -days of steam-traveling, printing, and telegramming, when “many run to -and fro,” and when “knowledge” has been “increased,” human credulity -will display itself in the same glaring colors which it wore ere the -diffusion of knowledge became a part of social labor. The philosophic -observer will detect in it a notable example of how _mens agitat -molem_, the “powerful personal influence of personal character,” and -the “effect that may be produced by a single mind inflexibly applied -to the pursuit of a single object;” and another proof that “it is -easier to extend the belief of the multitude than to contract it--a -circumstance which proceeds from the false but prevalent notion that -too much belief is at least an error on the right side.” The statist -will consider it in its aspect as a new system of colonization. -In America the politician will look with curiosity at a despotism -thriving in the centre of a democracy, and perhaps with apprehension -at its future efforts, in case of war or other troubles, upon the -destinies of the whilom Great Republic. In England, which principally -supplies this number of souls, men, instead of regarding it as one of -many safety-valves, will be reminded of their obligations toward the -classes by which Mormonism is fed, and urged to the improvement of -education, religion, and justice. And I hope to make it appear that -the highly-colored social peculiarities of the New Faith have been -used as a tool by designing men to raise up enmity against a peaceful, -industrious, and law-abiding people, whose whole history has been a -course of cruel persecution, which, if man really believed in his own -improvement, would be a disgrace to a self-styled enlightened age. -The prejudice has naturally enough extended from America to England. -In 1845, when the Mormons petitioned for permission to retire to -Vancouver’s Island, they met with nothing but discouragement. And even -in 1860, I am told, when a report was raised that Mr. Brigham Young -would willingly have taken refuge with his adherents in the valley of -the Saskatchawan, the British minister was instructed to oppose the -useful emigration to the utmost of his power. - - [129] A list of works published upon the subject of Mormonism may not - be uninteresting. They admit of a triple division--the Gentile, the - anti-Mormon, and the Mormon. - - Of the Gentiles, by which I understand the comparatively unprejudiced - observer, the principal are, - - 1. The Exploration and Survey of the Great Salt Lake by Captain - Stansbury, who followed up Colonel Frémont’s flying survey in 1849, - or two years before the Mormons had settled in the basin, and found - the young colony about 2-3 years old. Anti-Mormons find fault with - Captain Stansbury for expending upon their adversaries too much of - the milk of human kindness. - - 2. The Mormons or Latter-Day Saints, by Lieutenant J. W. Gunnison, - of the U. S. Topographical Engineers. This officer was second in - command of the exploration under Captain Stansbury, and has recorded, - in unpretending style and with great impartiality, his opinions - concerning the “rise and progress, peculiar doctrines, personal - conditions and prospects” of the Mormons, “derived from personal - observation.” Like his commanding officer, Lieutenant Gunnison is - accused of having favored the New Faith, and yet, with all the - inconsistency of the odium theologicum, the Faithful are charged with - his subsequent murder; the only motive of the foul deed being that - the Saints dreaded future disclosures, and were determined, though - one of their number had been sent to accompany Captain Stansbury as - assistant, to prevent other expeditions. Upon Lieutenant Gunnison’s - volume is founded “Les Mormons” of M. Étourneau, first printed in the - “Presse,” and afterward republished, Paris, 1856. - - 3. The Mormons; a Discourse delivered before the Historical Society - of Pennsylvania, March 26th, 1850, by Colonel T. L. Kane (U. S. - Militia): this gentleman, an eye-witness, who has touchingly, and, - I believe, truthfully related the details of the Nauvoo Exodus, is - called by anti-Mormons an “apologist,” and is suspected of being - a Latter-Day Saint--baptized under the name of Dr. Osborne--in - Christian disguise. Arrived at Fort Bridger in 1857, he found - assembled there the three heads of departments, Governor Cumming, - Chief Justice Eccles, and General Johnston. According to the Saints, - he was watched, spied, treated as a Mormon emissary, and nearly shot - by a mistake made on purpose; he was, however, supported by the - governor against the general, and the result was a coolness most - favorable to the New Faith. Colonel Kane is said to have preserved an - affectionate and respectful remembrance of his friends the Mormons. - - 4. History of the Mormons, by Messrs. Chambers, Edinburgh. - - 5. An Excursion to California, over the Prairies, Rocky Mountains, - and Great Sierra Nevada, by W. Kelly, Esq., J.P. Mr. Kelly, whose - work shared at the time of its appearance the interest and admiration - of the public with Messrs. Hue and Gabet’s Travels in Tartary, Tibet, - and the Chinese Empire, visited Great Salt Lake City in 1849, an - important epoch in the annals of the infant colony, and leaves the - reader only to regret that he devoted so little of his time and of - his two volumes to the history of the Saints. - - 6. The Mormons or Latter-Day Saints, with Memoirs of the Life - of Joseph Smith, the American Mahomet. Office of the National - Illustrated Library, 198 Strand, London. This little compilation, - dealing with facts rather than theories, borrows from the polemics - of both parties, and displays the calmness of judgment which results - from studying the subject at a distance; though Gentile, it is - somewhat in favor with Mormons because it shows some desire to speak - the truth. This solid merit has won it the honor of an abridged - translation with the title “Les Mormons” (292 pages in 12mo, Messrs. - Hachette, Paris, 1854), by M. Amédée Pichot, and a brilliant review - by M. Prosper Mérimée in the “Moniteur,” and reprinted in “Les - Mélanges Historiques et Littéraires” (p. 1-58, Michel Levy, 1855). - - 7. A Visit to Salt Lake, and a Residence in the Mormon Settlements - at Utah, by William Chandless. London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 1857. - Mr. Chandless, about the middle of July, 1855, crossed the prairies - in the character of a “teamster for pay,” spent the end of the - year at Great Salt Lake City, and thence traveled _viâ_ Fillmore - and San Bernardino to California. The book is exceedingly lively - and picturesque, combining pleasant reading with just observation, - impartiality, and good sense. - - 8. Voyage au Pays des Mormons, par Jules Remy (2 vols., E. Dentu, - Paris, 1860). The author, accompanied by Mr. Brenchley, M.A., - traveled in July and the autumn of 1855 from San Francisco along the - line of the Carson and Humboldt Rivers to Great Salt Lake City, and - returned, like Mr. Chandless, by the southern road. The two volumes - are more valuable for the observations on the natural history of the - little-known basin, than for the generalisms, more or less sound, - with which the subject of the New Faith is discussed. - - Not a few anomalies appear in the judgments passed by M. Remy upon - the Saints: while in some places they are represented as fervent - and full of faith, we also read: “Le Mormonisme n’a pas caractère - de spontanéité des religions primitives, ce qui va, du reste, de - soi, ni la naïveté des religions qui suivirent, ni la sincérité des - révélations ou des réformes religieuses qui, durant les siècles - derniers, out pris place dans l’histoire;” and while Mr. Joseph Smith - is in parts tenderly treated, he is ruthlessly characterized in p. 24 - as _un fourbe et un imposteur_, a “savage and gigantic Tartuffe.” An - excellent English translation of this work has lately appeared, under - the auspices of Mr. Jeffs, Burlington Arcade, but an account of Great - Salt Lake City in 1855 is as archæological as a study of London life - in A.D. 1800. - - 9. Incidents of Travel and Adventure in the Far West, by M. Carvalho, - who accompanied Colonel Frémont in his last exploration. According to - anti-Mormons, the account of the Saints is far too favorable (1856). - - 10. Geological Survey of the Territory of Utah, by H. Englemann. - Washington, 1860. - - The principal anti-Mormon works are the following, ranged in the - order of their respective dates. The _Cons_, it will be observed, - more than treble the _Pros_. - - 1. A brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints - (commonly called Mormons), including an Account of their Doctrine - and Discipline, with the reason of the Author for leaving the said - Church, by John Corrill, a member of the Legislature of Missouri (50 - pages, 8vo, St. Louis, 1839). I know nothing beyond the name of this - little work, or of the nine following. - - 2. Addresses on Mormonism, by the Rev. Hays Douglas (Isle of Man, - 1839). - - 3. Mormonism weighed in the Balances of the Sanctuary and found - Wanting, by Samuel Haining (66 pages, Douglas, Isle of Man, 1839). - - 4. The Latter-Day Saints and Book of Mormon. By W. J. Morrish, - Ledbury. - - 5. An Exposure of the Errors and Fallacies of the Self-named - Latter-Day Saints. By W. Hewitt, Staffordshire. - - 6. Tract on Mormonism. By Capt. D. L. St. Clair. (1840.) - - 7. Mormonism Unveiled. By E. D. Howe. (1841.) - - 8. Mormonism Exposed. By the Rev. L. Sunderland. (1841.) - - 9. Mormonism Portrayed; its Errors and Absurdities Exposed, and the - Spirit and Designs of its Author made Manifest. By W. Harris (64 - pages, Warsaw, Illinois, 1841). - - 10. Mormonism in all Ages; or, the Rise, Progress, and Causes of - Mormonism; with the Biography of its Author and Founder, Joseph - Smith, junior. By Professor J. B. Turner, Illinois College, - Jacksonville. (304 pages, 12mo, New York, 1842.) - - 11. Gleanings by the Way. By the Rev. John A. Clark, D.D. (352 pages - in 12mo, Philadelphia, 1842), Minister at Palmyra in New York at the - time when the New Faith arose. - - 12. The History of the Saints, or an Exposé of Joe Smith and - Mormonism. By John C. Bennett (344 pages, 12mo, Boston, 1842). - This is the work of a celebrated apostate, who for a season took a - prominent propagandist part in the political history of Mormondom. - Defeated in his hopes of dominion, he has revenged himself by - a volume whose title declares the character of its contents, - and which wants nothing but the confidence of the reader to be - highly interesting. The Mormons speak of him as the Musaylimat el - Kazzáb--Musaylimat the Liar, who tried, and failed to enter into - partnership with Mohammed--of their religion. - - The four following works were written by the Rev. Henry Caswall, a - violent anti-Mormon, who solemnly and apparently honestly believes - all the calumnies against the “worthless family” of the Prophet; - unhesitatingly adopts the Solomon Spaulding story, discovers - in Mormon Scripture as many “anachronisms, contradictions, and - grammatical errors” as ever Celsus and Porphyry detected in the - writings of the early Christians, and designates the faith in which - hundreds of thousands live and die as a “delusion in some respects - worse than paganism, and a system destined perhaps to act like - Mohammedanism (!) as a scourge upon corrupted Christianity” (sub. the - American?). The Mormons speak of this gentleman as of a 19th century - Torquemada: he appears by his own evidence to have combined with - the heart of the great inquisitor some of the head qualities of Mr. - Coroner W---- when insisting upon the unhappy Fire-king’s swallowing - his (Mr. W.’s) prussic acid instead of the pseudo-poison provided for - the edification of the public. Mr. Caswall went to Nauvoo holding - in his hand an ancient MS. of the Greek Psalter, and completely, - according to his account, puzzled the Prophet, who decided it to - be “reformed Egyptian.” Moreover, he convicted of falsehood the - “wretched old creature,” viz., the maternal parent of Mr. Joseph - Smith, called a mother in Israel, looked upon as one of the holiest - of women, and who, at any rate, was a good and kind-hearted mother, - that could not be reproached, like Luther’s, with “chastising her son - so severely about a nut that the blood came.” It is no light proof of - Mormon tolerance that so truculent a divine and opponent _par voie de - fait_ should have been allowed to depart from among a people whom he - had offended and insulted without loss of liberty or life. - - 13. The City of the Mormons, or three Days in Nauvoo in 1842 (87 - pages, Messrs. Rivingtons, London, 1843). - - 14. The Prophet of the 19th Century; or, the Rise, Progress, and - Present State of the Mormons (277 pages, 8vo, published by the same, - London, 1843). - - 15. Joseph Smith and the Mormons. Chapter xiii. of America and the - American Church (John and Charles Mozley, Paternoster Row, London, - 1851). - - 16. Mormonism and its Author; or, a Statement of the Doctrines of the - Latter-Day Saints. London: Tract Society, No. 866 (16 pages, 1858). - - 17. Narrative of some of the Proceedings of the Mormons, giving an - Account of their Iniquities, with Particulars concerning the Training - of the Indians by them; Descriptions of their Mode of Endowment, - Plurality of Wives, &c. By Catharine Lewis Lynn (24 pages, 8vo, - 1848). As will presently appear, when the fair sex enters upon the - subject of polygamy, it apparently loses all self-control, not to say - its senses. - - 18. Friendly Warnings on the Subject of Mormonism. By a Country - Clergyman (London, 1850). - - 19. The Mormon Imposture: an Exposure of the Fraudulent Origin of the - Book of Mormon (8vo, Newbury, London, 1851). - - 20. Mormonism Exposed. By Mr. Bowes. (1851.) - - 21. Mormonism or the Bible; a Question for the Times. By a Cambridge - Clergyman (12mo, Cambridge and London, 1852). According to Mormon - view, the title should have been Mormonism _and_ the Bible. - - 22. History of Illinois. By Governor Ford (Chicago, 1854). The author - was a determined opponent of the New Faith, and gives his own version - of the massacres at Carthage and Nauvoo: it is valuable only on the - venerable principle “audi alteram partem.” - - 23. Mormonism. By J. W. Conybeare, first printed in the “Edinburgh - Review” (No. ccii., April, 1854, and reprinted in 112 pages, 12mo, by - Messrs. Longman, London, 1854). - - 24. Utah and the Mormons; the History, Government, Doctrines, - Customs, and Prospects of the Latter-Day Saints, from Personal - Observations during a Six-months’ Residence at Great Salt Lake - City. By Benjamin G. Ferris, late Secretary of Utah Territory (347 - pages, 12mo, Messrs. Harper, New York, 1854). The author being - married, appears to have lived among them to as little purpose--for - observation--as possible. Every thing is considered from an - anti-Mormon point of view, and some of the accusations against the - Saints, as in the case of the Eldridges and the Howards, I know to be - not founded on fact. The calmness of the work, upon a highly exciting - subject, contrasts curiously with the feminine violence--the natural - result of contemplating polygamy--of another that issued under the - same name. - - 25. Mormonism Unveiled; or, a History of Mormonism to the Present - Time (235 pages, 8vo, London, 1855). - - 26. Mormonism Examined: a few Kind Words to a Mormon (8vo, - Birmingham, 1855). - - 27. Female Life among the Mormons, published anonymously for the - demand of the New York market, and especially intended for the - followers of Miss Lucy Stone and of the Rev. Miss Antoinette Brown, - but known to be by Mrs. Maria Ward, who subsequently edited another - work. The authoress, who professes to have escaped from the Mormons, - was manifestly never among them. This “tissu de mensonges et de - calomnies,” as M. Remy somewhat ungallantly, but very truthfully - styles it, has had extensive currency. M. Révoil has given a free - translation of it, under the name of “Les Harems du Nouveau Monde” - (308 pages, Paris, 1856). Its success was such that its writeress was - in 1858 induced to repeat the experiment. - - 28. The Mormons at Home; in a Series of Letters, by Mrs. Ferris, - wife of the late United States Secretary for Utah Territory (Dix - and Edwards, Broadway, New York, 1856). The reasons for this lady’s - rabid hate may be found in polygamy, which is calculated to astound, - perplex, and enrage fair woman in America even more than her - strong-opinioned English sister, and in the somewhat contemptuous - estimation of a sex--which is early taught and soon learns to - consider itself creation’s cream--conveyed in these words of Mr. - Brigham Young: “If I did not consider myself competent to transact - business without asking my wife, or any other woman’s counsel, I - think I ought to let _that_ business alone.” - - Accordingly, Mrs. Ferris finds herself in the hands and of a “society - of fanatics,” controlled by a “gang of licentious villains”--an - unpleasant predicament _pour cette vertu_--in fact, for virtue at any - time of life--characterizes the land as a “Botany Bay” for society in - general, and a “region of moral pestilence;” and while she lavishes - the treasures of her pity upon the “poor, poor wife,” holds her - spiritual rival to be _tout bonnement_ a “concubine,” and consigns - the wretches assembled here (_scil._ in Zion on the tops of the - Mountains) to the “very hottest part of the infernal torrid zone.” - Tantæne animis cœlestibus iræ? - - The Mormons declare that they incurred this funny amount of feminine - wrath and suffered from its consequent pin-pricks by their not taking - sufficient interest in, or notice of the writer, especially by the - fact that on one occasion--it is made much of in the book--some - rude men actually did walk over a bridge before her. But coming - direct from the land of woman’s rights’ associations, lecturesses - on propagandism and voluntary celibatarians, whose “mission” it is - to reform, purify, and exalt the age, especially our wicked selves, - what else could be expected of outraged delicacy and self-esteem? Not - being “vivisectors,” we can not, however, quite join with Mrs. Ferris - in the complacency with which she relates her “probing the hearts” of - her Mormon guests and visitors “with ruthless questions” about their - domestic affairs; and we remark with pleasure that in more than one - place she has most unwillingly confessed the kindness and civility of - the Latter-Day Saints. - - 29. Adventures among the Mormons, by Elder Hawthornthwaite, an - Apostate Missionary. (1857.) - - 30. The Mormons, the Dream and the Reality; or, Leaves from the - Sketchbook of Experience. Edited by a Clergyman. W. B. F. (8vo, - London, 1857). - - 31. The Husband in Utah; or, Sights and Scenes among the Mormons. By - Austin N. Ward. Edited by Mrs. Maria Ward, Author of “Female Life - among the Mormons” (212 pages, 8vo, Derby and Jackson, Nassau Street, - New York, 1857). It is regretable that a respectable publisher should - lend his name to a volume like this. The authoress professes to - edit the MS. left by a nephew of her husband, who lived among the - Mormons en route to California, went on to the gold regions and died. - I can not but characterize it as a pure invention. The writer who - describes markets where not one ever existed, and “the tall spires - of the Mormon temples glittering in the rich sunlight” (p. 15), - there being no spires and no temples at Utah, can hardly expect to - be believed, even when, with all the eloquence of Mr. Potts, of the - “Eatanswill Gazette,” she dwells upon the “fanaticism and diabolism - that ever attends (?) the hideous and slimy course of Mormonism in - its progress over the world.” The imposture, too, is not “white;” it - is premeditatedly mischievous. Although Brother Underwood is a fancy - personage, Miss Eliza R. Snow, with whose name improper liberties are - taken, is no myth, but a well educated and highly respectable reality. - - 32. Fifteen Years among the Mormons, being the Narrative of Mrs. Mary - Ettie V. Smith, late of the Great Salt Lake City, a Sister of one - of the Mormon High-Priests, she having been personally acquainted - with most of the Mormon leaders, and long in the confidence of the - Prophet Brigham Young. By Nelson Winch Green. (Charles Scribner, - Broadway, New York, 1858, and unhappily republished by Messrs. - Routledge, London.) This work, whose exceedingly clap-trap title is - a key to the “popular” nature of the contents, is, _par excellence_, - _the_ most offensive publication of the kind, and bears within it - marks of an exceeding untruthfulness. The human sacrifices and the - abominable rites performed in the Endowment House are reproductions - of the accounts of hidden orgies in the Nauvoo Temple, invented - and promulgated by Mr. Bowes. The last words placed in the mouth - of Mr. Joseph Smith, “My God! my God! have mercy upon us, if there - is a God!”--a palpable plagiarism from Lord P----’s will--may be a - pious fraud to warn stray lambs from the fold of Mormonism, but as - a history shows, it is wholly destitute of fact. The murder in Mr. - Jones’, the butcher’s house, so circumstantially related, never took - place. Colonel Bridger, who is killed off by the Danites at the end - of the book, still lives; and a dream (ch. xxxviii.) seems to be the - only proof of Lieutenant Gunnison having been slaughtered by the - Latter-Day Saints, not, as is generally supposed, by the Indians. - “Milking the Gentiles,” coining “Bogus-money,” “whistling and - whittling” anti-Mormons out of the town, the dangers of competition - in love-matters with an apostle, and the imminent peril of being - scalped by white Indians, are stock accusations copied from book to - book, and rendered somewhat harmless by want of novelty. But nothing - will excuse the reckless accusations with which Mrs. Smith takes away - the characters of her Mormon sisters, and the abominations with which - she charges the wives of the highest dignitaries. Among those thus - foully defamed is Miss Snow, who also appears as a leading actress in - Mrs. Ward’s fiction. The “poetess of the Mormons,” now married to the - Prophet, has ever led a life of exceptional asceticism--cold in fact - as her name. The Latter-Day Saints retort upon Mrs. Smith, of course, - in kind, quoting Chaucer (but whether truthfully or not I can not - say): - - “A woman she was the most discrete alive, - Husbandes at chirche-dore had she had five.” - - 33. Mormonism; its Leaders and Designs, by John Hyde, Jun., - formerly a Mormon Elder, and resident of Great Salt Lake City. - (385 pages, 8vo, W. P. Fetridge & Co., Broadway, New York, 1857.) - This is the work of an apostate Mormon, now preaching, I believe, - Swedenborgianism in England: it has some pretensions to learning, - and it attacks the Mormons upon all their strongest grounds. It is - also satisfactory to see that in the circumstantial description of - the mysteries of the Endowment House, Mrs. Smith and Mr. Hyde, whose - account has apparently been borrowed by M. Remy, disagree, thus - justifying us in doubting both; and it is curious to remark, that - while the lady leans to the erotic, the gentleman dwells upon the - treasonous and mutinous tendency of the ceremony. According to Mr. - Hyde, he left the Mormons from conscientious motives. The Mormons, - who, however, never fail thoroughly to denigrate the character of - an enemy, especially of an apostate, declare that the author, when - a missionary at Havre de Grâce, proved useless, always shirking his - duty; and that, since dismissal from the ministry, he has left a wife - unprovided for at Great Salt Lake City. - - The now almost forgotten polemical and anti-Mormon works are, - - M. Favez. Fragments sur J. Smith et les Mormons. A methodistical - brochure. - - Mr. Gray. Principles and Practices of Mormons. - - M. Guers. L’Irvingisme et le Mormonisme jugés par la parole de Dieu. - - Dr. Hurlburt’s Mormonism Unveiled. This work first set on foot the - story of “Solomon Spaulding” having composed the Book of Mormon, - concerning which more anon. - - Mormonism a Delusion. By the Rev. E. B. Chalmers. - - Mormonism Unmasked. By R. Clarke. - - Mormonism, its History, Doctrine, etc. By the Rev. S. Simpson. - - Mormonism an Imposture. By P. Drummond. - - The Latter-Day Saints and their Spiritual Views. By H. S. J. - - Tracts on Mormonism. A brochure by the Rev. Edmund Clay. - - A Country Clergyman’s Warning to his Parishioners. (Wertheim & - M‘Intosh, London.) - - The Materialism of the Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, Examined and - Exposed. By S. W. P. Taylder. - - The Book of Mormon Examined, and its Claims to be a Revelation from - God proved to be False. (12mo, Anonymous.) - - The principal notices of Mormonism in periodical literature are, - - Archives du Christianisme: articles de MM. Agénor de Gasparin et - Monod sur le Mormonisme. Nos. of the 11th of December, 1852, and - 14th of May, 1853, quoted in the “Bibliographie Universelle” of MM. - Ferdinand Denis, Pinçon et De Narbonne, under the article “Utah.” - - Sectes religieuses au xix^{me} siècle; Les Irvingiens et les Saints - du Dernier Jour, par M. Alfred Maury. Revue des Deux-Mondes. Vol. - iii. of the 23d year (A.D. 1853), 1st of September, pages 961-995. - - History and Ideas of the Mormons. “Westminster Review,” vol. iii., - pages 196-230. (1853.) - - Le Mormonisme et sa valeur morale--La Société et la Vie des Mormons, - by M. Émile Montégut, “Revue des Deux-Mondes,” vol. i. of the 26th - year, pages 689-725, 15th of February, 1856. - - Visite aux Mormons du Lac Salé par Jules Remy. Articles in the “Echo - du Pacifique,” San Francisco, January and February, 1856. - - L’Illustration, Journal Universel. Vols. xv. and xxi. Articles by M. - Depping, “Sur les Mormons” (1858). - - Biographie Genérale du Dr. Hæfer, publiée chez MM. Didot frères: a - long article upon Mr. Brigham Young, by M. Isambert (1858). - - Une Campagne des Américains contre les Mormons. By M. Auguste Laugel. - “Revue des Deux-Mondes,” 1er Septembre, 1859, pages 194-211. - - Magasin Pittoresque. Several articles upon the Great Salt Lake, by M. - Ferdinand Denis. Vol. xxvii., pages 172-239. Vol. xxviii., page 207. - (1859-1860.) - - Le Mormonisme et les Etats-Unis. “Revue des Deux-Mondes,” 15th April, - 1861, signed by M. Elisée Reclus; an article formed chiefly upon - the work of M. Remy. It is an able article, but written by one who, - unfortunately, was never in the country--a _sine quâ non_ for correct - description. The “Revue” had already undertaken the subject in the - number of the 1st of September, 1853, the 15th of February, 1856, and - the 1st of September, 1859. - - The foreign works omitted in the catalogue at the end of this note - are, - - Mormonismen och Swedenborgianismen. Upsala (8vo, 1854). - - Geschichte der Mormonen, oder Jüngsten-Tages-Heiligen in - Nord-Amerika, von Theodor Olshausen. (Göttingen, 244 pages, 8vo, - 1856.) - - Geographische Wanderungen. Die Mormonen und ihr Land, von Karl - Andree. Dresden, 1859. - - The Mormons have published at their General Repository only one - purely laical book, “The Route from Liverpool to Great Salt Lake - Valley,” illustrated with steel engravings and wood-cuts, from - sketches made by Frederick Piercy. Edited by James Linworth. It is a - highly creditable volume, especially in the artistic department, but - the letter-press is uninteresting, and appears a mere peg upon which - to hang copious notes and official returns. The price varies from - £1 to £1 3_s._, and the three first parts, containing an accurate - history of the Latter-Day Saints’ emigration from Europe up to 1854, - may be had separately, 1_s._ each. - - So good a theme for romance could not fail to fall into the hands - of Captain Mayne Reid, who is to Mormonism what Alexander Dumas - was to Mesmerism. In his pages the exaggerated anti-Mormon feeling - attains its acme; the explorer Stansbury, who spoke fairly of the - Saints, is thus qualified: “the captain is at best but a superficial - observer”--quite a glass-house stone-throwing critique. Mr. Brigham - Young is a “vulgar Alcibiades;” the City of the Saints is a “modern - Gomorrah,” and the Saints themselves are “sanctified _forbans_;” the - plurality wife is a “_femme entretenue_.” In the tale of the “Wild - Huntress,” a young person married by foul means to Josh. Stebbing, - the Mormon, and rescued mainly by a young hero--of course a Mexican - volunteer--we have a sound abuse of the many-wife-system, despotism, - theocracy, Danites, tithes, “plebbishness,” and the “vulgar ring - which smacks (!) of ignoble origin.” On the other hand, the rascal - Wakara, an ignoble sub-chief of the Yutas, known mainly as a - horse-thief, contrasts splendidly by his valor, by his “delicate - attentions” to the pretty half-caste, and by his chivalry and - hospitality, which make him a very “Rolla of the North!” And this is - “fact taught through fiction!” - - The Mormon Scriptures, corresponding with the Old Testament, the - Evangels, and the epistles of Christianity, consist of the following - works: purely bibliographical notices are here given; the contents - will be the subject of a future page. - - 1. The Book of Mormon, an Account written by the hand of Mormon, upon - plates taken from the Plates of Mormon. Translated by Joseph Smith, - Jun. The first edition was printed in 1830, at Palmyra, New York, - and consisted of 5000 copies. Since that time it has frequently been - republished in England and America: it was translated into French in - 1852 (Marc Ducloux, Rue Saint Benoît 7, Paris, 1852), and versions - have appeared in the German, Italian, Danish, Welsh, and Hawaïan - tongues. - - 2. The Book of Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus of - Latter-Day Saints, selected (!) from the Revelations of God. By - Joseph Smith, President (336 pages, 12mo). The first American edition - was printed in 1832, or ten years after the Book of Mormon, and was - published at Mr. Joseph Smith’s expense. Many translations of this - important work have appeared. - - 3. The Pearl of Great Price; being a Choice Selection from the - Revelations, Translations, and Narratives of Joseph Smith (56 - pages, 8vo, Liverpool, first published in 1851). This little volume - contains the Book of Abraham, “translated from some records that have - fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt, purporting to be - the writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of - Abraham, written by his own hand on papyrus. With a fac-simile of - three papyri.” - - 4. The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star, begun in 1839, Manchester, - United States, and now published 42 Islington, Liverpool, every - Saturday. It has reached its 21st volume. The periodical is a single - sheet (16 pages), and the price is one penny. It is an important - publication, embracing the whole history of Mormonism; the hebdomadal - issue now contains polemical papers, vindications of the Faith, with - a kind of appendix, such as emigration reports, quarterly lists of - marriages and deaths, varieties, and money lists. - - 5. Journal of Discourses by Brigham Young and others. First published - in 1854 (8vo, Liverpool). It now appears in semi-monthly numbers, - 1st and 15th, costing 2_d._, making up one volume per annum. The - above-mentioned and the writings of “Joseph the Seer and Parley P. - Pratt, wherever found,” are considered by the authorities of the - Church as direct revelations. - - The Mormons do not hold the “Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith - the Prophet and his Progenitors, for many Generations, by Lucy Smith, - mother of the Prophet,” to be entirely trustworthy. Beyond its two - pages of preface by Orson Pratt, it is deep below criticism. This - work, 18mo, of 297 pages (including “Elegies” by Miss E. R. Snow), - was first printed in 1853. - - The Controversialist works, not usually included in the London - catalogue, are the following. They are characterized by abundant - earnestness and enthusiasm, and are purposely written in a style - intelligible to the classes addressed: - - The Word of our Lord to the Citizens of London, by H. C. Kimball and - W. Woodruff (1839). - - The Millennium, and other Poems; to which is annexed a Treatise on - the Regeneration and Eternal Duration of Matter, by Parley P. Pratt, - New York, 1840. - - A Cry out of the Wilderness, by Elder Hyde. This hook was first - published in Germany and in German (120 pages, in 1842). - - Three Nights’ Public Discourse at Boulogne-sur-Mer, by Elder John - Taylor (46 pages in 8vo, Liverpool, 1850). - - Three Letters to the “New York Herald,” of James Gordon Bennett, - Esq., from J. M. Grant (Mayor and President of the Quorum of - Seventies), of Utah, March, 1852. These epistles have been reprinted - in pamphlet form; they chiefly set forth Mormon grievances, - especially the injury done by the federal officials. - - History of the Persecutions endured by the Church of Jesus of - Latter-Day Saints in America, compiled from Public Documents and - drawn from Authentic Sources, by C. W. Wandell, Minister of the - Gospel (without date, but subsequent to the 64 pp. 8vo edition, - printed at Sydney). - - Journal of the House of Representatives, Council and Joint Sessions - of the First Annual Special Sessions of the Legislative Assembly - of the Territory of Utah, held at Great Salt Lake City, 1851-1852. - (Printed by Brigham Young, 175 pages 12mo, 1852.) - - Defense of Polygamy, by a Lady of Utah (Mrs. Belinda Marden Pratt) - to her Sister in New Hampshire (11 pages, 8vo, first printed at - Great Salt Lake City in 1854, and subsequently republished in the - “Millennial Star” of the 29th of July in the same year). I shall - presently quote this curious work. - - Acts and Resolutions of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of - Utah, Great Salt Lake City, 40 pages, 12mo. First printed in 1854, - and now published for every Annual Session (that of ’60-’61 being the - 10th) at Great Salt Lake City. Printed at the “Mountaineer” Office, - by John S. Davis, Public Printer. - - Acts, Resolutions, and Memorials passed at the several Annual - Sessions (the 9th in 1859-60) of the Legislative Assembly of the - Territory of Utah. Published by virtue of an Act approved January - 19th, 1855, Great Salt Lake City, Joseph Cain, afterward J. S. - Davis, Public Printer, 1855-1860. 460 pages, 12mo. It contains the - Territorial Code of Deserét, and is purely secular. - - Report of the First General Festival of the Renowned Mormon - Battalion, Great Salt Lake City. 39 pages in 8vo. - - Discourses delivered by Joseph Smith (30th of June, 1843) and Brigham - Young (18th of February, 1855) on the Relations of the Mormons to the - Government of the United States. Great Salt Lake City, 16 pages. - - Marriage and Morals in Utah, by Parley P. Pratt. 8 pages, 8vo, - Liverpool, 1856. - - Twenty-four Miracles, by O. Pratt. Liverpool, 16 pages, 8vo, 1857. - - Latter-Day Kingdom; or, the Preparation for the Second Advent, by O. - Pratt. Liverpool, 16 pages, 8vo, 1857. - - Spiritual Gifts, by Orson Pratt. Liverpool and London, 80 pages, 8vo, - 1857. - - Universal Apostasy; or, the Seventeen Centuries of Darkness, by O. - Pratt, Liverpool, 16 pages in 8vo, 1857. - - Compendium of the Faith and Doctrines of the Church of Jesus of - Latter-Day Saints, compiled from the Bible, and also from the Book - of Mormon, Doctrines and Covenants, and other publications of the - Church; with an Appendix, by Franklin D. Richards, one of the Twelve - Apostles of said Church. 42 Islington, Liverpool, 243 pages, long - 18mo. (1857.) A concordance and compilation of the chief doctrinal - works and seven sermons. - - The following is the Catalogue of English Works published by the - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and for sale by Orson - Pratt, at their General Repository and “Millennial Star” Office, 42 - Islington, Liverpool, and removed from 35 Jewin Street, City, to 30 - Florence Street, Islington, London. - - Hymn-Book, first edition in 1851. Morocco extra, 4_s._; calf, gilt - edges, 2_s._ 6_d._; calf grained, 2_s._; roan embossed, 1_s._ 6_d._ - - The Harp of Zion. Poems by John Lyon. Published for the benefit of - the Perpetual Emigrating Fund. First printed in 1853. Morocco extra, - 6_s._ 6_d._; cloth, gilt extra, 3_s._ 6_d._; cloth embossed, 2_s._ - 6_d._ - - Poems, Religious, Historical, and Political. By Eliza R. Snow. Vol. - I. Morocco extra, 6_s._ 6_d._; calf gilt, 5_s._; cloth gilt, 3_s._ - 6_d._; cloth embossed, 2_s._ 6_d._ - - The Government of God, by John Taylor, one of the Twelve Apostles. - First printed in 1852. Stiff covers, 1_s._ 9_d._ - - Latter-Day Saints in Utah. Opinion of Judge Snow upon the Official - Course of His Excellency Gov. B. Young--Trial of Howard Egan on - Indictment, for the Murder of James Monroe, verdict--A Bill to - Establish a Territorial Government for Utah. The Territorial - Officers, etc. 9_d._ - - One Year in Scandinavia. Results of the Gospel in Denmark and Sweden, - by Erastus Snow, one of the Twelve Apostles. 3_d._ - - Reports of Three Nights’ Public Discussion in Bolton, between William - Gibson, H. P., Presiding Elder of the Manchester Conference of the - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the Rev. Woodville - Woodman, Minister of the New Jerusalem Church. First published in - 1851. 6_d._ - - Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith; also a condensed History of - the Expulsion of the Saints from Nauvoo, by Elder John S. Fullmer, - Pastor of the Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston Conferences. First - printed in 1856. 5_d._ - - Testimonies for the Truth; a Record of Manifestations of the Power - of God--miraculous and providential--witnessed in the travels and - experience of Benjamin Brown, H. P., Pastor of the London, Reading, - Kent, and Essex Conferences. It is a list of the Miracles performed - by the first Mormons. Printed in Liverpool, 1853. 4_d._ - - _Works by Parley P. Pratt, one of the Twelve Apostles._ - - Key to the Science of Theology; designed as an Introduction to - the First Principles of Spiritual Philosophy, Religion, Law, and - Government, as delivered by the Ancients, and as restored in this - Age, for the Final Development of Universal Peace, Truth, and - Knowledge. First published in 1855. It is a volume far superior in - matter and manner to the average run of Mormon composition. Morocco - extra, 5_s._ 6_d._; calf grained, 3_s._ 6_d._; cloth embossed, 2_s._ - - The Voice of Warning; or, an Introduction to the Faith and Doctrine - of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This work has - been translated into French. Morocco extra, 4_s._; calf, gilt edges, - 3_s._; calf grained, 2_s._ 6_d._; cloth embossed, 1_s._ 6_d._ - - _Works by Orson Pratt, A.M., one of the Twelve Apostles._ - - Absurdities of Immaterialism; or, a Reply to T. W. P. Taylder’s - Pamphlet, entitled “The Materialism of the Mormons, or Latter-Day - Saints, Examined and Exposed.” First edition in 1849. 4_d._ - - Great First Cause; or, the Self-moving Forces of the Universe. 2_d._ - - Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, in 6 parts. Each part 2_d._ - - Divine Authority, or the Question, was Joseph Smith sent of God? - First published in 1848. 2_d._ - - Remarkable Visions. First published in 1849. 2_d._ - - The Kingdom of God, in 4 parts. First edition in 1849. Parts 1, 2, 3, - each 1_d._ Part 4, 2_d._ - - Reply to a Pamphlet printed at Glasgow, with the approbation - of Clergymen of different denominations, entitled, “Remarks on - Mormonism.” First edition in 1849. 2_d._ - - New Jerusalem; or, the Fulfillment of Modern Prophecy. First - published in 1849. 3_d._ - - Title and Index to the above Works, ¹⁄₂_d._ - - The Seer. Vol. I., 12 numbers; II., 8 numbers. Each number 2_d._ The - two volumes bound in one, in half calf, 5_s._ - - A Series of Pamphlets, now being published on the first Principles of - the Gospel. - - The following numbers are already out: Chap. 1, The True Faith. Chap. - 2, True Repentance. Chap. 3, Water Baptism. Chap. 4, The Holy Spirit. - Chap. 5, Spiritual Gifts. First printed in 1857. Each number, 2_d._ - - _Works by Lorenzo Snow, one of the Twelve Apostles._ - - The Voice of Joseph. A brief Account of the Rise, Progress, and - Persecutions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with - their present Position and Prospects in Utah Territory; together with - American Exiles’ Memorial to Congress. First published in 1852. 3_d._ - - The Only Way to be Saved. An Explanation of the First Principles of - the Doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 1_d._ - - The Italian Mission, 4_d._ - - _Works by Elder Orson Spencer, A.B._ - - Letters exhibiting the most prominent Doctrines of the Church of - Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in reply to the Rev. William - Crowel, A.M., Boston, Mass., U. S. A. First printed in 1852. Morocco - extra, 4_s._; calf grained, 2_s._ 6_d._; cloth embossed, 1_s._ 6_d._ - - Patriarchal Order, or Plurality of Wives. (Being the Fifteenth Letter - in Correspondence with the Rev. William Crowel, A.M.) 2_d._ - - The Prussian Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day - Saints. Report of Elder Orson Spencer, A.B., to President Brigham - Young. 2_d._ - - _Works by Elder John Jacques._ - - Catechism for Children. Cloth, gilt edges, 10_d._; stiff covers, 6_d._ - - Exclusive Salvation, 1_d._ - - Salvation. A Dialogue in two parts. Each part 1_d._ - - I will conclude this long enumeration with Catalogue of the principal - Works in foreign languages. - - _Works in French._ - - Le Livre de Mormon (Book of Mormon), 3_s._ 6_d._ - - Une Voix d’Avertissement (Voice of Warning). Par Parley P. Pratt. - Morocco, gilt edges, 4_s._; roan, 1_s._ 9_d._; cloth, 1_s._ 6_d._; - paper covers, 1_s._ 3_d._ - - Les Mormons et leurs Enemis (The Latter-Day Saints and their - Enemies). Par T. B. H. Stenhouse, President des Missions Suisse et - Italienne. 1_s._ 6_d._ - - Autorité Divine (Divine Authority). Par L. A. Bertrand, Elder. 4_d._ - - De la Nécessité de Nouvelles Révélations prouvée par la Bible. Par - John Taylor, un des Douze Apôtres. 4_d._ - - Aux Amis de la Vérité Religieuse. Par John Taylor, Elder. 2_d._ - - Epitre du President de la Mission Française à l’Eglise des Saints des - Derniers-jours en France et dans les Iles de la Manche (Epistle of - the President of the French Mission, etc.), 1¹⁄₂_d._ - - Traité sur le Baptême. Par John Taylor, un des Douze Apôtres. 2_d._ - - _Works in German._ - - Das Buch Mormon (The Book of Mormon), 3_s._ 6_d._ - - Eine Gottliche Offenbarung; und Belehrung uber den Ehestand - (Revelation on Marriage; and Patriarchal order or Plurality of - Wives). Stiff covers, 6_d._ - - Zion’s Panier (Zion’s Pioneer). No. 1, 3_d._ - - _Works in Italian._ - - Il Libro di Mormon (The Book of Mormon). Morocco extra, 6_s._ 6_d._; - grained roan, 4_s._ 6_d._ - - _Works in Danish._ - - Mormons Bog (The Book of Mormon). Grained roan, 4_s._ - - _Works in Welsh._ - - Llyfr Mormon (Book of Mormon). Grained roan, 4_s._; roan, gilt edges, - 4_s._ 6_d._ - - Athrawiaeth a Chyfammodau (Doctrine and Covenants). Grained roan, - 3_s._ 6_d._; roan, gilt edges, 3_s._ 6_d._ - - Llfyr Hymnau (Hymn Book). Marble calf, 2_s._; grained roan, 2_s._ - 3_d._; calf, gilt edges, 2_s._ 6_d._ - - Y Perl o Fawr Bris (Pearl of Great Price), 1_s._ 2_d._ - - Priodas a Moesau yn Utah, gan Parley P. Pratt (Marriage and Morals in - Utah, by Parley P. Pratt), 1_d._ - - Prophwyd y Jubili (The Millennial Prophet), Vol. III. unbound, 2_s._ - 0¹⁄₂_d._ - - _By Elder Dan Jones._ - - Yr Eurgrawn Ysgrythyrol (Casket, or Treatises on upward of 100 - subjects). Half calf, 3_s._ 3_d._; unbound, 2_s._ 6_d._ - - Pwy yw Duw y Saint? (Who is the God of the Saints?), 2¹⁄₂_d._ - - Yr Hen Grefydd Newydd (The old Religion anew), 6_d._ - - Annerchiad i’r Peirch, etc. (Proclamation to the Reverends, etc.), - 1¹⁄₂_d._ - - Gwrthbrofion i’r Spaulding Story am Lyfr Mormon (Spaulding Story, - etc., refuted), 2_d._ - - Anmhoblogrwydd Mormoniaeth (Unpopularity of Mormonism), 1_d._ - - Arweinydd i Seion (Guide to Zion), 1¹⁄₂_d._ - - Pa beth yw Mormoniaeth? (What is Mormonism?), ¹⁄₂_d._ - - Pa beth yw gras Cadwedigol? (What is saving Grace?), ¹⁄₂_d._ - - Dadi ar Mormoniaeth? (Discussion on Mormonism), 2_d._ - - Anffyddiaeth Sectyddiaeth (Skepticism of Sectarianism), 1_d._ - - Amddiffyniad rhag Cam-gyhuddiadau (Replies to False Charges), 1_d._ - - Y Lleidr ar y Groes (The Thief on the Cross), ¹⁄₂_d._ - - “Peidiwch a’u Gwrando” (“Don’t go to hear them”), ¹⁄₂_d._ - - Egwyddorion Cyntaf a Gwahoddiadau (First Principles and Invitations), - ¹⁄₄_d._ - - Ai duw a Ddanfonodd Joseph Smith (Divinity of Joseph’s Mission), 1_d._ - - Llofruddiad Joseph a Hyrum Smith (Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum - Smith), 1_d._ - - Tarddiad Llfyr Mormon (Origin of the Book of Mormon), 1_d._ - - Dammeg y Pren Ffrwythlawn (Parable of the Fruitful Tree), ¹⁄₂_d._ - - Darlun o’r Byd Crefyddol (The Religious World Illustrated), ¹⁄₂_d._ - - Traethodau D. Jones, yn rhwyn mewn hanner croen llo (D. Jones’ Works - bound in half calf), 6_s._ 4_d._ - - _By Elder John Davies._ - - Yr hyn sydd o ran, etc. (That which is in part, etc.), 1_d._ - - Epistol Cyffredinol Cyntaf (First General Epistle of the first - Presidency), 1_d._ - - Traethawd ar Wyrthiau (Treatise on Miracles), 1_d._ - - Etto Adolygiad, etc., Chwech Rhifyn (Do. in reply to Anti-Mormon - Lectures). Six Nos. (Each No. 1_d._) - - Pregethu i’r Ysbrydion yn Ngharchar, etc. (Preaching to the Spirits - in Prison, etc.), 1_d._ - - Ewch a Dysgwch (Go and Teach), ¹⁄₄_d._ - - Darlithiau ar Ffydd, gan Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith’s Lectures on - Faith), 4_d._ - - Y Doniau Ysbrydol yn Mrawdlys y Gelyn (The Spiritual Gifts before - their Enemies’ Tribunal), 2_d._ - - Traethawd ar Fedydd (Treatise on Baptism), 1_d._ - - Corff Crist, neu yr Eglwys (The Body or Church of Christ), 1_d._ - - Ffordd y Bywyd Tragywyddol (The Way of Eternal Life), 1_d._ - - Yr Achos Mawr Cyntaf, gan O. Pratt (Great First Cause, by O. Pratt), - 2_d._ - - Profwch Bob Peth, etc. (Prove all things, etc.), ¹⁄₂_d._ - - Athrawiaeth Iachus (Sound Doctrine), ¹⁄₂_d._ - - Ymddyddanion yn Gymraeg a Saesonaeg (Dialogues in Welsh and English), - ¹⁄₂_d._ - - Llythyron Capt. Jones o Ddyffryn y li. H. Mawr, yn desgrifio - arderchawgrwydd Seion (Beauties of Zion described by Captain Jones, - in a Series of Letters from Great Salt Lake Valley), 2_d._ - -[SAN FRANCISCO ROAD.] - -On the evening of our arrival Lieutenant Dana and I proceeded to -the store of Messrs. Livingston, Bell, and Co.--formerly Livingston -and Kinkhead--the sutlers of Camp Floyd, and the most considerable -Gentile merchants in Great Salt Lake City; he to learn the readiest -way of reaching head-quarters, I to make inquiries about the San -Francisco road. We were cordially received by both these gentlemen, -who, during the whole period of my stay, did all in their power to -make the place pleasant. Governor Bell, as he is generally called, -presently introduced me to his wife, a very charming person, of English -descent, whose lively manners contrasted strongly and agreeably with -the almost monastic gloom which the _régime_ of the “lady-saints” casts -over society. Lieutenant Dana was offered seats in Mr. Livingston’s -trotting-wagon on the ensuing Monday. I was less fortunate. Captain -Miller, of Millersville, the principal agent and director at this end -of the road, informed me that he had lately ceased to run the wagon, -which had cost the company $15,000 a month, returning but $30,000 per -annum, and was sending the mails on mule-back. However, my informants -agreed that a party would probably be starting soon, and that, all -things failing, I could ride the road, though with some little risk of -scalp. We ended with a bottle of Heidseck, and with cigars which were -not unpleasant even after the excellent “gold-leaf tobacco” of the -States. - -[GOVERNOR CUMMING.] - -On the next day, Sunday, we walked up the main street northward, and -doubling three corners of Temple Block, reached the large adobe house, -with its neat garden, the abode of the then governor, Hon. Alfred -Cumming. This gentleman, a Georgian by birth, after a long public -service as Indian agent in the northern country, was, after several -refusals, persuaded by the then president, who knew his high honor -and tried intrepidity, to assume the supreme executive authority at -Great Salt Lake City. The conditions were that polygamy should not be -interfered with, nor forcible measures resorted to except in extremest -need. Governor Cumming, accompanied by his wife, and an escort of 600 -dragoons, left the Mississippi in the autumn of 1857, at a time when -the Mormons were in arms against the federal authority, and ended his -journey only in April of the ensuing year. By firmness, prudence, and -conciliation, he not only prevented any collision between the local -militia and the United States army, which was burning to revenge -itself for the terrible hardships of the campaign, but succeeded in -restoring order and obedience throughout the Territory. He had been -told before entering that his life was in danger; he was not, however, -a man to be deterred from a settled purpose, and experiment showed -that, so far from being molested, he was received with a salute and -all the honors. Having been warned that he might share the fate of -Governor Boggs, who in 1843 was shot through the mouth when standing -at the window, he enlarged the casements of his house in order to give -the shooter a fair chance. His determination enabled him to issue, a -few days after his arrival, a proclamation offering protection to all -persons illegally restrained of their liberty in Utah. The scrupulous -and conscientious impartiality which he has brought to the discharge of -his difficult and delicate duties, and, more still, his resolution to -treat the Saints like Gentiles and citizens, not as Digger Indians or -felons, have won him scant favor from either party. The anti-Mormons -use very hard language, and declare him to be a Mormon in Christian -disguise. The Mormons, though more moderate, can never, by their very -organization, rest contented without the combination of the temporal -with the spiritual power. The governor does not meet his predecessor, -the ex-governor, Mr. Brigham Young, from prudential motives, except -on public duty. Mrs. Cumming visits Mrs. Young, and at the houses of -the principal dignitaries, this being nearly the only society in the -place. As, among Moslems, a Lady M. W. Montague can learn more of -domestic life in a week than a man can in a year, so it is among the -Mormons. I can not but express a hope that the amiable Mrs. Cumming -will favor us with the results of her observation and experience, and -that she will be as disinterested and unprejudiced as she is talented -and accomplished. The kindness and hospitality which I found at the -governor’s, and, indeed, at every place in New Zion, is “ungrateful to -omit,” and would be “tedious to repeat.” - -We dined with his excellency at the usual hour, 2 P.M. On the way I -could dwell more observantly upon the main features of the city, which, -after the free use of the pocket-compass, were becoming familiar to me. -The first remark was, that every meridional street is traversed on both -sides by a streamlet of limpid water, verdure-fringed, and gurgling -with a murmur which would make a Persian Moollah long for improper -drinks. The supplies are brought in raised and hollowed water-courses -from City Creek, Red Buttes, and other kanyons lying north and east -of the settlement. The few wells are never less than forty-five feet -deep; artesians have been proposed for the benches, but the expense -has hitherto proved an obstacle. Citizens can now draw with scanty -trouble their drinking water in the morning, when it is purest, from -the clear and sparkling streams that flow over the pebbly beds before -their doors. The surplus is reserved for the purposes of irrigation, -without which, as the “distillation from above” will not suffice, -Deserét would still be a desert, and what is not wanted swells the City -Creek, and eventually the waves of the Jordan. The element, which flows -at about the rate of four miles an hour, is under a chief water-master -or commissioner, assisted by a water-master in each ward, and by a -deputy in each block, all sworn to see the fertilizing fluid fairly -distributed. At the corners of every ward there is a water-gate which -controls the supplies that branch off to the several blocks, and each -lot of one and a quarter acres is allowed about three hours’ irrigation -during the week. For repairs and other expenses a property tax of one -mill per dollar is raised, and the total of the impost in 1860 was -$1163 25. The system works like clock-work. “The Act to Incorporate the -Great Salt Lake City Water-works” was approved January 21, 1853. - -[THE HOLY CITY.] - -Walking in a northward direction up Main, otherwise called Whisky -Street, we could not but observe the “magnificent distances” of the -settlement, which, containing 9000-12,000 souls, covers an area of -three miles. This broadway is 132 feet wide, including the side-walks, -which are each twenty, and, like the rest of the principal avenues, is -planted with locust and other trees. There are twenty or twenty-one -wards or cantons, numbered from the S.E. “boustrophedon” to the N.W. -corner. They have a common fence and a bishop apiece. They are called -after the creeks, trees, people, or positions, as Mill-Creek Ward, -Little Cotton-wood, Denmark, and South Ward. Every ward contains about -nine blocks, each of which is forty rods square. The area of ten acres -is divided into four to eight lots, of two and a half to one and a -quarter acres each, 264 feet by 132. A city ordinance places the houses -twenty feet behind the front line of the lot, leaving an intermediate -place for shrubbery or trees. This rule, however, is not observed in -Main Street. - -The streets are named from their direction to the Temple Block. Thus -Main Street is East Temple Street No. 1; that behind it is State Road, -or East Temple Street 2, and so forth, the ward being also generally -specified. Temple Block is also the point to which latitude and -longitude are referred. It lies in N. lat. 40° 45′ 44″, W. long. (G.) -112° 6′ 8″, and 4300 feet above sea level. - -Main Street is rapidly becoming crowded. The western block, opposite -the hotel, contains about twenty houses of irregular shape and -size. The buildings are intended to supply the principal wants of -a far-Western settlement, as bakery, butchery, and blacksmithery, -hardware and crockery, paint and whip warehouse, a “fashionable -tailor”--and “fashionable” in one point, that his works are more -expensive than Poole’s--shoe-stores, tannery and curriery; the -Pantechnicon, on a more pretentious style than its neighbors, kept -by Mr. Gilbert Clements, Irishman and orator; dry-goods, groceries, -liquors, and furniture shops, Walker’s agency, and a kind of restaurant -for ice-cream, a luxury which costs 25 cents a glass; saddlers, dealers -in “food, flour, and provisions,” hats, shoes, clothing, sash laths, -shingles, timber, copper, tin, crockery-ware, carpenters’ tools, and -mouse-traps; a watch-maker and repairer, a gunsmith, locksmith, and -armorer, soap and candle maker, nail-maker, and venders of “Yankee -notions.” On the eastern side, where the same articles are sold on a -larger scale, live the principal Gentile merchants, Mr. Gilbert and -Mr. Nixon, an English Saint; Mr. R. Gill, a “physiological barber;” -Mr. Godbe’s “apothecary and drug stores;” Goddard’s confectionery; -Messrs. Hockaday and Burr, general dealers, who sell every thing, from -a bag of potatoes to a yard of gold lace; and various establishments, -Mormon and others. Crossing the street that runs east and west, we pass -on the right hand a small block, occupied by Messrs. Dyer and Co., -sutlers to a regiment in Arizona, and next to it the stores of Messrs. -Hooper and Cronyn, with an ambrotype and daguerrean room behind. The -stores, I may remark, are far superior, in all points, to the shops in -an English country town that is not a regular watering-place. Beyond -this lies the adobe house, with its wooden Ionic stoop or piazza -(the portico is a favorite here), and well-timbered garden, occupied -by Bishop Hunter; and adjoining it the long tenement inhabited by -the several relicts of Mayor Jedediah M. Grant. Farther still, and -facing the Prophet’s Block, is the larger adobe house belonging to -General Wells and his family. Opposite, or on the western side, is -the well-known store of Livingston, Bell, and Co., and beyond it the -establishment now belonging to the nine widows and the son of the -murdered apostle, Parley P. Pratt. Still looking westward, the Globe -bakery and restaurant, and a shaving saloon, lead to the “Mountaineer -Office,” a conspicuous building, forty-five feet square, two storied, -on a foundation of cut stone stuccoed red to resemble sandstone, and -provided with a small green-balconied belvidere. The cost was $20,000. -It was formerly the Council House, and was used for church purposes. -When purchased by the Territory the Public Library was established in -the northern part; the office of the “Deserét News” on the first story, -and that of the “Mountaineer” on the ground floor. This brings us to -the 1st South Temple Street, which divides the “Mountaineer” office -from the consecrated ground. In this vicinity are the houses of most of -the apostles, Messrs. Taylor, Cannon, Woodruff, and O. Pratt. - -Crowds were flocking into Temple Block for afternoon service; yet -I felt disappointed by the scene. I had expected to see traces of -“workmen in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all -manner of cunning men for every manner of work,” reposing from their -labors on the Sabbath. I thought, at any rate, to find - - “pars ducere muros - Molirique arcem, et manibus subvolvere saxa.” - -It seemed hardly in accordance with the energy and devotedness of a new -faith that a hole in the ground should represent the House of the Lord, -while Mr. Brigham Young, the Prophet, thinking of his own comfort -before the glory of God, is lodged, like Solomon of old, in what here -appears a palace. Nor, reflecting that without a Temple the dead can -not be baptized out of Purgatory, was I quite satisfied when reminded -of the fate of Nauvoo (according to Gentiles the Mormons believe that -they must build nine temples before they will be suffered to worship -in peace), and informed that the purely provisional works, which had -been interrupted by the arrival of the army in 1858, would shortly be -improved. - -[THE TEMPLE BLOCK.] - -The lines of Temple Block--which, as usual, is ten acres square = -forty rods each way--run toward the cardinal points. It stands clear -of all other buildings, and the locust-trees, especially those on -the sunny south side, which have now been planted seven years, will -greatly add to its beauties. It is surrounded with a foundation wall -of handsomely dressed red sandstone, raised to the height of ten feet -by adobe stuccoed over to resemble a richer material. Each facing has -thirty flat pilastres, without pedestal or entablature, but protected, -as the adobe always should be, by a sandstone coping. When finished, -the whole will be surmounted by an ornamental iron fence. There are -four gates, one to each side--of these, two, the northern and western, -are temporarily blocked up with dry stone walls, while the others are -left open--which in time will become carriage entrances, with two side -ways for foot passengers. According to accounts, the wall and the -foundations have already cost one million of dollars, or a larger sum -than that spent upon the entire Nauvoo Temple. - -Temple Block--the only place of public and general worship in the -city--was consecrated and a Tabernacle was erected in September, -1847, immediately after the celebrated exodus from “Egypt on the -banks of the Mississippi,” on a spot revealed by the past to the -present Prophet and his adherents. Two sides of the wall having been -completed, ground was broken on the 14th of February, 1853, for the -foundation of the building. One part of the ceremony consisted of -planting a post at the central point, the main “stake for the curtains -of Zion:” every successive step in advance was commemorated by imposing -ceremonies, salvos of guns, bands playing, crowds attending, addresses -by the governor, Mr. Brigham Young, prayers and pious exercises. The -foundations of the Temple, which are sixteen feet deep, and composed of -hard gray granite, in color like that of Aberdeen or Quincy, are now -concealed from view; and the lumber huts erected for the workmen were, -when the Mormons made their minor Hegira to Provo City, removed to the -Sugar-house Ward, three miles southeast of the city. - -The Temple Block is at present a mere waste. A central excavation, -which resembles a large oblong grave, is said by Gentiles to be the -beginning of a baptismal font twenty feet deep. The southwestern corner -is occupied by the Tabernacle, an adobe building 126 feet long from -N. to S., and 64 wide from E. to W.: its interior, ceilinged with an -elliptical arch--the width being its span--can accommodate 2000-3000 -souls. It urgently requires enlarging. Over the entrances at the gable -ends, which open to the N. and S., is a wood-work representing the -sun, with his usual coiffure of yellow beams, like a Somali’s wig, or -the symbol of the Persian empire. The roof is of shingles: it shelters -under its projecting eaves a whole colony of swallows, and there are -four chimneys--a number insufficient for warmth at one season, or -for ventilation at the other. The speaker or preacher stands on the -west side of the building, which is reserved for the three highest -dignities, viz., the First Presidency, the “Twelve” (Apostles), and -the President of the State of Zion: distinguished strangers are also -admitted. Of late, as in the old Quaker meeting-houses at Philadelphia, -the brethren in the Tabernacle have been separated from the “sistern,” -who sit on the side opposite the preacher’s left; and, according to -Gentiles, it is proposed to separate the Christians from the Faithful, -that the “goats” may no longer mingle with the sheep. - -Immediately north of the Tabernacle is the Bowery--in early spring -a canopy of green leafy branches, which are left to wither with the -year, supported on wooden posts. The interior will be described when we -attend the house of worship next Sunday. - -In the extreme northwest angle of the block is the Endowment, here -pronounced _On-dewment House_, separated from the Tabernacle by a high -wooden paling. The building, of which I made a pen and ink sketch -from the west, is of adobe, with a pent roof and four windows, one -blocked up: the central and higher portion is flanked by two wings, -smaller erections of the same shape. The Endowment House is the place -of great medicine, and all appertaining to it is carefully concealed -from Gentile eyes and ears: the result is that human sacrifices are -said to be performed within its walls. Mrs. Smith and Mr. Hyde have -described the mysterious rites performed within these humble walls, -but, for reasons given before, there is reason to doubt the truth of -their descriptions; such orgies as they describe could not coexist with -the respectability which is the law of the land. M. Remy has detailed -the programme with all the exactitude of an eye-witness, which he was -not. The public declare that the ceremonies consist of some show, -which in the Middle Ages would be called a comedy or mystery--possibly -Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained--and connect it with the working -of a mason’s lodge. The respectable Judge Phelps, because supposed to -take the place of the Father of Sin when tempting Adam and Eve, is -popularly known as “the Devil.” The two small wings are said to contain -fonts for the two sexes, where baptism by total immersion is performed. -According to Gentiles, the ceremony occupies eleven or twelve hours. -The neophyte, after bathing, is anointed with oil, and dressed in -clean white cotton garments, cap and shirt, of which the latter is -rarely removed--Dr. Richards saved his life at the Carthage massacre by -wearing it--and a small square masonic apron, with worked or painted -fig-leaves: he receives a new name and a distinguishing grip, and -is bound to secrecy by dreadful oaths. Moreover, it is said that, -as in all such societies, there are several successive degrees, all -of which are not laid open to initiation till the Temple shall be -finished. But--as every mason knows--the “red-hot poker” and other -ideas concerning masonic institutions have prevailed when juster -disclosures have been rejected. Similarly in the Mormonic mystery, it -is highly probable that, in consequence of the conscientious reserve of -the people upon a subject which it would be indelicate to broach, the -veriest fancies have taken the deepest root. - -[Illustration: ENDOWMENT HOUSE AND TABERNACLE. (From the West.)] - -[THE FUTURE TEMPLE.] - -The other features of the inclosure are a well near the Tabernacle, -an arched sewer in the western wall for drainage, and at the eastern -entrance a small habitation for concierge and guards. The future Temple -was designed by an Anglo-Mormon architect, Mr. Truman O. Angell. The -plan is described at full length in the Latter-Day Saints’ “Millennial -Star,” December 2, 1854, and drawings, apparently copied from the -original in the historian’s office, have been published at Liverpool, -besides the small sketches in the works of Mr. Hyde and M. Remy. It is -hardly worth while here to trouble the general reader with a lengthy -description of a huge and complicated pile, a syncretism of Greek -and Roman, Gothic and Moorish, not revealed like that of Nauvoo, but -planned by man, which will probably never be completed. It has been -transferred to the Appendix (No. II.), for the benefit of students: -after briefly saying that the whole is symbolical, and that it is -intended to dazzle, by its ineffable majesty, the beholder’s sight, I -will repeat the architect’s concluding words, which are somewhat in the -style of Parr’s Life Pills advertisements: “For other particulars, wait -till the house is done, then come and see it.” - -[MR. STENHOUSE.] - -After dining with the governor, we sat under the stoop enjoying, as we -might in India, the cool of the evening. Several visitors dropped in, -among them Mr. and Mrs. Stenhouse. He--Elder T. B. H. Stenhouse--is -a Scotchman by birth, and has passed through the usual stages of -neophyte (larva), missionary (pupa), and elder or fully-developed -Saint (imago). Madame was from Jersey, spoke excellent French, talked -English without nasalization or cantalenation, and showed a highly -cultivated mind. She had traveled with her husband on a propagandist -tour to Switzerland and Italy, where, as president of the missions -for three years, he was a “diligent and faithful laborer in the great -work of the last dispensation.” He became a Saint in 1846, at the -age of 21; lived the usual life of poverty and privation, founded -the Southampton Conference, converted a lawyer among other great -achievements, and propagated the Faith successfully in Scotland as in -England. The conversation turned--somehow in Great Salt Lake City it -generally does--upon polygamy, or rather plurality, which here is the -polite word, and for the first time I heard that phase of the family -tie sensibly, nay, learnedly advocated on religious grounds by fair -lips. Mr. Stenhouse kindly offered to accompany me on the morrow, as -the first hand-cart train was expected to enter, and to point out what -might be interesting. I saw Elder and High-Priest Stenhouse almost -every day during my stay at Great Salt Lake City, and found in his -society both pleasure and profit. We of course avoided those mysterious -points, into which, as an outsider, I had no right to enter; the -elder was communicative enough upon all others, and freely gave me -leave to use his information. The reader, however, will kindly bear -in mind that, being a strict Mormon, Mr. Stenhouse could enlighten -me only upon one side of the subject; his statements were therefore -carefully referred to the “other part;” moreover, as he could never -see any but the perfections of his system, the blame of having pointed -out what I deem its imperfections is not to be charged upon him. His -power of faith struck me much. I had once asked him what became of the -Mormon Tables of the Law, the Golden Plates which, according to the -Gentiles, were removed by an angel after they had done their work. He -replied that he knew not; that his belief was independent of all such -accidents; that Mormonism is and must be true to the exclusion of all -other systems. I saw before me an instance how the brain or mind of man -can, by mere force of habit and application, imbue itself with any idea. - -Long after dark I walked home alone. There were no lamps in any but -Main Street, yet the city is as safe as at St. James’s Square, London. -There are perhaps not more than twenty-five or thirty constables or -policemen in the whole place, under their captain, a Scotchman, Mr. -Sharp, “by name as well as nature so;” and the guard on public works -is merely nominal. Its excellent order must be referred to the perfect -system of private police, resulting from the constitution of Mormon -society, which in this point resembles the caste system of Hindooism. -There is no secret from the head of the Church and State; every -thing, from the highest to the lowest detail of private and public -life, must be brought to the ear and submitted to the judgment of the -father-confessor-in-chief. Gentiles often declare that the Prophet is -acquainted with their every word half an hour after it is spoken; and -from certain indices, into which I hardly need enter, my opinion is -that, allowing something for exaggeration, they are not very far wrong. -In London and Paris the foreigner is subjected, though perhaps he may -not know it, to the same surveillance, and till lately his letters were -liable to be opened at the Post-office. We can not, then, wonder that -at Great Salt Lake City, a stranger, before proving himself at the -least to be harmless, should begin by being an object of suspicion. - -[A MURDER.--SAFETY OF THE CITY.] - -On Monday, as the sun was sloping toward the east, Mr. Stenhouse called -to let me know that the train had already issued from Emigration -Kanyon; no time to spare. We set out together “down town” at once. -Near the angle of Main Street I was shown the place where a short -time before my arrival a curious murder was committed. Two men, named -Johnston and Brown, _mauvais sujets_, who had notoriously been guilty -of forgery and horse-stealing, were sauntering home one fine evening, -when both fell with a bullet to each, accurately placed under the -heart-arm. The bodies were carried to the court-house, which is here -the morgue or dead-house, to be exposed, as is the custom, for a time: -the citizens, when asked if they suspected who did the deed, invariably -replied, with a philosophical _sangfroid_, that, in the first place, -they didn’t know, and, secondly, that they didn’t care. Of course the -Gentiles hinted that life had been taken by “counsel”--that is to say, -by the secret orders of Mr. Brigham Young and his Vehm. But, even -had such been the case--of course it was the merest suspicion--such -a process would not have been very repugnant to that wild huntress, -the Themis of the Rocky Mountains. In a place where, among much that -is honest and respectable, there are notable exceptions, this wild, -unflinching, and unerring justice, secret and sudden, is the rod of -iron which protects the good. During my residence at the Mormon City -not a single murder was, to the best of my belief, committed: the three -days which I spent at Christian Carson City witnessed three. Moreover, -from the Mississippi to Great Salt Lake City, I noticed that the crimes -were for the most part of violence, openly and unskillfully committed; -the arsenic, strychnine, and other dastardly poisonings of Europe are -apparently unknown, although they might be used easily and efficiently -with scant chance of detection. That white emigrants have sometimes -wiped off the Indian, as the English settler settled with corrosive -sublimate the hapless denizen of the great Southern Continent, is -scarcely to be doubted; at the same time, it must be owned that they -have rarely tried that form of assassination upon one another. - -As we issued from the city, we saw the smoke-like column which -announced that the emigrants were crossing the bench-land; and people -were hurrying from all sides to greet and to get news of friends. -Presently the carts came. All the new arrivals were in clean clothes, -the men washed and shaved, and the girls, who were singing hymns, -habited in Sunday dresses. The company was sunburned, but looked -well and thoroughly happy, and few, except the very young and the -very old, who suffer most on such journeys, troubled the wains. They -marched through clouds of dust over the sandy road leading up the -eastern portion of the town, accompanied by crowds, some on foot, -others on horseback, and a few in traps and other “locomotive doin’s,” -sulkies, and buckboards. A few youths of rather a rowdyish appearance -were mounted in all the tawdriness of Western trappings--Rocky -Mountain hats, tall and broad, or steeple-crowned felts, covering -their scalp-locks, embroidered buckskin garments, huge leggins, with -caterpillar or millepede fringes, red or rainbow-colored flannel -shirts, gigantic spurs, bright-hilted pistols, and queer-sheathed -knives stuck in red sashes with gracefully depending ends. The -_jeunesse dorée_ of the Valley Tan was easily distinguished from -imported goods by the perfect ease with which they sat and managed -their animals. Around me were all manner of familiar faces--heavy -English mechanics, discharged soldiers, clerks, and agricultural -laborers, a few German students, farmers, husbandmen, and peasants from -Scandinavia and Switzerland, and correspondents and editors, bishops, -apostles, and other dignitaries from the Eastern States. When the train -reached the public square--at Great Salt Lake City the “squares” are -hollow as in England, not solid as in the States--of the 8th ward, the -wagons were ranged in line for the final ceremony. Before the invasion -of the army the First President made a point of honoring the entrance -of hand-cart trains (but these only) by a greeting in person. Of late -he seldom leaves his house except for the Tabernacle: when inclined -for a picnic, the day and the hour are kept secret. It is said that -Mr. Brigham Young, despite his powerful will and high moral courage, -does not show the remarkable personal intrepidity of Mr. Joseph Smith: -his followers deny this, but it rests on the best and fairest Gentile -evidence. He has guards at his gates, and he never appears in public -unattended by friends and followers, who are of course armed. That such -a mental anomaly often exists, those familiar with the biographies -of the Brahmin officials at the courts of Poonah, Sattara, and other -places in India, well know: many a “Pant,” whose reckless audacity in -intrigue conducted under imminent danger of life argued the courage of -a Cœur de Lion, was personally fearful as Hobbes, and displayed at the -death the terrors of Robespierre. A moment of fear is recounted of St. -Peter; Erasmus was not the stuff of which martyrs are made, and even -the _beau sabreur_ once ran. However, in the case of the Prophet there -is an absolute necessity for precautions: as Gentiles have themselves -owned to me, many a ruffian, if he found an opportunity, would, from -pure love of notoriety, even without stronger incentive, try his -revolver or his bowie-knife upon the “Big Mormon.” - -On this occasion the place of Mr. Brigham Young was taken by President -Bishop Hunter, a Pennsylvanian, whom even the most fanatic and -intentionally evil-speaking anti-Mormon must regard with respect. -Preceded by a brass band--“this people” delight in - - “Sonorous metal blowing martial sounds”-- - -and accompanied by the City Marshal, he stood up in his conveyance, -and, calling up the Captains of Companies, shook hands with them and -proceeded forthwith to business. In a short time arrangements were -made to house and employ all who required work, whether men or women. -Having read certain offensive accounts about “girl-hunting elders,” -“gray-headed gallants,” and “ogling apostles,” I was somewhat surprised -to see that every thing was conducted with the greatest decorum. -The Gentiles, however, declare that Mr. Brigham Young and the high -dignitaries have issued an order against “pre-emption” on the part of -their followers, who escort and accompany the emigrant trains across -the prairies. - -[SAINTS’ NAMES.] - -Mr. Stenhouse circulated freely among the crowd, and introduced me -to many whose names I do not remember; in almost every case the -introduction was followed by some invitation. He now exchanged a word -with this “brother,” then a few sentences with that “sister,” carefully -suppressing the Mr. and Madam of the Eastern States. The fraternal -address gives a patriarchal and somewhat Oriental flavor to Mormon -converse; like other things, however, it is apt to run into extremes. -If a boy in the streets be asked, “What’s your name?” he will reply--if -he condescends to do so--“I’m brother such-and-such’s son.” In order -to distinguish children of different mothers, it is usual to prefix -the maternal to the paternal parent’s name, suppressing the given or -Christian name of monogamic lands. Thus, for instance, my sons by Miss -Brown, Miss Jones, and Miss Robinson, would call themselves Brother -Brown Burton, Brother Jones Burton, and so on. The Saints--even the -highest dignitaries--wave the Reverend and the ridiculous Esquire; -that “title much in use among vulgar people,” which in Old and New -England applies to every body, gentle or simple, has not yet extended -to Great Salt Lake City. The Mormon pontiff and the eminences around -him are simply Brother or Mister--they have the substance, and they -disdain the shadow of power. _En revanche_, among the crowd there -are as many colonels and majors--about ten being the proportion to -one captain--as in the days when Mrs. Trollope set the Mississippi -on fire. Sister is applied to women of all ages, thus avoiding the -difficulty of addressing a dowager, as in the Eastern States, Madam, in -contradistinction to Mrs., her daughter-in-law, or, what is worse, of -calling her after the English way, old Mrs. A., or, _Scotticè_, Mrs. A. -senior. - -[A “GOWK.”] - -The dress of the fair sex has, I observed, already become peculiar. -The article called in Cornwall a “gowk,” in other parts of England a -“cottage bonnet,” and in the United States a “sun-bonnet,” is here -universally used, with the difference, however, that the Mormons -provide it with a long thick veil behind, which acts like a cape or -shawl. A loose jacket and a petticoat, mostly of calico or of some -inexpensive stuff, compose the _tout visible_. The wealthier affect -silks, especially black. The merchants are careful to keep on hand a -large stock of fancy goods, millinery, and other feminine adornments. -Love of dress is no accident in the mental organization of that sex -which some one called ζωον φιλοκοσμον; the essential is a pleasing -foible, in which the semi-nude savage and the crinolined “civilizee,” -the nun and Quakeress, the sinner and the saint, the _biche_, the -_petite maîtresse_, and the _grande dame_, all meet for once in -their lives pretty much on a par, and on the same ground. Great Salt -Lake City contains three “millinery stores,” besides thirteen of dry -goods and two of fancy goods, or varieties; and some exchange their -merchandise for grain. - -The contrast of _physique_ between the new arrivals and the older -colonists, especially those born in the vicinity of the prairies, was -salient. While the fresh importations were of that solid and sometimes -clumsy form and dimensions that characterize the English at home--where -“beauty is seldom found in cottages or workshops, even when no real -hardships are suffered”--the others had much of the delicacy of figure -and complexion which distinguishes the American women of the United -States. Physiologists may perhaps doubt so rapid and perceptible an -operation of climate, but India proves clearly enough that a very few -years suffice to deteriorate form and color, especially in the weaker -half of humanity; why, then, should we think it impossible that a -climate of extremes, an air of exceeding purity and tenuity, and an -arid position 4000 feet above sea level, can produce the opposite -results in as short a space of time? But, whether my theory stand or -fall, the fact remains the same. I remarked to my companion the change -from the lymphatic and the sanguine to the bilious-nervous and the -purely nervous temperament, and admired its results, the fining down -of redundancy in wrist, ankle, and waist, the superior placidness and -thoughtfulness of expression, and the general appearance of higher -caste blood. I could not but observe in those born hereabouts the noble -regular features, the lofty, thoughtful brow, the clear, transparent -complexion, the long silky hair, and, greatest charm of all, the soft -smile of the American woman when she does smile. He appeared surprised, -and said that most other Gentiles had explained the thinness of form -and reflective look by the perpetual fretting of the fair under the -starveling _régime_ of polygamy. The belle of the crowd was Miss Sally -A----, the daughter of a lawyer, and of course a _ci devant_ judge. -Strict Mormons, however, rather wag the head at this pretty person; -she is supposed to prefer Gentile and heathenish society, and it is -whispered against her that she has actually vowed never to marry a -Saint. - -[AN ILLUSTRATION.] - -I “queried” of my companion how the new arrivals usually behave at -Great Salt Lake City, when the civilization, or rather the humanization -of a voyage, a long journey, and the sense of helplessness caused -by new position, have somewhat mitigated their British bounce and -self-esteem. “Pretty well,” he replied; “all expect to be at the -top of the tree at once, and they find themselves in the wrong box; -no man gets on here by pushing; he begins at the lowest seat; a new -hand is not trusted; he is first sent on mission, then married, and -then allowed to rise higher if he shows himself useful.” This bore a -_cachet_ of truth: - - Les sots sont un peuple nombreux, - Trouvant toutes choses faciles; - Il faut le leur passer; souvent ils sont heureux, - Grand motif de se croire habiles. - - (_L’Ane et la Flûte._) - -Many of these English emigrants have passed over the plains without -knowing that they are in the United States, and look upon Mr. Brigham -Young much as Roman Catholics of the last generation regarded the Pope. -The Welsh, Danes, and Swedes have been seen on the transit to throw -away their blankets and warm clothing, from a conviction that a gay -summer reigns throughout the year in Zion. The mismanagement of the -inexperienced travelers has become a matter of Joe Miller. An old but -favorite illustration, told from the Mississippi to California, is -this: A man rides up to a standing wagon, and seeing a wretched-looking -lad nursing a starving baby, asks him what the matter may be: “Wal, -now,” responds the youth, “guess I’m kinder streakt--ole dad’s -drunk, ole marm’s in hy-sterics, brother Jim be playing poker with -two gamblers, sister Sal’s down yonder a’ courtin’ with an in-tire -stranger, this ’ere baby’s got the diaree, the team’s clean guv out, -the wagon’s broke down, it’s twenty miles to the next water, I don’t -care a ---- if I never see Californy.” - -[THEATRICALS.] - -We returned homeward by the States Road, in which are two of the -principal buildings. On the left is the Council Hall of the Seventies, -an adobe tenement of the usual barn shape, fifty feet long by thirty -internally, used for the various purposes of deliberation, preaching, -and dancing; I looked through the windows, and saw that it was hung -with red. It is a provisional building, used until a larger can be -erected. A little beyond the Seventies’ Hall, and on the other side of -the road, was the Social Hall, the usual scene of Mormon festivities; -it resembled the former, but it was larger--73 × 33 feet--and better -furnished. The gay season had not arrived; I lost, therefore, an -opportunity of seeing the beauty and fashion of Great Salt Lake City -in ballroom toilette, but I heard enough to convince me that the -Saints, though grave and unjovial, are a highly sociable people. They -delight in sleighing and in private theatricals, and boast of some good -amateur actors, among whom Messrs. B. Snow, H. B. Clawson, and W. C. -Dunbar are particularly mentioned. Sir E. L. Bulwer will perhaps be -pleased to hear that the “Lady of Lyons” excited more furore here than -even in Europe. It is intended, as soon as funds can be collected, -to build a theatre which will vie with those of the Old Country. -Dancing seems to be considered an edifying exercise. The Prophet -dances, the Apostles dance, the Bishops dance. A professor of this -branch of the fine arts would thrive in Zion, where the most learned of -pedagogues would require to eke out a living after the fashion of one -Aristocles, surnamed the “broad-shouldered.” The saltation is not in -the languid, done-up style that polite Europe affects; as in the days -of our grandparents, “positions” are maintained, steps are elaborately -executed, and a somewhat severe muscular exercise is the result. I -confess to a prejudice against dancing after the certain, which we are -told is the uncertain, epoch of life, and have often joined in the -merriment excited among French folks by the aspect of some bald-headed -and stiff-jointed “Anglais” mingling crabbed age with joyful youth in -a public ball. Yet there is high authority for perseverance in the -practice: David danced, we are told, with all his might, and Scipio, -according to Seneca, was wont thus to exercise his heroic limbs. - -Besides the grand fêtes at the Social Hall and other subscription -establishments, there are “Ward Parties,” and “Elders’ Weekly Cotillon -Parties,” where possibly the seniors dance together, as the Oxford -dons did drill--in private. Polkas, as at the court of St. James’s, -are disapproved of. It is generally asserted that to the New Faith -Terpsichore owes a fresh form of worship, the Mormon cotillon--alias -quadrille--in which the cavalier leads out, characteristically, two -dames. May I not be allowed to recommend the importation of this -decided improvement into Leamington and other watering-places, where -the proportion of the sexes at “hops” rarely exceeds one to seven? - -The balls at the Social Hall are highly select, and are conducted on -an expensive scale; invitations are issued on embossed bordered and -gilt-edged white paper, say to 75-80 of the _élite_, including a few of -the chief Gentiles. The ticket is in this form and style: - - +----------------------------------------------------------------+ - | PARTY AT SOCIAL HALL. | - | | - | Mr. ---- and Ladies are respectfully invited to attend a | - | Party at the SOCIAL HALL, | - | | - | ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1860. | - | | - | _Tickets_, $10 (£2) _per Couple_. | - | | - | Mayor A. O. SMOOT, } Managers. | - | Marshal J. C. LITTLE, } | - | | - | Committee of Arrangements. | - | | - | WILLIAM C. STAINES, | WILLIAM EDDINGTON, | JOHN T. CAINE, | - | H. B. CLAWSON, | ROBERT T. BURTON, | DAVID CANDLAND. | - | | - | _Great Salt Lake City_, | - | Feb. 1, 1860. | - +----------------------------------------------------------------+ - -The $10 tickets will admit only one lady with the gentleman; for all -extra $2 each must be paid. In the less splendid fêtes $2 50 would be -the total price. Premiums are offered when the time draws nigh, but -space is limited, and many a Jacob is shorn of his glory by appearing -with only Rachel for a follower, and without his train of Leahs, -Zilpahs, and Billahs. - -[THE SUPPER.] - -An account of the last ball may be abridged. The hall was tastefully -and elegantly decorated; the affecting motto, “Our Mountain Home,” -conspicuously placed among hangings and evergreens, was highly -effective. At 4 P.M. the Prophet and ex-President entered, and “order -was called.” (N.B.--Might not this be tried to a purpose in a London -ball-room?) Ascending a kind of platform, with uplifted hands he -blessed those present. Farther East I have heard of the reverse being -done, especially by the _maître du logis_. He then descended to the -boards and led off the first cotillon. At 8 P.M. supper was announced; -covers for 250 persons had been laid by Mr. Candland, “mine host” -of “The Globe.” On the following page will be found the list of the -somewhat substantial goodies that formed the _carte_. - -It will be observed that the _cuisine_ in Utah Territory has some -novelties, such as bear and beaver. The former meat is a favorite -throughout the West, especially when the animal is fresh from feeding; -after hibernation it is hard and lean. In the Himalayas many a -sportsman, after mastering an artificial aversion to eat bear’s grease, -has enjoyed a grill of “cuffy.” The paws, which not a little resemble -the human hand, are excellent--_experto crede_. I can not pronounce _ex -cathedrâ_ upon beavers’ tails; there is no reason, however, why they -should be inferior to the appendage of a Cape sheep. “Slaw”--according -to my informants--is synonymous with sauer-kraut. Mountain, Pioneer, -and Snowballs are unknown to me, except by their names, which are -certainly patriotic, if not descriptive. - -[DANCING.] - -After supper dancing was resumed with spirit, and in its intervals -popular songs and duets were performed by the best musicians. The -“finest party of the season” ended as it began, with prayer and -benediction, at 5 A.M.--thirteen successive mortal hours--it shows a -solid power of enduring enjoyments! And, probably, the revelers wended -their way home chanting some kind of national hymn like this, to the -tune of the “Ole Kentucky shore:” - - “Let the chorus still be sung, - Long live Brother Brigham Young. - And blessed be the Vale of Deserét--rét--rét! - And blessed be the Vale of Deserét.” - - +--------------------------------------------------+ - | | - | TERRITORIAL AND CIVIL BALL, | - | | - | SOCIAL HALL, FEBRUARY 7, 1860. | - | ---- | - | BILL OF FARE. | - | ---- | - | | - | First Course. | - | | - | SOUPS. | - | | - | Oyster, Vermicelli, | - | Ox-tail, Vegetable. | - | | - | Second Course. | - | | - | MEATS. | - | | - | _Roast._ _Boiled._ | - | | - | Beef, Sugar-corned beef, | - | Mutton, Mutton, | - | Mountain Mutton, Chickens, | - | Bear, Ducks, | - | Elk, Tripe, | - | Deer, Turkey, | - | Chickens, Ham, | - | Ducks, Trout, | - | Turkeys. Salmon. | - | | - | STEWS AND FRICASSEES. | - | | - | Oysters and Ox Tongues, Chickens, | - | Beaver Tails, Ducks, | - | Collard Head, Turkeys. | - | | - | VEGETABLES. | - | | - | _Boiled._ _Baked._ | - | | - | Potatoes, Potatoes, | - | Cabbage (_i. e._, greens), Parsnips, | - | Parsnips, Beans. | - | Cauliflower, | - | Slaw. | - | Hominy. | - | | - | Third Course. | - | | - | _Pastry._ _Puddings._ | - | | - | Mince Pies, Custards, | - | Green Apple Pie, Rice, | - | Pineapple Pie, English Plum, | - | Quince Jelly Pie, Apple Soufflé, | - | Peach Jelly Pie, Mountain, | - | Currant Jelly Pie. Pioneer. | - | Blancmange. Jellies. | - | | - | Fourth Course. | - | | - | _Cakes._ _Fruits._ | - | | - | Pound, Raisins, | - | Sponge, Grapes, | - | Gipsy, Apples, | - | Varieties. Snowballs. | - | Candies. Nuts. | - | Tea. Coffee. | - +--------------------------------------------------+ - -[RELIGIOUS ACRIMONY.] - -Returning to the hotel, we found the justiciary and the official party -safely arrived; they had been delayed three days at Foot of Ridge -Station, but they could not complain of the pace at which they came -in. The judge was already in confab with a Pennsylvanian compatriot, -Colonel S. C. Stambaugh, of the Militia, Surveyor General of Utah -Territory. This gentleman is no great favorite with the Saints: they -accuse him of a too great skillfulness in “mixing”--cocktails, for -instance--and a degree of general joviality that swears (_qui jure_) -with the grave and reverend seigniory around him. His crime, it -appears to me, chiefly consists in holding a fat appointment. I need -hardly say that at Great Salt Lake City party feeling rises higher, -perhaps, than in any other small place, because religious acrimony is -superadded to the many conflicting interests. Every man’s concerns -are his neighbor’s; no one, apparently, ever heard of that person who -“became immensely rich”--to quote an Americanism--by “minding his -own business.” As often happens, religion is made, like slavery in -the Eastern States and opium in China, the _cheval de bataille_; the -root of the quarrel must be sought deeper; in other words, interest, -and interest only, is the Tisiphone that shakes the brand of war. As -Mormonism grows, its frame becomes more strongly knit. Thus the Gentile -merchants, who have made from 120 to 600 per cent. on capital, were, -at the time of my visit, preparing to sell off, because they found the -combination against them overpowering. For the most part they vowed -that there is no people with whom they would rather do business than -with the Mormons; praised their honesty and punctuality in payments, -and compared them advantageously in such matters with those of the -older faith. Yet they had resolved to remove. The total number of -Gentiles in the city is probably not more than 300, a small proportion -to a body of at least 9000. - -[CLIQUISM.] - -A stranger, especially an official, is kindly warned, on his first -arrival at Great Salt Lake City, of its inveterate cliquism, and is -amicably advised to steer a middle course, without turning to the right -or to the left, between the Scylla and Charybdis of Christianity and -Mormonism. This mezzo-termine may be possible in official matters; -in society it is not. I soon saw that, though a traveler on the wing -might sit alternately in the tents of Shem and Japhet, a resident -would soon be obliged to dwell exclusively in either one or the -other. When Gentile and Mormon meet, they either maintain a studied -or surly silence, or they enter into a dialogue which, on a closer -acquaintance with its formation, proves to be a conglomerate of “rile” -and “knagg”--an unpleasant predicament for those _en tiers_. Such, at -least, was my short experience, and I believe that of my companions. - -Colonel Stambaugh, a day or two after the introduction, offered to -act cicerone through the settlement, and I was happy to accept his -kindness. One fine evening we drove along the Tooele Road westward, -and drank of the waters of the New Jordan, which, to the unregenerate -palate, tasted, I must say, somewhat brackish and ill-flavored. The -river is at this season about one hundred feet broad, and not too -deep below its banks to be useless for irrigation, which, as the -city increases, will doubtless be extended. It is spanned by a wooden -bridge so rickety that it shakes with a child’s tread--the governor has -urgently but unavailingly represented the necessity of reconstruction. -But, although the true Western, or rather Keltic recklessness of -human life--which contrasts so strongly with the sanctity attached -to it by the old Roman and the modern Anglo-Scandinavian--here still -displays itself, in some points there is no disregard for improvement. -Mr. Brigham Young has seen the evils of disforesting the land, and -the want of plantations; he has lately contracted for planting, near -Jordan and elsewhere, a million of young trees at the rate of one -cent each. On the way we saw several fine Durhams and Devons, which -are driven out every morning and back every evening under the charge -of a boy, who receives one and a half cent _per mensem_ a head. The -animals have been brought across the prairies at great trouble and -expense: stock-breeding is one of the Prophet’s useful hobbies, and the -difference between the cattle in Utah Territory and the old Spanish -herds still seen in the country parts of California is remarkable. The -land, as will presently appear, is better calculated for grazing than -for agriculture, and a settlement of 500 souls rarely has less than 500 -head of cattle. - -Returning from Jordan, we re-entered the city by the western road, and -drove through Mr. Brigham Young’s block toward the Northern Kanyon. -The gateway was surmounted by a plaster group, consisting of a huge -vulturine eagle, perched, with wings outspread, neck bended as if -snuffing the breeze of carrion from afar, and talons clinging upon a -yellow bee-hive--a most uncomfortable and unnatural position for the -poor animal. The device is doubtless highly symbolical, emblematical, -typical--in fact, every thing but appropriate and commonsensical. The -same, however, may be said of one of the most picturesque ensigns in -the civilized world--what have stars to do with stripes or stripes with -stars? It might be the device of the British or Austrian soldier--only -in their case, unlike the flag of the United States, the stripes -should be many and the stars few. _En passant_ we remarked a kind of -guard-room at the eastern doorway of the White House--a presidential -title which the house of prophecy in New Zion shares with the house of -politication[130] at Washington: my informants hinted that, in case of -an assault upon head-quarters by roughs, marshals, or other officials, -fifty rifles could at once be brought to bear upon the spot, and 1000 -after the first hour. On the eastern side of the compound were the -stables; a lamb in effigy surmounted the entrance, and meekly reposed -under the humane injunction, “Take care of your flocks.” Beyond this -point lay a number of decrepit emigrant wagons, drawn up to form a -fence, a young plantation of fruitless peaches, and the remnants of the -falling wall. - - [130] The Western press uses to “politicate,” _v. n._ to make a - trade of politics, and the participle politicating--why not, then, - politication? - -[BRIGHAM’S KANYON.] - -We then struck into “City,” usually known as “Brigham’s” Kanyon, the -Prophet having a saw-mill upon the upper course. It is the normal deep -narrow gorge, with a beautiful little stream, which is drawn off by -raised water-courses at different altitudes to supply the settlement. -The banks are margined with dwarf oaks and willows; limestone, -sandstone, and granite, all of fine building quality, lie scattered -about in profusion, while high above rise the acclivities of the gash, -thinly sprinkled with sage and sunflower. Artemisia in this part -improves like the population in appearance, nor is it always a sign of -sterility; in parts wheat grows well where the shrub has been uprooted. -The road along the little torrent was excellent; it would have cost -$100,000 in Pennsylvania, but here much is done by tithe-work; -moreover, the respect for the Prophet is such that men would rather -work for him on credit than take pay from others. - -[UTAH LIBRARY.] - -Being in want of local literature, after vainly ransacking the few -book-stalls which the city contains, I went to the Public Library, -and, by sending in a card, at once obtained admission. As usual in -the Territories of the United States, this institution is supported -by the federal government, which, besides $1500 for books, gave $5000 -for the establishment, and $400 from the treasury of Utah is paid to -the Territorial librarian, Mr. John Lyon, who is also a poet. The -management is under the Secretary of the Territory, and the public -desire to see an extra grant of $500 per annum.[131] The volumes, about -1000 in number, are placed in a large room on the north side of the -“Mountaineer” office, and the librarian attends every Thursday, when -books are “loaned” to numerous applicants. The works are principally -those of reference, elementary, and intended for the general reader, -such as travels, popular histories, and novels. The “Woman in White” -had already found her way across the prairies, and she received the -honors and admiration which she deserved. - - [131] An Act in relation to Utah Library: - - Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Governor and Legislative Assembly of - the Territory of Utah, That a librarian shall be elected by a joint - vote of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah, whose duty - it shall be to take charge of the library (known in law as the Utah - Library), as hereinafter prescribed. - - Sec. 2. Said librarian shall hold his office during the term of two - years, or until his successor is appointed, and shall give bonds for - the faithful discharge of his duties in the sum of $6000, and file - the same in the office of Secretary of the Territory before entering - upon his duties, who may also appoint a deputy, as occasion requires, - to act in his stead, under the same restrictions as the principal - librarian. - - Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the librarian to cause to be printed, - at as early a date as practicable, a full and accurate catalogue of - all books, maps, globes, charts, papers, apparatus, and valuable - specimens in any way belonging to said library; also to use diligent - efforts to preserve from waste, loss, or damage, any portion of said - library. - - Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the librarian, for and in behalf of - the Territory of Utah, to plant suits, collect fines, prosecute, - or defend the interests of said library, or otherwise act as a - legal plaintiff or defendant in behalf of the Territory, where the - interests of the library are concerned. - - Sec. 5. The location of the library shall be at the seat of - government of the Territory of Utah, and it shall be the duty of the - librarian to have all the books of the library orderly and properly - arranged within the library-room, for the use of such officers and - persons as are named in the fourteenth section of the Organic Act - for Utah Territory, during each session of the Legislative Assembly - of Utah; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall - debar the librarian, in vacation of the Legislative Assembly, from - permitting books, maps, and papers being drawn from said library, - for professional and scientific purposes, by officers of the United - States and of Utah Territory, and other citizens of Utah, where the - librarian shall judge the public good may justify. - - Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the librarian to let out books for - a specified time, and call in the same when due, inflict fines for - damage or loss of books, and collect the same, and keep an accurate - account of all his official doings in a book kept for that purpose, - and make an annual report of the same to the Legislative Assembly of - Utah; provided that no fine shall be excessive, or more than four - times the purchase price of the book or books for the loss or damage - of which the fine may be inflicted. - - Sec. 7. The librarian is hereby entitled to draw from the treasury of - Utah for the current year as compensation for his services the sum of - $400, not otherwise appropriated; also the sum of $200 to defray the - expenses of stationery, printing catalogue, and other contingencies. - - Approved March 6, 1852. - -[HARROWGATE WATERS.] - -On the evening of the 30th of August, after dining with the governor, -I accompanied him to the Thermal Springs, one of the lions of the -place. We struck into the north road, and soon issued from the town. On -the right hand we passed a large tumble-down tenement which has seen -many vicissitudes. It began life as a bath-house and bathing-place, -to which the white sulphury waters of the Warm Springs,[132] issuing -from below Ensign Peak, were brought in pine-log pipes. It contained -also a ballroom, two parlors for clubs and supper-parties, and a double -kitchen. It afterward became a hotel and public house for emigrants -to California and Oregon. These, however, soon learned to prefer more -central quarters, and now it has subsided into a tannery of low degree. -About two and a half miles beyond the northern suburb are the Hot -Springs,[133] which issue from the western slope of the hills lying -behind Ensign Peak. A generous supply of water, gushing from the rock -into a basin below, drains off and forms a lakelet, varying according -to season from one to three miles in circumference. Where the water -first issues it will boil an egg; a little below it raises the mercury -to 128° F. Even at a distance from the source it preserves some heat, -and, accordingly, it is frequented throughout the winter by flights of -water-fowl and camping Indians, whose children sit in it to thaw their -half-frozen limbs. These springs, together with the fresh-water lake -and the Jordan, are held to be more purifying than Abana and Pharphar, -rivers of Damascus; and, being of the Harrowgate species, they will -doubtless be useful to the Valley people as soon as increased luxury -requires such appliances. When the wind sets in from the north, the -decided perfume of sulphureted hydrogen and saleratus is any thing but -eau de Cologne. An anti-Mormon writer, describing these springs and -other evidences of igneous and volcanic action, dwells with complacency -upon the probability that at some no distant time New Zion may find -herself in a quandary, and--like the Cities of the Plain, to which -she is thus insinuatingly compared--fuel for the flames. On our way -home the governor pointed out the remains of building and other works -upon a model farm, which had scarcely fared better than that of Niger -celebrity. The land around is hoar with salt, and bears nothing but -salsolæ and similar hopeless vegetation. - - [132] The following is the analysis of the warm spring by Dr. L. - D. Gale, printed by Captain Stansbury in Appendix F. It dates from - 1851, but apparently more detailed trials have not yet been made. One - hundred parts of the water (whose specific gravity was 1·0112) give - the following results: - - Sulphureted hydrogen absorbed in the water 0·037454 - „ „ combined with bases 0·000728 - Carbonate of lime precipitated by boiling 0·075000 - „ „ magnesia 0·022770 - Chloride of calcium 0·005700 - Sulphate of soda 0·064835 - Chloride of sodium 0·861600 - -------- - 1·023087 - - The usual temperature is laid down at 102° F. - - [133] The water of the Hot Springs was found to have the specific - gravity of 1·0130, and 100 parts yielded solid contents 1·1454. - - Chloride of sodium 0·8052 - „ magnesia 0·0288 - „ calcium 0·1096 - Sulphate of lime 0·0806 - Carbonate of lime 0·0180 - Silica 0·0180 - ------ - 1·0602 - - The usual temperature is laid down at 128° F. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -Second Week at Great Salt Lake City.--Visit to the Prophet. - - -[BRIGHAM YOUNG.] - -Shortly after arriving, I had mentioned to Governor Cumming my desire -to call upon Mr., or rather, as his official title is, President -Brigham Young, and he honored me by inquiring what time would be most -convenient to him. The following was the answer: the body was in the -handwriting of an amanuensis--similarly Mr. Joseph Smith was in the -habit of dictation--and the signature, which would form a fair subject -for a Warrenologist, was the Prophet’s autograph. - - “GOVERNOR A. CUMMING. - - “Great Salt Lake City, Aug. 30, 1860. - - “SIR,--In reply to your note of the 29th inst., I embrace the - earliest opportunity since my return to inform you that it will be - agreeable to me to meet the gentleman you mention in my office at 11 - A.M. to-morrow, the 31st. - - BRIGHAM YOUNG.” - -The “President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints all -over the World” is obliged to use caution in admitting strangers, -not only for personal safety, but also to defend his dignity from the -rude and unfeeling remarks of visitors, who seem to think themselves -entitled, in the case of a Mormon, to transgress every rule of civility. - -About noon, after a preliminary visit to Mr. Gilbert--and a visit -in these lands always entails a certain amount of “smiling”--I met -Governor Cumming in Main Street, and we proceeded together to our -visit. After a slight scrutiny we passed the guard--which is dressed in -plain clothes, and to the eye unarmed--and walking down the veranda, -entered the Prophet’s private office. Several people who were sitting -there rose at Mr. Cumming’s entrance. At a few words of introduction, -Mr. Brigham Young advanced, shook hands with complete simplicity of -manner, asked me to be seated on a sofa at one side of the room, and -presented me to those present. - -Under ordinary circumstances it would be unfair in a visitor to draw -the portrait of one visited. But this is no common case. I have -violated no rites of hospitality. Mr. Brigham Young is a “seer, -revelator, and prophet, having all the gifts of God which he bestows -upon the Head of the Church:” his memoirs, lithographs, photographs, -and portraits have been published again and again; I add but one more -likeness; and, finally, I have nothing to say except in his favor. - -The Prophet was born at Whittingham, Vermont, on the 1st of June, -1801; he was consequently, in 1860, fifty-nine years of age; he looks -about forty-five. _La célébrité vieillit_--I had expected to see a -venerable-looking old man. Scarcely a gray thread appears in his hair, -which is parted on the side, light colored, rather thick, and reaches -below the ears with a half curl. He formerly wore it long, after the -Western style; now it is cut level with the ear-lobes. The forehead is -somewhat narrow, the eyebrows are thin, the eyes between gray and blue, -with a calm, composed, and somewhat reserved expression: a slight droop -in the left lid made me think that he had suffered from paralysis; I -afterward heard that the ptosis is the result of a neuralgia which has -long tormented him. For this reason he usually covers his head, except -in his own house or in the Tabernacle. Mrs. Ward, who is followed by -the “Revue des Deux-Mondes,” therefore errs again in asserting that -“his Mormon majesty never removes his hat in public.” The nose, which -is fine and somewhat sharp-pointed, is bent a little to the left. The -lips are close like the New Englander’s, and the teeth, especially -those of the under jaw, are imperfect. The cheeks are rather fleshy, -and the line between the alæ of the nose and the mouth is broken; -the chin is somewhat peaked, and the face clean shaven, except under -the jaws, where the beard is allowed to grow. The hands are well -made, and not disfigured by rings. The figure is somewhat large, -broad-shouldered, and stooping a little when standing. - -The Prophet’s dress was neat and plain as a Quaker’s, all gray homespun -except the cravat and waistcoat. His coat was of antique cut, and, -like the pantaloons, baggy, and the buttons were black. A neck-tie of -dark silk, with a large bow, was loosely passed round a starchless -collar, which turned down of its own accord. The waistcoat was of black -satin--once an article of almost national dress--single-breasted, and -buttoned nearly to the neck, and a plain gold chain was passed into the -pocket. The boots were Wellingtons, apparently of American make. - -[“BRIGHAM.”] - -Altogether the Prophet’s appearance was that of a gentleman -farmer in New England--in fact, such as he is: his father was an -agriculturist and revolutionary soldier, who settled “down East.” He -is a well-preserved man; a fact which some attribute to his habit of -sleeping, as the Citizen Proudhon so strongly advises, in solitude. His -manner is at once affable and impressive, simple and courteous: his -want of pretension contrasts favorably with certain pseudo-prophets -that I have seen, each and every of whom holds himself to be a “Logos” -without other claim save a semi-maniacal self-esteem. He shows no signs -of dogmatism, bigotry, or fanaticism, and never once entered--with -me at least--upon the subject of religion. He impresses a stranger -with a certain sense of power; his followers are, of course, wholly -fascinated by his superior strength of brain. It is commonly said there -is only one chief in Great Salt Lake City, and that is “Brigham.” -His temper is even and placid; his manner is cold--in fact, like his -face, somewhat bloodless; but he is neither morose nor methodistic, -and, where occasion requires, he can use all the weapons of ridicule -to direful effect, and “speak a bit of his mind” in a style which -no one forgets. He often reproves his erring followers in purposely -violent language, making the terrors of a scolding the punishment in -lieu of hanging for a stolen horse or cow. His powers of observation -are intuitively strong, and his friends declare him to be gifted -with an excellent memory and a perfect judgment of character. If he -dislikes a stranger at the first interview, he never sees him again. -Of his temperance and sobriety there is but one opinion. His life is -ascetic: his favorite food is baked potatoes with a little buttermilk, -and his drink water: he disapproves, as do all strict Mormons, of -spirituous liquors, and never touches any thing stronger than a glass -of thin Lager-bier; moreover, he abstains from tobacco. Mr. Hyde has -accused him of habitual intemperance: he is, as his appearance shows, -rather disposed to abstinence than to the reverse. Of his education -I can not speak: “men, not books--deeds, not words,” has ever been -his motto; he probably has, as Mr. Randolph said of Mr. Johnston, “a -mind uncorrupted by books.” In the only discourse which I heard him -deliver, he pronounced impětus, impētus. Yet he converses with ease -and correctness, has neither snuffle nor pompousness, and speaks -as an authority upon certain subjects, such as agriculture and -stock-breeding. He assumes no airs of extra sanctimoniousness, and has -the plain, simple manners of honesty. His followers deem him an angel -of light, his foes a goblin damned: he is, I presume, neither one nor -the other. I can not 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 ciel des accommodements.” - -He has been called hypocrite, swindler, forger, murderer. No one looks -it less. The best authorities--from those who accuse Mr. Joseph Smith -of the most heartless deception, to those who believe that he began -as an impostor and ended as a prophet--find in Mr. Brigham Young “an -earnest, obstinate egotistic enthusiasm, fanned by persecution and -inflamed by bloodshed.” He is the St. Paul of the New Dispensation: -true and sincere, he gave point, and energy, and consistency to the -somewhat disjointed, turbulent, and unforeseeing fanaticism of Mr. -Joseph Smith; and if he has not been able to create, he has shown -himself great in controlling circumstances. Finally, there is a total -absence of pretension in his manner, and he has been so long used to -power that he cares nothing for its display. The arts by which he rules -the heterogeneous mass of conflicting elements are indomitable will, -profound secrecy, and uncommon astuteness. - -Such is His Excellency President Brigham Young, “painter and -glazier”--his earliest craft--prophet, revelator, translator, and seer; -the man who is revered as king or kaiser, pope or pontiff never was; -who, like the Old Man of the Mountain, by holding up his hand could -cause the death of any one within his reach; who, governing as well as -reigning, long stood up to fight with the sword of the Lord, and with -his few hundred guerrillas, against the then mighty power of the United -States; who has outwitted all diplomacy opposed to him; and, finally, -who made a treaty of peace with the President of the Great Republic as -though he had wielded the combined power of France, Russia, and England. - -Remembering the frequent query, “What shall be done with the Mormons?” -I often asked the Saints, Who will or can succeed Mr. Brigham Young? No -one knows, and no one cares. They reply, with a singular disdain for -the usual course of history, with a perfect faith that their Cromwell -will know no Richard as his successor, that, as when the crisis came -the Lord raised up in him, then unknown and little valued, a fitting -successor to Mr. Joseph Smith--of whom, by-the-by, they now speak -with a respectful reverential _sotto voce_, as Christians name the -Founder of their faith--so, when the time for deciding the succession -shall arrive, the chosen Saints will not be left without a suitable -theocrat to exalt the people Israel. The Prophet professes, I believe, -to hold office in a kind of spiritual allegiance to the Smith family, -of which the eldest son, Mr. Joseph Smith, the third of that dynasty, -has of late years, though blessed by his father, created a schism in -the religion. By the persuasions of his mother, who, after the first -Prophet’s death, gave him a Gentile stepfather, he has abjured polygamy -and settled in the Mansion House at Nauvoo. The Mormons, though ready -to receive back the family at Great Salt Lake City when manifested by -the Lord, hardly look to him as their future chief. They all, however, -and none more than Mr. Brigham Young, show the best of feeling toward -the descendants of their founder, and expect much from David Smith, -the second and posthumous son of him martyred at Carthage. He was -called David, and choicely blessed before his birth by his father, who -prophesied that the Lord will see to his children. Moreover, all speak -in the highest terms of Mr. Joseph A. Young, the dweller at the White -House, the eldest son of the ex-governor, who traveled in Europe and -England, and distinguished himself in opposition to the federal troops. - -[“SQUIRE WELLS.”--HEBER C. KIMBALL.] - -After finishing with the “Lion of the Lord,” I proceeded to observe his -companions. By my side was seated Daniel H., whose title is “General,” -Wells, the Superintendent of Public Works, and the commander of the -Nauvoo Legion. He is the third President of the Mormon triumvirate, and -having been a justice of the peace and an alderman in Illinois, when -the Mormons dwelt there in 1839, he is usually known as Squire Wells: -he became a Saint when the Mormons were driven from Nauvoo in 1846, and -took their part in battles against the mob. In appearance he is a tall, -large, bony, rufous man, and his conduct of the affair in 1857-’8 is -spoken of with admiration by Mormons. The second of the Presidency, Mr. -Heber C. Kimball, was not present at that time, but on another occasion -he was: Mr. Brigham Young introduced me to him, remarking, with a quiet -and peculiar smile, that during his friend’s last visit to England, at -a meeting of the Methodists, one of the reverends attempted to pull -his chair from under him; at which reminiscence the person alluded to -looked uncommonly grim. Mr. Kimball was born in the same year as Mr. -Brigham Young, and was first baptized in 1832: he is a devoted follower -of the Prophet, a very Jonathan to this David, a Umar to the New Islam. -He is a large and powerful man, not unlike a blacksmith, which I -believe he was, and is now the owner of a fine block, with houses and -barns, garden and orchard, north of and adjoining that of Mr. Brigham -Young. The third person present was the apostle Mr. George A. Smith, -the historian and recorder of the Territory, and a cousin of the first -Prophet: he is a walking almanac of Mormon events, and is still full -of fight, strongly in favor of rubbing out the “wretched Irishmen and -Dutchmen sent from the East to try whether the Mormons would receive -federal officers.” Mr. Willford Woodruff, like Mr. Smith, one of -the original apostles, has visited England as a missionary, appeared -before the public as polemic and controversialist, and has now settled -down as an apostle at Great Salt Lake City. Mr. Albert O. Carrington, -a graduate of Dartmouth College, had acted as second assistant on -the topographical survey to Captain Stansbury, who speaks of him as -follows: “Being a gentleman of liberal education, he soon acquired, -under instruction, the requisite skill, and by his zeal, industry, and -practical good sense materially aided us in our subsequent operations. -He continued with the party till the termination of the survey, -accompanied it to the city (Washington), and has since returned to -his mountain home, carrying with him the respect and good wishes of -all with whom he was associated.” Of Mr. F. Little, who completed the -_septem contra Christianitatem_ then present, I shall have more to say -in a future chapter. - -The Prophet received us in his private office, where he transacts the -greater part of his business, corrects his sermons, and conducts his -correspondence. It is a plain, neat room, with the usual conveniences, -a large writing-desk and money-safe, table, sofas, and chairs, all made -by the able mechanics of the settlement. I remarked a pistol and a -rifle hung within ready reach on the right-hand wall; one of these is, -I was told, a newly-invented twelve-shooter. There was a look of order, -which suited the character of the man: it is said that a door badly -hinged, or a curtain hung awry, “puts his eye out.” His style of doing -business at the desk or in the field--for the Prophet does not disdain -handiwork--is to issue distinct, copious, and intelligible directions -to his _employés_, after which he dislikes referring to the subject. It -is typical of his mode of acting, slow, deliberate, and conclusive. He -has the reputation of being wealthy. He rose to power a poor man. The -Gentiles naturally declare that he enriched himself by the tithes and -plunder of his followers, and especially by preying upon and robbing -the Gentiles. I believe, however, that no one pays Church-dues and alms -with more punctuality than the Prophet, and that he has far too many -opportunities of coining money, safely and honestly, to be guilty, like -some desperate destitute, of the short-sighted folly of fraud. In 1859 -he owned, it is said, to being possessed of $250,000, equal to £50,000, -which makes a millionaire in these mountains--it is too large a sum -to jeopardize. His fortunes were principally made in business: like -the late Imaum of Muscat, he is the chief merchant as well as the high -priest. He sends long trains of wagons freighted with various goods to -the Eastern States, and supplies caravans and settlements with grain -and provisions. From the lumber which he sold to the federal troops for -hutting themselves at Camp Floyd, he is supposed to have netted not -less than $200,000. This is one of the sorest points with the army: -all declare that the Mormons would have been in rags or sackcloth if -soldiers had not been sent; and they naturally grudge discomfort, -hardship, and expatriation, whose only effect has been to benefit their -enemies. - -[“LEMUEL.”--SLAVERY.] - -After the few first words of greeting, I interpreted the Prophet’s look -to mean that he would not dislike to know my object in the City of -the Saints. I told him that, having read and heard much about Utah as -it is said to be, I was anxious to see Utah as it is. He then entered -briefly upon the subjects of stock and agriculture, and described the -several varieties of soil. One delicate topic was touched upon: he -alluded to the “Indian wars,” as they are here called: he declared that -when twenty are reported killed and wounded, that two or three would be -nearer the truth, and that he could do more with a few pounds of flour -and yards of cloth than all the sabres of the camp could effect. The -sentiment was cordially seconded by all present. The Israelitic origin -of “Lemuel,” and perhaps the prophecy that “many generations shall -not pass away among them save they shall be a white and delightsome -people,”[134] though untenable as an ethnologic theory, has in practice -worked at least this much of good, that the Mormons treat their -step-brethren with far more humanity than other Western men: they -feed, clothe, and lodge them, and attach them by good works to their -interests. Slavery has been legalized in Utah, but solely for the -purpose of inducing the Saints to buy children, who otherwise would be -abandoned or destroyed by their starving parents.[135] During my stay -in the city I did not see more than half a dozen negroes; and climate, -which, disdaining man’s interference, draws with unerring hand the true -and only compromise line between white and black labor, has irrevocably -decided that the African in these latitudes is valueless as a chattel, -because his keep costs more than his work returns. The negro, however, -is not admitted to the communion of Saints--rather a hard case for the -Hamite, if it be true that salvation is nowhere to be found beyond the -pale of the Mormon Church--and there are severe penalties for mixing -the blood of Shem and Japhet with the accursed race of Cain and Canaan. -The humanity of the Prophet’s followers to the Lamanite has been -distorted by Gentiles into a deep and dangerous project for “training -the Indians” to assassinate individual enemies, and, if necessary, to -act as guerrillas against the Eastern invaders. That the Yutas--they -divide the white world into two great classes, Mormon and Shwop, or -American generally--would, in case of war, “stand by” their patrons, I -do not doubt; but this would only be the effect of kindness, which it -is unfair to attribute to no worthier cause. - - [134] Second Book of Nephi, chap. xii., par. 12. Lemuel was the - brother of Nephi; and the word is used by autonomasia for the - Lamanites or Indians. - - [135] The wording of the following act shows the spirit in which - slavery was proposed: - - A PREAMBLE AND AN ACT FOR THE FARTHER RELIEF OF INDIAN SLAVES AND - PRISONERS. - - “Whereas, by reason of the acquisition of Upper California and - New Mexico, and the subsequent organization of the Territorial - Governments of New Mexico and Utah by the acts of the Congress of - the United States, these territories have organized governments - within and upon what would otherwise be considered Indian territory, - and which really is Indian territory so far as the right of soil is - involved, thereby presenting the novel feature of a white legalized - government on Indian lands; and - - “Whereas the laws of the United States in relation to intercourse - with Indians are designed for, and only applicable to, territories - and countries under the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the United - States; and - - “Whereas, from time immemorial, the practice of purchasing Indian - women and children of the Utah tribe of Indians by Mexican traders - has been indulged in and carried on by those respective people until - the Indians consider it an allowable traffic, and frequently offer - their prisoners or children for sale; and - - “Whereas it is a common practice among these Indians to gamble away - their own children and women; and it is a well-established fact that - women and children thus obtained, or obtained by war, or theft, or - in any other manner, are by them frequently carried from place to - place, packed upon horses or mules, larieted out to subsist upon - grass, roots, or starve, and are frequently bound with thongs made - of raw-hide until their hands and feet become swollen, mutilated, - inflamed with pain, and wounded; and when with suffering, cold, - hunger, and abuse they fall sick, so as to become troublesome, are - frequently slain by their masters to get rid of them; and - - “Whereas they do frequently kill their women and children taken - prisoners, either in revenge, or for amusement, or through the - influence of tradition, unless they are tempted to exchange them for - trade, which they usually do if they have an opportunity; and - - “Whereas one family frequently steals the children and women of - another family, and such robberies and murders are continually - committed, in times of their greatest peace and amity, thus dragging - free Indian women and children into Mexican servitude and slavery, or - death, to the almost entire extirpation of the whole Indian race; and - - “Whereas these inhuman practices are being daily enacted before our - eyes in the midst of the white settlements, and within the organized - counties of the Territory; and when the inhabitants do not purchase - or trade for those so offered for sale, they are generally doomed to - the most miserable existence, suffering the tortures of every species - of cruelty, until death kindly relieves them and closes the revolting - scenery: - - “Wherefore, when all these facts are taken into consideration, it - becomes the duty of all humane and Christian people to extend unto - this degraded and downtrodden race such relief as can be awarded to - them, according to their situation and circumstances; it therefore - becomes necessary to consider, - - “First, the circumstances of our location among these savage tribes - under the authority of Congress, while yet the Indian title to the - soil is left unextinguished; not even a treaty having been held, by - which a partition of territory or country has been made, thereby - bringing them into our door-yards, our houses, and in contact with - our every avocation. - - “Second, their situation, and our duty toward them, upon the common - principles of humanity. - - “Third, the remedy, or what will be the most conducive to ameliorate - their condition, preserve their lives and their liberties, and redeem - them from a worse than African bondage; it suggests itself to your - committee that to memorialize Congress to provide by some act of - national legislation for the new and unparalleled situation of the - inhabitants of this Territory, in relation to their intercourse with - these Indians, would be one resource, prolific in its results for our - mutual benefit; and, farther, that we ask their concurrence in the - following enactment, passed by the Legislature of the Territory of - Utah, January 31, A.D. 1852, entitled, - - “‘_An Act for the Relief of Indian Slaves and Prisoners_. - - “‘Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Governor and Legislative Assembly of - the Territory of Utah, That whenever any white person within any - organized county of this Territory shall have any Indian prisoner, - child, or woman, in his possession, whether by purchase or otherwise, - such person shall immediately go, together with such Indian prisoner, - child, or woman, before the selectmen or probate judge of the county. - If, in the opinion of the selectmen or probate judge, the person - having such Indian prisoner, child, or woman, is a suitable person, - and properly qualified to raise or retain and educate said Indian - prisoner, child, or woman, it shall be his or their duty to bind out - the same, by indenture, for the term of not exceeding twenty years, - at the discretion of the judge or selectmen. - - “‘Sec. 2. The probate judge or selectmen shall cause to be written in - the indenture the name and age, place where born, name of parents if - known, tribe to which said Indian person belonged, name of the person - having him in possession, name of Indian from whom said person was - obtained, date of the indenture--a copy of which shall be filed in - the probate clerk’s office. - - “‘Sec. 3. The selectmen in their respective counties are hereby - authorized to obtain such Indian prisoners, children, or women, and - bind them to some useful avocation. - - “‘Sec. 4. The master to whom the indenture is made is hereby required - to send said apprentice to school, if there be a school in the - district or vicinity, for the term of three months in each year, at a - time when said Indian child shall be between the ages of seven years - and sixteen. The master shall clothe his apprentice in a comfortable - and becoming manner, according to his said master’s condition in life. - - “‘Approved March 7, 1852.’” - -The conversation, which lasted about an hour, ended by the Prophet -asking me the line of my last African exploration, and whether it was -the same country traversed by Dr. Livingstone. I replied that it was -about ten degrees north of the Zambezi. Mr. A. Carrington rose to point -out the place upon a map which hung against the wall, and placed his -finger too near the equator, when Mr. Brigham Young said, “A little -lower down.” There are many educated men in England who could not -have corrected the mistake as well: witness the “London Review,” in -which the gentleman who “does the geography”--not having the fear of a -certain society in Whitehall Place before his eyes--confounds, in all -the pomp of criticism upon the said exploration, lakes which are not -less than 200 miles apart. - -[THE PROPHET NO COMMON MAN.] - -When conversation began to flag, we rose up, shook hands, as is the -custom here, all round, and took leave. The first impression left upon -my mind by this short _séance_, and it was subsequently confirmed, -was, that the Prophet is no common man, and that he has none of the -weakness and vanity which characterize the common uncommon man. A -desultory conversation can not be expected to draw out a master -spirit, but a truly distinguished character exercises most often an -instinctive--some would call it a mesmeric--effect upon those who come -in contact with it; and as we hate or despise at first sight, and -love or like at first sight, so Nature teaches us at first sight what -to respect. It is observable that, although every Gentile writer has -represented Mr. Joseph Smith as a heartless impostor, few have ventured -to apply the term to Mr. Brigham Young. I also remarked an instance -of the veneration shown by his followers, whose affection for him is -equaled only by the confidence with which they intrust to him their -dearest interests in this world and in the next. After my visit many -congratulated me, as would the followers of the Tien Wong, or heavenly -King, upon having at last seen what they consider “a per se” the most -remarkable man in the world. - -Before leaving the Prophet’s Block I will describe the rest of -the building. The grounds are surrounded by a high wall of large -pebble-like stones and mortar--the lime now used is very bad--and -strengthened with semicircular buttresses. The main entrance faces -south, with posts and chains before it for tethering horses. The “Lion -House,” occupied by Mrs. Young and her family, is in the eastern -part of the square: it is so called from a stone lion placed over -the large pillared portico, the work of a Mr. William Ward, who also -cut the block of white limestone, with “Deserét” beneath a bee-hive, -and other symbols, forwarded for the Washington Monument in 1853. -It is lamentable to state that the sculptor is now an apostate. The -house resembles a two-storied East Indian tenement, with balcony and -balustrade, here called an observatory, and is remarkable by its -chunamed coat; it cost $65,000--being the best in the city, and was -finished in one year. Before building it the Prophet lived in the White -House, a humbler bungalow farther to the east; he has now given it up -to his son, Joseph A. Young. - -On the west of the Lion House lies the private office in which we -were received, and farther westward, but adjoining and connected by a -passage, is the public office, where the Church and other business is -transacted. This room, which is larger than the former, has three desks -on each side, the left on entering being those of the public, and the -right those of the private clerks. The chief accountant is Mr. Daniel -O’Calder, a Scotchman, whose sagacity in business makes him an _alter -ego_ of the President. At the end opposite the door there is a larger -_pupitre_ railed off, and a gallery runs round the upper wall. The -bookcases are of the yellow box-elder wood, which takes a fine polish; -and all is neat, clean, and business-like. - -Westward of the public office is the Bee House, so named from the -sculptured bee-hive in front of it. The Hymenopter is the Mormon -symbol of industry; moreover, Deserét (pronounced Des-erétt) is, in -“reformed Egyptian,” the honey-bee; the term is applied with a certain -violence to Utah, where, as yet, that industrious insect is an utter -stranger.[136] The Bee House is a large building, with the long walls -facing east and west. It is double storied, with the lower windows, -which are barred, oblong: the upper, ten in number, are narrow, and -shaded by a small acute ogive or gable over each. The color of the -building is a yellowish-white, which contrasts well with the green -blinds, and the roof, which is acute, is tiled with shingles. It was -finished in 1845, and is tenanted by the “plurality wives” and their -families, who each have a bedroom, sitting-room, and closet simply and -similarly furnished. There is a Moslem air of retirement about the -Bee House; the face of woman is rarely seen at the window, and her -voice is never heard from without. Anti-Mormons declare it to be, like -the state-prison at Auburn, a self-supporting establishment, for not -even the wives of the Prophet are allowed to live in idleness. - - [136] “And they (_scil._ Jared and his brother) did also carry with - them Deserét, which by interpretation is a honey-bee; and they did - carry with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon - the face of the land, seeds of every kind.”--_Book of Ether_, chap. - i., par. 3. - -[Illustration: THE PROPHET’S BLOCK.] - -[THE PROPHET’S PROGENY.] - -I was unwilling to add to the number of those who had annoyed the -Prophet by domestic allusions, and therefore have no direct knowledge -of the extent to which he carries polygamy; some Gentiles allow him -seventeen, others thirty-six, out of a household of seventy members; -others an indefinite number of wives scattered through the different -settlements. Of these, doubtless, many are but wives by name, such, -for instance, as the widows of the late Prophet; and others are -married more for the purpose of building up for themselves spiritual -kingdoms than for the normal purpose of matrimony. When treating of -Mormon polygamy I shall attempt to show that the relation between the -sexes as lately regulated by the Mormon faith necessitates polygamy. I -should judge the Prophet’s progeny to be numerous from the following -circumstance: On one occasion, when standing with him on the belvidere, -my eye fell upon a new erection: it could be compared externally to -nothing but an English gentleman’s hunting stables, with their little -clock-tower, and I asked him what it was intended for. “A private -school for my children,” he replied, “directed by Brother E. B. -Kelsey.” The harem is said to have cost $30,000. - -[TITHES.] - -On the extreme west of this block, backed by a pound for estrays, -which is no longer used, lies the Tithing House and Deserét Store, -a long, narrow, upper-storied building, with cellars, store-rooms, -receiving-rooms, pay-rooms, and writing offices. At this time of the -year it chiefly contains linseed, and rags for paper-making; after -the harvest it is well stuffed with grains and cereals, which are -taken instead of money payment. There is nothing more unpopular among -the American Gentiles, or, indeed, more unintelligible to them, than -these Mosaic tithes, which the English converts pay, from habit, -without a murmur. They serve for scandalous insinuations, viz., that -the chiefs are leeches that draw the people’s golden blood; that the -imposts are compulsory, and that they are embezzled and peculated by -the principal dignitaries. I have reason to believe that the contrary -is the case. The tithes which are paid into the “Treasury of the Lord” -upon the property of a Saint on profession, and afterward upon his -annual income, or his time, or by substitute, are wholly voluntary. -It sometimes happens that a man casts his all into the bosom of the -Church; in this case the all is not refused, but--may I ask--by what -Church body, Islamitic, Christian, or pagan, would it be? If the -Prophet takes any thing from the Tithing House, he pays for it like -other men. The writers receive stipends like other writers, and no -more; of course, if any one--clerk or lawyer--wishes to do the business -of the Church gratis, he is graciously permitted; and where, I repeat, -would he not be? The Latter-Day Saints declare that if their first -Presidency and Twelve Apostles--of whom some, by-the-by, are poor--grow -rich, it is by due benevolence, not by force or fraud. Much like the -primitive college, and most unlike their successors in this modern -day, each apostle must have some craft, and all live by handiwork, -either in house, shop, or field, no drones being allowed in the social -hive. The tithes are devoted in part to Church works, especially to -“building up temples or otherwise beautifying and adorning Zion, as -they may be directed from on high,” and in part to the prosperity of -the body politic, temporal, and spiritual; by aiding faithful and needy -emigrants, and by supporting old and needy Saints. Perhaps the only -true charge brought by the Gentiles against this, and, indeed, against -all the public funds in the Mormon City, is, that a large portion -finds its way eastward, and is expended in “outside influence,” or, -to speak plain English, bribes. It is believed by Mormons as well as -Gentiles that Mr. Brigham Young has in the States newspaper spies and -influential political friends, who are attached to him not only by the -ties of business and the natural respect felt for a wealthy man, but -by the strong bond of a regular stipend. And such is their reliance -upon this political dodgery--which, if it really exists, is by no means -honorable to the public morality of the Gentiles--that they deride the -idea of a combined movement from Washington ever being made against -them. In 1860 Governor Cumming proposed to tax the tithing fund; but -the Saints replied that, as property is first taxed and then tithed, by -such proceeding it would be twice taxed. - -“This people”--a term reiterated at Great Salt Lake City _usque ad -nauseam_--declares its belief “in being subject to kings, queen, -presidents, rulers, and magistrates; in obeying, honoring, and -sustaining the law.” They are not backward in open acts of loyalty--I -beg America’s pardon--of adhesion to the Union, such as supplying -stones for the Washington Monument and soldiers for the Mexican -War. But they make scant pretension of patriotism. They regard the -States pretty much as the States regarded England after the War -of Independence, and hate them as the Mexican Criollo does the -Gachupin--very much also for the same reason. Theirs is a deep and -abiding resentment, which time will strengthen, not efface: the -deeds of Missouri and Illinois will bear fruit for many and many -a generation. The federal government, they say, has, so far from -protecting their lives and property, left them to be burned out and -driven away by the hands of a mob, far more cruel than the “red-coated -minions” of poor King George; that Generals Harney and Johnston were -only seeking the opportunity to act Burgoyne and Cornwallis. But, -more galling still to human nature, whether of saint or sinner, they -are despised, “treated, in fact, as nobodies”--and that last of -insults who can bear? Their petitions to become a sovereign state have -been unanswered and ignored. They have been served with “small-fry” -politicians and “one-horse” officials: hitherto the phrase has been, -“Any thing is good enough for Utah!” They return the treatment in kind. - -[NEW INDEPENDENCE DAY.] - -“The Old Independence,” the “glorious” 4th of July, ’76, is treated -with silent contempt: its honors are transferred to the 24th of July, -the local Independence Day of their _annus mirabilis_ 1847, when the -weary pioneers, preceding a multitude, which, like the Pilgrim fathers -of New England, left country and home for conscience’ sake, and, led -by Captain John Brown, whose unerring rifle saved them from starvation -when the Indians had stampeded their horses, arrived in the wild waste -of valley. Their form of government, which I can describe only as -a democratic despotism with a leaven of the true Mosaic theocracy, -enables them to despise a political system in which they say--quoting -Hamilton--that “every vital interest of the state is merged in the -all-absorbing question of ‘who shall be the next president.’” There is -only one “Yankee gridiron” in the town, and that is a private concern. -I do not remember ever seeing a liberty-pole, that emblem of a tyrant -majority, which has been bowed to from New York to the Rhine.[137] -A favorite toast on public occasions is, “We can rock the cradle of -Liberty without Uncle Sam to help us,” and so forth. These sentiments -show how the wind sets. In two generations hence--perhaps New Zion has -a prophet-making air--the Mormons in their present position will, on -their own ground, be more than a match for the Atlantic, and, combined -with the Chinese, will be dangerous to the Pacific States. - - [137] The first liberty-pole was erected on the open space between - the Court-house and Broadway, New York. It is a long flag-staff, - often of several pieces, like the “mast of some tall ammiral,” - surmounted by a liberty-cap, that Phrygian or Mithridatic coiffure - with which the Goddess of Liberty is supposed to disfigure herself. - With a peculiar inconsequence, “the whole is” said to be “an allusion - to Gesler’s cap which Tell refused to do homage to, leading to the - freedom of Switzerland.”--_Bartlett._ The French soon made of their - _peuplier_ a _peuple lié_. The Americans, curious to say, still - believe in it. - -The Mormons, if they are any thing in secular politics, are Democrats. -It has not been judged advisable to cast off the last rags of popular -government, but, as will presently appear, theocracy is not much -disguised by them. Although not of the black or extreme category, they -instinctively feel that polygamy and slavery are sister institutions, -claiming that sort of kindness which arises from fellow-feeling, and -that Congress can not attack one without infringing upon the other. -Here, perhaps, they may be mistaken, for nations, like individuals, -however warmly and affectionately they love their own peculiar follies -and prejudices, sins and crimes, are not the less, indeed perhaps they -are rather more, disposed to abominate the follies and prejudices, -the sins and crimes of others. The establishment of slavery, however, -though here it serves a humanitarian rather than a private end, -necessarily draws the Mormons and the Southern States together. Yet the -Saints preferred as President the late Mr. Senator Douglas, a Northern -Democrat, to his Southern rival, Mr. Breckinridge. They looked with -apprehension of the rise to power of the Republican party, which, had -not a weightier matter fallen into their hands, was pledged to do them -a harm. I can not but think that absolute independence is and will be, -until attained, the principal end and aim of Mormon _haute politique_, -and when the disruption of the Great Republic shall have become a _fait -accompli_, that Deserét will arise a free, sovereign, and independent -state. - -[MORALS.--ARDENT SPIRITS.] - -Should this event ever happen, it will make the regions about Great -Salt Lake as exclusive as Northern China or Eastern Tibet. The obsolete -rigors of the sanguinary Mosaic code will be renewed in the middle -of the nineteenth century, while the statute-crime “bigamy” and -unlimited polygamy will be legalized. Stripes, or, at best, fine and -imprisonment, will punish fornication, and the penalty of adultery will -be death by lapidation or beheading. As it is, even under the shadow of -the federal laws, the self-convicted breaker of the seventh commandment -will, it is said, offer up his life in expiation of his crime to the -Prophet, who, under present circumstances, dismisses him with a penance -that may end in the death which he has legally incurred. The offenses -against chastity, morality, and decency are exceptionally severe.[138] -The penalty attached to betting of any kind is a fine not exceeding -$300, or imprisonment not exceeding six months. The importation of -spirituous liquors is already burdened with an octroi of half its -price, raising cognac and whisky to $12 and $8 per gallon. If the state -could make her own laws, she would banish “poteen,” hunt down the -stills, and impose a prohibitory duty upon every thing stronger than -Lager-bier.[139] - - [138] Sec. 32 (of an “Act in relation to Crimes and Punishment”). - Every person who commits the crime of adultery shall be punished by - imprisonment not exceeding twenty years, and not less than three - years; or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and not less - than three hundred dollars; or by both fine and imprisonment, at the - discretion of the court. And when the crime is committed between - parties any one of whom is married, both are guilty of adultery, and - shall be punished accordingly. No prosecution for adultery can be - commenced but on the complaint of the husband or wife. - - Sec. 33. If any man or woman, not being married to each other, lewdly - and lasciviously associate and cohabit together; or if any man or - woman, married or unmarried, is guilty of open and gross lewdness, - and designedly make any open and indecent, or obscene exposure of - his or her person, or of the person of another, every such person so - offending shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding ten years, - and not less than six months, and fine not more than one thousand - dollars, and not less than one hundred dollars, or both, at the - discretion of the court. - - Sec. 34. If any person keep a house of ill-fame, resorted to for - the purpose of prostitution or lewdness, he shall be punished by - imprisonment not exceeding ten years, and not less than one year, - or by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or both fine and - imprisonment. And any person who, after being once convicted of such - offense, is again convicted of the like offense, shall be punished - not more than double the above specified penalties. - - Sec. 35. If any person inveigle or entice any female, before reputed - virtuous, to a house of ill-fame, or knowingly conceal, aid, or abet - in concealing such female so deluded or enticed, for the purpose of - prostitution or lewdness, he shall be punished by imprisonment not - more than fifteen years, nor less than five years. - - Sec. 36. If any person without lawful authority willfully dig up, - disinter, remove, or carry any human body, or the remains thereof, - from its place of interment, or aid or assist in so doing, or - willfully receive, conceal, or dispose of any such human body, or the - remains thereof; or if any person willfully or unnecessarily, and in - an improper manner, indecently exposes those remains, or abandons - any human body, or the remains thereof, in any public place, or in - any river, stream, pond, or other place, every such offender shall - be punished by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by fine not - exceeding one thousand dollars, or by both fine and imprisonment, at - the discretion of the court. - - Sec. 37. If any person torture or cruelly beat any horse, ox, or - other beast, whether belonging to himself or another, he shall be - punished by fine not more than one hundred dollars. - - Sec. 38. If any person import, print, publish, sell, or distribute - any book, pamphlet, ballad, or any printed paper containing obscene - language, or obscene prints, pictures, or descriptions manifestly - tending to corrupt the morals of youth, or introduce into any family, - school, or place of education, or buy, procure, receive, or have - in his possession any such book, pamphlet, ballad, printed paper, - picture, or description, either for the purpose of loan, sale, - exhibition, or circulation, or with intent to introduce the same into - any family, school, or place of education, he shall be punished by - fine not exceeding four hundred dollars. - - Sec. 39. If any person keep a house, shop, or place resorted to for - the purpose of gambling, or permit or suffer any person in any house, - shop, or other place under his control or care to play at cards, - dice, faro, roulette, or other game for money or other things, such - offender shall be fined not more than eight hundred dollars, or - imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of - the court. In a prosecution under this section, any person who has - the charge of, or attends to any such house, shop, or place, may be - deemed the keeper thereof. - - [139] I quote as an authority, - - _An Ordinance regulating the Manufacturing and Vending of Ardent - Spirits_. - - Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the General Assembly of the State of - Deserét, That it shall not be lawful for any person or persons in - this state to establish any distillery or distilleries for the - manufacture of ardent spirits except as hereafter provided for; - and any person or persons who shall violate this ordinance, on - conviction thereof, shall forfeit all property thus invested to the - state, and be liable to a fine at the discretion of the court having - jurisdiction. - - Sec. 2. Be it farther ordained, That when the governor shall deem it - expedient to have ardent spirits manufactured within this state, he - may grant a license to some person or persons to make and vend the - same, and impose such restrictions thereon as he may deem requisite. - - Approved Feb. 12, 1851. - -[JUDGE PHELPS.] - -On the saddest day of the year for the bird which has lost so much good -fame by condescending to appear at table _aux choux_, I proceeded with -my _fidus Achates_--save the self-comparison to pious Æneas--on a visit -to Mr. W. W., alias Judge Phelps, alias “the Devil.” He received me -with great civility, and entered without reserve upon his hobbies. His -house, which lies west of Temple Block, bears on the weathercock הננו -(Job, xxxviii., 35, “Adsumus:” “Here we are”). Besides Hebrew and other -linguistic studies, the judge is a meteorologist, and has been engaged -for some years in observations upon the climate of the Territory. An -old editor at Independence, he now superintends the Utah Almanac, and -gave me a copy for the year 1860, “being the 31st year of the Church of -Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.” It is a small duodecimo, creditably -printed by Mr. J. M‘Knight, Utah, and contains thirty-two pages. The -contents are the usual tables of days, sunrises, sunsets, eclipses, -etc., with advertisements on the alternate pages; and it ends with the -denominations and value of gold and silver coins, original poetry, -“scientific” notes concerning the morning and evening stars, a list -of the United States officers at Utah, the number of the planets and -asteroids, diarrhœa, and “moral poetry,” and an explanation of the word -“almanac,” concluding with the following observation: - - “A person, without an almanac is somewhat like a ship at sea without - a compass; he never knows what to do nor when to do it.” - - “So Mormon, other sects, and Quaker, - Buy Almanacs, and pay the maker.--K. J.” - -The only signs of sanctity are in the events appended to the days of -the week; they naturally record the dates of local interest, and the -births and deaths of prophets and patriarchs, presidents and apostles. -Under the head of “Time,” however, some novel information is provided -for the benefit of the benighted chronologist. - - “TIME.--There is a great mystery about time as recorded in the Bible. - Authors differ as to what length of time this world has occupied - since it came into being. Add 4004 to 1860, and we have 5864 years. - - “Again, some authors allow, before the birth of the Savior, 5509 - years, which, added to 1860, gives 7369 years since the beginning. - - “The book of Abraham, as translated by Joseph Smith, gives 7000 years - for the creation by the gods, one day of the Lord being a thousand - years of man’s time, or a day in Kolob. This important revelation of - 7000 years at first shows 5960 years since the transgression of Adam - and Eve, and 40 years to the next ‘day of rest,’ if the year 1900 - commences the return of the ‘ten tribes,’ and the first resurrection; - or 13,000 years since the gods said, ‘Let there be light, and there - was light,’ so that the fourteen thousandth year will be the second - Sabbath since creation. - - “A day of the Moon is nearly thirty of our days, or more than ten - thousand of earth’s time. Verily, verily, - - “Man knows but little, - Nor knows that little right.” - -The judge then showed me an instrument upon which he had expended the -thought and labor of years: it was that grand desideratum, a magnetic -compass, which, pointing with a second needle to the true north, would -indicate variation so correctly as to show longitude by inspection. The -article, which was as rough-looking as it could be, was placed upon -the table; but it would not, as the inventor explained, point to the -true north unless in a particular position. I refrain from recording -my hundred doubts as to the feasibility of the operation, and my own -suspicions concerning the composition of the instrument. I presently -took leave of Judge Phelps, pleased with his quaint kindness, but -somehow suspecting him of being a little _tête-montée_ on certain -subjects. - -[THE “DESERÉT NEWS.”--NEWSPAPERS.] - -As it was newspaper day, we passed by the “Mountaineer” office and -bought a copy. The press is ably and extensively represented in -Great Salt Lake City, as in any other of its Western coevals.[140] -Mormonism, so far from despising the powers of pica, has a more than -ordinary respect for them.[141] Until lately there were three weekly -newspapers. The “Valley Tan,” however, during the last winter expired, -after a slow and lingering dysthesis, induced by overindulgence in -Gentile tendencies. It was established in 1858; the proprietor was -Mr. J. Hartnett, the late federal secretary; the editor was Mr. Kirk -Anderson, followed by Mr. De Wolf and others; the issue hebdomadal, and -the subscription high = $10 per annum. The recognized official organ -of the religion, which first appeared on the 15th of June, 1850, is -the “Deserét News,” whose motto is “Truth and Liberty” under a hive, -over which is a single circumradiated eye in disagreeable proximity to -the little busy bee. It has often changed its size, and is now printed -in small folio, of eight pages, each containing four columns of close -type: sometimes articles are clothed in the Mormon alphabet. It had -reached in 1860 its tenth volume; it appears every Wednesday; costs at -Utah $6 per annum, in England £1 13_s._ 8_d._ per annum, in advance; -single number 9_d._; and is superintended by Mr. Brigham Young. It is -edited by Mr. Elias Smith, also a Probate judge; he is assisted by Mr. -M‘Knight, formerly the editor of a paper in the United States, and now -the author of the important horticultural, agricultural, and other -georgic articles in the “Deserét News.” This “Moniteur” also contains -corrected reports of the sermons spoken at the Tabernacle. An account -of a number may not be uninteresting. - - [140] According to the “Elgin Courant,” there are between 700 and 800 - of a fishing population in Hopeness who never see a newspaper. - - [141] The first Mormon newspaper was the “Latter-Day Saints’ - Messenger and Advocate,” published at Kirtland, Ohio, in the time of - Mr. Joseph Smith. - - The “Evening and Morning Star,” published at Independence, Mo., and - edited by W. W. Phelps. - - “Elders’ Journal,” published in 1838, in the time of Mr. Joseph Smith. - - “The Upper Missouri Advertiser,” published about the same time; it - did not last long. - - “The Nauvoo Neighbor” disappeared in the days of the Exodus. - - “The Times and Seasons,” containing a compendium of intelligence - pertaining to the upbuilding of the kingdom of God, and the signs of - the Times, together with a great variety of information in regard - to the history, principles, persecutions, deliverances, and onward - progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Nauvoo - 1839-1843. It was edited by Elder John Taylor (now one of the - “Twelve”) under the direction of Mr. Joseph Smith, and arrived at the - fourth volume (octavo): this journal is full of interesting matter to - Mormons. - - “The Wasp,” begun at Nauvoo in 1842. - - “The Frontier Garden,” published at Council Bluffs during the Exodus - from Nauvoo. - - “The Seer,” edited at Washington, by Elder Orson Pratt, reached the - second volume. - - “The Gospel Reflector,” published at Philadelphia, lasted for a short - time. - - “The Prophet,” published at New York. - - “Le Reflecteur,” in French, published at Geneva. - - “Etoile du Deserét, Organe de l’Eglise de Jésus-Christ des Saints des - Derniers Jours,” par John Taylor, Paris. It lasted from May, 1851, to - April, 1852, and forms 1 vol. large 8vo, containing 192 pages. - - “The Western Standard,” edited and published weekly at San Francisco, - California, United States of America, by Elder George Q. Cannon, now - an Apostle and President of the Church in Great Britain. This paper, - which was distinguished by the beauty of its type and the character - of its composition, lasted through 1856 and 1857; in 1858 it ceased - for want of funds. - - “Zion’s Watchman,” published in Australia. - - “Udgorn Seion” (the Trump of Zion), published in Wales, a bi-monthly - print, which has reached the ninth volume. - - “The Luminary,” St. Louis, Mo. - - “The Mormon,” published in New York, a hebdomadal print. - -No. 28, vol. x., begins with a hymn of seven stanzas, by C. W. Bryant. -Follow remarks by President Brigham Young, at Provo and in the Bowery, -Great Salt Lake City; the three sermons, which occupy four columns and -a half, are separated by “Modern Germany, II.,” by Alexander Ott. There -is an article from the “New York Sun,” entitled the “Great Eastern in -Court.” It is followed by nearly half a page of “Clippings,” those -little recognized piracies which make the American papers as amusing -as magazines. Then come advertisements, estray notices, and others, -which nearly fill the third and sixth pages, and the column at the -eighth, which is the conclusion. I subjoin terms for advertising.[142] -The fourth page contains “News by Eastern Mail”--Doings of the -Probate Court--Special term of the Probate Court--Another excusable -homicide--The season--Imprisoning convicts without labor--Discharge of -the city police--Swiss Saints (lately arrived)--Arrival of missionaries -at Liverpool--Drowned, Joseph Vest, etc.--Deserét Agriculturing and -Manufacturing Society--Information wanted -- and Humboldt’s opinion -of the United States (comparing it to a Cartesian vortex, liberty a -dead machinery in the hands of Utilitarianism, etc.). The fifth and -sixth pages detail news from Europe, the Sicilies, Damascus, and India, -proceedings of a missionary meeting in the Bowery, and tidings from -Juab and Iron County, with a few stopgaps, such as an explanation of -the word Zouave, and the part conversion of the fallen Boston elm -into a “Mayor’s seat.” The seventh page is agricultural, and opens -with the “American Autumn,” by Fanny Kemble, four stanzas. Then comes -Sheep-husbandry No. iii., treating of change of pasture, separation of -the flock, and fall management. The other _morceaux_ are “Training -the peach-tree,” “Stick to the Farm,” an article concluding with “We -shall always sign ‘speed the plow;’ we shall always regard the American -farmer, dressed for his employment (!) and tilling his grounds, as -belonging to the order of real noblemen”--the less aristocratic -Englander would limit himself to “Nature’s gentleman;” “Why pork -shrinks in the pot,” and “Wheat-straw, its value as fodder.” The eighth -and last page opens with “Correspondence,” and a letter signed Joseph -Hall, headed “More results of ‘civilization,’” and dated Ogden City, -Sept. 8, 1860. It contains an account of occurrences resulting in the -“death of one John Cornwell, a discharged government teamster, and, -as is often the case with those Christians who are sent to civilize -the ‘Mormons’ of these mountains, a corrupt, profane, and quarrelsome -individual, who doted on belonging to the ‘bully tribe.’” Then -follows more news from San Pete County. A test of love (that capital -story out of C. R. Leslie’s autobiography). Siege of Magdeburg. A -hard-shell sermon (preached at Oxford, England), a scrap illustrating -the marvelous growth of Quincy, Illinois, and the Legend of the origin -of the Piano-forte. The latter is followed by a valuable abstract -containing a summary of meteorological observations, barometric and -thermometric, for the month of August, 1860, at Great Salt Lake City, -Utah, by W. W. Phelps, and concluding with a monthly journal.[143] -Then follow the deaths, six in number, and after one of them is -inserted [Millennial Star, copy]. There are no marriages, and the -Western papers, like those of the East, are still _bégueules_ enough -to consider advertising the birth of a child indelicate; at least that -was the reason given to me. The last column contains the terms for -advertising and the “fill-up” advertisements. - - [142] ADVERTISING.--Ten lines or less constitute one square. - - _Regular Advertisements._ - - One quarter column (four squares or less), for each insertion $1 50 - Half column (seven squares or less), each insertion 3 00 - One column (fourteen squares or less) 6 00 - - _Sundry Advertisements._ - - One square, each insertion $1 00 - Two „ „ 1 50 - Three „ „ 2 00 - - Thus upward, with half a dollar to the additional square for each - insertion. - - [143] - - The maximum of the barometer during the month is 26·100; min. 25·400 - „ „ „ thermometer „ „ 95° F.; „ 60° F. - - There fell of rain water 0·670 inches during five days marked - showery. Fifteen days are marked clear and pleasant, or hot and dry, - or hot and very dry, the 22d being the hottest; and the others are - partially clear, or clear and cloudy, or hazy and cloudy. - -[THE “MOUNTAINEER.”] - -The “Mountaineer,” whose motto is “Do what is right, let the -consequence follow,” is considered rather a secular paper. It appears -on Saturdays, and the terms of subscription are $6 per annum; the -occasional supplement is issued gratis. It formerly belonged to three -lawyers, Messrs. Stout, Blair, and Ferguson; it has now passed into -the hands of the two latter. Mr. Hosea Stout distinguished himself -during the Nauvoo troubles; he was the captain of forty policemen who -watched over the safety of Mr. Joseph Smith, and afterward went on -missions to India and China. Major S. M. Blair served under General -Sam. Houston in the Texan war of independence, and was a distinguished -lawyer in the Southern States. A description of the “Deserét News” -will apply to the “Mountaineer.” I notice in the issue of September -15, 1860, that a correspondent, quoting an extract from the “New York -Tribune”--the great Republican organ, and therefore no favorite with -the Mormons--says, outspokenly enough to please any amount of John -Bull, “The author of the above is a most consummate liar”--so far, so -good--“and a contemptible dastardly poltroon”--which is invidious. - -I passed the morning of the ensuing Sunday in a painful but appropriate -exercise, reading the Books of Mormon and of Moroni the Prophet. -Some writers tell me that it is the best extant imitation of the Old -Testament; to me it seems composed only to emulate the sprightliness -of some parts of Leviticus. Others declare that it is founded upon a -romance composed by a Rev. Mr. Spaulding; if so, Mr. Spaulding must -have been like Prince Puckler-Muskau of traveling notoriety, a romancer -utterly without romance. Surely there never was a book so thoroughly -dull and heavy: it is monotonous as a sage-prairie. Though not liable -to be terrified by dry or hard reading, I was, it is only fair to -own, unable to turn over more than a few chapters at a time, and my -conviction is that very few are so highly gifted that they have been -able to read it through at a heat. In Mormonism it now holds the same -locus as the Bible in the more ignorant Roman Catholic countries, where -religious reading is chiefly restricted to the Breviary, to tales of -miracles, and to legends of Saints Ursula and Bridget. It is strictly -proper, does not contain a word about materialism and polygamy[144]--in -fact, more than one wife is strictly forbidden even in the Book -of Doctrines and Covenants.[145] The Mormon Bible, therefore, is -laid aside for later and lighter reading. In one point it has done -something. America, like Africa, is a continent of the future; the Book -of Mormon has created for it an historical and miraculous past. - - [144] Behold the Lamanites (North American Indians), your brethren, - whom ye hate because of their filthiness, and the cursings which hath - come upon their skins, are more righteous than you, for they have - not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our - fathers, that they should have, save it were one wife; and concubines - they should have none; and there should not be whoredoms committed - among them.--_Book of Jacob_, chap. ii., par. 9. - - [145] See Chap. IX. - -[THE BOWERY.--MUSIC.] - -At 9 45 A.M. we entered the Bowery; it is advisable to go early if -seats within hearing are required. The place was a kind of “hangar,” -about a hundred feet long by the same breadth, with a roofing of -bushes and boughs supported by rough posts, and open for ventilation -on the sides; it can contain about 3000 souls. The congregation is -accommodated upon long rows of benches, opposite the dais, rostrum, -platform, or tribune, which looked like a long lane of boarding open -to the north, where it faced the audience, and entered by steps from -the east. Between the people and the platform was a place not unlike a -Methodist “pen” at a camp-meeting: this was allotted to the orchestra, -a violin, a bass, two women and four men performers, who sang the -sweet songs of Zion tolerably well--decidedly well, after a moment’s -reflection as to latitude and longitude, and after reminiscences -of country and town chapels in that land where it is said, had the -Psalmist heard his own psalms, - - “In furious mood he would have tore ’em.” - -I was told that “profane”--_i. e._, operatic and other--music is -performed at worship, as in the Italian cathedrals, where they are -unwilling that Sathanas should monopolize the prettiest airs; on this -occasion, however, only hymns were sung. - -[Illustration: SOUTH END OF THE TABERNACLE.] - -[DRESS.] - -We--the judge’s son and I--took our seats on the benches of the eighth -ward, where we could see the congregation flocking in, a proceeding -which was not over--some coming from considerable distances--till -10 15 A.M. The people were all _endimanchés_; many a pretty face -peeped from the usual sun-bonnet with its long curtain, though the -“mushroom” and the “pork-pie” had found their way over the plains, -and trim figures were clad in neat stuff dresses, sometimes silk: in -very few cases there was a little faded finery--gauze, feathers, and -gaudy colors--such as one may see on great festivals in an Old-Country -village. The men were as decently attired: the weather, being hot, had -caused many of them to leave their coats at home, and to open their -vests; the costume, however, looked natural to working-men, and there -was no want of cleanliness, such as sometimes lurks behind a bulwark -of buttons. The elders and dignitaries on the platform affected coats -of black broadcloth, and were otherwise respectably dressed. All -wore their hats till the address began, and then all uncovered. By my -side was the face of a blear-eyed English servant-girl; _en revanche_ -in front was a charming American mother and child: she had, what I -have remarked in Mormon meetings at Saville House and other places in -Europe, an unusual development of the organ which phrenologists call -veneration. I did not see any Bloomers “displaying a serviceable pair -of brogues,” or “pictures of Grant Thorburn in petticoats.” There were -a few specimens of the “Yankee woman,” formerly wondrous grim, with a -shrewd, thrifty gray eye, at once cold and eager, angular in body and -mind, tall, bony, and square-shouldered, now softened and humanized by -transplantation and transposition to her proper place. The number of -old people astonished me; half a dozen were sitting on the same bench; -these broken-down men and decrepit crones had come to lay their bones -in the Holy City; their presence speaks equally well for their faith -and for the kind-heartedness of those who had brought the encumbrance. -I remarked some Gentiles in the Bowery; many, however, do not care to -risk what they may hear there touching themselves. - -At 10 A.M. the meeting opened with a spiritual song. Then Mr. -Wallace--a civilized-looking man lately returned from foreign -travel--being called upon by the presiding elder for the day, opened -the meeting with prayer, of which the two short-hand writers in the -tribune proceeded to take notes. The matter, as is generally the case -with returned missionaries delivering their budget, was good; the -manner was somewhat Hibernian; the “valleys of the mountains”--a stock -phrase, appeared and reappeared like the speechifying Patlander’s -eternal “emerald green hills and beautiful pretty valleys.” He ended -by imploring a blessing upon the (Mormon) President, and all those -in authority; Gentiles of course were included. The conclusion was -an amen, in which all hands joined: it reminded me of the historical -practice of “humming” in the seventeenth century, which caused the -universities to be called “_Hum et Hissimi auditores_.” - -[THE SERMON.] - -Next arose Bishop Abraham O. Smoot, second mayor of Zion, and successor -to the late Jedediah M. Grant, who began with “Brethering,” and -proceeded at first in a low and methody tone of voice, “hardly audible -in the gallery,” to praise the Saints, and to pitch into the apostates. -His delivery was by no means fluent, even when he warmed. He made undue -use of the regular Wesleyan organ--the nose; but he appeared to speak -excellent sense in execrable English. He recalled past persecutions -without over-asperity, and promised future prosperity without -over-prophecy. As he was in the midst of an allusion to the President, -entered Mr. Brigham Young, and all turned their faces, even the old -lady-- - - “Peut-on si bien prêcher qu’elle ne dorme au sermon?”-- - -who, dear soul! from Hanover Square to far San Francisco, placidly -reposes through the discourse. - -The Prophet was dressed, as usual, in gray homespun and homewoven: -he wore, like most of the elders, a tall, steeple-crowned straw hat, -with a broad black ribbon, and he had the rare refinement of black -kid gloves. He entered the tribune covered and sat down, apparently -greeting those near him. A man in a fit was carried out pumpward. -Bishop Smoot concluded with informing us that we should live for -God. Another hymn was sung. Then a great silence, which told us that -something was about to happen: _that_ old man held his cough; _that_ -old lady awoke with a start; _that_ child ceased to squall. Mr. Brigham -Young removed his hat, advanced to the end of the tribune, expectorated -stooping over the spittoon, which was concealed from sight by the -boarding, restored the balance of fluid by a glass of water from a -well-filled decanter on the stand, and, leaning slightly forward upon -both hands propped on the green baize of the tribune, addressed his -followers. - -The discourse began slowly; word crept titubantly after word, and the -opening phrases were hardly audible; but as the orator warmed, his -voice rose high and sonorous, and a fluency so remarkable succeeded -falter and hesitation, that--although the phenomenon is not rare in -strong speakers--the latter seemed almost to have been a work of art. -The manner was pleasing and animated, and the matter fluent, impromptu, -and well turned, spoken rather than preached: if it had a fault it was -rather rambling and unconnected. Of course, colloquialisms of all kinds -were introduced, such as “he become,” “for you and I,” and so forth. -The gestures were easy and rounded, not without a certain grace, though -evidently untaught; one, however, must be excepted, namely, that of -raising and shaking the forefinger; this is often done in the Eastern -States, but the rest of the world over it is considered threatening and -bullying. The address was long. God is a mechanic. Mormonism is a great -fact. Religion had made him (the speaker) the happiest of men. He was -ready to dance like a Shaker. At this sentence the Prophet, who is a -good mimic, and has much of the old New English quaint humor, raised -his right arm, and gave, to the amusement of the congregation, a droll -imitation of Anne Lee’s followers. The Gentiles had sent an army to lay -waste Zion, and what had they done? Why, hung one of their own tribe! -and that, too, on the Lord’s day![146] The Saints have a glorious -destiny before them, and their morality is remarkable as the beauty of -the Promised Land: the soft breeze blowing over the Bowery, and the -glorious sunshine outside, made the allusion highly appropriate. The -Lamanites, or Indians, are a religious people. All races know a God and -may be saved. After a somewhat lengthy string of sentences concerning -the great tribulation coming on earth--it has been coming for the last -1800 years--he concluded with good wishes to visitors and Gentiles -generally, with a solemn blessing upon the President of the United -States, the territorial governor, and all such as be in authority over -us, and, with an amen which was loudly re-echoed by all around, he -restored his hat and resumed his seat. - - [146] Alluding to one Thos. H. Ferguson, a Gentile; he killed, on - Sept. 17th, 1859, in a drunken moment, A. Carpenter, who kept a - boot and shoe store. Judge Sinclair, according to the Mormons, was - exceedingly anxious that somebody should be _sus. per coll._, and, - although intoxication is usually admitted as a plea in the Western - States, he ignored it, and hanged the man on Sunday. Mr. Ferguson was - executed in a place behind the city; he appeared costumed in a Robin - Hood style, and complained bitterly to the Mormon troops, who were - drawn out, that his request to be shot had not been granted. - -Having heard much of the practical good sense which characterizes the -Prophet’s discourse, I was somewhat disappointed: probably the occasion -had not been propitious. As regards the concluding benedictions, they -are profanely compared by the Gentiles to those of the slave, who, -while being branded on the hand, was ordered to say thrice, “God -bless the State.” The first was a blessing. So was the second. But at -the third, natural indignation having mastered Sambo’s philosophy, -forth came a certain naughty word not softened to “darn.” During the -discourse, a Saint, in whose family some accident had occurred, was -called out, but the accident failed to affect the riveted attention of -the audience. - -Then arose Mr. Heber C. Kimball, the second President. He is the model -of a Methodist, a tall and powerful man, a “gentleman in black,” with -small, dark, piercing eyes, and clean-shaven blue face. He affects the -Boanerges style, and does not at times disdain the part of Thersites: -from a certain dislike to the Nonconformist rant and whine, he prefers -an every-day manner of speech, which savors rather of familiarity than -of reverence. The people look more amused when he speaks than when -others harangue them, and they laugh readily, as almost all crowds -will, at the thinnest phantom of a joke. Mr. Kimball’s movements -contrasted strongly with those of his predecessor; they consisted now -of a stone-throwing gesture delivered on tiptoe, then of a descending -movement, as - - “When pulpit, drum ecclesiastic, - Was beat with fist and not with stick.” - -He began with generalisms about humility, faithfulness, obeying -counsel, and not beggaring one’s neighbor. Addressing the hand-cart -emigrants, newly arrived from the “sectarian world,” he warned them to -be on the look-out, or that every soul of them would be taken in and -shaved (a laugh). Agreeing with the Prophet--Mr. Kimball is said to be -his echo--in a promiscuous way concerning the morality of the Saints, -he felt it notwithstanding his duty to say that among them were “some -of the greatest rascals in the world” (a louder laugh, and N.B., the -Mormons are never spared by their own preachers). After a long suit of -advice, _à propos de rien_, to missionaries, he blessed, amen’d, and -sat down. - -[MR. KIMBALL’S STYLE.] - -I confess that the second President’s style startled me. But presently -I called to mind Luther’s description[147] of Tetzel’s sermon, in which -he used to shout the words Bring! bring! bring! with such a horrible -bellowing, that one would have said it was a mad bull rushing on the -people and goring them with his horns; and D’Aubigné’s neat apology -for Luther,[148] who, “in one of those homely and quaint, yet not -undignified similitudes which he was fond of using, that he might be -understood by the people,” illustrated the idea of God in history by -a game of cards! “... Then came our Lord God. He dealt the cards:... -This is the Ace of God....” Mormons also think it a merit to speak -openly of “those things we know naturally:” they affect what to others -appears coarseness and indelicacy. The same is the case with Oriental -nations, even among the most modest and moral. After all, taste is in -its general development a mere affair of time and place; what is apt -to _froisser_ us in the nineteenth may have been highly refined in the -sixteenth century, and what may be exceedingly unfit for Westminster -Abbey and Notre Dame is often perfectly suited to the predilections -and intelligence of Wales or the Tessin. It is only fair to both -sides to state that Mr. Kimball is accused by Gentiles of calling -his young wives, from the pulpit, “little heifers;” of entering into -physiological details belonging to the Dorcas Society, or the clinical -lecture-room, rather than the house of worship; and of transgressing -the bounds of all decorum when reproving the sex for its _penchants_ -and _ridicules_. At the same time, I never heard, nor heard of, any -such indelicacy during my stay at Great Salt Lake City. The Saints -abjured all knowledge of the “fact,” and--in this case, _nefas ab hoste -doceri_--so gross a scandal should not be adopted from Gentile mouths. - - [147] History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. Book iii., - chap. i. - - [148] Ditto, Preface. - -After Mr. Kimball’s address, a list of names for whom letters were -lying unclaimed was called from the platform. Mr. Eldridge, a -missionary lately returned from foreign travel, adjourned the meeting -till 2 P.M., delivered the prayer of dismissal, during which all -stood up, and ended with the benediction and amen. The Sacrament was -not administered on this occasion. It is often given, and reduced to -the very elements of a ceremony; even water is used instead of wine, -because the latter is of Gentile manufacture. Two elders walk up and -down the rows, one carrying a pitcher, the other a plate of broken -bread, and each Saint partakes of both. - -Directly the ceremony was over, I passed through the thirty carriages -and wagons that awaited at the door the issuing of the congregation, -and returned home to write my notes. Before appearing in the “Deserét -News” the discourses are always recomposed; the reader, therefore, is -warned against the following report, which appeared in the “News” of -Wednesday, the 5th of September. - - “BOWERY.--_Sunday, Sept. 2_, 10 A.M., Bishop Abraham O. Smoot - addressed the congregation. He said he rejoiced in the opportunity - he had been favored with of testing both principles and men in the - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; he was fully satisfied - that those who do right are constantly filled with joy and gladness - by the influence of the Holy Ghost. Every man must know God for - himself, and practice the principles of righteousness for himself; - learn the truth and the light, and walk therein. Men are too much in - the habit of patterning after their neighbors’ actions instead of - following the dictates of the Spirit of God; if the Saints do right - they are filled with light, truth, and the power of God. It has been - a matter of astonishment to many how we could so much rejoice in the - things of God, but the reason is our religion is true, and we know - it, for God has revealed it unto us, and hence we can rejoice in - the midst of calamities that would make our enemies very cross, and - cause them to swear about their troubles. Nine tenths of those who - have apostatized have done it on account of prosperity, like Israel - of old, but the Lord desires to use us for the advancement of his - kingdom, and the spreading abroad of light and truth. We should live - for God, and prepare ourselves for all the temporal and spiritual - blessings of his kingdom. - - “President Brigham Young said if our heavenly Father could reveal all - he wishes to his Saints, it would greatly hasten their perfection, - and asked the question, Are the people prepared to receive those - communications and profit by them, that would bring about their - speedy perfection? He discovered a very great variety of degrees of - intelligence in the people; he also observed a manifest stupidity - in the people attempting to learn the principles of natural life. - Observed that God is just and equal in his ways, and that no man will - dare to dispute; also that there is no man in our government who - will speak truthfully, and according to his honest convictions, but - who will admit that we are the most law-abiding people within its - jurisdiction. Remarked that all the heathen nations have devotional - instincts, and none more than the natives of this vast continent; - and they all worship according to the best of their knowledge. The - whole human family can be saved in the kingdom of God if they are - disposed to receive and obey the Gospel. Reasoned on the subject of - fore-ordination, and said the religion of Jesus Christ is designed to - make the bad good and the good better. Argued that there is a feeling - in every human breast to acknowledge the supremacy of the Almighty - Creator. God is just, he is true, and if this were not the case no - mortal could be exalted in his presence; advised all to improve - upon the knowledge they had received of the things of God. Referred - briefly to the birth of Christ, and the attendant opposition and - threatening of the governments of the nations of the earth. - - “President Heber C. Kimball followed with appropriate remarks on the - practical duties of life, the necessity of humility and faithfulness - among the Saints, and admonished all to be obedient to the mandates - of heaven, and to the counsels of the living oracles. In giving - advice to the elders who are expected to go on missions to preach the - Gospel, he said: ‘The commandment of Jesus to his apostles anciently - has been renewed unto us, viz., Go ye therefore, and teach all - nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, - and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever - I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end - of the world.’” - -[MR. BRIGHAM YOUNG’S SERMON.] - -The student of the subject may desire to see how one of these sermons -reads; I therefore extract from the “Deserét News” one spoken by Mr. -Brigham Young during my stay in the city; it is chosen impartially, -neither because it is better nor because it is worse than its fellows. -The subject, it will be observed, is uninteresting; in fact, what -negroes call “talkee-talkee”--_pour passer le temps_. But Mr. Brigham -Young can, all admit, when occasion serves ability, “bring the house -down,” and elicit thundering amens. - - REMARKS by President BRIGHAM YOUNG, _Bowery_, A.M., _August 12, - 1860_. (_Reported by G. D. Watt._)--“I fully understand that all - Saints constantly, so to speak, pray for each other. And when I find - a person who does not pray for the welfare of the kingdom of God on - the earth, and for the honest in heart, I am skeptical in regard - to believing that person’s religion to be genuine, and his faith - I should consider not the faith of Jesus. Those who have the mind - of Christ are anxious that it should spread extensively among the - people, to bring them to a correct understanding of things as they - are, that they may be able to prepare themselves to dwell eternally - in the heavens. This is your desire, and is what we continually pray - for. - - “Brother J. V. Long’s discourse this morning was sweet to my taste; - and the remarks of Brother T. B. H. Stenhouse were very congenial - to my feelings and understanding. Brother Long has good command of - language, and can readily choose such words as best suit him to - convey his ideas. - - “Brother Stenhouse remarked that the Gospel of salvation is the great - foundation of this kingdom; that we have not built up this kingdom, - nor established this organization, we have merely embraced it in - our faith; that God has established this kingdom, and has bestowed - the priesthood upon the children of men, and has called upon the - inhabitants of the earth to receive it, to repent of their sins, and - return to him with all their hearts. This portion of his remarks I - wish you particularly to treasure up. - - “If the Angel Gabriel were to descend and stand before you, though - he said not a word, the influence and power that would proceed from - him, were he to look upon you in the power he possesses, would melt - this congregation. His eyes would be like flaming fire, and his - countenance would be like the sun at midday. The countenance of an - holy angel would tell more than all the language in the world. If - men who are called to speak before a congregation rise full of the - Holy Spirit and power of God, their countenances are sermons to the - people. But if their affections, feelings, and desires are like the - fool’s eye to the ends of the earth, looking for this, that, and the - other, and the kingdom of God is far from them and not in all their - affections, they may rise here and talk what they please, and it is - but like sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal--mere empty, unmeaning - sounds to the ears of the people. I can not say this of what I have - heard to-day. - - “Those faithful elders who have testified of this work to thousands - of people on the continents and islands of the sea will see the - fruits of their labors, whether they have said five words or - thousands. They may not see these fruits immediately, and perhaps in - many cases not until the millennium, but the savor of their testimony - will pass down from father to son. Children will say, ‘The words of - life were spoken to my grandfather and grandmother; they told me of - them, and I wish to become a member of the Church; I also wish to - be baptized for my father, and mother, and grandparents;’ and they - will come and keep coming, the living and the dead, and you will be - satisfied with your labors, whether they have been much or little, if - you continue faithful. - - “Brother Long remarked that before he gathered to Zion he had imbibed - an idea that the people were all pure here. This is a day of trial - for you. If there is any thing that should give us sorrow and pain, - it is that any of the brethren and sisters come here and neglect - to live their religion. Some are greedy, covetous, and selfish, - and give way to temptation; they are wicked and dishonest in their - dealings with one another, and look at and magnify the faults of - every body, on the right and on the left. ‘Such a sister is guilty of - pilfering; such a brother is guilty of swearing,’ etc., ‘and we have - come a long distance to be joined with such a set; we do not care a - dime for “Mormonism,” nor for any thing else.’ The enemy takes the - advantage of such persons, and leads them to do that for which they - are afterward sorry. This is a matter of great regret to those who - wish to be faithful. But no matter how many give themselves up to - merchandising and love it better than their God, how many go to the - gold mines, how many go back on the road to trade with the wicked, - nor how many take their neighbors’ wood after it is cut and piled up - in the kanyons, or steal their neighbors’ axes, or any thing that is - their neighbors’, you live your religion, and we shall see the day - when we shall tread iniquity under foot. But if you listen to those - who practice iniquity, you will be carried away by it, as it has - carried away thousands. Let every one get a knowledge for himself - that this work is true. We do not want you to say that it is true - until you know that it is; and if you know it, that knowledge is as - good to you as though the Lord came down and told you. Then let every - person say, ‘I will live my religion, though every other person goes - to hell; I will walk humbly before God, and deal honestly with my - fellow-beings.’ There are now scores of thousands in this Territory - who will do this, and who feel as I do on this subject, and we will - overcome the wicked. Ten filthy, dirty sheep in a thousand cause - the whole flock to appear defiled, and a stranger would pronounce - them all filthy; but wash them, and you will find nine hundred and - ninety pure and clean. It is so with this people; half a dozen - horse-thieves tend to cause the whole community to appear corrupt in - the eyes of a casual observer. - - “Brother Long said that the Lord will deal out correction to the - evil-doer, but that he would have nothing to do with it. I do not - know whether I shall or not, but I shall not ask the Lord to do what - I am not willing to do; and I do not think that Brother Long is any - more or less ready to do so than I am. Ask any earthly king to do a - work that you would not do, and he would be insulted. Were I to ask - the Lord to free us from ungodly wretches, and not lend my influence - and assistance, he would look upon me differently to what he now does. - - “You have read that I had an agent in China to mix poison with the - tea to kill all the nations; that I was at the head of the Vigilance - Committee in California; that I managed the troubles in Kansas, - from the beginning to the end; that there is not a liquor-shop - or distillery but what Brigham Young dictates it: so state the - newspapers. In these and all other accusations of evil-doing I defy - them to produce the first show of evidence against me. It is also - asserted that President Buchanan and myself concocted the plan for - the army to come here, with a view to make money. By-and-by the poor - wretches will come bending and say, ‘I wish I was a “Mormon.”’ All - the army, with its teamsters, hangers-on, and followers, with the - judges, and nearly all the rest of the civil officers, amounting - to some seventeen thousand men, have been searching diligently for - three years to bring one act to light that would criminate me; but - they have not been able to trace out one thread or one particle of - evidence that would criminate me; do you know why? Because I walk - humbly with my God, and do right so far as I know how. I do no evil - to any one; and as long as I can have faith in the name of the - Lord Jesus Christ to hinder the wolves from tearing the sheep and - devouring them, without putting forth my hand, I shall do so. - - “I can say honestly and truly before God, and the holy angels and - all men, that not one act of murder or disorder has occurred in this - city or Territory that I had any knowledge of, any more than a babe - a week old, until after the event has transpired; that is the reason - they can not trace any crime to me. If I have faith enough to cause - the devils to eat up the devils, like the Kilkenny cats, I shall - certainly exercise it. Joseph Smith said that they would eat each - other up as did those cats. They will do so here, and throughout the - world. The nations will consume each other, and the Lord will suffer - them to bring it about. It does not require much talent or tact to - get up opposition in these days; you see it rife in communities, in - meetings, in neighborhoods, and in cities; that is the knife that - will cut down this government. The axe is laid at the root of the - tree, and every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit will be hewn - down. - - “Out of this Church will grow the kingdom which Daniel saw. This - is the very people that Daniel saw would continue to grow, and - spread, and prosper; and if we are not faithful, others will take - our places, for this is the Church and people that will possess the - kingdom forever and ever. Will we do this in our present condition - as a people? No; for we must be pure and holy, and be prepared for - the presence of our Savior and God, in order to possess the kingdom. - Selfishness, wickedness, bickering, tattling, lying, and dishonesty - must depart from the people before they are prepared for the Savior; - we must sanctify ourselves before our God. - - “I wanted to ask Brother Long a question this morning--what he had - learned in regard to the original sin. Let the elders, who like - speculation, find out what it is, if they can, and inform us next - Sabbath; or, if you have any thing else that is good, bring it along. - I wish to impress upon your minds to live your religion, and, when - you come to this stand to speak, not to care whether you say five - words or five thousand, but to come with the power of God upon you, - and you will comfort the hearts of the Saints. All the sophistry in - the world will do no good. If you live your religion, you will live - with the Spirit of Zion within you, and will try, by every lawful - means, to induce your neighbors to live their religion. In this way - we will redeem Zion, and cleanse it from sin. - - “God bless you. Amen.” - -The gift of unknown tongues--which is made by some physiologists the -result of an affection of the epigastric region, and by others an -abnormal action of the organ of language--is now apparently rarer than -before. Anti-Mormon writers thus imitate the “blatant gibberish” which -they derive directly from Irvingism: “Eli, ele, elo, ela--come, coma, -como--reli, rele, rela, relo--sela, selo, sele, selum--vavo, vava, -vavum--sero, seri, sera, serum.” Lieutenant Gunnison relates[149] a -facetious story concerning a waggish youth, who, after that a woman -had sprung up and spoken “in tongues” as follows, “Mela, meli, melee,” -sorely pressed by the “gift of interpretation of tongues,” translated -the sentence into the vernacular, “My leg, my thigh, my knee.” For -this he was called before the Council, but he stoutly persisted in his -“interpretation” being “by the Spirit,” and they dismissed him with -admonition. Gentiles have observed that whatever may be uttered “in -tongues,” it is always translated into very intelligible English. - - [149] The Mormons. Chap. vi. Social Condition. - -That evening, when dining out, I took a lesson in Mormon modesty. The -mistress of the house, a Gentile, but not an anti-Mormon, was requested -by a saintly visitor, who was also a widow, to instruct me that on no -account must I propose to see her home. “Mormon ladies,” said my kind -informant, “are very strict;” unnecessarily so on this occasion, I -could not but think. Something similar occurred on another occasion: a -very old lady, wishing to return home, surreptitiously left the room -and sidled out of the garden gate, and my companion, an officer from -Camp Floyd, at once recognized the object of the retreat. I afterward -learned at dinner and elsewhere among the Mormons to abjure the Gentile -practice of giving precedence to that sex than which, according to -Latin grammar, the masculine is nobler. The lesson, however, was not -new; I had been taught the same, in times past, among certain German -missionaries who assumed precedence over their wives upon a principle -borrowed from St. Paul. - -[MR. STAINES.--ADOPTION.] - -I took the earliest opportunity of visiting, at his invitation, the -Prophet’s gardens. The grounds were laid out by Mr. W. C. Staines, now -on Church business in London.[150] Mr. Staines arrived at Great Salt -Lake City an exceptionally poor emigrant, and is now a rich man, with -house and farm, all the proceeds of his own industry. This and many -other instances which I could quote prove that although, as a rule, the -highest dignitaries are the wealthiest, and although the polygamist -can not expect to keep a large family and fill at the same time a long -purse, the Gentiles somewhat exaggerate when they represent that Church -discipline keeps the lower orders in a state of pauperdom. Mr. Staines -is also the “son of ‘Brigham’ by adoption.” This custom is prevalent -among the Mormons as among the Hindoos, but with this difference, that -while the latter use it when childless, the former employ it as the -means of increasing their glory in the next world. The relationship is -truly one of parent and child, by choice, not only by the mere accident -of birth, and the “son,” if necessary, lives with and receives the -necessaries of life from his “father.” Before entering the garden we -were joined by Mr. Mercer, who, long after my departure from India, had -missionarized at Kurrachee in “Scinde, or the Unhappy Valley.” - - [150] I have to thank Mr. Staines for kind assistance in supplying me - with necessary items of information. - -[FRUIT.] - -The May frost had injured the fruit. Grapes were but quarter-grown, -while winter was fast approaching. I suggested to the civil and -obliging English gardener that it would be well to garnish the -trellised walls, as is done in Tuscany, with mats which roll up and can -be let down at night. Bacchus appeared in three forms: the California -grape, which is supposed to be the Madeira introduced into the New -World by the Franciscan Missions; the Catawba--so called from an Indian -people on a river of the same name--a cultivated variety of the _Vitis -labrusca_, and still the wine-grape in the States. The third is the -inferior Isabella, named after his wife by “ole man Gibbs,”[151] who -first attempted to civilize the fox-grape (_Vitis vulpina_), growing -on banks of streams in most of the temperate states. A vineyard is now -being planted on the hill-side near Mr. Brigham Young’s block, and -home-made wine will soon become an item of produce in Utah. Pomology is -carefully cultivated; about one hundred varieties of apples have been -imported, and of these ninety-one are found to thrive as seedlings: -in good seasons their branches are bowed down by fruit, and must be -propped up, or they will break under their load. The peaches were in -all cases unpruned: upon this important point opinions are greatly -divided. The people generally believe that the foliage is a protection -to the fruit during the spring frosts. The horticulturists declare that -the “extremes of temperature render proper pruning even more necessary -than in France, and that the fervid summers often induce a growth of -wood which must suffer severely during the inclement months, unless -checked and hardened by cutting back.” Besides grapes and apples, there -were walnuts, apricots and quinces, cherries and plums, currants, -raspberries, and gooseberries. The principal vegetables were the Irish -and the sweet potato, squashes, peas--excellent--cabbages, beets, -cauliflowers, lettuce, and broccoli; a little rhubarb is cultivated, -but it requires too much expensive sugar for general use, and white -celery has lately been introduced. Leaving the garden, we walked -through the various offices, oil-mill, timber-mill, and smithy: in the -latter oxen are shod, according to the custom of the country, with half -shoes. The animal is raised from the ground by a broad leather band -under the belly, and is liable to be lamed by any but a practiced hand. - - [151] Similarly, the Constantia of the Cape was named after Madam Van - Stell, the wife of the governor. - -[THE PENITENTIARY.] - -On the evening of the 3d of September, while sauntering about the -square in which a train of twenty-three wagons had just bivouacked, -among the many others to whom Mr. Staines introduced me was the Apostle -John Taylor, the “Champion of Rights,” Speaker in the House, and -whilom editor. I had heard of him from the best authorities as a man -so morose and averse to Gentiles, “who made the healing virtue depart -out of him,” that it would be advisable to avoid his “fierceness.” The -_véridique_ Mr. Austin Ward describes him as “an old man deformed and -crippled,” and Mrs. Ferris as a “heavy, dark-colored, beetle-browed -man.” Of course, I could not recognize him from these descriptions--a -stout, good-looking, somewhat elderly personage, with a kindly gray -eye, pleasant expression, and a forehead of the superior order; he -talked of Westmoreland his birthplace, and of his European travels -for a time, till the subject of Carthage coming upon the _tapis_, I -suspected who my interlocutor was. Mr. Staines burst out laughing -when he heard my mistake, and I explained the reason to the apostle, -who laughed as heartily. Wishing to see more of him, I accompanied -him in the carriage to the Sugar-house Ward, where he was bound on -business, and _chemin faisant_ we had a long talk. He pointed out -to me on the left the mouths of the several kanyons, and informed -me that the City Creek and the Red Buttes on the northeast, and -the Emigration, Parley’s, Mill Creek, Great Cotton-wood and Little -Cotton-wood Kanyons to the east and southeast, all head together in -two points, thus enabling troops and provisions to be easily and -readily concentrated for the defense of the eastern approaches. When -talking about the probability of gold digging being developed near -Great Salt Lake City, he said that the Mormons are aware of that, but -that they look upon agriculture as their real wealth. The Gentiles, -however--it is curious that they do not form a company among themselves -for prospecting--assert that the Church has very rich mines, which are -guarded by those dragons of Danites more fiercely than the Hesperidian -Gardens, and which will never be known till Miss Utah becomes Mistress -Deserét. Arriving at the tall, gaunt Sugar-house--its occupation is -gone, while the name remains--we examined the machinery employed -in making threshing and wool-carding machines, flanges, wheels, -cranks, and similar necessaries. After a visit to a nail manufactory -belonging to Squire Wells, and calling upon Mrs. Harris, we entered -the Penitentiary. It is a somewhat Oriental-looking building, with a -large quadrangle behind the house, guarded by a wall with a walk on -the summit, and pepper-caster sentry-boxes at each angle. There are -cells in which the convicts are shut up at night, but one of these -had lately been broken by an Indian, who had cut his way through the -wall; a Hindoo “gonnoff” would soon “pike” out of a “premonitory” like -this. We found in it besides the guardians only six persons, of whom -two were Yutas. When I remarked to Gentiles how few were the evidences -of crime, they invariably replied that, instead of half a dozen souls, -half the population ought to be in the place. On our return we resumed -the subject of the massacre at Carthage, in which it will be remembered -that Mr. John Taylor was severely wounded, and escaped by a miracle, -as it were. I told him openly that there must have been some cause for -the furious proceedings of the people in Illinois, Missouri, and other -places against the Latter-Day Saints; that even those who had extended -hospitality to them ended by hating and expelling them, and accusing -them of all possible iniquities, especially of horse-thieving, forgery, -larceny, and offenses against property, which on the borders are never -pardoned--was this smoke quite without fire? He heard me courteously -and in perfect temper; replied that no one claimed immaculateness -for the Mormons; that the net cast into the sea brought forth evil -as well as good fish, and that the Prophet was one of the laborers -sent into the vineyard at the eleventh hour. At the same time, that -when the New Faith was stoutly struggling into existence, it was the -object of detraction, odium, persecution--so, said Mr. Taylor, were -the Christians in the days of Nero--that the border ruffians, forgers, -horse-thieves, and other vile fellows followed the Mormons wherever -they went; and, finally, that every fraud and crime was charged upon -those whom the populace were disposed, by desire for confiscation’s -sake, to believe guilty. Besides the theologic odium there was also -the political: the Saints would vote for their favorite candidates, -consequently they were never without enemies. He quoted the Mormon -rules: 1. Worship what you like. 2. Leave your neighbor alone. 3. -Vote for whom you please; and compared their troubles to the Western, -or, as it is popularly called, the Whisky insurrection in 1794, whose -“dreadful night” is still remembered in Pennsylvania. Mr. Taylor -remarked that the Saints had been treated by the United States as the -colonies had been treated by the crown: that the persecuted naturally -became persecutors, as the Pilgrim fathers, after flying for their -faith, hung the Quakers on Bloody Hill at Boston; and that even the -Gentiles can not defend their own actions. I heard for the first time -this view of the question, and subsequently obtained from the apostle -a manuscript account, written _in extenso_, of his experience and -his sufferings. It has been transferred in its integrity to Appendix -No. III., the length forbidding its insertion in the text: a tone of -candor, simplicity, and honesty renders it highly attractive. - -[Illustration: ANCIENT LAKE BENCH-LAND.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -Descriptive Geography, Ethnology, and Statistics of Utah Territory. - - -Utah Territory, so called from its Indian owners, the Yuta--“those that -dwell in mountains”--is still, to a certain extent, _terra incognita_, -not having yet been thoroughly explored, much less surveyed or settled. - -The whole Utah country has been acquired, like Oregon, by conquest -and diplomacy. By the partition of 1848, the parallel of N. lat. -42°, left unsettled, between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, by -the treaties of the 22d of October, 1818, and the 12th of February, -1819, was prolonged northward to N. lat. 49°, thus adding to the -United States California, Oregon, and Washington, while to Britain -remained Vancouver’s Island and the joint navigation of the Columbia -River. Under the Hispano-Americans the actual Utah Territory formed -the northern portion of Alta California, and the peace of Guadalupe -Hidalgo, concluded in 1848 between the United States and Mexico, -transferred it from the latter to the former. - -[GEOGRAPHY OF UTAH TERRITORY.] - -The present boundaries of Utah Territory are, northward (42° N. lat.), -the State of Oregon; and southward, a line pursuing the parallel -of N. lat. 37°, separating it from New Mexico to the southeast and -from California to the southwest. The eastern portion is included -between 106° and 120° W. long. (G.); a line following the crest of -the Green River, the Wasach, the Bear River, and other sections of -the Rocky Mountains, whose southern extremities anastomose to form -the Sierra Nevada, separate it from Nebraska and Kansas. On the west -it is bounded, between 116° and 120° W. long., by the lofty crest of -the Sierra Nevada; the organization, however, of a new territory, the -“Nevada,” on the landward slope of the Snowy Range, has diminished its -dimensions by about half. Utah had thus 5° of extreme breadth, and 14° -of total length; it was usually reckoned 650 miles long from east to -west, and 350 broad from north to south. The shape was an irregular -parallelogram, of which the area was made to vary from 188,000 to -225,000 square miles, almost the superficies of France. - -The surface configuration of Utah Territory is like Central Equatorial -Africa, a great depression in a mountain land: a trough elevated 4000 -to 5000 feet above sea level, subtended on all sides by mountains 8000 -to 10,000 feet high, and subdivided by transverse ridges. The “Rim -of the Basin” is an uncontinuous line formed by the broken chains of -Oregon to the north, and to the south by the little-known sub-ranges -of the Rocky Mountains; the latter also form the eastern wall, while -the Sierra Nevada hems in the west. Before the present upheaval of -the country the Great Interior Basin was evidently a sweetwater -inland sea; the bench formation, a system of water-marks, is found -in every valley, while detached and parallel blocks of mountain, -trending almost invariably north and south, were in geological ages -rock-islands protruding from the lake surface like those that now -break the continuity of that “vast and silent sea” the Great Salt -Lake. Between these primitive and metamorphic ridges lie the secondary -basins, whose average width may be 15-20 miles; they open into one -another by kanyons and passes, and are often separated longitudinally, -like “waffle-irons,” by smaller divides running east and west, thus -converting one extended strip of secondary into a system of tertiary -valleys. The Great Basin, which is not less than 500 miles long by 500 -broad, is divided by two large chains, which run transversely from -northeast to southwest. The northernmost is the range of the Humboldt -River, rising 5000-6000 feet above the sea. The southern is the -prolongation of the Wasach, whose southwestern extremity abuts upon the -Pacific coast range; it attains a maximum elevation of nearly 12,000 -feet. Without these mountains, whose gorges are fed during the spring, -and even in the summer, by melted snow, there would be no water. The -levels of the valleys are still unknown; it is yet a question how far -they are irregular in elevation, whether they have formed detached -lakes, or whether they slope uniformly and by steps toward the Great -Salt Lake and the other reservoirs scattered at intervals over the -country. - -The water-shed of the Basin is toward the north, south, east, and west: -the affluents of the Columbia and the Colorado rivers carry off the -greatest amount of drainage. One of the geographical peculiarities -of the Territory is the “sinking,” as it is technically called, of -the rivers. The phenomenon is occasioned by the porous nature of the -soil. The larger streams, like the Humboldt and the Carson rivers, -form terminating lakes. The smaller are either absorbed by sand, or -sink, like the South African fountains, in ponds and puddles of black -mire, beneath which is peaty earth that burns as if by spontaneous -combustion, and smoulders for a long time in dry weather: the waters -either reappear, or, escaping under the surface--a notable instance of -the “subterranean river”--feed the greater drains and the lakes. The -potamology is more curious than useful; the streams, being unnavigable, -play no important part in the scheme of economy. - -Utah Territory is well provided with lakes; of these are two nearly -parallel chains extending across the country. The easternmost begins -at the north, with the Great Salt Lake, the small tarns of the Wasach, -the Utah, or Sweetwater Reservoir, the Nicollet, and the Little Salt -Lake, complete the line which is fed by the streams that flow from the -western counterslope of the Wasach. The other chain is the drainage -collected from the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada; it consists of -Mud, Pyramid, Carson, Mono, and Walker’s lakes. Of these, Pyramid Lake, -so called by Colonel Frémont, its explorer, from a singular rock in the -centre, is the most beautiful--a transparent water, 700 feet above the -level of the Great Salt Lake, and walled in by precipices nearly 3000 -feet high. - -The principal thermal features of Utah Territory are the Bear Springs, -near the Fort Hall Road. The Harrowgate Springs, near Great Salt Lake -City, have already been alluded to. Between the city and Bear River -there is a fountain of strong brine, described as discharging a large -volume of water. There are sulphurous pools at the southern extremity -of the Great Salt Lake Valley. Others are chalybeate, coating the earth -and the rocks with oxide of iron. Almost every valley has some thermal -spring, in which various confervæ flourish; the difficulty is to find -good cold water. - -Another curious geographical peculiarity of the Territory is the -formation of the mountains. For the most part the ridges, instead of -presenting regular slopes, more or less inclined, are formed of short -but acute angular cappings superimposed upon flatter prisms. It often -happens that after easily ascending two thirds from the base, the upper -part suddenly becomes wall-like and insurmountable. - -[CLIMATE OF UTAH TERRITORY.] - -Utah Territory is situated in the parallel of the Mediterranean; the -southern boundary corresponds with the provinces along the Amoor lately -acquired by Russia, and with Tasmania in the southern hemisphere. But -the elevation, that grand modifier of climate, renders it bleak and -liable to great vicissitudes of temperature. The lowest valley rises -4000 feet above sea level; the mountains behind Great Salt Lake City -are 6000 feet high; Mount Nebo is marked 8000, and the Twin Peaks, -that look upon the “Happy Valley,” were ascertained barometrically -by Messrs. O. Pratt and A. Carrington to be 11,660 feet in height: -in the western part of the Territory the Sierra Nevada averages 2000 -feet above the South Pass, and it has peaks that tower thousands of -feet above that altitude. These snowy masses, in whose valleys thaw is -seldom known, exercise a material effect upon the climate, and cause -the cultivator to wage fierce war with the soil. The air is highly -rarefied by its altitude. Captain Stansbury’s barometrical observations -for May, June, July, and August, give as a maximum 27·80 at 9 A.M. -on the 4th of August, and minimum 22·86 at sunrise on the 19th of -June, with a general range between 25° and 26°. New-comers suffer -from difficulty of breathing; often after sudden and severe exercise, -climbing, or running, the effect is like the nausea, sickness, and -fainting experienced upon Mont Blanc and in Tibet; even horses feel it, -and must pass two or three months before they are acclimatized.[152] - - [152] Subjoined is an abstract of meteorology kindly forwarded to me - by Judge Phelps: - - “Great Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 24th, 1860. - - “DEAR SIR,--The following is an abstract of meteorological - observations for the past year, from October, 1859, to October, 1860, - inclusive: - - Yearly mean of barometer 25·855 - Highest range 26·550 - Lowest range 25·205 - Thermometer attached (mean) 60° - Thermometer (open air) „ 71° - Thermometer, dry bulb „ 64° - Thermometer, wet bulb „ 58° - (All Fahrenheit.) - - “The amount of fair days, 244. The remaining 121 were 31 stormy and - the residue cloudy and foggy. - - “The course of the wind more than two thirds of the year goes round - daily with the sun; strongest wind south; worst for stock, north. - - “Highest range of the thermometer, 96° in July; lowest range in - December--22° below 0. - - “The amount of snow and rainwater was 12·257, which is somewhat over - 1 foot. - - “All the snow in the Valley was less than 3 feet, while perhaps in - the mountains it was more than 10 feet, which gives ample water for - irrigation. - - “The weather during the year was steady, without extremes. - - “Such was Utah in 1860. - - “Respectfully, I have the honor to be, etc., - - W. W. PHELPS.” - -The climate of the Basin has been compared with that of the Tartar -plains of High Asia. Spring opens in the valleys with great suddenness; -all is bloom and beauty below, while the snow-line creeps lingeringly -up the mountain side, and does not disappear till the middle of June. -Thus there are but three months of warmth in the high lands; the -low lands have four, beginning with a May-day like that of England. -At the equinoxes, both vernal and autumnal, there are rains in the -bottoms, which in the upper levels become sleet or snow. Between April -and October showers are rare; there are, however, exceptions, heavy -downfalls, with thunder, lightning, and hail. “Clouds without water” -is a proverbial expression; a dark, heavy pall, which in woodland -countries would burst with its weight, here sails over the arid, -sun-parched surface, and discharges its watery stores in the kanyons -and upon the mountains. During the first few years after the arrival -of the Saints there was little rain either in spring or autumn; in -1860 it extended to the middle of June. The change may be attributed -to cultivation and plantation; thus also may be explained the North -American Indian’s saying that the pale-face brings with him his rain. -The same has been observed in Kansas and New Mexico, and is equally -remarked by the natives of Cairo, the Aden Coal-hole, and Kurrachee. -Seed-time lasts from April to the 10th of June. - -The summer is hot, but the lightness and the aridity of the air prevent -its being unwholesome. During my visit the thermometer (F.) placed -in a room with open windows showed at dawn 63-66°; at noon, 75°; and -at sunset, 70°: the greatest midday heat was 105°. The mornings and -evenings, cooled by breezes from the mountains, were deliciously soft -and pure. The abundant electricity was proved, as in Sindh and Arabia, -by frequent devils or dust-pillars, like huge columns of volcanic -smoke, that careered over the miraged plains, violently excited where -they touched the negative earth, and calm in the positive strata of -the upper air, whence their floating particles were precipitated. -Dust-storms and thunder-storms are frequent and severe. Clouds often -gather upon the peaks, and a heavy black nimbus rises behind the Wasach -wall, setting off its brilliant sunlit side, but there is seldom rain. -Showers are preceded, as in Eastern Africa, by puffs and gusts of cold -air, and are expected in Great Salt Lake City when the clouds come from -the west and southwest, opposite and over the “Black Rock;” otherwise -they will cling to the hills. Even in the hottest weather, a cold -continuous wind, as from the nozzle of a forge-bellows, pours down the -deep damp kanyons, where the snow lingers, and travelers, especially -at night, prepare to pass across the ravine mouths with blankets and -warm clothing. Where the federal troops encamped on the stony bench -opposite the Provo Kanyon, it was truly predicted that they would -soon be blown out. When summer is protracted, severe droughts are the -result. Harvest-time is in the beginning of July. - -About early September the heat ends. In 1860, the first snow fell upon -the Twin Peaks and their neighborhood on the 12th of September. Rains -then usually set in for a fortnight or three weeks, and mild weather -often lasts till the end of October. November is partially a fine -month; after two or three snowy days, the Indian summer ushers in the -most enjoyable weather of the year, which, when short, ends about the -middle of November. - -Winter has three very severe months, reckoned from December. Icy winds -blow hard, and gales are sometimes so high that spray is carried from -the Great Salt Lake to the City, a distance of 10-12 miles. In 1854-5 -hundreds of cattle perished in the snow. Usually in mid-winter, snow -falls every day with a high westerly wind, veering toward the north, -and thick with poudré--dry icy spiculæ, hard as gravel. The thermometer -is not often below zero in the bottoms; on the 13th of December, 1859, -however, the thermometer at daylight, with the barometer at 26·250, -showed -22° (F.); 5° or 6° lower than it had ever been before. The snow -seldom lies in the valleys deeper than a man’s knee; it is dry, and -readily thawed by the sun. A vast quantity is drifted into the kanyons -and passes, where the people, as in Styria, often become prisoners at -home. These crevasses, hundreds of feet deep, retain their icy stores -throughout the year. It is asserted by those who believe in a Pacific -Railway upon this line[153] that the Wasach can be traversed at all -seasons; at present, however, sledge transit only is practicable, and -at times even that is found impossible. - - [153] The Pacific Railroad in 1852 was unknown to the political - world: in 1856 it began to be necessary, and shortly afterward it - appeared in both “platforms,” because without it no one could expect - to carry the Mississippian and Pacific States, Texas, for instance, - and California. The Diary will show the many difficulties which - it must encounter after crossing the South Pass; as the West can - afford no assistance, provisions and material must all come from - the East--an additional element of expense and delay. The estimate - is roughly laid down at $100,000,000: it may safely be doubled. - The well-known contractor, Mr. Whitney, offered to build it for a - reservation of thirty miles on both sides: the idea was rejected - as that of a crazy man. It is promised in ten years, and will - probably take thirty. England, then, had better look to _her_ line - through Canada and Columbia--it would be worth a hundred East Indian - railroads. - -It can not be doubted that this climate of arid heat and dry cold is -eminently suited to most healthy and to many sickly constitutions: -children and adults have come from England apparently in a dying -state, and have lived to be strong and robust men. I have elsewhere -alluded to the effect of rarefaction upon the English _physique_: -another has been stated, namely, that the atmosphere is too fine -and dry to require, or even to permit, the free use of spirituous -liquors. Paralysis is rare; scrofula and phthisis are unknown, as -in Nebraska--the climate wants that humidity which brings forward -the predisposition. It is also remarkable that, though all drink -snow-water, and though many live in valleys where there is no free -circulation of air, goître and cretinism are not yet named. The City -Council maintains an excellent sanitary supervision, which extends to -the minutest objects that might endanger the general health. The stream -of emigrants which formerly set copiously westward is now dribbling -back toward its source, and a quarantine is established for those who -arrive with contagious diseases. Great Salt Lake City is well provided -with disciples of Æsculapius, against whom there is none of that -prejudice founded upon superstition and fanaticism which anti-Mormon -writers have detected. Dr. Francis, an English Mormon, lately died, -leaving Dr. Anderson, a graduate of Maryland College, to take his -place: Dr. Bernhisel prefers politics to physic, and Dr. Kay is the -chief dentist. - -[DISEASES.] - -The normal complaints are easily explained by local -peculiarities--cold, alkaline dust, and overindulgence in food. - -Neuralgia is by no means uncommon. Many are compelled to wear kerchiefs -under their hats; and if a head be not always uncovered, there is some -reason for it. Rheumatism, as in England, affects the poorer classes, -who are insufficiently fed and clothed. Pneumonia, in winter, follows -exposure and hard work. The pleuro-pneumonia, which in 1860 did so much -damage to stock in New England, did not extend to Utah Territory: the -climate, however, is too like that of the Cape of Storms to promise -lasting immunity. Catarrhs are severe and lasting; they are accompanied -by bad toothaches and sore throats, which sometimes degenerate into -bronchitis. Diphtheria is not yet known. The measles have proved -especially fatal to the Indians: in 1850, “Old Elk,” the principal -war-chief of the Timpanogos Yutas, died of it: erysipelas also kills -many of the wild men. - -For ophthalmic disease, the climate has all the efficients of the -Valley of the Nile, and, unless suitable precautions are taken, the -race will, after a few generations, become tender-eyed as Egyptians. -The organ is weakened by the acrid irritating dust from the alkaline -soil, which glistens in the sun like hoar-frost. Snow-blindness is -common on the mountains and in the plains: the favorite preventive, -when goggles are unprocurable, is to blacken the circumorbital region -and the sides of the nose with soot--the kohl, surmah, or collyrium -of the Far West: the cure is a drop of nitrate of silver or laudanum. -The mucous membrane in horses, as among men, is glandered, as it were, -by alkali, and the chronic inflammation causes frequent hemorrhage: -the nitrous salts in earth and air exasperate to ulcers sunburns on -the nose and mouth: it is not uncommon to see men riding or walking -with a bit of paper instead of a straw between their lips. Wounds -must be treated to great disadvantage where the climate, like that of -Abyssinia, renders a mere scratch troublesome. The dryness of the air -produces immunity from certain troublesome excrescences which cause -shooting pains in humid regions, and the pedestrian requires no vinegar -and water to harden his feet: on the other hand, horses’ hoofs, as in -Sindh and Arabia, must be stuffed with tar, to prevent sun-crack. - -Under the generic popular name “mountain fever” are included various -species of febrile affections, intermittent, remittent, and typhoid: -they are treated successfully with quinine. - -Emigrants are advised to keep up hard work and scanty fare after -arrival, otherwise the sudden change from semi-starvation and absence -of fruit and vegetables upon the prairies to plenty in the settlements -may cause dyspepsia, dysentery, and visceral inflammation. Some are -attacked by “liver complaint,” the trivial term for the effects of -malaria, which, when inhaled, affects successively the lungs, blood, -liver, and other viscera. The favorite, and, indeed, the only known -successful treatment is by mineral acids, nitric, muriatic, and -others.[154] Scurvy is unknown to the settlers; when brought in after -long desert marches, it yields readily to a more generous diet and -vegetables, especially potatoes, which, even in the preserved form, act -as a specific. The terrible scorbutic disease, called the “black canker -of the plains,” has not extended so far west. - - [154] The following is the favorite cure: it is upon the principle of - the medicinal bath well known in Europe. - - ℞ Acid. Nit. ℥i. - Acid. Mur. ʒii. Mis. - - Of this fifteen drops are to be taken in a tumbler of water twice a - day before meals. The local application to the hepatic region is one - ounce of the nitro-muriatic acid in a quart of water, and applied - upon a compress every night. - -[ANIMALS OF UTAH TERRITORY.] - -There is not much sport with fur, feather, and fin in this part of -the Far West: the principal carnivors of the Great Basin are the -cougar (_F. unicolor_) and the cat-o’-mountain, the large and small -wolf, a variety of foxes, the red (_V. fulvus_), the great-tailed -(_V. macrourus_) and the silver (_V. argentatus_), whose spoils were -once worth their weight in silver. There are minks, ermines, skunks, -American badgers, and wolverines or gluttons, which ferret out -caches of peltries and provisions, and are said sometimes to attack -man. Of rodents the principal are the beaver, a burrowing hare, the -jackass-rabbit (_L. callotis_), porcupines, the geomys or gophar, -a sand-rat peculiar to America, the woodchuck or ground-hog, many -squirrels, especially the Spermophilus tredecim lineatus, which swarms -in hilly ground, and muskrat (_F. zibeticus_), which, like other -vermin, is eaten by Indians. The principal pachyderm is the hyrax, -called by the settlers “cony.” Of the ruminants we find the antelope, -deer, elk, and the noble bighorn, or Rocky Mountain sheep, the -moufflon or argali of the New World. - -Of the raptors the principal are the red-tailed hawk (_B. borealis_), -the sharp-shinned hawk (_A. fuscus_), the sparrow-hawk, and the -vulturine turkey-buzzard. Of game-birds there are several varieties of -quail, called partridges, especially the beautiful blue species (_O. -Californica_), and grouse, especially the sage-hen (_T. urophasianus_): -the water-fowl are swans (_C. Americanus_), wild geese in vast -numbers, the white pelican, here a migrating bird, the cormorant -(_Phalacrocorax_), the mallard or greenhead (_A. boschas_), which -loves the water of Jordan and the western Sea of Tiberias, the teal, -red-breasted and green-winged, the brant (_A. bernicla_), the plover -and curlew, the gull (a small _Larus_), a blue heron, and a brown -crane (_G. Canadensis_), which are found in the marshes throughout the -winter. The other members of the family are the bluebird (_A. sialia_), -the humming-bird (_Trochilus_), finches, woodpeckers, the swamp -blackbird, and the snowbird, small passerines: there is also a fine -lark (_Sturnella_) with a harsh note, which is considered a delicacy in -autumn. - -Besides a variety of gray and green lizards, the principal Saurian is -the Phrynosoma, a purely American type, popularly called the horned -frog--or toad, although its tail, its scaly body, and its inability -to jump disprove its title to rank as a batrachian--and by the -Mexicans chameleon, because it is supposed to live on air. It is of -many species, for which the naturalist is referred to the Appendix of -Captain Stansbury’s Exploration. The serpents are chiefly rattlesnakes, -swamp-adders, and water-snakes. The fishes are perch, pike, bass, -chub, a mountain trout averaging three pounds, and salmon trout which -has been known to weigh thirty pounds. There are but few mollusks, -periwinkles, snails, and fresh-water clams.[155] - - [155] Mr. W. Baird, in the absence of Mr. S. Woodward, of the British - Museum, has kindly favored me with the following list of a little - collection from the Great Basin which I placed in his hands. - - “British Museum, August 3d, 1861. - - “DEAR SIR,--The Helix (with open umbilicus) is, I think, _H. - solitaria_; the large Physa is very near, if not identical with - the _P. elliptica_ of our collection; the next largest Physa comes - very near _P. gyrina_; the larger Lymnœa is _L. catascopium_, the - smaller ditto _L. modicella_. There are two species of the genus - _Lithoglyphus_, the one resembling very much the _L. naticoides_ - of Europe, but most probably new; the other I should imagine to be - undescribed. There is a small _Paludina_ looking shell which comes - very near the _Paludina piscium_ of D’Orbigny. There is a species of - _Anodonta_ which corresponds with a shell we have from the Columbia - River, but of which I do not know the name. There is also a species - of _Cyclas_ which may be new, as I do not know at present any species - from North America exactly like it. Believe me, yours truly, - - W. BAIRD. - - “Capt. R. F. Burton.” - -The botany of the Great Basin has been investigated by Messrs. Frémont -and Stansbury, who forwarded their collections for description to -Professor John Torrey, of New York: M. Remy has described his own -herbarium. To these valuable works the reader may be referred for all -now known upon the subject. - -[GEOLOGY OF UTAH TERRITORY.] - -The rocks in Utah Territory are mostly primitive--granite, brick-red -jasper, syenite, hornblende, and porphyry, with various quartzes, -of which the most curious is a white nodule surrounded by a -crystalline layer of satin spar. The presence of obsidian, scoriæ, and -lava--apparently a dark brown mud tinged with iron, and so vitrified by -heat that it rings--evidences volcanic action. Many of the ridges are a -carboniferous limestone threaded by calcareous spar, and in places rich -with encrinites and fossil corallines; it rests upon or alternates with -hard and compact grits and sandstone. The kanyons in the neighborhood -of Great Salt Lake City supply boulders of serpentine, fine gray -granite, coarse red ochrish pœcilated crystalline-white and metamorphic -sandstones, a variety of conglomerates, especially granitic, with tufa -in large masses, talcose and striated slates, some good for roofing, -gypsum (plaster of Paris), pebbles of alabaster and various kinds of -limestones, some dark and fetid, others oolitic, some compact and -massive, black, blue, or ash-colored, seamed with small veins of white -carbonate of lime, others light gray and friable, cased with tufa, or -veneered with jade. The bottom-soil in most parts is fitted for the -adobe, and the lower hills contain an abundance of fossilless chalky -lime, which makes tolerable mortar: the best is that near Deep Creek, -the worst is in the vicinity of Great Salt Lake City. Near Fort Hall, -in the northeast corner of the basin, there is said to be a mountain of -marble displaying every hue and texture: marble is also found in large -crystalline nodules like arragonite. - -Utah Territory will produce an ample supply of iron.[156] According to -the Mormons, it resembles that of Missouri, and the gangue contains -eighty per cent. of pure metal, which, to acquire the necessary -toughness, must be alloyed with imported iron. Gold, according to -Humboldt, is constant in meridional mountains, and we may expect to -find it in a country abounding with crystalline rocks cut by dikes -of black and gray basalt and porous trap, gneiss, micaceous schists, -clayey and slaty shales, and other argillaceous formations. It is -generally believed that gold exists upon the Wasach Mountains, within -sight of Great Salt Lake City, and in 1861 a traveling party is -reported to have found a fine digging in the north. Lumps of virgin -silver are said to have been discovered upon the White Mountains, in -the south of the Territory, and Judge Ralston, I am informed, has -lately hit upon a mine near the western route. Copper, zinc, and lead -have been brought from Little Salt Lake Valley and sixty miles east -of the Vegas de Santa Clara. Coal, principally bituminous--like that -nearer the Pacific--is found mostly in the softer limestones south of -the city, in a country of various marls, indurated clays, and earthy -sandstones. In 1855 a vein of five feet thick, in quality resembling -that of Maryland, was discovered west of the San Pete Creek, on the -road to Manti. In Iron County, 250 to 280 miles south of Great Salt -Lake City, inexhaustible coal-beds as well as iron deposits are said to -line the course of the Green River, and, that nothing may be wanting, -considerable affluents supply abundant water-power. A new digging had -been discovered shortly before my arrival on a tributary of the Weber -River, east of the City of the Saints, and upon the western route -many spots were pointed out to me as future coal-mines. Timber being -principally required for building, fencing, and mechanical purposes, -renders firewood expensive: in the city a cartage of fifteen miles -is necessary, and the price is thereby raised from $7 in summer to a -maximum of $20 in the hard season per cord of sixteen by four feet. -Unless the Saints would presently be reduced to the necessity of -“breakfasting with Ezekiel,” they must take heart and build a tramroad -to the south. - - [156] Magnetic iron ore is traced in the basaltic rock; cubes of - bisulphuret of iron are found in the argillaceous schists, and cubic - crystals of iron pyrites are seen in white ferruginous quartz. - -Saltpetre is found--upon paper: here, as in other parts of America, -it is deficient: a reward of $500 offered for a sample of gunpowder -manufactured from Valley Tan materials produced no claimants. Sulphur -is only too common. Saleratus or alkaline salts is the natural produce -of the soil. Borax and petroleum or mineral tar have been discovered, -and the native alum has been analyzed and pronounced good by Dr. -Gale.[157] Rubies, emeralds, and other small but valuable stones are -found in the chinks of the primitive rocks throughout the western parts -of the Territory. I have also seen chalcedony, sardonyx, carnelian, and -various agates. - - [157] 100 grammes of the freshly crystallized salt gave, - - Water 73·0 - Protoxide of manganese 08·9 - Alumina 04·0 - Sulphuric acid 18·0 - -Utah Territory is pronounced by immigrants from the Old Country to -be a “mean land,” hard, dry, and fit only for the steady, sober, -and hard-working Mormon. Scarcely one fiftieth part is fit for -tillage; farming must be confined to rare spots, in which, however, -an exceptional fertility appears. Even in the arable lands there is -a great variety: some do not exceed 8-10 bushels per acre, while -Captain Stansbury mentions 180 bushels[158] of wheat being raised -upon 3·50 acres of ground from one bushel of seed, and estimates the -average yield of properly-cultivated land at 40 bushels, whereas rich -Pennsylvania rarely gives 30 per acre.[159] I have heard of lands near -the fresh-water lake which bear from 60 to 105 bushels per acre. - - [158] In the United States the bushel of wheat or clover-seed is 60 - lbs.; of corn, barley, and rye, 56 lbs.; of oats, 35-36 lbs. - - [159] The yield in Egypt varies from 25 to 150 grains for one planted. - -[SOIL.] - -The cultivable tracts are of two kinds, bench-land and bottom-land. - -[FRUITS.] - -The soil of the bench-lands is fertile, a mixture of the highland -feldspath with the débris of decomposed limestone. It is comparatively -free from alkalines, the bane of the valleys; but as rain is wanting, -it depends, like the Basses-Pyrénées, upon irrigation, and must be -fertilized by the mountain torrents that issue from the kanyons. As a -rule, the creeks dwindle to rivulets and sink in the porous alluvium -before they have run a mile from the hill-foot, and reappear in the -arid plains at a level too low for navigation: in such places artesian -wells are wanted. The soil, though fertile, is thin, requiring compost: -manure is here allowed to waste, the labor of the people sufficing -barely for essentials. I am informed that two bushels of semence are -required for each acre, and that the colonists sow too scantily: a -judicious rotation of crops is also yet to come. The benches are -sometimes extensive: a strip, for instance, runs along the western base -of the Wasach Mountains, with a varying breadth of 1-3 miles, from -80 miles north of Great Salt Lake City to Utah Lake and Valley, the -southern terminus of cultivation, a total length of 120 miles. These -lands produce various cereals, especially wheat and buckwheat, oats, -barley, and a little Indian corn, all the fruits and vegetables of a -temperate zone, and flax, hemp, and linseed in abundance. The wild -fruits are the service berry, choke-cherry, buffalo berry, gooseberry, -an excellent strawberry, and black, white, red, and yellow mountain -currants, some as large as ounce bullets. - -[ALKALINE SALTS.] - -The bottom-lands, where the creeks extend, are better watered than the -uplands, but they are colder and salter. The refrigerated air seeks -the lowest levels; hence in Utah Territory the benches are warmer than -the valleys, and the spring vegetation is about a fortnight later on -the banks of Jordan than above them. Another cause of cold is the -presence of saleratus or alkaline salts, the natural effect of the rain -being insufficient to wash them out. Experiment proved in Sindh that -nothing is more difficult than to eradicate this evil from the soil: -the sweetest earth brought from afar becomes tainted by it: sometimes -the disease appears when the crop is half grown; at other times it -attacks irregularly--one year, for instance, will see a fine field of -wheat, and the next none. When inveterate, it breaks out in leprous -eruptions, and pieces of efflorescence can be picked up for use: a -milder form induces a baldness of growth, with an occasional birth -of chenopodiaceæ. Many of the streams are dangerous to cattle, and -often in the lower parts of the valleys there are ponds and pools of -water colored and flavored like common ley. According to the people, -a small admixture is beneficial to vegetation; the grass is rendered -equal for pasturage to the far-famed salt-marshes of Essex and of the -Atlantic coast; potatoes, squashes, and melons become sweeter, and -the pie-plant loses its acidity. On the other hand, the beet has been -found to deteriorate, no small misfortune at such a distance from the -sugar-cane. - -Besides salt-drought and frost, the land has to contend against an -Asiatic scourge. The cricket (_Anabrus simplex_?) is compared by the -Mormons to a “cross between the spider and the buffalo:” it is dark, -ungainly, wingless, and exceedingly harmful. The five red-legged -grasshopper (_Œdipoda corallipes_), about the size of the English -migratory locust, assists these “black Philistines,” and, but for -a curious provision of nature, would render the land well-nigh -uninhabitable. A small species of gull flocks from its resting-place -in the Great Salt Lake to feed upon the advancing host; the “glossy -bird of the valley, with light red beak and feet, delicate in form and -motion, with plumage of downy texture and softness,” stayed in 1848 -the advance of the “frightful bug,” whose onward march nor fires, nor -hot trenches, nor the cries of the frantic farmer could arrest. We -can hardly wonder that the Mormons, whose minds, so soon after the -exodus, were excited to the highest pitch, should have seen in this -natural phenomenon a miracle, a special departure from the normal -course of events, made by Providence in their favor, or accuse them, as -anti-Mormons have done, of forging signs and portents. - -But, while many evils beset agriculture in Utah Territory, grazing -is comparatively safe, and may be extended almost _ad libitum_. The -valleys of this land of Goshen supply plentiful pasturage in the -winter; as spring advances cattle will find gamma and other grasses -on the benches, and as, under the influence of the melting sun, -the snow-line creeps up the hills, flocks and herds, like the wild -graminivorants, will follow the bunch-grass, which, vivified by the -autumnal rains, breeds under the snow, and bears its seed in summer. -In the basin of the Green River, fifty miles south of Fillmore City, -is a fine wool-producing country 7000 square miles in area. Even the -ubiquitous sage will serve for camels. As has been mentioned, Durhams, -Devons, and Merino tups have found their way to Great Salt Lake City, -and the terrible milk-sickness[160] of the Western States has not. - - [160] A fatal spasmodic disease produced in the Western States by - astringent salts in the earth and water: it first attacks cattle, and - then those who eat the infected meat or drink the milk. Travelers - tell of whole villages being destroyed by it. - -In 1860 the Valley of the Great Salt Lake alone produced 306,000 -bushels of grain, of which about 17,000 were oats. Lieutenant Gunnison, -estimating the average yield of each plowed acre at 2000 lbs. (33¹⁄₂ -bushels), a fair estimate, and “drawing the meat part of the ration, -or one half,” from the herds fed elsewhere, fixes the maximum of -population in Utah Territory at 4000 souls to a square mile, and opines -that it will maintain with ease one million of inhabitants. - -Timber, I have said, is a growing want throughout the country; the -“hair of the earth-animal” is by no means luxuriant. Great Cotton-wood -Kanyon is supposed to contain supplies for twenty years, but it -is chiefly used for building purposes. The Mormons, unlike the -Hibernians, of whom it was said in the last century that no man ever -planted an orchard, have applied themselves manfully to remedying the -deficiency, and the next generation will probably be safe. At present, -“hard woods,” elm, hackberry, pecan or button-wood, hickory, mulberry, -basswood, locust, black and English walnut, are wanted, and must be -imported from the Eastern States. The lower kanyons and bottoms are -clothed with wild willow, scrub maple, both hard and soft, box elder, -aspen, birch, cotton-wood, and other amentaciæ, and in the south with -spruce and dwarf ash. The higher grounds bear stunted cedars white and -red, balsam and other pines, the dwarf oak, which, like the maple, is a -mere scrub, and the mountain mahogany, a tough, hard, and strong, but -grainless wood, seldom exceeding eight inches in diameter. Hawthorn -(a _Cratægus_) also exists, and in the southern and western latitudes -the piñon (_P. monophyllus_), varying from the size of an umbrella to -twenty feet in height, feeds the Indians with its oily nut, which not -a little resembles the seed of the pinaster and the Mediterranean _P. -Pinea_, and supplies a rich gum for strengthening plasters. - -[ANNUAL EXHIBITION IN UTAH TERRITORY.] - -The present state of agriculture in the vicinity of Great Salt Lake -City will best be explained by the prospectus of the annual show for -1860.[161] Wheat thrives better than maize, which in the northern -parts suffers from the late frosts, and requires a longer summer. Until -oats and barley can be grown in sufficient quantities, horses are -fed upon heating wheat, which only the hardest riding enables them -to digest. _Holcus saccharatum_, or Chinese millet, succeeds where -insufficient humidity is an obstacle to the sugar-cane. The fault -of the vegetables here, as in California, is excessive size, which -often renders them insipid; the Irish potato, however, is superior to -that of Nova Scotia and Charleston; the onions are large and mild as -those of Spain. The white carrot, the French bean, and the cucumber -grow well, and the “multicaulis mania” has borne good fruit in the -shape of cabbage. The size of the beets suggested in 1853 the project -originated in France by Napoleon the Great: $100,000 were expended upon -sugar-making machinery; the experiment, however, though directed by a -Frenchman, failed, it is said, on account of the alkali contained in -the root, and the Saints are accused of having distilled for sale bad -spirit from the useless substance. The deserts skirting the Western -Holy Land have also their manna; the leaves of poplars and other -trees on the banks of streams distill, at divers seasons of the year, -globules of honey-dew, resembling in color gum Arabic, but of softer -consistence and less adhesiveness: the people collect it with spoons -into saucers. Cotton thrives in the southern and southwestern part of -Utah Territory when the winter is mild: at the meeting-place of waters -near the Green and Grand Rivers that unite to form the Colorado, the -shrub has been grown with great success. - - [161] List of premiums to be awarded by the Deserét Agricultural and - Manufacturing Society, at the Annual Exhibition, October 3d and 4th, - 1860. - - CLASS A.--CATTLE. - - Awarding Committee--Hector C. Haight, Wm. Jennings, Wm. Miller, Alex. - Baron. - - Best Durham bull $10 00 - 2d do. 5 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best Devon bull 10 00 - 2d do. 5 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best bull under 1 year 5 00 - 2d do. do. dip. - Best Durham cow and calf 5 00 - 2d do. do. 3 00 - 3d do. do. dip. - Best Devon cow and calf 5 00 - 2d do. do. 3 00 - 3d do. do. dip. - Best native or cross cow and calf. 5 00 - 2d do. do. 3 00 - 3d do. do. dip. - Best 2 year old heifer 3 00 - 2d do. do. dip. - Best 1 year old heifer 2 00 - 2d do. do. dip. - Best matched native cattle 5 00 - 2d do. do. 3 00 - 3d do. do. dip. - Best blooded & wooled buck 5 00 - 2d do. do. 3 00 - 3d do. do. dip. - Best 2 ewes for blood and wool 4 00 - 2d do. do. 2 00 - 3d do. do. dip. - Best boar 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best sow and pigs 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - - CLASS B.--FIELD CROPS. - - Awarding Committee--A. P. Rockwood, Joseph Holbrook, L. E. - Harrington, John Rowberry. - - Best fenced and cultivated farm not - less than twenty acres $5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best fenced and cultivated garden 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 5 acres of sugar-cane 15 00 - 2d do. 10 00 - 3d do. 5 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best 1 acre of sugar-cane 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 acres of wheat 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 acres of corn 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 acres of turnips 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 acres of beets 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 acres of carrots 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 1 acre of white beans 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 1 acre of peas 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 1 acre of flax 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 1 acre of hemp 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 1 acre of red clover 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 1 acre of potatoes 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 1 acre of Hungarian grass 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best acre of rye 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best acre of turnips 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best acre of beets 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best acre of carrots 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 100 lbs. flax 5 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 100 lbs. hemp 5 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 10 lbs. manufactured tobacco 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 6 canes of Chinese sugar-cane 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 6 canes of field-corn 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - - Awarding Committee on Cotton and Tobacco--William Crosby, Robert D. - Covington, Joshua T. Willis, Jacob Hamblin, Jas. R. M‘Cullough. - - Best 10 acres of cotton $30 00 - 2d do. 20 00 - 3d do. 15 00 - 4th do. 10 00 - 5th do. dip. - Best 5 acres of cotton 25 00 - 2d do. 20 00 - 3d do. 15 00 - 4th do. 10 00 - 5th do. dip. - Best 2 acres of cotton 20 00 - 2d do. 15 00 - 3d do. 10 00 - 4th do. 5 00 - 5th do. dip. - Best 1 acre of cotton 15 00 - 2d do. 10 00 - 3d do. 8 00 - 4th do. 5 00 - 5th do. dip. - Best ¹⁄₂ acre of cotton 10 00 - 2d do. 8 00 - 3d do. 6 00 - 4th do. 4 00 - 5th do. dip. - Best 5 acres of tobacco 25 00 - 2d do. 20 00 - 3d do. 15 00 - 4th do. 10 00 - 5th do. dip. - Best 1 acre of tobacco 15 00 - 2d do. 10 00 - 3d do. 5 00 - 4th do. dip. - - CLASS C.--VEGETABLES. - - Awarding Committee--Sidney A. Knowlton, Charles H. Oliphant, Thos. - Woodbury. - - Best brace cucumbers $3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 3 squashes 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 3 pumpkins. 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 3 water melons 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 3 cantaloupes 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best peck of tomatoes 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 3 early cabbages 1 50 - 2d do. dip. - Best 3 late cabbages 1 50 - 2d do. dip. - Best 3 red cabbages 1 50 - 2d do. dip. - Best 3 Savoy cabbages 1 50 - 2d do. dip. - Best 6 stalks of celery 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 6 blood beets 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 6 sugar beets 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 6 carrots 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 6 parsnips 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 6 turnips 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best peck of silver onions 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best peck of yellow onions 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best peck of red onions 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best peck of potatoes 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best peck of sweet potatoes 5 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best quart of Lima beans 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best quart of bush beans 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best quart of peas 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 6 stalks of rhubarb 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 4 heads of cauliflower 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 4 heads of brocoli 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 4 heads of lettuce 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best bunch of parsley 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best collection of radishes 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best collection of peppers 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best egg-plant 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - - CLASS D.--FRUITS AND FLOWERS. - - Awarding Committee--Edward Sayres, George A. Niel, Daniel Graves. - - Best 6 apples $3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. 1 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best 6 peaches 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. 1 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best 6 pears 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. 1 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best 6 apricots 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. 1 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best 6 quinces 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. 1 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best 3 bunches of grapes 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. 1 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best quart of native grafted plums 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best pint of currants 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of English cherries 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best bed or hills of strawberries 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. 1 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best raspberries 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best gooseberries 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - - FLOWERS. - - Best collection of China asters $1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best collection of dahlias 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best collection of roses 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best collection of cut flowers 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best collection of pot flowers 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - -[THE PAST OF MORMONLAND.] - -The principal value of Utah Territory is its position as a great -half-way station--a Tadmor in the wilderness--between the Valley of the -Mississippi and the Western States, California and Oregon; it has thus -proved a benefit to humanity. The Mormons, “flying from civilization -and Christianity,” attempted to isolate themselves from the world in -a mountain fastness; they were foiled by an accident far beyond human -foresight. They had retired to a complete oasis, defended by sterile -volcanic passes, which in winter are blocked up with snow, girt by -vast waterless and uninhabitable deserts, and unapproachable from any -settled country save by a painful and dangerous march of 600-1000 -miles. Presently, in 1850, the gold fever broke out on the Pacific -sea-board; thousands of people not only passed through Utah Territory, -but were also compelled to remain there and work for a livelihood. The -transit received a fresh impulse in 1858 by the gold discovered at -Pike’s Peak, and in 1859 by the rich silver mines found in the Carson -and Washoe Valleys, on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Carson -Valley, which was settled by Colonel Reece in 1852, and colonized -in 1855 by 500 Mormons, was soon cleared of Saints by the influx of -prospectors and diggers, and the other El Dorados drew off much -Gentile population, which was an incalculable boon to the Mormons. They -thus rid themselves of the “thriving lawyers, gamblers, prostitutes, -criminals, and desperadoes, loafers, and drunkards,” who made New -Jerusalem a carnival of horrors. The scene is now shifted to Denver and -Carson cities, where rape and robbery, intoxication and shooting are -attributed to their true causes, the gathering together of a lawless -and excited crowd, not to the “baleful shade of that deadly Upas-tree, -Mormonism.” - -The Mormons, having lost all hopes of safety by isolation, now seek it -in the reverse: mail communication with the Eastern and Western States -is their present hobby: they look forward to markets for their produce, -and to a greater facility and economy of importing. They have dreamed -of a water-line to the East by means of the Missouri head-waters, -which are said to be navigable for 350-400 miles, and to the West by -the tributaries of the Snake River, that afford 400. Shortly after -the foundation of Great Salt Lake City, they proceeded to establish, -under the ecclesiastical title “Stakes of Zion in the Wilderness,” -settlements and outposts, echelonned in skeleton, afterward to be -filled in, from Temple Block along the southern line to San Diego. The -importance of connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific by a shorter -route than the 24,000 miles of navigation round Cape Horn, has produced -first a monthly, then a weekly, and lastly a daily mail, and has opened -up a route from the Holy City to Carson Valley. So far from opposing -the Pacific Railroad, the local Legislature petitioned for it in -1849, and believe that it would increase the value of their property -tenfold. But as equal parts of Mormon and Gentile never could dwell -together in amity, extensive communication would probably result in -causing the Saints to sell out, and once more to betake themselves to -their “wilderness work” in Sonora, or in other half-settled portions -of Northern Mexico. This view of the question is taken by the federal -authorities, who would willingly, if they could, confer upon the -petitioners the fatal boon. - -The Mormon pioneers, 143 in number, when sent westward under several -of the apostles to seek for settlements, fixed upon the Valley of the -Great Salt Lake. The advance colony of 4000 souls, expelled from Nauvoo -on the Mississippi, and headed by “Brigham the Seer,” arrived there -on the 24th of July, 1847, the anniversary of which is their 4th of -July--Independence Day. Before the end of the first week a tract of -land was ditched, plowed, and planted with potatoes. City-Creek Kanyon -was dammed for irrigation; an area of forty acres was fortified after -the old New England fashion by facing log houses inward, and by a -palisade of timber hauled from the ravines; the city was laid out upon -the spot where they first rested, the most eligible site in the Valley, -and prayers, with solemn ceremonies, consecrated the land. - -[CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF DESERÉT.] - -Early in 1849, the Mormons, irritated by the contemptuous silence of -the federal government, assembled themselves in Convention, and, with -the boldness engendered by a perfect faith, duly erected themselves -into a free, sovereign, and independent people, with a vast extent -of country.[162] Disdaining to remain in _statu pupillari_, they -dispensed with a long political minority, and rushed into the conclave -of republics like California, whose sons are fond of comparing her -to Minerva issuing full-grown from the cranium of Jupiter into the -society of Olympus. Roused by this liberty, the Senate and House of -Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, -on the 9th of September, 1850, sheared the self-constituted republic -of its fair proportions, and reduced it to the infant condition of New -Mexico, with the usual proviso in the organic act that when qualified -for admission as states they shall become slave or free, as their -respective Constitutions may prescribe. At present one of the principal -Mormon grievances is that, although their country can, by virtue of -population, claim admission into the Union, which has lately been -overrun with a mushroom growth, like Michigan, Minnesota, and Oregon, -their prayers are not only rejected, but even their petitions remain -unnoticed. The cause is, I believe, polygamy, which, until the statute -law is altered, would not and could not be tolerated, either in America -or in England. To the admission of other Territories, Kansas, for -instance, the slavery question was the obstacle. The pro party will -admit none who will not support the South, and _vice versâ_. Perhaps -it is well so, otherwise the old and civilized states would soon find -themselves swamped by batches of peers in rapidly succeeding creations. - - [162] The following is the preamble to the Constitution: it is a fair - specimen of Mormon plain-dealing. - - Provisional Government of the State of Deserét.--Abstract of - Convention Minutes. On the 15th of March, 1849, the Convention - appointed the following persons a Committee to draft a Constitution - for the State of Deserét, viz.: Albert Carrington, Joseph L. Heywood, - William W. Phelps, David Fullmer, John S. Fullmer, Charles C. Rich, - John Taylor, Parley P. Pratt, John M. Bernhisel, Erastus Snow. - - March 18th, 1849. Albert Carrington, chairman of the Committee, - reported the following Constitution, which was read and unanimously - adopted by the Convention: - - CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF DESERÉT. - - PREAMBLE.--Whereas a large number of the citizens of the United - States, before and since the Treaty of Peace with the Republic of - Mexico, emigrated to, and settled in that portion of the territory of - the United States lying west of the Rocky Mountains, and in the great - interior Basin of Upper California; and - - Whereas, by reason of said treaty, all civil organization originating - from the Republic of Mexico became abrogated; and - - Whereas the Congress of the United States has failed to provide - a form of civil government for the territory so acquired, or any - portion thereof; and - - Whereas civil government and laws are necessary for the security, - peace, and prosperity of society; and - - Whereas it is a fundamental principle in all republican governments - that all political power is inherent in the people, and governments - instituted for their protection, security, and benefit should emanate - from the same: - - Therefore your committee beg leave to recommend the adoption of the - following CONSTITUTION until the Congress of the United States shall - otherwise provide for the government of the Territory hereinafter - named and described by admitting us into the Union. WE, THE PEOPLE, - grateful to the SUPREME BEING for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and - feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of those blessings, - DO ORDAIN AND ESTABLISH A FREE AND INDEPENDENT GOVERNMENT, by the - name of the STATE OF DESERÉT, including all the territory of the - United States within the following boundaries, to wit: commencing at - the 33° of north latitude, where it crosses the 108° of longitude, - west of Greenwich; thence running south and west to the boundary of - Mexico; thence west to and down the main channel of the Gila River - (or the northern line of Mexico), and on the northern boundary - of Lower California to the Pacific Ocean; thence along the coast - northwesterly to the 118° 30′ of west longitude; thence north to - where said line intersects the dividing ridge of the Sierra Nevada - mountains; thence north along the summit of the Sierra Nevada - mountains to the dividing range of mountains that separate the waters - flowing into the Columbia River from the waters running into the - Great Basin; thence easterly along the dividing range of mountains - that separate said waters flowing into the Columbia River on the - north, from the waters flowing into the Great Basin on the south, to - the summit of the Wind River chain of mountains; thence southeast and - south by the dividing range of mountains that separate the waters - flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from the waters flowing into the Gulf - of California, to the place of beginning, as set forth in a map drawn - by Charles Preuss, and published by order of the Senate of the United - States in 1848. - -The Mormons have another complaint, touching the tenure of their land. -The United States have determined that the Indian title has not been -extinguished. The Saints declare that no tribe of aborigines could -prove a claim to the country, otherwise they were ready to purchase it -in perpetuity by pay, presents, and provisions, besides establishing -the usual reservations. Moreover, the federal government has departed -from the usual course. The law directs that the land, when set off into -townships, six miles square with subdivisions,[163] must be sold at -auction to the highest bidder. The Mormons represent that although a -survey of considerable tracts has been completed by a federal official, -they are left to be mere squatters that can be ejected like an Irish -tenantry, because the government, knowing their ability and readiness -to pay the recognized pre-emption price ($1 25 per acre), fear lest -those now in possession should become lawful owners and permanent -proprietors of the soil.[164] Polygamy is here again to blame. - - [163] Viz., the section of one square mile, the half section =320 - acres, and the quarter section of 160 acres: the latter is the legal - grant to military settlers. The pre-emption laws in the United States - are just and precise; but in the mountains it is about as easy to - eject a squatter as to collect “rint” from Western Galway in the days - of Mr. Martin. - - [164] In England and Scotland the rent for use of land averages one - quarter of the gross produce; in France, one third; unhappy India - gives one half; and the Territories of the United States nearly - nothing. - -The Mormon settlements resemble those of the French in Canada and -elsewhere rather than the English in Australia, the Dutch at the -Cape, or the American squatters on the Western frontier. They eschew -solitude, and cluster together round the Church and the succedaneum for -the priest. In establishing these “stakes” they proceed methodically. -A tentative expedition, sent out to select the point presenting the -greatest facilities for settlements, is followed by a volunteer band -of Saints, composed of farmers, mechanics, and artisans, headed by an -apostle, president, elder, or some other dignitary. The foundations are -laid with long ceremonies. The fort or block-house is first built, and -when the people are lodged the work of agriculture begins. The cities -of Utah Territory are somewhat like the “towns” of Cornwall. At present -there are three long lines of these juvenile settlements established -as caravanserais in the several oases. The first is along the Humboldt -River to Carson Valley; the second is by the southern route, _viâ_ -Fillmore; and the third is betwixt the two, along “Egan’s Route,” the -present mail line. - -[COUNTIES IN UTAH TERRITORY.] - -The counties, originally 5, increased in 1855 to 12, are now (1860) 19 -in number, viz.: - -1. Great Salt Lake County: the chief town is Great Salt Lake City; the -sub-settlements are the Sugar-House, 4 miles S. of Temple Block--the -invariable _point de départ_; Mill Creek, 7 miles; Great Cotton-wood, -8-9 miles; West Jordan, Jordan Mills, Herriman, and Union, or Little -Cotton-wood Creek, 12 miles; Drapersville, 20-21 miles S.; all small -villages, with good farming lands. - -2. Utah County: the chief town is Provo or Provaux, on the Timpanogos -River, 45 miles; David City, on Dry Creek, 28 miles; Lake City, on -American Fork, 32 miles S.; Lehi City, 35 miles S.; Lone City, 37 miles -S.; Pleasant Grove or Battle Creek, 41 miles S.; Springville or Hobble -Creek, 53-54 miles; Palmyra, a small place east of the Lake, and north -of Spanish Fork, 59-60 miles; Spanish-Fork City, 61 miles S.; Pondtown, -64 miles S.; Payson City, on both banks of the Peet-Neet Creek, 64-65 -miles S.; and Santa Quin, 74 miles S. - -3. Davis County: chief town Farmington; others, Stoker, Centreville, -12·50 miles N., and Kaysville, 22 miles N. - -4. Weber County: chief town Ogden City, on both sides of Ogden River, -40 miles E.; also North Ogden. - -5. Iron County: chief town Parovan, so called from the Pavant Indians; -built on Centre Creek, 255 miles S. of Great Salt Lake City, and 96 -miles from Fillmore, and incorporated in 1851. Also Cedar City, near -Little Salt Lake, 275 miles S.; St. Joseph’s Springs and Vegas de -Santa Clara, 200 miles from Cedar City. The Aztecs, as their rock -inscriptions prove, once extended to Little Salt Lake Valley. - -6. Tooele County: chief town Tooele City, 32 miles W.; also “Eastern -Tooele City,” 26 miles W.; Grantsville, 27 miles W.; Richville and -Cedar Valley, 40 miles W. - -7. San Pete Valley County and City, 131 miles, laid out by the -presidency in 1849, and incorporated in 1850; Fort Ephraim, 130 miles; -Manti City, 140 miles, on the southern declivity of Mount Nebo. Aztecan -pictographs have been found upon the cliffs in San Pete Valley. - -8. Juab County: chief town Salt Creek, in a valley separated from Utah -Valley by a ridge, on which runs Summit Creek. - -9. Box-Elder County and City, 60 miles N.; also Willow Creek and -Brigham’s City. - -[COAL.] - -10. Washington County: chief town Fort Harmony, on Ash Creek, 291 miles -S., and 20 miles N. of Rio Virgen.[165] - - [165] I annex a description of Washington County, which lately - appeared in the “Deserét News:” - - “Yesterday afternoon I met in the library of the University the - Hon. Wm. Crosby, the representative from Washington County to - our Legislature, who furnishes me with some items of information - respecting the county he represents worthy a passing notice, - especially as there is so little known of that county. The - inhabitants are estimated at about 1500 persons, chiefly engaged in - farming and grazing. The county of Washington in area is as large as - the State of Connecticut, generally of a barren, desert character, - broken and mountainous. On the borders of the Rio Virgen and the - Santa Clara there are narrow strips of land exceedingly fertile, on - which every thing grows with great richness, and at a cost of very - little labor. During the present year only 50,000 pounds of cotton - have been raised, but, properly cultivated and attended to, the - inhabitants there could raise all the cotton ever required by the - inhabitants of this Territory. At present its cultivation is almost - neglected for the want of proper facilities for its manufacture. - The entrance also of the army in 1857, followed by immense trains - of goods--which, by-the-by, some of the merchants never paid a cent - for, and it is very doubtful if they ever will--was also a crushing - competition to the people of Washington County. - - “Every kind of fruit that has been tried there grows with great - luxuriance. The apple, pear, plum, apricot, peach, and fig trees do - exceedingly well. The English walnut-tree grew this year nine feet, - and the Catawba grape grew nineteen feet and a half before the 6th - of September. The bunches of those grapes, many of them, measured - nineteen inches in length. At Tocqueville, one of the small towns in - that county, one man raised this year two water-melons from one vine - that weighed, the one sixty, and the other fifty pounds. - - “At the Agricultural Exhibition, held there last September, the fine - grapes which I have mentioned were on exhibition. At the same time - there was exhibited a stalk of cotton containing three hundred and - seven forms; a radish measuring eighteen inches in circumference; a - sunflower head thirty-six inches; and a monster castor-bean stalk; - a sweet potato-vine five feet and a half long; and one Isabella - grape-vine twenty-five feet long. One man had in his garden trees - which in six months grew as follows: - - ft. in. - Washington Plum 8 6 - Apple-trees 6 6 - Apricots 7 0 - Figs 7 0 - Almond 7 2 - Peach 8 6 - Pears 6 0 - - “In climate, Washington embraces all the varieties from frigid to - torrid, from regions of perpetual frost to an eternal spring. Every - kind of out-door work, plowing, ditching, building, etc., can be - pursued throughout winter in some parts of the county, while in - others there are killing frosts throughout the whole year. - - “I had almost forgotten to mention that the soil is excellent for the - grape, and during the present year very fine tobacco has been grown - there, as well as madder and indigo. The sorghum raised there has - a magnificent flavor, and without the ‘patent fixings,’ with very - little labor, and that of the simplest character, good sugar is made - from it. At the late exhibition the sorghum took the two highest - prizes. I believe the honorable member from Washington has brought - with him a few gallons of this very fine molasses as a _cadeau_ to - the Prophet. To readers who have every luxury in abundance and at - very moderate figures, these items may have little interest, but to - those who watch the progress of the people here, and the reclaiming - of the desert, this information has great significance. In a few - years every thing that the people require will be raised from their - own soil, and manufactured by their own hands. - - “Mr. Crosby, from whom I elicited these facts, was born in Indiana, - but ‘brought up’ in the Southern States. Mormonism got hold of him in - 1843, in the State of Mississippi. Following the fortunes of Brigham, - he brought some nine or ten slaves, ‘very select niggers.’ In 1851 - he went over to San Bernardino, and was bishop over there. The state - soon liberated the ebony folks, and Mr. Crosby, of course, lost his - $9000 or $10,000 by the operation. - - “The Superintendent of the Church Public Works and a few others went - out exploring for coal about the Weber some time in August last, - and found a splendid bed of mineral. It promises to be the greatest - blessing that has yet fallen to the lot of the Saints. Of course I do - not look at things with ‘an eye of faith;’ that is their business. - But among people paying $10 per cord for wood, scarce at that, and - sure to be scarcer, the discovery of coal is an important matter. The - present coal-bed is about fifty miles distant; but, nevertheless, - paying $3 per ton at the mouth of the pit, at which it is now sold, - it can be brought into the city and sold for $20. Last year it was - sold here to blacksmiths for $40. The Pacific Railroad folks should - have an eye on this. The apprehension that the absence of coal and - wood in the Territory would be a serious obstacle need not now exist. - Though the wood is scarce and high priced as an article of daily - household consumption, railroad companies can get all the lumber they - require for money, though they may have to haul it far and pay a good - price for it. I believe that the whole country is full of coal, and - what is not coal is gold and silver; but I earnestly hope that the - day is far distant before the Mormons or any body else discover the - precious metals. The coal discovery, however, is very important. The - bishops of the city have been instructed to urge upon their flocks - the hauling of it, and it is hoped that by constant travel the snow - will be kept down and the roads clear all the winter. A Scotch miner, - who had just returned from the coal-bed, told me the other day that - it far exceeded any thing that he had ever seen in his own country, - or in the States, both in quality and abundance.” - -11. Millard County: chief town, which is also the capital of Utah -Territory, Fillmore, in N. lat. 38° 58′ 40″, in a central position, 152 -miles S. of Great Salt Lake City, 600 miles E. of San Francisco, and -1200 miles W. of St. Louis. The sum of $20,000 was expended upon public -buildings, but the barrenness of the soil has reduced the population -from 100 to a dozen families. - -12. Green River County: Fort Supply. - -13. Cedar County: chief town Cedar City. It is built upon an old -Aztecan foundation, rich in pottery and other remains. - -14. Malad County: chief town Fort Malad, properly so called from its -slow, brackish, and nauseous river. - -15. Cache County, the granary of Mormonland, and the most fertile spot -in the Great Basin; well settled and much valued: chief town Cache -Valley, 80 miles N. - -16. Beaver County: chief town Beaver Creek, 220 miles S. - -17. Shambip County: Rich Valley and Deep Creek. - -18. Salt Lake Islands. - -19. St. Mary’s County: west of Shambip City, extending to the Humboldt -River; chief settlement, Deep Creek. - -I found it impossible to arrive at a true estimate of the population. -Like the earlier English numberings of the people, which originated in -bitter political controversies--the charge of unfairness was brought -as late as 1831 against the enumerators in Ireland--the census is a -purely party measure. The Mormons, desiring to show the 100,000 persons -which entitle them to claim admission as a state into the Union, are -naturally disposed to exaggerate their numbers; they are, of course, -accused of “cooking up” schedules, of counting cattle as souls, and of -making every woman a mother in _esse_ as in _posse_. On the other hand, -the anti-Mormons are as naturally inclined to underestimate: moreover, -as the “census marshals” receive but three halfpence per head, they are -by no means disposed to pay a shilling for the trouble of ransacking -every ranch and kanyon where the people repair for grazing and other -purposes. The nearest approach to truth will probably be met by -assuming the two opposite extremes, and by “splitting the difference.” - -[POPULATION OF UTAH TERRITORY.] - -In 1849 Mr. Kelly estimated the Mormons to be “about 5000 inhabitants -in the town, and 7000 more in the settlements.” In 1850 the seventh -official census of the United States numbered the inhabitants of Utah -Territory at 11,354 free + 26 slaves = 11,380 souls. In 1853 the Saints -were reckoned at 25,000 by the Gentiles, and 30,000 to 35,000 by Mr. -O. Pratt, in the “Seer.” In 1854 Dr. S. W. Richards estimated the -number at “probably from 40,000 to 50,000” in the United States, and in -Great Britain at 29,797. In 1856 the Mormon census gave 76,335 souls. -I subjoin a synopsis of the official papers.[166] In 1858 the Peace -Commissioners sent to Utah Territory reported that the Saints did not -exceed 40,000 to 50,000 souls, half of them foreigners, and that they -could bring 7000 men, of whom 1000 were valuable for cavalry, into the -field. In 1859 M. Remy made the number of Saints in Utah Territory, not -including Nevada, 80,000 souls, and the total in the world 186,000. The -last official census, in 1860, was taken under peculiar disadvantages. -General Burr, of the firm of Hockaday and Burr, was appointed to -that duty by Mr. Dotson, the anti-Mormon federal marshal. But as the -choice excited loud murmurs, the task was committed to a clerk in -the general’s store, and deputies for the rest of the Territory were -similarly chosen. The consequence is that the Gentile marshal’s census -of 1860 offers a number of 40,266 free + 29 slaves = a total of 40,295 -souls; while the Mormons assert their Territory to contain from 90,000 -to 100,000, and the world to hold from 300,000 to 400,000 Saints. Their -rise is remarkable, even if we take the statistics of the enemy, which -show nearly a quadrupling of the population in ten years, while Great -Britain creeps on at a rate of about ten per cent.: a similar increase -will in the ninth census of 1870 give in round numbers 160,000 persons. -Utah Territory now ranks second in the eight minor states: New Mexico -(93,541) and District of Columbia (75,076) take precedence of it, and -it is followed by Colorado (34,197), Nebraska (28,842), Washington -(11,578), Nevada (6857), and Dakotah (4839). - - [166] The following is a condensed Report of the enumeration of the - inhabitants of Utah Territory, taken February, 1856: - - +----------------------+------+--------+------+ - | Counties. |Males.|Females.|Total.| - +----------------------+------+--------+------+ - |Great Salt Lake County|12,730| 13,074 |25,804| - |Utah „ | 6,951| 7,614 |14,565| - |Davis „ | 4,765| 4,575 | 9,340| - |Weber „ | 3,486| 3,585 | 7,071| - |Iron „ | 2,474| 2,943 | 5,417| - |Tooele „ | 1,315| 1,673 | 2,988| - |San Pete „ | 1,110| 1,133 | 2,243| - |Juab „ | 807| 1,034 | 1,841| - |Box-Elder „ | 822| 717 | 1,539| - |Washington „ | 742| 778 | 1,520| - |Millard „ | 544| 512 | 1,056| - |Green River „ | 394| 345 | 739| - |Cedar „ | 312| 369 | 681| - |Malad „ | 259| 208 | 467| - |Cache „ | 240| 223 | 463| - |Beaver „ | 118| 126 | 244| - |Shambip „ | 83| 64 | 147| - |Salt Lake Islands | 125| 85 | 210| - | +------+--------+------+ - | |37,277| 39,058 |76,335| - +----------------------+------+--------+------+ - - “Great Salt Lake City, March 1st, 1856. - - “I do hereby certify that the above is a correct enumeration of - the white inhabitants of Utah Territory, according to the reports - furnished by my assistants, and which are now on file in my office. - - LEONARD W. HARDY, Census Agent.” - - “Great Salt Lake City, September 13th, 1860. - - “The above is a correct transcript from the originals on file in the - Historian’s Office. - - THOMAS BULLOCK, Clerk.” - -I have vainly attempted to discover the proportion of native -Anglo-Americans to the foreign-born. The late Mr. Stephen A. Douglas, -who was supposed to know and to befriend the Saints, asserted it to -be one to ten. This will not hold good if applied to the authorities, -and if it fails at the head it will be inapplicable to the baser part -of the body politic, for the American in Mormondom is the prophet, -president, apostle, bishop, or other high dignitary who leavens -the lump of ignorance and superstition kneaded together in the old -countries. Of the thirteen members of the Upper House, there were, in -1860, ten Americans, two English, and one Irishman: of the officers, -viz., secretary and his assistant, sergeant-at-arms, messenger, -fireman, and chaplain, four were Americans, one English, and one -Irishman. The members of the Lower House, twenty-six in number, -consisted of twenty-four Americans and two Englishmen, including the -speaker, Mr. John Taylor: of its six officers, four were Americans, one -English, and one Scotchman. Both houses were thus distributed: - - New York 13 - Massachusetts 6 - Vermont 5 - England 4 - Ohio 4 - Tennessee 3 - Kentucky 2 - Ireland 2 - Scotland 1 - New Hampshire 2 - Isle of Man 1 - Pennsylvania 2 - Virginia 1 - Indiana 2 - Rhode Island 1 - -- - Grand Total 49 - -The Mormon emigration is without exception the most interesting -feature in their scheme. There is an evident selection of species -in the supply: a man must be superior to many in “grit” and energy -who voluntarily leaves his native land. As regards the national -classification of the converts, it may be observed that the supply -depends upon the freedom of religious discussion at home. Great -Britain supplies five times more than all the rest of the world, -excepting Denmark. France must be proselytized through the Channel -Islands, and there are few converts of the Latin race, which -speaks a strange language, and is too much attached to the soil -for extensive colonization. Sweden sends forth few (67)--a fine of -twenty-six rix-dollars has there been imposed upon all who harbor, -let rooms to, or hold to service a Mormon; Denmark supplies many -(502), because the Constitution of 1849 guaranteed to her religious -liberty; Switzerland is, after a fashion, Republican; Germany gives -the fewest. Propagandism has not yet been thoroughly organized east of -Father Rhine; moreover, the Teuton, whose faith is mostly subordinate -to his fancy, finds superior inducements to settle while passing -through the Eastern States. All the “diverts” long retain their -motherlandish characteristics, and, associating together, are often -unable to understand the English sermon at the Tabernacle. The work of -proselytizing is slow in the United States; the analytic Anglo-American -prefers the _rôle_ of knave to that of fool, besides _un saint n’est -pas honoré dans son pays_, upon the principle that no man is a hero -to his valet. At Great Salt Lake City I saw neither Kanaka, Hindoo, -nor Chinese; these “exotics” have probably withered out since the -days of M. Remy; only one negro met my sight, and though a few Yutas, -principally Weber River, were seen in the streets, none of them had -Mormonized. - -[MORMON EMIGRATION.] - -Emigration in Mormondom, like El Hajj in El Islam, is the fulfillment -of a divine command. As soon as the Saints could afford it, they -established, under the direction of the First Presidency, a fund -for importing poor converts, appointed a committee for purchasing -transports, and established in Europe and elsewhere agents, who -collected $5000 in the first, and $20,000 in the second year. In -September, 1850, a committee of three officers was appointed to -transact the business of the poor fund, and an ordinance was passed -incorporating the “Perpetual Emigration Fund Company,” consisting -of thirteen members, including the First President. The Saint whose -passage is thus defrayed works out his debt in the public _ateliers_ -of the Tithing Office Department, under the superintendence of the -Third President; he is supplied with food from the “Deserét Store,” and -receives half the value of his labor, besides which a tithe of his time -and toil is free. The anti-Mormons declare that by this means the faces -of the poor are ground: I doubt that so far-seeing a people as the -Mormons would attempt so suicidal a policy. - -According to the late agent at Liverpool, and publisher of the -“Millennial Star,” Dr. S. W. Richards (Select Committee on Emigrant -Ships, 1854, No. 12, p. 8), the Mormon emigration, under its authorized -agent and passenger-broker, is better regulated than under the -provisions of the Passengers’ Act; the sexes are berthed apart, and -many home comforts are provided for the emigrants. In 1854 it was -estimated not to exceed 3000 souls per annum, and of 2600 the English -were 1430, 250 Welsh, 200 Scotch, and about a score of Irish, making a -total of 1900 Britons to 700 from the Continent. The classes preferred -by the Fund are agriculturists and mechanics--the latter being at -a premium--moral, industrious, and educated people, “qualified to -increase and enhance the interest of the community they go among.” From -Liverpool, whence all the emigration proceeds, to New Orleans, the -passage-money varied from £3 12_s._ 6_d._ to £4, and from New Orleans -to Great Salt Lake City £20 each. Of late years that line has been -abandoned as unhealthy: the route now lies by rail through New York -and Chicago to Florence, on the Missouri River. The emigration season -is January, February, and March, and the passage can be made at the -quickest in twenty-two days. - -[MORMON EMIGRATION.] - -I now proceed to figures, which are given in full detail, and can -easily be verified by a reference to Liverpool. The official reports -are subjoined, because they speak well for Mormon accuracy.[167] From -1840-54 they reckon 17,195 souls, and from 1854-55, 4716 souls; the -total in fifteen years (1840-55) being 21,911. From 1855-56 they number -4395 souls, and from the 1st of July, 1857, to the 30th of June, 1860, -they count 2433, making for the five subsequent years (1855-60) a -total of 6828. Thus, in the twenty years between 1840-60, they show a -grand total of 28,739 immigrants. They expect for the present year an -emigration of 1500 to 2000 souls from the British Isles, independent of -some hundreds from the Scandinavian, Swiss, and other missions. Already -200 teams have been dispatched from Great Salt Lake City to assist with -transport and provisions the poor emigrants from Florence. The Holy -Land of the West would soon be populous were it not for two obstacles: -first, the expense and difficulty of the outward journey; secondly, -the facility of emigration to the gold regions of Pike’s Peak and the -silver mines of the Nevada. - - [167] - - No. I.--_List of Latter-Day Saints’ Emigration, from January 6th, - 1851, to May 15th, 1861._ - - +-----------------+---------------------+-------------+-------------+ - |Date of Sailing. | Vessel. | Captain. |No. of Souls.| - +-----------------+---------------------+-------------+-------------+ - |1851, January 6 |Ellen |Phillips | 466 | - | „ 22 |G. W. Bourne |Williams | 281 | - | February 2 |Ellen Maria |Whitmore | 378 | - | March 4 |Olympus |Wilson | 245 | - |1852, January 10 |Kennebec |Smith | 333 | - | February 10|Ellen Maria |Whitmore | 369 | - | March 6 |Rockaway | | 30 | - |1853, January 17 |Ellen Maria |Whitmore | 332 | - | „ 23 |Golconda |Kerr | 321 | - | February 5 |Jersey |Day | 314 | - | „ 15|Elvira Owen |Owen | 345 | - | „ 28|International |Brown | 425 | - | March 26 |Falcon |Wade | 324 | - | April 6 |Camillus |Day | 228 | - | |(Miscellaneous) | | 23 | - |1854, January 22 |Benjamin Adams |Drummond | 6 | - | February 4 |Golconda |Kerr | 464 | - | „ 22|Windermere |Fairfield | 477 | - | March 5 |Old England |Barstow | 45 | - | „ 12 |John M. Wood |Hartley | 393 | - | April 4 |Germanicus |Fales | 220 | - | „ 8 |Marshfield |Torrey | 366 | - | „ 24 |Clara Wheeler |Nelson | 29 | - | |(Miscellaneous) | | 34 | - | November 27|Clara Wheeler |Nelson | 422 | - |1855, January 6 |Rockaway |Mills | 440 | - | „ 7 |James Nesmith |Goodwin | 24 | - | „ 9 |Neva |Brown | 13 | - | „ 17 |Charles Buck |Smalley | 403 | - | February 3 |Isaac Jeans |Chipman | 16 | - | „ 27|Siddons |Taylor | 430 | - | March 31 |Jurenta |Watts | 573 | - | April 17 |Chimborazo |Vesper | 431 | - | „ 22 |Samuel Curling |Curling | 581 | - | „ 26 |William Stetson |Jordan | 293 | - | June 29 |Cynosure |Pray | 159 | - | November 30|Emerald Isle |Cornish | 350 | - | December 12|John J. Boyd |Austin | 512 | - |1856, February 19|Caravan |W. A. Sands | 457 | - | March 23 |Enoch Train |H. P. Rich | 534 | - | April 19 |S. Curling |S. Curling | 707 | - | May 4 |Thornton |Collins | 764 | - | May 25 |Horizon |Reed | 856 | - | June 1 |Wellfleet |Westcott | 146 | - | |(Miscellaneous Ships)| | 69 | - | November 17|Columbia |Hutchinson | 223 | - |1857, March 28 |George Washington |J. S. Comings| 817 | - | April 25 |Westmoreland |R. R. Decan | 544 | - | May 30 |Tuscarora |Dunlery | 547 | - | |(Miscellaneous) | | 50 | - | July 18 |Wyoming |Brooks | 36 | - |1859, April 11 |William Tapscott |J. B. Bell | 725 | - | July 10 |Antarctic | | 30 | - | August 20 |Emerald Isle |Cornish | 54 | - |1860, March 30 |Underwriter |J. W. Roberts| 594 | - | May 11 |William Tapscott |J. B. Bell | 731 | - | |(Miscellaneous) | | 263 | - |1861, April 15 |Manchester |Trask | 379 | - | „ 22 |Underwriter |J. W. Roberts| 624 | - | May 15 |Monarch of the Sea |Gardner | 950 | - | | | +-------------+ - | | | Total | 21,195 | - +-----------------+---------------------+-------------+-------------+ - - “Latter-Day Saints’ European Publishing and Emigration Office, } - “42 Islington, Liverpool. } - - “The above are the numbers of the Latter-Day Saints who have taken - passage on ships chartered at this port by the Church Emigration - Agent. Besides these, there are many who engage passages at other - offices--not being able to arrange their affairs to go when we have - ships chartered--whose numbers we do not have. The bulk of our - emigration, for the past few years, has left here in the spring. This - is the only time we have ships chartered. The scattering few who go - over in the summer and autumn, with the intention of remaining in the - United States until another spring, we do not keep any account of. - - GEO. Q. CANNON.” - - No. II.--_General Summary of Emigration, from Nov. 30th, 1855, to - July 6th, 1856._ (_It was discontinued in 1858, owing to troubles - with the U. S. Government._) - - +--------------+-------------+-------------+--------------+------------+ - | | |President of | Date of |Port of Dis-| - | Ship. | Captain. | Company. | Sailing. |embarkation.| - +--------------+-------------+-------------+--------------+------------+ - |Emerald Isle |G. P. Cornish|P. C. Merrill|Nov. 30, 1855 |New York | - |John J. Boyd |Austin |C. Peterson |Dec. 12, 1855 |New York | - |Caravan |W. A. Sands |D. Tyler |Feb. 19, 1856 |New York | - |Enoch Train |H. P. Rich |J. Ferguson |Mar. 23, 1856 |Boston | - |S. Curling |S. Curling |D. Jones |April 19, 1856|Boston | - |Thornton |Collins |J. G. Willie |May 14, 1856 |New York | - |Horizon |Reed |E. Martin |May 25, 1856 |Boston | - |Wellfleet |Westcott |J. Aubray |June 1, 1856 |Boston | - |Miscellaneous}|.... |.... |.... |.... | - |Ships (U. S.)}| | | | | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | - +--------------+-------------+-------------+--------------+------------+ - - +--------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ - | | | | | - | Ship. |P. E. Fund.| Ordinary. | Totals. | - +--------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ - |Emerald Isle | ... | 350 | 350 | - |John J. Boyd | 34 | 478 | 512 | - |Caravan | ... | 457 | 457 | - |Enoch Train | 431 | 103 | 534 | - |S. Curling | 428 | 279 | 707 | - |Thornton | 484 | 280 | 764 | - |Horizon | 635 | 221 | 856 | - |Wellfleet | ... | 146 | 146 | - |Miscellaneous}| ... | 69 | 69 | - |Ships (U. S.)}| | | | - | +-----------+-----------+-----------+ - | Total | 2012 | 2383 | 4395 | - +--------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ - - Of this number, as the table shows, 2012 are P. E. Fund passengers, - of whom 333 were ordered out by their friends in Utah; also 780 - members of many years’ standing in the Church have been forwarded - to Utah under the P. E. Fund Co.’s arrangements, and 28 are elders - returning home from missions. We have not the means of ascertaining - definitely, but the approximate numbers of those who started to - go through to Utah on their own means is 385, making a total of - those who started from here, with the intention of going through - to the Valley this season, about 2397, which will leave 1998 - who have located for the present in various parts of the United - States, in order to obtain means to complete their journey whenever - circumstances will permit. - - _Latter-Day Saints’ Emigration Report, from July 1st, 1857, to June - 30, 1860._ - - +--------------+-------------+---------------+---------+-------------+ - | | | | Port of | | - | | | President of | Embarka-| Date of | - | Ship. | Captain. | Company. | tion. | Sailing. | - +--------------+-------------+---------------+---------+-------------+ - |Wyoming |-- Brooks |Chas. Harman |Liverpool|July 18, 1857| - |Wm. Tapscott |J. B. Bell |Robt. F. Neslen|Liverpool|Apr. 11, 1859| - |Antarctic |.... |Jas. Chaplow |Liverpool|July 10, 1859| - |Emerald Isle | -- Cornish |Henry Hugg |Liverpool|Aug. 20, 1859| - |Underwriter |J. W. Roberts|Jas. D. Ross |Liverpool|Mar. 30, 1860| - |Wm. Tapscott |J. B. Bell |Asa Calkin |Liverpool|May 11, 1860 | - |Miscellaneous}|.... |.... |.... |.... | - |Ships }| | | | | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | - +--------------+-------------+---------------+---------+-------------+ - - +--------------+------------+-----+----------+-----+-------+------+ - | | | | | | | | - | Ship. |Port of Dis-|P. E.|Hand-cart.|Team.|States.|Total.| - | |embarkation.|Fund.| | | | | - +--------------+------------+-----+----------+-----+-------+------+ - |Wyoming |Philadel. | | | | 36 | 36 | - |Wm. Tapscott |N. York | 54 | 196 | 149 | 326 | 725 | - |Antarctic |N. York | | | | 30 | 30 | - |Emerald Isle |N. York | | | | 54 | 54 | - |Underwriter |N. York | 1 | 140 | 106 | 347 | 594 | - |Wm. Tapscott |N. York | 17 | 128 | 246 | 340 | 731 | - |Miscellaneous}|.... | | | 263 | 263 | | - |Ships }| | | | | | | - | | +-----+----------+-----+-------+------+ - | | | 72 | 464 | 501 | 1396 | 2433 | - +--------------+------------+-----+----------+-----+-------+------+ - - Of this number, as the table shows, 1037 purposed going through to - Utah under P. E. Fund, hand-cart, and team arrangements. But we have - good cause to presume that a large number of those who left here - with the intention of settling for a short time in the States (and - are included in the table under that head) have also gone through to - Utah, without settling on the way. - - The number of natives of the various countries may be classified - as follows: From the United Kingdom of Great Britain and - Ireland--English, 1074; Scotch, 126; Welsh, 173; Irish, 12. The total - number from the Scandinavian Mission is 762, of which there are 528 - Danes, 193 Swedes, and 41 Norwegians. The total number from the Swiss - and Italian Mission is 211, of which 209 are from the Swiss Cantons, - and 2 from Italy. There are also 2 French, 3 Germans, and 70 elders - returning home from missions, making a grand total, as per table, of - 2433 souls. - - _Countries._--The number of natives of the various countries may be - classified as follows: - - England 2611 - (Principal counties--Lancashire, - Yorkshire, and Staffordshire.) - Scotland 367 - Wales 667 - -----3645 - Ireland 54 - America 19 - French Mission (Channel Islands) 9 - Denmark } { 505 - Sweden } Scandinavian { 67 - Norway } { 46 - Swiss Cantons 19 - Piedmont, Italy 31 - East India Mission 2 - Germany 1 - ----- 750 - ---- - Total 4395 souls. - - The emigration in 1861 is progressing satisfactorily, as the - following extract proves: - - “A party of Mormonites, consisting of 17 men, 25 women, and 11 - children, left London lately by the Northwestern Railway for - Liverpool, _en route_ for the Salt Lake settlement. The emigration - of Mormonites from Great Britain, particularly from the southern - district of Wales, has during the past ten weeks been on a large - scale. Their number embraces all classes; one gentleman, an - inhabitant of Merthyr, Glamorganshire, having contributed £1000, and - joined the ‘brethren,’ 200 of whom, including an old woman upward of - eighty years of age, have just left Wales.” - - No. III.--_Latter-Day Saints’ Emigration, Spring of 1861._ - - 42 Islington, Liverpool, June 29th, 1861. - - Per Ship Manchester, Captain Frask. - - Males. Females. - English 132 124 - Scotch 3 2 - Irish 2 0 - Welsh 54 57 - Danes 5 0 - Americans 1 0 - --- --- - 197 183 - - Per Ship Underwriter, Captain Roberts. - - Males. Females. - English 234 278 - Scotch 32 43 - Irish 3 0 - Welsh 16 14 - Norwegian 1 0 - Americans 3 0 - --- --- - 289 335 - - Per Ship Monarch of the Sea, Captain Gardner. - - Males. Females. - English 97 105 - Scotch 25 27 - Irish 2 1 - Welsh 17 17 - German 1 0 - Swiss 40 48 - Italian 1 3 - French 1 2 - Danish 175 210 - Norwegian 24 43 - Swedish 61 68 - --- --- - Total 444 524 - - _Summary._ - - Males. Females. Total. - English 463 507 970 - Scotch 60 72 132 - Irish 7 1 8 - Welsh 87 88 175 - ------1285 - German 1 0 1 - Swiss 40 48 88 - Italian 1 3 4 - French 1 2 3 - Danes 180 210 390 - Swedes 61 68 129 - Norwegians 25 43 68 - Americans 4 0 4 687 - --- ---- ----------- - 930 1042 1972 = 1972 - -[MEETING ROOMS.] - -The London Conference has seventeen places of worship, and numbers a -little over 2000 men, scattered throughout Great Britain. In these -isles there is a general Presidency of the Church, assisted by a -counselor: these preside over the pastors or presidents of districts, -ten in number, who also, assisted by counselors in their turn, direct -and counsel the presidents of the twenty-four Conferences, while these -superintend the presidents of the 400 branches. The total of members -in the whole European mission is not less than 40,000. I subjoin a -list of the various places--kindly furnished to me by an influential -Saint--which the Mormons have selected for worship in London.[168] - - [168] - - _Latter-Day Saints’ Meeting Rooms in London and vicinity_: - - _Somers Town_--Euston Hall, 8 George Street, Hampstead Road. - - _Holborn_--148 Holborn, near Gray’s Inn Lane. - - _Goswell Hall_--46 Goswell Street. - - _Holloway_--1 Cornwall Place, Holloway Road. - - _Whitechapel_--Pisgah Chapel, North Street, Sydney Street, Mile End. - - _Poplar_--28 Penny Fields. - - _Barking_--Latter-Day Saints’ Chapel, North Street. - - _Paddington_--Hope Hall, Bell Street. - - _Chelsea_--Lloyd’s Assembly Rooms, 1 George Street, Sloane Square. - - _Shepherd’s Bush_--Latter-Day Saint’s Chapel, Shepherd’s Bush Green. - - _Camden Town_--Beulah Cottage, King’s Road, Camden Town. - - _On the Surrey Side of the Thames._ - - _Walworth Common_--Latter-Day Saints’ Meeting Room, 2 King Street, - Old Kent Road. - - _Lambeth_--St. George’s Hall, St. George’s Road, near the Elephant - and Castle. - - _Deptford_--Latter-Day Saints’ Meeting Room, Tanner’s Hill. - - _Woolwich_--Latter-Day Saints’ Chapel, Prospect Row. - - _Welling_--Latter-Day Saints’ Meeting Room, Wickham Lane, near - Welling. - - _Eltham_--Latter-Day Saints’ Meeting Room, at Mr. J. Baily’s, Pound - Place. - -Two points in this subject are truly remarkable. The first is the -difference between Utah Territory and all other Anglo-Scandinavian -colonies, in which males are usually far more numerous than females. -The latter, at Utah, by the census of 1856, are 1781 in excess of the -former; almost as great a disproportion as the extra three quarters of -a million in England. The second is the rapid growth of the New Faith, -and the deep hold which it has taken upon Great Britain. Few Englishmen -are aware that their metropolis contains seventeen places of Mormon -worship, and their fatherland an army of 4000 volunteer missionaries. -In the United States it is also the fashion to ignore the Mormons. The -subject, however, will grow in importance, and it is easy to predict -that before two decades shall have elapsed, Deserét, unless sent once -more upon her travels, will have forced herself into the position of an -independent state. - -[MORMON POLITY.] - -The Mormon polity is, in my humble opinion--based upon the fact that -liberty is to mankind in mass a burden far heavier than slavery--the -perfection of government. It is the universal suffrage of the American -States, tempered by the despotism of France and Russia: in moderate -England men have nothing of it but that Tory-Radicalism to which the -few of extremest opinions belong. At the semi-annual Conferences, -which take place on the 6th of April and the 6th of October, and last -for four days, all officers, from the President to the constable, -are voted in by direction and counsel--_i. e._, of the Lord through -his Prophet; consequently, re-election is the rule, unless the chief -dictator determine otherwise. Every adult male has a vote, and all -live under an iron sway. His poor single vote--from which even the -sting of ballot has been drawn--gratifies the dignity of the man, and -satisfies him with the autocracy which directs him in the way he should -go. He has thus all the harmless pleasure of voting, without the danger -of injuring himself by his vote. The reverse, duly carried out, frees -mankind from king and kaiser, and subjects them to snobs and mobs. -Mormon society is modeled upon a civilized regiment: the Prophet is -the colonel commanding, and the grades are nicely graduated down to -the last neophyte or recruit. I know no form of rule superior to that -of Great Salt Lake City; it might supply the author of “Happy Years -at Hand” with new ideas for the “Outlines of the Coming Theocracy.” -It exerts its beneficial effects equally upon the turbulent and -independent American; the sensible and self-sufficient Englishman; the -Frenchman, ever lusting after new things; the Switzer, with his rude -love of a most problematic liberty; the outwardly cold, inwardly fiery -Scandinavian; the Italian, ready to bow down before any practice, with -the one proviso that it must be successful; and the German, who demands -to be governed by theories and Utopianisms, “worked” by professors “out -of the depths of their self-consciousness.” - -The following description of a Conference is extracted at length from -the “Daily Missouri Republican” of May 4, 1861: - - _Great Salt Lake City, April 12, 1861._ - - On the 6th of April, 1830, in a small room about fifteen feet square, - in the town of Fayette, Seneca County, New York, a young country - lad--Joseph Smith--and five other persons organized that movement - now known throughout Christendom as “The Church of Jesus Christ of - Latter-Day Saints,” or Mormonism. How the units have each increased - to tens of thousands, and where those disciples have been found, - and how they have been converted, is not the task I assign myself. - I _assisted_, as the Frenchmen say, at the thirty-first anniversary - Conference of that obscure movement, and propose to give the readers - of the “Republican” its picture, and “nothing extenuate nor set down - aught in malice.” - - [THE MORMON CONFERENCE.] - - Twice a year the Mormons assemble in Conference, on the 6th of - April and on the 6th of October, for the purpose of re-electing - their presiding authorities, or making such changes among them as - are deemed “wisdom” or “necessary”--the chiefs, also, making these - periods seasonable for general instruction to the “body”--and in - April electing and sending out missionaries to the nations of the - earth, where Mormonism is flourishing, or where the New Faith has yet - to be introduced. - - As the settlements in the Territory are widely scattered, and - communication between them rare--except where business or family - purposes invite--the Conferences are looked forward to with peculiar - interest by the people generally as a time of renewing acquaintance - and friendship with those they have known and been associated with - in the Old World. To this add the curiosity to see and hear again - the “Prophet” and his associates, and the influences that draw the - multitude to Conference is comprehended. - - Up to within a few years this country has, I am told,[169] been - rarely visited by showers of rain, the husbandmen depending almost - entirely upon the melting snows of the mountains for irrigating - fields and gardens. Very recently the snow and rain had fallen in - great abundance, and the muddy roads were rendered almost impassable. - Notwithstanding this obstacle, the faithful screwed up courage and - traveled in droves from every part of the Territory, and filled the - streets of the city during Conference like a county fair. - - [169] The article is probably written by a Mormon elder. It is the - fashion, however, in newspaper correspondence--as the columns of the - “New York Herald” prove--to assume Gentilism for the nonce. - -Early on Saturday morning the carriages and wagons, equestrians and -pedestrians, thronged into the city, and long before the opening of -the Tabernacle doors the people were gathering in groups, eager for -admission to obtain a good seat, fearing the general rush. On the -Sunday preceding, Brigham had requested the citizens here to stay at -home, and afford their country brethren and sisters an opportunity of -getting within the Tabernacle; otherwise there would have been a poor -show for the strangers, and as it was they were themselves vastly too -many for the dimensions of the building. - -THE CONFERENCE--FIRST DAY--MORNING SESSION. - -At 10 o’clock there were on the stand, according to technical rank and -authority: - -Of the First Presidency--Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, -and Daniel H. Wells. - -Of the Twelve Apostles--Orson Hyde, Willford Woodruff, John Taylor, -George A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, and Franklin D. Richards. - -Of the First Presidency of the Seventies--Joseph Young, Levi W. -Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, and Horace -S. Eldredge. - -Of the Presidency of the High Priests--Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. -Richards. - -Of the Presidency of the Stake--Daniel Spencer, David Fullmer, and -George B. Wallace. - -Of the Presidency of the Bishopric--Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy, -and Jesse C. Little. - -Of the Patriarchs--John Smith and Isaac Morley. - -Apostle Hyde called the meeting to order, and in a moment all talking -was hushed, and a choir of about a dozen persons, accompanied by a -fine-toned organ in the centre of the building, sung: - - The morning breaks, the shadows flee, - Lo! Zion’s standard is unfurled! - The dawning of a brighter day - Majestic rises on the world. - - The clouds of error disappear - Before the rays of truth divine; - The glory bursting from afar, - Wide o’er the nations soon will shine. - - The Gentile fullness now comes in, - And Israel’s blessings are at hand; - Lo! Judah’s remnant, cleansed from sin, - Shall in their promised Canaan stand. - - Jehovah speaks! let earth give ear, - And Gentile nations turn and live; - His mighty arm is making bare, - His cov’nant people to receive. - - Angels from heaven and truth from earth - Have met, and both have record borne; - Thus Zion’s light is bursting forth, - To bring her ransomed children home. - -Apostle Lorenzo Snow offered prayer, and the choir sung, “Praise ye the -Lord; ’tis good to praise.” - -Apostle Benson was first invited to address the Conference. “Brother -Ezra” is generally called a son of thunder--great preacher, I suppose. -On this occasion he aimed at being modest, and after expressing his -gratitude for the privilege of being permitted to attend Conference, to -come and see the Prophet, his counselors, and the twelve apostles, and -the good brothers and sisters, he was prepared to bear his testimony. - -He knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet; that his predictions had been -fulfilled, and were daily fulfilling, to the joy of all the Saints. He -would not stop there in his testimony; he would bear testimony to the -teachings of President Brigham Young. His counselors--Heber C. Kimball -and Daniel H. Wells--were also true as the revelations of Joseph, and -he rejoiced in them. Oh, what a joy it was to know that they had such -men to lead them! What would be the condemnation of those who rejected -their testimony? Ezra was quite serious--yea, serious to shuddering. - -The fearfulness of apostasy was eloquently portrayed. False spirits -attending it, and false revelations bestowed on the backslider, and -every other ugly, disagreeable business was the certain lot of the -apostate, and from which the brethren were decently warned. - -President Daniel H. Wells was much pleased with the Latter-Day work; it -was a great blessing to live in the light of the Gospel. It had been -but a few years proclaimed to the world. The channel of communication -between heaven and earth was again open to the children of men. Brother -Wells referred to the state of the nation. The present trouble was -the result of bad treatment to the Saints. The people of God had -been driven into the wilderness--thousands might have perished, and -the government was indifferent. It was a political axiom, that when -governments ceased to protect, the people were released from their -obligations. The government had never protected the Saints as other -citizens. They had been driven from place to place, and the murderers -of Joseph Smith had gone unpunished. Fault had been found with the -Mormons because they had asked the government to appoint good men as -federal officers--men in whom they had confidence. They were for this -called rebels; but they were probably the only people that would yet -stand by the Constitution and uphold it. - -The government had fallen in the eyes of the civilized world; it -had become corrupt and debased. Nowadays nobody expected any thing -from public servants but corruption. These things were well known to -every body. The Saints had been molested and could get no redress. -The Prophet Joseph, moved by the Spirit of the Most High, told their -enemies there that they would see mobbing to their heart’s content, for -the measure that they meted to the Saints should be meted to them back -again. - -The Saints could now see the distracted state of the nations, and the -confusion of all governments. If they were wise men and women, they -would appreciate the blessed inheritance that the Lord had brought -them to. He had but one request to make, and that was, that the people -should not only believe in the counselings of President Young, but be -diligent, and see that his counseling prospered. - -President Heber C. Kimball got up with the invocation of “God bless the -Saints, and peace be multiplied unto them.” He respected and loved good -men and women who were striving to do the will of Heaven. The Mormons -were united, and he wanted them to continue so, and be of one heart -and of one mind, and to do as they were told. The South had seceded -from the North, but the Mormons would never secede from either. He had -sometimes a kind of notion that North and South would secede from them, -and if they did so the Mormons couldn’t help it, and the Lord would yet -make a great people of them, just as fast as they were able to bear it. - -Heber had a fling at “the miserable creatures who had been sent here -one time and another to rule and judge them.” The yoke was off their -neck; they were away out from the confusion, and the yoke was on the -neck of their enemies, and the bow-key was in. Many were engaged in -trying to have the Mormons associate with them in a national capacity; -but they would have nothing to do with them. “No, gentlemen and ladies, -we are free from them, and will keep free.” Heber was satisfied with -their position in the mountains. Brigham was their governor; had always -been so, and would always be so. He went around about with his hands -in his pocket, and governed the people. They had the Lord for ruler, -and the men whom he delegated could govern the people. He had no fear, -for he lived above the law; he transgressed no law, and had nothing to -apprehend. With an exhortation to go to and make themselves happy and -independent by their own industry, Heber’s racy discourse terminated -with a hearty _amen_ from the congregation. - -President Brigham Young was much pleased to meet with the Saints. The -Church was that day thirty-one years old--it seemed but a short time, -yet a great work had been done. He remembered when he had a great -anxiety to see some person of foreign birth embrace the faith. For the -first few years it was only Americans who received it, but he could -now gaze upon tens of thousands from the nations of the Old World. He -discarded miracles as being any evidence of the divinity of any man’s -mission: men might be astonished by them, but the spirit only could -convince and satisfy the mind. Referred to Aaron’s operations: turning -his stick into a serpent, filling the air with life, and turning the -rivers into blood, did not satisfy. He alluded to the troubles in the -States, and warned the people against too great anxiety; thought the -nation was breaking up quite fast enough. All he was anxious about was -the Saints being prepared for every event in the providence of the -Lord. He sometimes wondered if the great men of the nation ever asked -themselves the question, “How can a republican government stand?” There -was but one way in which it could endure--as the government of heaven -endures upon the basis of eternal truth and virtue. Had Martin Van -Buren redressed the wrongs committed against the Saints--had he ordered -the State of Missouri to restore them to their property, the nation -would be stronger to-day than it is. He mourned to see the corruption, -and he sometimes felt a blush for being an American. He had been reared -by the green mountains of Vermont, and could look down upon the nation -and mourn that he had no power to save it. Although he had no reason -to doubt that President Lincoln was as good a man as ever sat in the -chair of state, he had little hope of his accomplishing much. He was -powerless, because of the corruptions that had been introduced and -fostered by the chief men of the nation. “Abraham’s” authority and -power was like a rope of sand: he was weak as water. The governments -that had been had put aside the innocent, justified thieving and every -species of debauchery, and had fostered every one that plundered the -coffers of the people, and said let it be so. - -The choir sung, “Arise, oh glorious Zion,” and with a benediction from -President Joseph Young we got home for dinner. - -AFTERNOON SESSION. - -At 2 P.M. the choir sung, - - “Great God attend while Zion sings,” - -and Bishop Lorenzo D. Young prayed. - -The choir sung, - - “All hail the glorious day, by prophets long foretold.” - -Attention was requested from the congregation, and Apostle John -Taylor was to put all the presiding authorities before the people for -re-election. Twice a year, in April and October, all the presidents -are presented and voted on separately, and such dismissals or changes -made that are deemed proper. On this occasion there were some additions -made, but not a dissentient voice heard. The present presiding -authorities in Mormondom are: - -Brigham Young as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day -Saints; Heber C. Kimball, his first, and Daniel H. Wells, his second -counselors. - -Orson Hyde as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and Orson -Pratt, sen., Willford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, Amasa -Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, -Franklin D. Richards, and George Q. Cannon, as members of the said -Quorum. - -John Smith, Patriarch of the whole Church. - -Daniel Spencer as President of this Stake of Zion; and David Fullmer -and George B. Wallace, his counselors. - -William Eddington, James A. Little, John V. Long, John L. Blythe, -George Nebeker, John T. Caine, Joseph W. Young, Gilbert Clements, -Brigham Young, jun., Franklin B. Woolley, Orson Pratt, jun., and Howard -Spencer, as members of the High Council. - -John Young as President of the High Priests’ Quorum; Edwin D. Woolley -and Samuel W. Richards, his counselors. - -Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies; -and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. -Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, and Jacob Gates, as members of the first -seven Presidents of the Seventies. - -John Nebeker as President of the Elders’ Quorum; and Elnathan Eldredge -and Joseph Felt, his counselors. - -Edward Hunter as Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. -Little, his counselors. - -Lewis Wight as President of the Priests’ Quorum; William Whiting and -Samuel Moore, his counselors. - -M‘Gee Harris as President of the Teachers’ Quorum; Adam Speirs and -David Bowman, his counselors. - -John S. Carpenter as President of the Deacon’s Quorum; William F. Cook -and Warren Hardy, his counselors. - -Brigham Young was presented as Trustee in Trust for the Church of Jesus -Christ of Latter-Day Saints. - -Daniel H. Wells as Superintendent of Public Works. - -Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church. - -Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund to gather the -poor. - -Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells, and Edward Hunter, his assistants -and agents for said fund. - -George A. Smith, Historian and general Church Recorder; and Willford -Woodruff, his assistant. - -Besides the time consumed in putting every name separately for the -action of the assembly, there was a good deal of instruction given -about the severities, which is of no outside interest. - -Apostles John Taylor and George A. Smith, and Patriarch Assac Morley, -addressed the audience. - -The apostle Taylor thought the Mormons the freest people on the earth. -They could, if they would, reject their rulers twice a year: they had -the opportunity. The unity of the Saints pleased them. He questioned -_Vox populi, vox Dei_. He got facetious, and wondered how they would -get along, both North and South, with that doctrine. If the voice of -the people in the North was the voice of God, and the voice of the -people in the South was the voice of God, he was a little interested to -know with which of them he would really be. [_A Voice in the stand_: -“Not either of them.”] - -With the Saints it was _Vox Dei, vox populi_; the voice of God first, -and the voice of the people afterward. The Spirit dictated and the -Saints sustained it. But what were they after? Did they seek to subdue -and put their feet on the necks of men? to rule and dictate nations? -No. It was only the “little stone cut out of the mountains,” growing -into the kingdom that the prophets foresaw that would be established -in the last days. The Mormons had never troubled their neighbors, but -their neighbors kept meddling with them. They had sent an army here, -but the Mormons did not seek to harm them when they had the chance. -They came here with the intention to kill the Mormons if they could; -but they couldn’t, for the Lord wouldn’t let them. Their enemies -had hunted them like wolves; but the Lord had said, “Touch not mine -anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” They had kept the army out -at Ham’s Fork shaking and shivering till they cooled down. “Brother -Taylor” was real well pleased with things in general, and concluded -with Hallelujah. - -Apostle George A. Smith was exceedingly humorous over the democracy. -There was no head to it; the centre of its intelligence was the belly, -and the principal portion of the body was in the boots. Several -plundering operations were alluded to, and Uncle Sam had been sadly -victimized by his boys. The government had been a miserable goose for -politicians to pluck. Abe Lincoln had now the honor of presiding over -a portion of what was once the United States; he had been elected by -the religious portion of the States. “George A.” remembered when the -folks of New York sold her slaves to Virginia. Their conscience would -not allow them to retain their fellow-beings in bondage--oh, they were -mighty squeamish! They could take the money from Virginia, and as they -got more religion and more conscience they were exceedingly anxious for -Virginia to set them loose! - -That religious fanaticism that had been mixed up with politics would -lead to bloodshed. They were more to be dreaded than infidels. They -were cruel in their fanaticism. The Republicans first whipped old -Buck[170] into the Utah war, and they whipped him for getting into -it, and whipped him awfully for getting out of it--he got out of it -too soon. Politicians were in confusion, and the Lord would keep them -there. He labored to show the folly of men worshiping a God without -body, parts, or passions, for such being, if being he might be called, -must be destitute of principles and power. He argued that the God -worshiped by sectarians could not be the being that wrestled with -Jacob, that conversed with Moses, and wrote with his finger upon tables -of stone. He said that Joseph Smith had prophesied when the Saints were -driven from Jackson County, Missouri, that if the government did not -redress our wrongs, they should have mob upon mob until mob power, and -that alone, should govern the whole land. - - [170] Mr. Buchanan. - -He bore testimony to the truth of the work in which he was engaged, -and said if the Latter-Day Saints would listen to President Young’s -instructions as they ought to do, they would soon be the wealthiest -people upon the face of the earth. - -The choir sung “The Standard of Zion.” - -Air--“_Star Spangled Banner._” - - Oh see! on the tops of the mountains unfurled, - The ensign of promise, of hope, and salvation, - From their summits how nobly it waves to the world, - And spreads its broad folds o’er the good of each nation; - A signal of light for the lovers of right, - To rally where truth will soon triumph in might. - ’Tis the ensign of Israel streaming abroad, - And ever shall wave o’er the people of God. - - By an angel’s strong hand to the earth it was brought - From the regions of glory, where long it lay folded; - And holy ones here, for the arduous work taught - By the priesthood unflinching and faithful uphold it; - Its crown pierces heav’n, and ’twill never be riv’n, - ’Till the rule of the earth will to Jesus be given. - For the ensign of Israel’s streaming abroad, - And ever shall wave o’er the people of God. - - ’Tis the emblem of peace and good-will to mankind, - That prophets have sung of when freed by the spirit, - And a token which God has for Israel designed, - That their seed may the land of their fathers inherit; - Many nations will say, when they see its bright ray, - To the mountains of God let us hasten away; - For the ensign of Israel’s streaming abroad, - And ever shall wave o’er the people of God. - - Its guardians are sending their ministers forth, - To tell when the Latter-Day kingdom is founded, - And invite all the lovers of truth on the earth, - Jew, Christian, and Gentile, to gather around it; - The cause will prevail, though all else may assail, - For God has decreed that his works shall not fail; - Oh! the ensign of Israel’s streaming abroad, - And ever shall wave o’er the people of God. - -Patriarch Morley pronounced the benediction, and the first day’s -conference terminated. - -SECOND DAY. - -The crowd on the Sunday far exceeded that of the preceding day. The -streets around the Temple Block were literally filled with people and -carriages. The Tabernacle could not hold a third of those who were -anxious to hear. Every seat and standing-place was occupied long before -the opening of proceedings. As soon as Brigham reached the inside -vestry, he sent out some of the apostles and elders to preach to the -outsiders, sufficiently distant from the Tabernacle as not to disturb -each other with their preaching. - -I have already filled so much paper that I fear trespassing too much -upon your columns with the details of the second day at the present -time, as Brigham was very explicit on the subject of plurality of -wives, and it was the only time I ever heard him on the “peculiar -institution.” - -Altogether it was a great conference, and, as the foregoing exhibits, -the apostles enjoyed a particular free and easy time of it. - -In its territorial status an anomaly has been forced upon the Mormon -population. It must receive officers appointed and salaried by the -federal government, viz.: - - A governor, with a salary of $2500 (£500) per annum, payable - quarterly. - - A secretary to government, $1000. - - A chief justice to the Supreme Court, $2500. - An associate do. do. $1000. - Do. do. do. $1000. - - A district attorney, $400. - - A marshal, $400 (not including perquisites). - - A superintendent of Indian affairs, $2500. - - A surveyor general, $2500.[171] - - [171] The delegate to Washington receives “$8 per diem, not including - ‘mileage.’” - -The governor, who is also commander-in-chief of the militia, holds -office for four years, unless sooner removed by the President of the -United States, or until appointment of a successor. He has the usual -right of pardoning territorial offenses, and of reprieving offenders -against the federal government. He approves all laws passed by the -Legislative Assembly before they can take effect; he commissions all -officers appointed under the laws, and takes care that the laws are -faithfully executed. - -The secretary holds office for the same time: his duty is to record, -preserve, and transmit copies of all laws and proceedings of the -Legislative Assembly, and all acts and proceedings of the governor -in his executive department. In case of death, removal, resignation, -or necessary absence of the governor from the Territory, he acts -temporarily until the vacancy is filled up; and practically he looks -forward to being a member of Congress in the House of Representatives -of the United States. - -The marshal holds office for a similar term: his duty is to execute -all processes issued by the courts when exercising their functions -as Circuit and District Courts of the United States. In disturbed -countries, as California of the olden time, the marshal’s principal -office seems to have been that of being shot at. - -The executive arm would, in any other Territory, be found to work -easily and well: it is, in fact, derived, with certain modifications, -from that original Constitution which has ever remained to new states -the great old model. Among the Mormons, however, there is necessarily -a division and a clashing of the two principles: one, the federal, -republican, and laical; the other, the theocratic, despotic, and -spiritual. The former is the State, under which is the Church. The -latter is the Church, under which is the State, and hence complications -which call for a cutting solution. As long as the Prophet and President -was also the temporal governor, so long the Mormons were contented: now -they must look forward to a change. - -The Legislative Assembly consists of an “Upper House,” a President -and Council of thirteen, and a House of Representatives, or Lower -House, of twenty-six members, whose term of office is one year. An -appointment of the representation based upon a census is made in the -ratio of population: the candidates, however, must be _bonâ fide_ -residents of the counties or districts for which they stand. No member -of the Legislative Assembly is allowed to hold any appointment created -while he was in office, “or for one year thereafter,” and the United -States officials--post-masters alone excepted--can not become either -senators or representatives. The legislative power extends to the -usual rightful and constitutional limits. “No law shall be passed -interfering with the primary disposal of the soil; no tax shall be -imposed upon the property of the United States, nor shall the lands or -other property of non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or other -property of residents. All the laws passed by the Legislative Assembly -and government shall be submitted to the Congress of the United States, -and, if disapproved, shall be null and of no effect.” - -[VOTERS AND VOTING.--LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.] - -Every free male (white) inhabitant[172] above the age of twenty-one, -who has resided in the county for sixty days before the election, is -entitled to vote, and is eligible for office; the right is limited to -citizens of the United States, including those recognized by treaty -with the Mexican Republic (2d of Feb., 1848), and excluding, as usual, -the military servants of the federal government. Great fault was found -by anti-Mormons with the following permissions in the act regulating -elections (Jan., 1853), because they artistically enough abolish the -ballot while they retain the vote.[173] - - [172] When the vexed passage, “We hold these truths to be - self-evident, that all men are created equal,” written in 1776, is - interpreted in 1860, it must be read, “all (free white) men” to be - consistent and intelligible. Similarly “persons bound to labor” - must be considered a euphuism for slaves. The “American Mirabeau,” - Jefferson, who framed the celebrated Declaration, certainly did not - consider, as the context of his life proves, slaves to be his equals. - What he intended the Mormons have expressed. - - Again, what can be clearer than that the Constitution contemplated - secession? If an adult citizen is allowed to throw off his - allegiance, surely the body of citizens called a state have, _à - majori_, a right to withdraw from a “federal union.” - - [173] The first Legislative Assembly was elected in the summer of - 1851, and held a session in the following autumn and winter. An - historian’s office was established, courts were organized, cities - incorporated, and a small body of Territorial laws were passed. The - second Legislative Assembly met on the 15th of January, 1852, at the - Council House, and after the organization of the two houses, they - came together to receive the message of the governor, Mr. Brigham - Young. The archon, when notified of the hour, entered, sat down in - the speaker’s chair, and on being asked if he had any communication - to make, handed his message to the President of the Council, who - passed it for reading to the Clerk of the House. The message was - a lengthy and creditable document; of course, it was severely - criticised, but the gravamen of the charges was the invidious phrase - used by the Prophet to his lieges, “for your guidance.” - - Sec. 5. Each elector shall provide himself with a vote, containing - the names of the persons he wishes elected, and the offices he would - have them to fill, and present it neatly folded (!) to the judge of - the elections, who shall number and deposit it in the ballot-box; the - clerk shall then write the name of the elector, and opposite it the - number of his vote. - - Sec. 6. At the close of the election the judge shall seal up the - ballot-box, and the list of the names of the electors, and transmit - the same without delay to the county clerks. - -“In a Territory so governed,” remarks Mr. Secretary Ferris, “it will -not excite surprise that cases of extortion, robbery, murder, and other -crimes should occur, and defy all legal redress, or that the law should -be made the instrument of crime.” - -The deduction is unfair. The real cause why crime goes unpunished must, -as will presently appear, be sought in an unfriendly and conflicting -judiciary. The act itself can produce nothing but good; it enables the -wise few to superintend the actions of the unwise many, and it subjects -the “tyrant majority,” as ever should be the case, to the will of the -favored minority. As the Conqueror of Sindh often said, “When noses are -counted, the many are those without brains.” - -The bad working of a divided executive is as nothing compared with -the troubles occasioned by the opposition judiciaries, federal and -territorial. - -An act (19th of Jan., 1855) provides that a Supreme Court of the United -States be held annually on the first Monday in January, at Fillmore -City; each session to be kept open at least one day, and no session to -be legal except on adjournment in the regular term. Another act (4th -of Feb., 1852) directed that the District Courts, now three in number, -shall exercise original jurisdiction both in civil and criminal cases -when not otherwise provided by law, and also have a general supervision -over all inferior courts, to prevent and correct abuses where no other -remedy is provided. The above are officered by the federal government. - -Section 23d of the same act provides for a Judge of Probate--of course -a Mormon--_elected by the joint vote of the Legislative Assembly and -commissioned by the governor_. His tenure of office is four years, -and he holds regular sessions on the second Mondays of March, June, -September, and December of each year. The Probate Court, besides the -duties which its name suggests, has the administration of estates, and -the guardianship of minors, idiots, and insane persons; with these -its proper offices, however, it combines power to _exercise original -jurisdiction, both civil and criminal_, regulated only by appeal under -certain conditions to the District Courts. Of late the anomaly has -been acknowledged by the Supreme Court.[174] Inferior to the Probate -Court, and subject to its revision, are the Justices of the Peace, -the Municipal Court, and the three selectmen in each organized -county. Besides the Probate Courts, the Mormons have instituted, as -will presently appear, Ecclesiastical High Council under the Church -authorities and the President, provided with ample powers of civil and -criminal jurisdiction, and fully capable of judging between Saint and -Saint. - - [174] The Court held, First. That the 9th section of the Organic - Act vested all judicial power in the Supreme, District, and Probate - Courts, and in Justices of the Peace. - - Second. That the only restriction placed upon these courts was as to - Justices of the Peace, refusing them jurisdiction to try any case - involving the title or boundary to land, or any suit where the claim - or demand exceeded one hundred dollars. - - Third. That by virtue of that clause of the Organic Act which - provides that “the jurisdiction of the several courts therein - provided for,” including the Probate Courts, “_shall be as limited by - law_,” that the Legislature had the right to provide by law for the - exercise by the Probate Courts of jurisdiction in civil and criminal - cases. - - Fourth. That as the Organic Act conferred common law and chancery - jurisdiction upon the Supreme and District Courts respectively, that - this jurisdiction belonged to these courts exclusively, and that - the Probate Courts were confined to the jurisdiction conferred by - statute, and such jurisdiction might be exercised concurrently with - the District Courts to the extent provided by statute. - - Fifth. That as the Legislature had passed a law conferring upon the - Probate Courts concurrent jurisdiction with the District Courts to - hear and determine civil as well as criminal cases within their - respective counties, and had provided the manner in which this - jurisdiction should be exercised, that the trial, conviction, and - sentence of the prisoner were valid and binding in law until reversed - by an appellate court. - - Although Judge Shaver, one of the best of jurists, tacitly - acknowledged the jurisdiction of Probate Courts, Judge Kinney is the - first who has dared assert his decision judicially. - -[CONFLICTING JUDICIARIES.] - -In describing the operations of the two conflicting judiciaries, I -shall borrow the words of both parties. - -According to the Mormons, the increased chicanery of the federal -government has arrived at full development in their Territory.[175] The -phrase has been, “Any thing is good enough for Utah.” The salary is too -inconsiderable to satisfy any but the worst kind of jack-in-office, and -the object of those appointed is to secure notoriety in the Eastern -States by obstructing justice, and by fomenting disturbances in the -West. The three judges first appointed from Washington in June, 1851, -became so unpopular, that in the autumn of the same year they were -obliged to leave Utah Territory--one of them with a “flea in his ear” -duly inserted by Mr. Brigham Young. I shall not quote names, nor will -the reader require them. Another attempted to break the amnesty in -1858, and when asked for suggestions by the Legislative Assembly, -proposed an act for the prevention and punishment of polygamy, and -urged the Senate to divide the land between the proposed Territories; -finally, this excellent Christian hung a Gentile brother on the Lord’s -day. Another killed himself with opium; another was a notorious -drunkard; and another was addicted to gambling in his cellar. A judge -disgraced himself with an Indian squaw, who entered his court, and, -_coram publico_, demanded her honorarium, and another seated on the -bench his mistress--_la maîgre Ada_, as she is termed by M. Remy, the -Gentile traveler--and the Mormons have not yet learned to endure Alice -Peirce, or to worship the Goddess of Reason in that shape. Another -attempted to convict Mr. Brigham Young of forgery. The marshal was, in -one case, a _ci-devant_ teamster, who could hardly write his own name. -Besides the vileness of their characters, their cliqueism and violent -hostility have led to prostitution of justice; a Mormon _accusé_ was -invariably found guilty by them, a Gentile was invariably acquitted. -Thus the Probate Courts, properly jurisdictors of the dead, were made -judges of the living in all civil and criminal cases, because justice -was not obtainable from the Supreme District and the Circuit judges -appointed by the federal government. To the envenomed reports of these -officials the Saints attribute all the disturbances in 1857-58, and -sundry high-handed violations of the constitutional liberties and -the dearest rights of American citizenship. For instance, the Indian -war of 1852 cost them $200,000; they repeatedly memorialized Congress -to defray, strictly according to precedent, these expenditures, and -yet, from 1850 to 1855, they have received, in payment of expenses and -treaties, grants and presents, only the sum of $95,940. Though Utah -Territory has practiced far more economy than Oregon or California, -the drafts forwarded by the Superintendent of Indian Affairs to the -Treasury at Washington are totally neglected, or are subjected to -delays and frivolous annoyances. The usual treaties with the Indians -have not been held by the federal government. The Mormons’ requisition -for becoming a state is systematically ignored, and this ignoble -minorhood is prolonged, although they can show five head of souls for -three possessed by California at the time of her admittance--another -instance of a “rancorous persecuting spirit, excited by false and -malicious representations.” He who lifteth up an ensign on the -mountains is now “about to destroy a certain nation under the name of -the sour grape (Catawba?);” and the Mormons see in the present civil -war at once retribution for their injuries, and the fulfillment of the -denunciations of Joseph the Seer against the “Gentile land of strife -and wickedness.” Assuredly Fate has played marvelously into their hands. - - [175] The Utah correspondent of the “New York Herald,” writing from - Salt Lake under date of April 26th, states that the fall of Fort - Sumter and the secession of Virginia had created intense interest - among the “Saints.” The news was read in the Tabernacle by Brigham - Young, and the disciples were asked to believe that this was merely - the prediction of Mr. Joseph Smith about the breaking up of the - American Union. - -The federal officials retort with a counter charge against the Saints -of systematically obstructing the course of justice. A Mormon must be -tried by his peers; however guilty, he will be surely acquitted, as -a murdering fugitive slave in the North, or a thievish filibuster in -the South; that it is vain to attempt jurisdiction over a people who -have an ecclesiastical Star-Chamber and Vigilance Committee working -out in darkness a sectarian law; that no civilized government could or -would admit into a community of Christian states a power founded on -prophethood and polygamy, a theodemocracy, with a Grand Lama presiding -over universal suffragators; that all accusations of private immorality -proceed from a systematic attack upon the federal Union through its -officers; and, finally, that, so thin-skinned is Mormon sensibility, a -torrent of vituperation follows the least delay made with respect to -their “ridiculous pretensions.” - -The author speaks. Of course there are faults on both sides, and each -party has nothing better to do than to spy out the other’s sins of -omission and commission. The Americans (_i. e._, anti-Mormons), never -very genial or unprejudiced, are not conciliatory; they rage violently -when called Gentiles, and their “respectability,” a master-passion in -Columbian lands, is outraged, maiden-modesty-like, by the bare mention -of polygamy. On the other hand, the Latter-Day Saints, who now flourish -in the Mountain Territory, and who expect eventually to flourish over -the whole earth, “are naturally prepared to hate and denigrate all -beyond the pale of their own faith.” If the newly-arrived judge fails, -within the first week, to wait upon Mr. President, he or his may expect -to be the subject of an offensive newspaper article. If another live -among his co-religionists at Camp Floyd, he is convicted of cliqueism, -and is forthwith condemned as a foe. Whatever proceeds from the federal -government is and must be distasteful to them; to every address they -reply, “To your tents, O Israel!” “Their nobles shall be of themselves, -and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them,” is the -shaft which they level against the other party, and which recoils -upon themselves. The result is that if the territorial judiciary -sentences a criminal, he appeals to the federals, and at once obtains -cassation--and _vice versâ_. The usual procedure in criminal cases is -to make oath before a magistrate, who thereupon commands the marshal -to take the accused into custody, and “them safely keep,” so that -he may produce their bodies before the first sessions of the United -States District Courts; if the magistrate be a Mormon, he naturally -refuses to prosecute and persecute a brother Saint--and _vice versâ_. -Thus many notorious offenders, whom the Mormons would, for their own -sakes, willingly see cut off from the congregation--in simple words, -hung--escape with impunity after the first excitement has settled down: -the most terrible crimes are soon forgotten in the party fight, and in -the race to “go ahead;” after five years they become pabulum for the -local antiquary. - -I have thus attempted, with feeble hand, to divide the blame between -both the great contending parties, and may fairly, I hope, expect to be -unanimously rejected by both. - -[CORPORATION OF GREAT SALT LAKE CITY.] - -The ordinance to incorporate Great Salt Lake City was approved by the -General Assembly of the State of Deserét on the 19th of January, 1851, -and the body municipal was constituted, like Fillmore, Ogden, and other -cities in the Territory. The City Council consists of a mayor, four -aldermen, and one common councilor per ward--formerly there were but -nine; they are elected by votes, with the usual qualifications; are -sworn or affianced to support the federal and territorial Constitution, -and retain office for two years. They collect the taxes, which, -however, must not exceed 1·50 per cent. per annum upon the assessed -value of all taxable property, real and personal.[176] They appoint -their recorder, treasurer, assessor, collector, marshal, and supervisor -of streets, and have sole charge of the police. They establish and -support schools and hospitals, regulate “hacking,” “tippling houses,” -and gambling and billiard-tables; inspect lumber, hay, bread and -provisions, and provide against fires--which here, contrary to the -rule throughout England and the Eastern States, are rare and little to -be feared; direct night-lighting and the storage of combustibles, and -regulate streets, bridges, and fences. They have power to enforce their -ordinances by fines and penalties. Appeals from the decisions of the -mayor and aldermen are made to the Municipal Court, composed of the -mayor as chief justice, and the aldermen as associate justices, and -from the Municipal Court to the Probate Court of Great Salt Lake City. - - [176] The property-tax, like tithes, forming the Church funds and the - revenue of the civil government, are general; the octroi ($20 for 100 - lbs. of every thing entering the Territory from the east, and $25 - from the west) and water-tax are local, and confined to towns. I can - not find any other recognized imposts. The anti-Mormons declare that - the Saints are overburdened with taxation. The Saints assert that - their burden is light, especially when compared with the Mormons’ - taxation of the Atlantic cities, which averages from double to treble - that of London and Paris--a little drawback to Liberty when she must - be bought for her weight in gold. - - In the Auditor’s report accompanying the Governor’s Message of 1860, - there are some items of general interest to people outside, as well - as to those in the Territory. The report states that “the total - valuation of property assessed in the Territory for the year 1860 - (Green River and Carson counties excepted) amounts to $4,673,900.” - Assessors in Utah are, I presume, like assessors every where, not - likely to obtain an exaggerated estimate of the value of property, - as on that estimate assessments are made. Property, therefore, may - be set down at a much larger figure than that given in the above - extract. The Territorial tax at one half of one per cent. is .3,369 - 50. As an evidence of the increase of population and of improvement - in property, the excess of Territorial tax is over that of last year - $13,278 33--five sixths of which is collected in Great Salt Lake - County, and that chiefly in this city. Of the other counties, the - report states, “The counties of Weber, Box-Elder, and Juab each show - a decrease in the valuation of property, compared with the assessment - for 1859, of 16 per cent., and Iron County a decrease of 33 per - cent., while the counties of Beaver, San Pete, and Cache show a more - than corresponding increase in the following ratio, viz.: Beaver, - 36; San Pete, 50; and Cache, 900 per cent. The increase in the three - last-named counties, especially Cache, may account in some measure - for the decrease in the other counties named, from the fact that, - during the fall of 1859 and the spring of 1860, very many wealthy - families moved with their stock and effects to form new settlements - in Cache and San Pete counties, and probably the same may be said of - Beaver.” - - The tax of all the counties amounts to .3,369 50; the totals of - auditor’s awards issued $19,184 88, which, together with $5450 95 - payable on appropriations heretofore made, shows that the Mormons - have the good sense to keep clear of a Territorial debt. - -[INDUSTRY OF GREAT SALT LAKE CITY.] - -In the young settlements of the Far West there is a regular -self-enforced programme of manufacturing progress. The first step is to -establish flouring or grist mills, and lumber or saw mills, to provide -for food and shelter. After these _sine quâ nons_ come the comforts -of cotton-spinning, wool-carding, cloth-weaving, tailoring, and -shoemaking. Lastly arise the luxuries of life, which penetrate slowly -into this Territory on account of the delay and expense of transporting -heavy machinery across the “wild desert plains.” The minor mechanical -contrivances, the remarkable inventions of the Eastern States--results -of a necessity which removes every limit to human ingenuity--such as -sewing-machines, cataract washing-machines, stump-extracting machines, -and others, which, but for want of hands, would never have been dreamed -of, are not unknown at Great Salt Lake City. - -The subjoined extract from the list of premiums of the Deserét -Agricultural Society[177] will explain the industry at Great Salt Lake -City in 1860--will prove that the infant colony has supplied all its -actual wants, and will show what energy and perseverance can effect -against time and all manner of obstructions. Besides the industries -mentioned below, there are stores, cutlery shops, watch-makers and -jewelers, painters and glaziers, brush-makers, cabinet-makers, and -skillful turners--for the most part English. Iron and brass founderies -are in contemplation, and a paper-mill is coming across the prairies. -The cutlery is good, the swords, spears, and Congress knives, the -pruning-hooks, saws, and locks are yearly improving, and the imitations -of Colt’s revolvers can hardly be distinguished from the originals. -The distilleries, of course, can not expect prizes. The whisky of Utah -Territory, unlike the Monongahela or rye of Pennsylvania, and the -Bourbon, or maize brandy of Kentucky, is distilled from wheat only; -it is, in fact, the korn schnapps of the trans-Rhenine region. This -“Valley Tan,” being generally pure, is better than the alcohol one -part and water one part, colored with burnt sugar and flavored with -green tea, which is sold under the name of Cognac. Ale and cakes are in -higher flavor than the “villainous distillation:” there are two large -and eight small breweries in which a palatable Lager-bier is made. The -hop grows wild and luxuriant in every kanyon; and there is no reason -why in time the John Barleycorn of the Saints should not rival that of -the sinners in lands where no unfriendly legislation tries, or will, it -is hoped, ever try, - - “To rob a poor man of his beer.” - - [177] The act incorporating the society, which was established - “with a view of promoting the arts of domestic industry, and to - encourage the production of articles from the native elements in this - Territory,” was approved on January 17, 1856. The Board consists of a - President, six Directors, a Treasurer, and a Secretary--the latter, - my friend Mr. Thomas Bullock. - - CLASS E.--FARMING IMPLEMENTS MADE IN THE TERRITORY. - - Awarding Committee--Ira Eldredge, Daniel Carter, Levi E. Ritter. - - Best plow $5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best subsoil plow 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best harrow 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best field-roller 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best drill and irrigator 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best corn-planter 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 1 horse corn cultivator 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best grain-cradle 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best horse-rake 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best garden-rake 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best hay-rake 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best hay-fork 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best manure-fork 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best scythe-snath 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best set of garden tools 3 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best shovel 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best spade 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best hoe 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best wheel-barrow 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best cheese-press 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best churn 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best butter tub and firkin 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best washing machine 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best spinning-wheel 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 6 corn brooms 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - - AGRICULTURAL MACHINES. - - Best reaping machine $10 00 - 2d do. 5 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best threshing machine 10 00 - 2d do. 5 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best fanning-mill 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best corn-sheller 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best corn and cob mill 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best hemp and flax dressing machine 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best hay and straw cutter 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best vegetable root-cutter 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - - CLASS F.--MACHINERY. - - Awarding Committee--Frederick Kesler, John Kay, William J. Silver. - - Best steam-engine $10 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best fire-engine 10 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best garden-engine 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best balance 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best lath machine 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best stave machine 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best stone-dressing machine 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best stone-sawing machine 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pump for a well 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best water-wheel for raising - water for irrigation 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - - CLASS G.--LEATHER. - - Awarding Committee--Seth Taft, John Lowe, Francis Platte. - - Best side sole leather $3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best side upper cowhide 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best kip-skin 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best calf-skin 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best Morocco-skin 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best side harness 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best side skirting 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best saddle 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best light harness 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best heavy harness 5 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best bridle 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pair gentlemen’s fine boots 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pair gentlemen’s stoga boots 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pair gentlemen’s fine shoes 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pair ladies’ bootees 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pair ladies’ shoes 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best blacking or polish 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - - CLASS H.--CLOTHES, DRY-GOODS, AND DYE-STUFFS. - - Awarding Committee--E. R. Young, John Needham, N. H. Felt. - - Best made suit of clothes $5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best made suit of buckskin 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 yards of colored flannel 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 yards of white flannel 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 yards of white jeans 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 yards of colored jeans 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 yards of white Linsey 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 yards of colored Linsey 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 yards of kersey 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 yards of woolen cloth 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best pair of woolen blankets 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best piece of woolen carpet 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best piece of rag carpet 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best coverlet 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best hearth-rug 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best woolen shawl 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 5 yards of linen 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 1 lb. of linen thread 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best fur hat 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best fur cap 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best cloth cap 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best fur muff 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best fur cape 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 1 lb. indigo 10 00 - 2d do. 5 00 - 3d do. 3 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best 1 lb. madder 10 00 - 2d do. 5 00 - 3d do. 3 00 - 4th do. dip. - Best colored cloth from any - materials produced in this - Territory, aside from indigo - or madder 10 00 - 2d do. 5 00 - 3d do. 3 00 - 4th do. dip. - - CLASS I.--FURNITURE, COOPER-WARE, ETC. - - Awarding Committee--Miles Romney, Archibald N. Hill, Thomas Allman. - - Best bureau $3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best sofa 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best bedstead 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best six chairs 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best centre-table 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best dining-table 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best ladies’ work-stand 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best office-desk 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best rocking-chair 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen of wood carving 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen French polish 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen cooper’s ware 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen of glue 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best gallon of varnish 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best gallon of castor-oil 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best gallon of linseed-oil 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best gallon of turpentine 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 lbs. of rosin 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 lbs. of lampblack 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - - CLASS J.--PAINTING, ENGRAVING, ETC. - - Awarding Committee--James M. Barlow, James Beck, John H. Rumell. - - Best specimen of sign-painting $3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of graining 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of printing 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of book-binding 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of paper 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best landscape of Great Salt Lake - Valley 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best bird’s-eye view of Salt Lake - City 3 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best oil painting 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best transparent window-blinds 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best piece of sculpture 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen of turning 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen of engraving 2 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen of penmanship 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of penmanship in - Deserét character 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - - CLASS K.--CUTLERY, HARDWARE, ETC. - - Awarding Committee--Levi Richards, Zechariah B. Derrick, Jonathan - Pugmire. - - Best specimen of cutlery on a card $3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best pruning shears 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best rifle 5 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best revolving pistol 5 00 - 2d do. 3 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 lbs. gunpowder sil. med. - 2d do. dip. - Best axe 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best door-lock 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best shovel and tongs 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best andirons 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 lbs. of cut nails 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 5 lbs. of wrought nails 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 50 yards of rope 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of twine and cord 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen of whips 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen of baskets 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of combs made of horn, - bone, and mountain mahogany 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of glass sil. med. - 2d do. dip. - Best specimen of earthenware 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best sand-paper 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - - CLASS L.--WOMEN’S WORK. - - Awarding Committee--Mrs. Fanny Little, ---- Taft, Marion Beatie, - Sarah Brown. - - Best ornamental needlework $1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of Ayrshire needlework 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best ottoman cover 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best table cover 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best worked shawl 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best worked collar and handkerchief 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best worked cushion 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best lace cap 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best group of flowers 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of wax flowers 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best ornamental shell-work 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best pair worked slippers 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best pair woolen hose 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best pair cotton hose 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best embroidered shawl 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best variety of crochet-work 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best worked quilt 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best patch-work quilt 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of knitting 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - Best straw hat 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best straw bonnet 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best specimen of braid straw or grass 1 00 - 2d do. 0 50 - 3d do. dip. - - CLASS M.--PRODUCE. - - Awarding Committee--Richard Golightly, George Goddard, Eli B. Kelsey. - - Best 5 lbs. of butter $2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best cheese 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best ham 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 10 lbs. of sugar 10 00 - 2d do. 5 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best gallon of molasses 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best home-made wine 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best preserves, pumpkins 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best preserves, tomatoes 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best preserves of any kind 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pickles, cucumbers 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pickles, tomatoes 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pickles, cabbages 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best pickles, onions 1 00 - 2d do. dip. - Best 5 lbs. of soap 3 00 - 2d do. 2 00 - 3d do. dip. - Best 3 lbs. of starch 2 00 - 2d do. 1 00 - 3d do. dip. - - CLASS N.--ESSAYS. - - Awarding Committee--President and Board of Directors. - - Best essay on agriculture $10 00 - 2d do. sil. med. - Best essay on horticulture 10 00 - 2d do. sil. med. - Best essay on home manufactures 10 00 - 2d do. sil. med. - - By order of the Board of the Deserét Agricultural and Manufacturing - Society. - - EDWARD HUNTER, President. - - THOMAS BULLOCK, Secretary. - Great Salt Lake City, May 13, 1860. - -Hand-labor obtains $2 per diem, consequently much work is done at home. -The fair sex still cards, spins, and weaves, as in Cornwall and Wales, -and the plurality system supplies them with leisure for the exercise -of the needle. Excellent blankets, the finest linens, and embroidered -buckskin garments, varying in prices from $75 to $500--a splendid -specimen was, at the time of my stay, being worked for that “Champion -of oppressed nationalities,” M. Louis Kossuth--are the results. - -[PRICES AT GREAT SALT LAKE CITY.] - -As in India, the mere necessaries of life at Great Salt Lake City are -cheap: the foreign luxuries, and even comforts, are exorbitantly dear. -A family may live almost for nothing upon vegetables grown in their -own garden, milk from their own cows, wheaten bread, and butter which -derives a peculiar sweetness from the bunch-grass. For some reason, -which no one can explain, there is not, and there never has been, a -market at Great Salt Lake City; consequently, even meat is expensive. -Freight upon every article, from a bar of soap to a bar of iron, must -be reckoned at 14 cents (7_d._) per lb. coming from the East, and -25-30 cents from the West. Groceries and clothing are inordinately -high-priced. Sugar, worth 6 cents in the United States, here fetches -from 37¹⁄₂ to 45 cents per lb. Tea is seldom drunk, and as coffee of -10 cents per lb. in the States here costs 40-50 cents, burnt beans -or toasted corn, a caricature of chicory, is the usual succedaneum. -Counterblasters will be pleased to hear that tobacco fetches $1 per -lb., and cigars from 5 to 6 cents each--a London price. Servants’ wages -vary from $30 to $40 per mensem--nearly £100 per annum; consequently, -master has a strong inducement to marry the “missus’s” Abigail. Thus -the expense of living in Utah Territory is higher than in the Eastern -States, where again it exceeds that of England. In Great Salt Lake -City $10,000 (= £2000) per annum would be equal to about £500 in -London. Fortunately for the poor, the excessive purity of the air, as -in the Arabian Desert, enables them to dispense with, and not to miss, -many articles, such as stimulants, which are elsewhere considered -necessaries. The subjoined “nerrick” of prices current at the General -Tithing Office in Great Salt Lake City will best explain the state of -things in 1860. A remarkable feature, it will be observed, is the price -of wheat--$1 50 per bushel--more than double its current value in the -Mississippian States.[178] - - [178] General Tithing Office Prices Current, Great Salt Lake City: - - Wheat, extra produce tithing $1 50 ⅌ bush. - Wheat, labor and produce tithing 2 00 „ - Barley 1 50 „ - Corn 1 50 „ - Rye 1 50 „ - Oats 1 00 „ - Buckwheat 1 25 „ - Peas and beans 2 00 „ - Potatoes 0 75 „ - Beets 0 50 „ - Carrots 0 50 „ - Parsnips 0 50 „ - Onions 2 00 „ - Turnips 0 25 „ - Tomatoes 1 00 „ - Cabbages $0 02 @0 10 each. - Pumpkins and squash 0 02 @0 08 „ - Melons 0 02 @0 10 „ - Cucumbers 0 01 „ - Pigs, four weeks old 3 00 „ - Chickens 0 10 @0 25 „ - Ducks 0 15 @0 25 „ - Beef, 6¹⁄₂ average. - Hind quarter 0 07 ⅌ ℔ - Fore quarter 0 06 „ - Tallow 0 10 @0 20 „ - Pork 0 12¹⁄₂ @0 20 „ - Lard 0 15 @0 20 „ - Mutton 0 08 @0 12¹⁄₂ ℔. - Veal 0 03 @0 05 „ - Bear 0 08 @0 12¹⁄₂ „ - Tea 1 50 @3 50 „ - Coffee 0 40 @0 60 „ - Sugar 0 35 @0 60 „ - Milk 0 10 ⅌ qt. - Eggs 0 18 ⅌ doz. - Butter 0 25 ⅌ ℔. - Cheese 0 12¹⁄₂ @0 25 „ - Salt, fine 0 04 „ - Salt, coarse 0 10 „ - Cast steel, warranted 0 37¹⁄₂ @0 50 „ - Spring steel 0 37¹⁄₂ „ - Blister steel 0 18 @0 30 „ - Iron 0 10 „ - Molasses, good 3 00 ⅌ gall. - Vinegar 0 50 @0 75 „ - Lumber, extra produce tithing 4 00 ⅌ 100. - Lumber, labor tithing 5 00 „ - Shingles, best 10 00 ⅌ 1000. - Shingles, 2d quality 8 00 „ - Shingles, cotton-wood 8 00 „ - Shingles, 2d quality 6 00 „ - Doves 0 12¹⁄₂ each. - Turkeys 1 50 @2 50 „ - Fox and wolf skins 0 75 „ - Ox hair 0 50 ⅌ bush. - - EDWARD HUNTER, Presiding Bishop. - -[Illustration: THE DEAD SEA.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -Third Week at Great Salt Lake City.--Excursions. - - -Governor Cumming had asked me to accompany Madam and himself to the -shores of the lake, with an ulterior view to bathing and picnicking. - -One fine morning, at 10 A.M., duly provided with the _nécessaire_ -and a thermometer--which duly snapped in two before immersion--we -set out down the west road, crossed the rickety two-laned bridge -that spans the holy stream, and debouched upon a mirage-haunted and -singularly ugly plain. Wherever below the line of debordement of the -lake’s spring freshet, it is a mere desert; where raised, however, -the land is cultivable, from the Wasach Mountains to Spring Point, at -the north of the Oquirrh, giving about eighty square miles of fertile -land. The soil, as near the lake generally, is a thin layer of saline -humus, overspreading gravel and pebbles. The vegetation is scattered -artemisia, rose-bushes, the _Euphorbia tuberosa_ and other varieties of -milk-weed, the greasewood, salicornias, and several salsolaceæ. There -are numerous salt deposits, all wet and miry in the rainy season; and -the animals that meet the sight are the coyote, the badger, and the -hideous Phrynosoma. A few blue cranes and sage-chickens, which are -eatable till October, were seen; and during winter the wild-fowl are -found in large flocks, and the sweet-water streams are stocked with -diminutive fish. In contrast with the bald and shaven aspect of the -plain, rose behind us the massive forms of the Wasach Mountains, robed -in forests, mist-crowned, and showing a single streak of white, which -entitles them to the poetical boast of eternal snow--snow apparently -never being respectable without eternity. - -After fifteen miles of good road we came to the Point o’ the -Mountain--the head of the Oquirrh, also called West Mountain--where -pyramidal buttes bound the southern extremity of the lake. Their -horizontal lines are cleanly cut by the action of water, and fall in -steps toward the plain. Any appearance of regularity in the works of -Nature is always pleasing--firstly, because it contrasts with her -infinite diversity; and, secondly, because it displays her grandeur -by suggesting comparison with the minor works of mankind. Ranches -and corrals, grass and cattle, now began to appear, and the entrance -of a large cave was pointed out to me in the base of the buttes. We -drove on, and presently emerged upon the shores of this “dead and -desert”--this “still and solitary” sea. It has not antiquity enough -to have become the scene of fabulous history; the early Canadian -_voyageurs_, however, did their best to ennoble it, and recounted to -wondering strangers its fearful submarine noises, its dark and sudden -storms, and the terrible maelstrom in its centre, which, funnel-like, -descended into the bowels of the earth. I believe that age is its -only want; with _quasi_-lifeless waters, a balance of evaporation and -supply--ever a mystery to the ignorant--and a horned frog, the Dead Sea -of the New World has claims to preternaturalism at least equal to those -of its sister feature, the volcano of depression, in the Old Hemisphere. - -[MARE MORTUUM.] - -The first aspect of Mare Mortuum was by no means unprepossessing. As we -stood upon the ledge, at whose foot lies the selvage of sand and salt -that bounds the wave, we seemed to look upon the sea of the Cyclades. -The sky was light and clear, the water of a deep lapis-lazuli blue, -flecked here and there with the smallest of white horses--tiny billows, -urged by the warm soft wind; and the feeble tumble of the surf upon -the miniature sands reminded me, with the first surveyor, “of scenes -far, far away, where mightier billows pay their ceaseless tribute -to the strand.” In front of us, and bounding the extreme northwest, -lay Antelope or Church Island, rising in a bold central ridge. This -rock forms the western horizon to those looking from the city, and -its delicate pink--the effect of a ruddy carpet woven with myriads of -small flowers--blushing in the light of the setting sun, is ever an -interesting and beautiful object. Nearer, it has a brown garb, almost -without a tinge of green, except in rare, scattered spots; its benches, -broken by gashes and gullies, rocks and ravines, are counterparts to -those on the main land; and its form and tintage, softened by the -damp overhanging air, and contrasting with the light blue sky and -the dark ultramarine streak of sea at its base, add greatly to the -picturesqueness of the view. The foreground is a strip of sand, yellow -where it can be seen, incrusted with flakes of salt like the icing of a -plum-cake, and bearing marks of submergence in the season of the spring -freshets. At the water’s edge is a broken black line of a peculiar -drift, which stands boldly out from the snowy whiteness around. Where -my sketch was taken I looked as through a doorway, whose staples were -two detached masses of stone. On the right rose an irregular heap of -conglomerate and sandstone, attached to the ledge behind, and leaning -forward as if about to fall. On the left, the “Black Rock,” which can -be seen as a dot from the city, a heap of flint conglomerate, imbedded -in slaty, burnt, and altered clay, formed the terminating bluff to a -neck of light sand and dark stone. - -Before proceeding to our picnic, I will briefly resume the history and -geography of this Mare Mortuum. The Baron de la Hontan, the French -governor of Placentia, in Newfoundland, about 1690, heard from Indians -of a Great Salt Water, which he caused to disembogue through a huge -river into the South Sea or Pacific Ocean. Like the Lake Tanganyika, -in Central Africa, it was arrayed in the garb of fable, 300 leagues of -length, 30 of breadth, with “100 towns about it,” like Mr. Cooley’s -highly imaginative “Zanganica,” and navigated in large boats by the -savage Mozeemleks, who much remind one of the old semi-mythical -“Mono-moezi.” Doubtless many a trapper and obscure trader has since -that time visited it; a name or two has been found upon the adjacent -rocks, but those were braves who, to speak metaphorically, lived before -the age of Agamemnon. In 1845, Colonel Frémont, then engaged with his -second expedition, made a partial flying survey, which, in 1849-50, was -scientifically completed by Captain Howard Stansbury. - -In geologic ages the lake occupied the space between the Sierra Madre -on the east, and the ranges of Goose Creek and Humboldt River on the -west. The length is roughly computed at 500 miles from north to south, -the breadth from 350 to 500, and the area at 175,000 square miles. The -waters have declined into the lowest part of the basin by the gradual -upheaval of the land, in places showing thirteen successive steps or -benches. A freshet of a few yards would submerge many miles of flat -shore, and a rise of 650 feet would in these days convert all but the -highest peaks of the surrounding eminences into islands and islets, -the kanyons into straits, creeks, and sea-arms, and the bluffs into -slightly elevated shores. Popular opinion asserts that the process of -desiccation is going on at the rate of about half a mile in ten years. -But the limits of beach and drift line laid down by Captain Stansbury -are still well defined, and the shrinking of the volume may be ranked -with its “sinking”--like the sink of the Humboldt and other rivers--an -empirical explanation, by which the mountaineer removes the difficulty -of believing that evaporation can drain off the supplies of so many -rivers. - -[THE GREAT SALT LAKE.] - -The lake, which is about the size of the African Chad, occupies the -northeastern corner of Utah Territory, and lies to the northwest of -the Great Salt Lake Valley, which is forty miles long by about twelve -in breadth. The major axis of the irregular parallelogram is sixty to -seventy miles in length from north to south, by thirty to thirty-five -from east to west. Its altitude has been laid down at 4200 feet above, -while the Dead Sea of Palestine is 1300 feet below sea level. The -principal influents, beginning from the north, are the Bear River, the -Weber River, and the Jordan. They supply the balance of evaporation, -which from water is greater, and from high lands is usually less, than -the rain. The western side is a perfect desert--a salt and arid waste -of clay and sand, with the consistence of mortar when wet, which can -not boast of a single stream; even the springs are sometimes separated -by “jornadas” of seventy miles. When the rivers are in flood, the -lake, it is said, rises to a maximum of four feet, overflowing large -tracts of level saline plain, winding between the broken walls of -rock which surround it on all sides. Near its shores the atmosphere -is reeking, bluish, and hazy, from the effects of active evaporation, -and forms a decided change from the purity and transparency of the air -elsewhere. Surveyors have observed that it is a labor to use telescopes -for geoditic purposes, and that astronomical observations are very -imperfect. The quantity of vapor is less, and evaporation has less -tension and density from the surface of salt than of fresh water; here, -however, the operation is assisted by sunheat sufficient to produce -an aeriform state, and by a wind brisk enough to prevent the vapor -accumulating over the surface. - -The water of this remarkable feature, which so curiously reproduces -the marvels of Judea, contains nearly one quarter of solid matter, or -about six times and a half more than the average solid constituents of -sea-water, which may be laid down roughly at three and a half per cent. -of its weight, or about half an ounce to the pound.[179] The Dead Sea -is its sole known superior. The specific gravity is 1·170, distilled -water being 1·000; the North Atlantic, between latitude 25° N. and -longitude 52° W. (G.), 1·020; and the Dead Sea, at 60° Fahrenheit, from -1·22742 to 1·130. The vulgar estimate of its saltness is exaggerated. -I have heard at Salt Lake City of one bucket of saline matter being -produced by the evaporation of three; and that meat can be salted, -and corned beef converted into junk, after twelve or fourteen hours -in the natural unevaporated brine. It is used without preparation -by the citizens, who have not adopted the precautions recommended -by Dr. Gale.[180] It is collected by boys, shoveled into carts at -the points of the beach where the winds dash up the waves--forming a -regular wind-tide--and is sold in retail at half a cent per pound, or -two shillings per hundred pounds. The original basin of geological -ages was, doubtless, as the shells have proved, fresh water. The -saline substances are brought down by rain, which washes the soil and -percolates through the rocky ledges, and by the rivers, which are -generally estimated to contain from ten to one hundred grains of salt -per gallon,[181] and here probably more, owing to the abundance of -soda. The evaporation is, of course, nearly pure, containing but very -minute traces of salts. - - [179] “One hundred parts by weight were,” says Dr. Gale, “evaporated - to dryness in a water-bath below the boiling-point, and then heated - to about 300° of the thermometer, and retained at that heat till the - mass ceased to lose any weight. It gave solid contents 22·422 (?), - and consisted of - - Chloride of sodium }In the {Chloride of sodium 97·80 - (common salt) 20·196 }Abbé { „ „ calcium 0·61 - Sulphate of soda 1·834 }Domenech’s { „ „ magnesium 0·24 - Chloride of }work the {Sulphate of soda 0·23 - magnesium 0·252 }analysis is{ „ „ lime 1·12 - Chloride of }taken from { ------ - calcium a trace }Col. { Total 100·00 - ------ }Frémont: { - Total 22·282(?)”}thus-- { - - The waters of the Dead Sea give solid contents 24·580, and consist of - - Chloride of sodium 10·360 - „ „ calcium 3·920 - „ „ magnesium 10·246 - Sulphate of soda ·054 - ------ - Total 24·580 - - The strongest natural brine in the United States, according to - Professor Beck, is that of the Syracuse Saline, New York, which - contains 17·35 per cent. of chloride of sodium. - - [180] “The salt water” (it is elsewhere called “one of the purest and - most concentrated brines known in the world”) “yields about 20 per - cent. of pure common salt, and about 2 per cent. of foreign salts; - most of the objectionable parts of which are the chloride of lime and - the chloride of magnesia, both of which, being very deliquescent, - attract moisture from the damp atmosphere, which has the effect to - moisten and partially dissolve the common salt, and then, when the - mass is exposed to dry air or heat, or both, a hard crust is formed. - I believe I have found a remedy for the caking, which is cheap and - easily used. It consists in sprinkling over the salt obtained by the - evaporation of the water, and heaped up in a bin or box containing - a porous bottom of blankets or other like material, a cold solution - of the salt as it is concentrated from the lake till crystals begin - to be deposited. This concentrated brine, while it will dissolve - none of the common salt, will dissolve all the chlorides of calcium - and magnesium, and carry them down through the porous bottom, and - thus leave the salt purer and better than any now found in our - markets. For persons who are obliged to prepare temporarily the salt, - as travelers passing through the country, the water of the lake, - without concentration, may be used for washing out the deliquescent - chlorides, sprinkling the heap of salt by a watering-pot at intervals - of two or three hours during a single day, and allowing it to drain - and dry at night, and be spread to the sun an hour or two the - following morning.” - - [181] “The Physical Geography of the Sea” (by Captain Maury), chap. - ix., § 502, quoted from “Youmans’ Chemistry.” - -It has been generally stated that the water is fatal to organic life. -The fish brought down the rivers perish at once in the concentrated -brine; but, according to the people, there is a univalve, like a -periwinkle, found at certain seasons within the influence of its saline -waves; and I observed, floating near the margin, delicate moss-like -algæ. Governor Cumming mentioned his having seen a leaf, of a few -inches in length, lined with a web, which shelters a vermicular animal, -of reddish color, and about the length of the last joint of the little -finger. Near the shore, also, mucilaginous matter, white, pink, and -rusty, like macerated moss, adheres to the rocky bed, and lies in -coagulated spots upon the sand. We may fairly doubt the travelers’ -assertion that this Dead Sea contains no living thing; whereas neither -animalculæ nor vestige of animal matter were, according to Lieutenant -Lynch, detected by a powerful microscope in the waters of the -Asphaltite Lake. - -[ISLANDS IN GREAT SALT LAKE.] - -The Great Salt Lake is studded with an archipelago of islands, which -would greatly add to its charms were their size commensurate with its -diminutive limits. These, beginning from the north, are, - -1. Dolphin Island, so called from its shape, a knoll of rock and shoal -near the northwestern end, surrounded by about three feet of water. - -2. Gunnison’s Island, a large rock and small outlier, southeast of the -former, and surrounded with water from nine to twelve feet deep. - -3. Hat Island, southeast of Gunnison’s, the smallest of the isles, with -a reef sunk about seven feet: it was probably part of the following, -and is separated from it by a narrow channel nowhere more than six feet -in depth. - -4. Carrington Island, so named from the Mormon surveyor, a circular -mass with a central peak: the water is from three to six feet deep on -every side except the western and southwestern, which are shoals and -shallows. It contains no springs, but is rich in plants and flowers, as -the sego, also spelled sigo, seacoe, and segose (_Calochortus luteus_, -an onion-like bulb or tuber about the size of a walnut, more nutritious -than palatable, much eaten as a table vegetable by the early Mormons -and the root-digging Indians, and even now by white men when half -starved), a _cleome_, a _malvastrum_, a new species of _malacothrix_, -and several others. - -5. Stansbury Island, the second largest in the lake, an ovate mass, -with a high central ridge, dome-shaped above, and rising 3000 feet, -twenty-seven miles in circumference, and about twelve in length. During -the dry season it is formed into a peninsula by a sand-bank connecting -it with the lake’s western shore. Thus antelopes, deer, and coyotes -pass over to browse upon the plants and to attack the young of the -ducks, geese, plover, gulls, and pelicans, that make their homes upon -the cliffs: it is also used for grazing purposes. The principal plants -are a _comandra_, and sundry new species of _heuchera_, _perityle_, and -_stenactis_. Fossils and shells are found in scatters. - -6. Antelope, also called Church Island, because the stock of the -Saints is generally kept there. Lying to the east and northeast of -the preceding, and in shape an irregular and protracted conoid, it -is the largest of the islands, sixteen miles long by six of extreme -width, with a western ridge and an eastern line of broken peaks, which -attain a maximum of 3000 feet above the lake and 7200 above sea level. -It lies twenty miles to the northwest of the city, and the narrow -passage between it and the opposite plain is fordable. This island is -surrounded on the north by a tufa bed twelve feet deep; eastward by six -feet of water; southeast and south by shoals; and westward by a deposit -of black mud: the deepest sounding in the lake, thirty-five feet, is -found between it and Stansbury Island. Off the northwestern coast is -a rock, called, after its principal peculiarity, Egg Island: in the -eastern cliff there is said to be a cave, described to resemble the -Blue Grotto at Capri, which has been partially explored. Formerly there -was a small pinnace on the “Big Shallow;” it has either been wrecked or -broken up for fuel.[182] Antelope Island contains arid ravines and a -few green valleys, besides a spring of pure water, and, being safe from -Indians, it is much esteemed as a grazing-place. - - [182] In the “Revue des Deux-Mondes” (April, 1861) we are told that, - “Pendant l’été un petit bateau à vapeur fait un service régulier - sur le Lac Salé.” Fresh proof, if it be required, how difficult, or - rather how impossible, it is for any amount of talent or ingenuity in - a reviewer to supply the want of actual eye-seeing information. The - “Lac Salé” is not yet come. - -7. Frémont Island, so named by Captain Stansbury from the first -explorer, who called it, after the rude dissipation of a dream of -“tangled wilderness of trees and shrubbery, teeming with game of every -description that the neighboring region afforded,” “Disappointment -Island.” The Mormons have preferred “Castle Island,” suggested by its -mural and turreted peak, that rises above the higher levels. It lies -north and northeast from Antelope Island, parallel with the mouth of -the Weber River, and south of Promontory Point, the bluff termination -of a rocky tongue which separates Bear-River Bay from the body of -the lake. Its shape is a semilune, fifteen miles in circumference, -abounding in plants, especially the Indian onion, but destitute of wood -and water. Here, on the summit, Captain Frémont lost the “brass cover -to the object-end of his spy-glass”--disdain not, gentle reader, these -little reminiscences!--and Captain Stansbury failed to find the relic. - -I was surprised by the want of freshness and atmospheric elasticity -in the neighborhood of the lake: the lips were salted as by sea air, -but there the similarity ended. We prepared for bathing by unhitching -the mules upon the usual picnicking place, a patch of soft white -sand between the raised shore of the lake and the water brink. The -bank supplies a plentiful stream of water, potable, though somewhat -brackish, bitter, and sulphurous: it shows its effects, however, -in a clump of plants, wild roses, and the euphorbia of many names, -silk-plant, _vache à lait_, _capote de sacarte_, and milk-plant. -The familiar magpie prevented the solitude of the scene being too -impressive. Here was also a vestige of humanity, a kind of “lean-to” of -dry stone wall, with the bank for a back-bone: you might have ridden -over it without knowing that it belonged to Mrs. Smith of Vermont, now -departed, unless warned off by the sudden appearance of what your -superior sagacity would have discovered to be a chimney. - -[THE BATH IN THE GREAT SALT LAKE.] - -The bathing-place is behind the Black Rock. The approach is first over -the fine soft white sand, like that of the sea-shore, but shell-less, -soppy where it receives the spring-water, and almost a quicksand near -the lake. The foot crunches through caked and crusty salt-flakes, -here white, there dark green, there dun-colored like _bois de vache_, -and every where the reverse of aromatic, and sinks deep into the -everlastingly wet sand below. This leads to the neck of broken, riven -stone pavement, whose head is the Black Rock. As the lake is neared, -the basalt-like surface becomes red and rusty, the points are diamonded -by sparkling spiculæ, and in the hollows and crevices where the waters -have dried to salt it gathers in the form of icy lumps. A dreadful -shock then awaits the olfactory nerves. The black mud of peculiar -drift before alluded to proves to be an aceldama of insects: banks a -full foot high, composed of the _larvæ_, _exuviæ_, and mortal coils of -myriads of worms, musquetoes, gnats, and gallinippers, cast up by the -waves, and lining the little bay, as they ferment and fester in the -burning sun, or pickle and preserve in the thick brine.[183] Escaping -from this mass of fetor, I reached the farther end of the promontory -where the Black Rock stood decorously between the bathing-place and the -picnic ground, and in a pleasant frame of curiosity descended into the -new Dead Sea. - - [183] According to Mr. T. R. Peale (quoted by Captain Stansbury, - Appendix C), “More than ⁹⁄₁₀ths of the mass is composed of the larvæ - and exuviæ of the _Chironomus_, or some species of musqueto, probably - undescribed.” - -I had heard strange accounts of its buoyancy. It was said to support a -bather as if he were sitting in an arm-chair, and to float him like an -unfresh egg. My experience differs in this point from that of others. -There was no difficulty in swimming, nor indeed in sinking. After -sundry immersions of the head, in order to feel if it really stang and -removed the skin, like a mustard plaster--as described--emboldened by -the detection of so much hyperbole, I proceeded to duck under with -open eyes, and smarted “for my pains.” The sensation did not come on -suddenly; at first there was a sneaking twinge, then a bold succession -of twinges, and lastly a steady, honest burning like what follows a -pinch of snuff in the eyes. There was no fresh water at hand; so, -scrambling upon the rock, I sat there for half an hour, presenting -to Nature the ludicrous spectacle of a man weeping flowing tears. A -second experiment upon its taste was equally satisfactory; I can easily -believe, with Captain Stansbury, that a man overboard has little chance -against asphyxiation; _vox faucibus hœsit_ was the least that could be -said concerning its effects upon my masticators. Those who try such -experiments may be warned that a jug filled at the fresh spring is -necessary in more ways than one. The hair on emersion is powdered like -the plastered locks of the knights of flamingo-plush and bell-hanging -shoulder-knots, and there is a clammy stickiness, which is exceedingly -unpleasant. Salt, moreover, may be scraped from the skin--imaginative -bathers have compared themselves to Lot’s wife--and the Ethiop, -now prosaically termed “nigger,” comes out after a bath bleached, -whitewashed, and with changed epidermis. - -Notwithstanding the _fumet_ from the kitchen of that _genius loci_ -whom I daurna name, we dined with excellent appetite. While the mules -were being hitched to, I found an opportunity of another survey from -below the Black Rock: this look-out station is sometimes ascended by -those gifted with less than the normal modicum of common sense. The -lands immediately about the lake are flat, rising almost imperceptibly -to the base of abrupt hills, which are broken in places by soft and -sandy barriers, irreclaimable for agriculture, but here and there fit -for grazing; where springs exist, they burst out at too low a level -for irrigation. The meridional range of the Oquirrh, at whose northern -point we were standing, divides the Great Salt Lake Valley from its -western neighbor Tooele or Tuilla, which in sound curiously resembles -the Arabic Tawíleh--the Long Valley. It runs like most of these -formations from north to south: it is divided by a transverse ridge -declining westward, and not unaptly called Traverse Mountain, from Rush -Valley, which again is similarly separated from Cedar Valley. From the -point where we stood, the only way to Tooele settlement is round the -north point of West Mountain, a bold headland, rugged with rocks and -trees. Westward of Tooele Valley, and separated by a sister range to -the Oquirrh, lies Spring Valley, so called because it boasts a sweet -fountain, and south of this “Skull Valley”--an ominous name, but the -evil omen was to the bison. - -Bidding a long farewell to that inland briny sea, which apparently -has no business there, we turned our faces eastward as the sun was -declining. The view had memorable beauties. From the blue and purple -clouds, gorgeously edged with celestial fire, shot up a fan of penciled -and colored light, extending half way to the zenith, while in the south -and southeast lightnings played among the darker mist-masses, which -backed the golden and emerald bench-lands of the farther valley. The -splendid sunset gave a reflex of its loveliness to the alkaline and -artemisia barrens before us. Opposite, the Wasach, vast and voluminous, -the store-house of storms, and of the hundred streams that cool the -thirsty earth, rose in stern and gloomy grandeur, which even the last -smile of day failed to soften, over the subject plain. Northward, to -a considerable distance, the lake-lands lay uninterrupted save by an -occasional bench and a distant swell, resembling the upper convexity -of a thunder-cloud. As we advanced, the city became dimly discernible -beyond Jordan, built on ground gently rising away from the lake, and -strongly nestling under its protecting mountains. A little to its -northeast, a thin white vapor, like the spray of a spouting whale, -showed the direction of the Hot Springs: as time wore on it rolled -away, condensed by the cooling air, like the smoke of a locomotive -before the evening breeze. Then the prominent features of the city came -into view, the buildings separated themselves from their neighbors -by patches and shades of several green, the streets opened out their -regular rows and formal lines; once more we rolled over Jordan’s -rickety bridge, and found ourselves again in the Holy City of the Far -West. - -[TRIP TO CAMP FLOYD.] - -The ultimate destination of the Judiciary whom I had accompanied was -Carson Valley, in the Sierra Nevada, a distance of some hundreds of -miles through a wild country where “lifting of hair” is by no means -uncommon. The judge, though not a sucking diplomat, had greenly relied -upon _bona verba_ at Washington for transportation, escort, and other -necessaries which would be easily procurable at Camp Floyd. It was -soon found advisable to apply to the military authorities at the -cantonment. The coach, as I have said, had ceased to run beyond Great -Salt Lake City. In May, 1858, a contract had been made with Major -George Chorpenning to transport mails and passengers--the fare being -$120--from Utah to California, he receiving $130,000. This lasted till -September, 1859, when the drivers, complaining that the road-agents -charged with paying them for eighteen months had expended the “rocks” -in the hells of San Francisco, notably evinced their race’s power -of self-government by seizing and selling off by auction wagons and -similar movable property. On the 20th of March, 1860, it came into -the hands of the proprietors of the Eastern line, Messrs. Russell and -Co., who ran a mail-wagon first to California, then to Camp Floyd, and -lastly, on the 1st of June, finding their expenditure excessive, packed -the mails on mules.[184] Single travelers were sometimes thus pushed -through, starting on the Wednesdays, once a fortnight; for a party like -ours such a proceeding would have been impossible. Consequently, the -judge and I set out for Camp Floyd to see what could be done by “Uncle -Sam” and his “eagles.” - - [184] They carry 50 to 60 lbs.; and the schedule time to Placerville - is sixteen days. - -Mr. Gilbert--of the firm of Gilbert, Gerrish, and Co., general -(Gentile) merchants--offered us seats in his trotting wagon, drawn by a -fine tall pair of iron-gray mules, that cost $500 the twain, and were -christened Julia and Sally, after, I believe, the fair daughters of -the officer who had lately commanded the district. With a fine clear -day and a breeze which veiled us with dust-hangings--the highway must -be a sea of mud in wet weather--we set out along the county road, -leading from the southeastern angle of the Holy City. Our route lay -over the strip of alluvium that separates the Wasach Mountains from -the waters of Jordan: it is cut by a multitude of streamlets rising -from the kanyons; the principal are Mill Creek, Big Cotton-wood, -Little Cotton-wood, Dry Cotton-wood, and Willow Creek. The names are -translated from the Indians, and we saw from the road traces of the -aborigines, who were sweeping crickets and grass-seed into their large -conical baskets--among these ragged gleaners we looked in vain for -a Ruth. Near Big Cotton-wood, where there is a settlement distant -seven miles from the city, an English woman came across the fields -and complained that she had been frightened by four Indian braves -who had been riding by to bring in a stolen horse. The waters of the -kanyons are exceedingly cool, sweet, and clear, and suggested frequent -reference to a superior kind of tap which had been stored away within -the trap. In proportion as we left the city, the sterility of the River -Valley increased; cultivation was unseen except upon the margins of the -streams, and the look of the land was “real mean.” In front of us lay -the denticulated bench bounding the southern end of the valley. - -After twenty miles from the city we reached a ranch on rising ground, -near the water-gate of the Jordan. It was built at an expense of -$17,000, and was called the Utah Brewery. Despite, however, the plenty -of hop and barley, the speculation proved a failure, and the house had -become a kind of mail-station. Between it and the river were a number -of little rush-girt “eyes”--round pools, some hot, others cold--and -said to be unfathomable; that is to say, from twenty to thirty fathoms -deep. They related that a dragoon, slipping with his charger into -one of them, found a watery grave, where a drier death might have -been expected. At the ranch we rested for an hour, but called in vain -for food. From the Utah Brewery, which is about half way, drivers -reckon twenty-two miles to Camp Floyd, making a total of forty-two -to forty-three miles between the head-quarters of the saint and the -sinner, and we therefore looked forward to a “banian day.” - -About noon we hitched to and proceeded to ascend Traverse Mountain, -a ridge-like spur of the Wasach, running east and west. It separates -the Valley of the Northern or Great Salt Lake from the basin of the -Utah, or Sweetwater Lake, to the southward, and is broken through by -the waters of Jordan. The young river--called Piya Ogwap, or the Big -Water, by the Shoshonees--here rushes in a foaming shallow stream, that -can barely float a dug-out, over a rocky, pebbly bed, in the sole of -a deep but short kanyon, which winds its way through the cross range. -The descent is about 100 feet in two miles, after which the course -serpentines, the banks fall, and the current becomes gentle. - -As we toiled up the Dug-way, the graded incline that runs along the -shoulder of the mountain, we saw a fine back view of the Happy Valley -through an atmosphere clear as that of the English littoral before -rain. Advancing higher, we met, face to face, an ambulance full of -uniform _en route_ to the Holy City, drawn by four neat mules, and -accompanied by strikers--military servants. We drew up, the judge was -readily recognized, and I was introduced to Captains Heth, Clarke, and -Gibson, and to Lieutenant Robinson. They began with an act of charity, -supplying ham sandwiches to half-starved men, and I afterward spent -pleasant evenings with them at Great Salt Lake City, and became Captain -Heth’s guest at Camp Floyd. Their kindness and hospitality lasted to -the end of my stay. After the usual “liquoring up,” they pointed to -Ash Hollow, the depths below, where the Mormons had intended to make a -new Thermopylæ. Promising to meet them again, we then shook hands and -resumed our road. - -The steep descent on the counterslope of Traverse Mountain disclosed to -us the first sight of Utah Lake, which is to its sister what Carmel is -to Lebanon. It was a soft and sunny, a placid and beautiful landscape, -highly refreshing after the arid lands on the other side. A panorama -of lake, plain, and river lay before us. On the east, south, and west -were rugged walls and peaks of mountain and hill; and northward a broad -grassy slope rose to the divide between the valleys of the Fresh and of -the Salt Lake. From afar the binding of plain round the basin appeared -so narrow that the mountains seemed to dip their feet into the quiet -reservoir; and beyond the southern point the lone peak of lofty Nebo -stood, to adopt the Koranic comparison, like one of the pins which -fasten down the plains of earth. A nearer approach discovers a broad -belt of meadow, rich alluvial soil, in parts marshy, and in others -arable, wheat and root-crop flourishing in the bottom, and bunch-grass -upon the acclivities. The breadth is greater to the west and south of -the lake than in other parts. It is cut by many a poplar-fringed stream -that issues from the tremendous gorges around--the American Fork, the -Timpanogos[185] or Provo River, and the Spanish Fork. On the near side, -beyond the winding Jordan, lay little Lehi, whose houses were half hid -by black trees; and eastward of the Utah Water, dimly visible, was -Provo City, on a plain watered by four creeks. Such were the environs -of the Sea of Tiberias. - - [185] From _Timpa_, a rock, and _ogwabe_, contracted to _oge_, a - river, in the Yuta dialect. In English maps published as late as - seven years ago, “Timpanogos” is applied to the Great Salt Lake! - _Provo_ or _Provaux_ is the name of a Canadian trapper and trader, - who in past times defeated with eighty men a thousand Indians, and - was killed at the moment of victory. The Mormons call the City - _Provo_, and Gentiles prefer as a “rile” _Timpanogos_. - -[UTAH LAKE.] - -The Utah Lake, another Judean analogue, derives its supplies from the -western versant of the Wasach. It is in shape an irregular triangle, -the southern arm forming a very acute angle. The extreme length -is thirty miles, and the greatest breadth is fifteen. It owes its -sweetness, which, however, is by no means remarkable, to its northern -drainage, the Piya Ogwap, _alias_ Utah Outlet, _alias_ Jordan River. -Near the shores the water soon deepens to fifteen feet; the bottom is -said to be smooth, uniform, and very profound in places; but probably -it has never been sounded. The bed, where it shows, is pebbly; a -white, chalky incrustation covers the shallower bottom; shells, -especially the fresh-water clam, are numerous upon the watery margin; -the flaggy “Deserét weed” in the tulares is ten feet high,[186] and -thicket is dense in places where rock does not occupy the soil. The -western side is arid for want of influents; there is a “lone tree,” -a solitary cotton-wood, conspicuous amid the grazing-ground of -bunch-grass, sage, and greasewood, and the only inhabitants, excepting -a single ranch--Evan’s--are, apparently, the Phrynosoma and the lizard, -the raven and the jackass-rabbit. The Utah Lake freezes in December, -January, and February. At these months the Jordan rolls down floes of -ice, but it is seldom to be traversed on foot. In the flood season it -rises two, and the wind tide extends to about three feet. It is still -full of fish, which in former times were carried off in barrels. The -white trout weigh thirty pounds. There are many kinds of mountain trout -averaging three pounds, while salmon trout, suckers, and mudfish are -uncommonly large and plentiful; water-snakes and “horsehair fish” are -also found. - - [186] Tulare is a marsh of bulrush (_Scirpus lacustris_), which - is found extending over immense tracts of river valley in Western - America. “Tooly” water, as it is pronounced, is that which is - flavored or tainted by it. - -After descending the steep incline we forded the Jordan, at that point -100 feet broad, and deep to the wagon-hubs. The current was not too -swift to prevent the growth of weeds. The water was of sulphury color, -the effect of chalk, and the taste was brackish, but not unpleasant; -cattle are said to like it. The fording was followed by a long ascent, -the divide between Utah Valley and its western neighbor Cedar Valley. -About half way between the Brewery and the Camp is a station, held by -a Shropshire Mormon, whose only name, as far as I could discover, was -Joe Dug-out, so called, like the Watertons de Waterton, from the style -of his habitation. He had married a young woman, who deterred him from -giving her a sister--every Oriental language has a word to express -what in English, which lacks the thing, is rudely translated “a rival -wife”--by threatening to have his ears cut off by the “horfficers.” -Joe, however, seemed quite resigned to the pains and penalties of -monogamy, and, what was more to our purpose, had a good brew of porter -and Lager-bier. - -Having passed on the way a road that branches off to the old camp, -which was deserted for want of water, we sighted from afar the new -cantonment. It lies in a circular basin, surrounded by irregular hills -of various height, still wooded with black cedar, where not easily -felled, and clustering upon the banks of Cedar Creek, a rivulet which -presently sinks in a black puddly mud. For a more thoroughly detestable -spot one must repair to Gharra, or some similar purgatorial place -in Lower Sindh. The winter is long and rigorous, the summer hot and -uncomfortable, the alkaline water curdles soap, and the dust-storms -remind one of the Punjaub. I lost no time in suggesting to my -_compagnon de voyage_, Lieutenant Dana, as a return for his kindness -in supplying me with a “Bayonet Exercise,” and other papers, our old -campaigning habit of hanging wet canvas before every adit, and received -the well-merited thanks of Madam. The hardest part of these hardships -is that they are wholly purposeless. Every adobe brick in the place -has been estimated to have cost a cent, as at Aden each cut stone was -counted a rupee; and the purchase of lumber has enriched the enemy. In -1858 the Peace Commissioners sent by the supreme government conceded -to the Mormons a point which saved the Saints. The army was not to be -“located” within forty miles of Great Salt Lake City; thus the pretty -sites about Utah Lake were banned to them, and the Mormons, it is said, -“jockeyed” them out of the rich and fertile Cache Valley, eighty miles -north of the head-quarters. - -[CAMP FLOYD.] - -A broken wall surrounds this horrid hole. Julia and Sally carried us in -with unflagging vigor. We passed through Fairfield, less euphoniously -termed Frogtown, the bazar of the cantonment on the other side of the -creek. During the days when Camp Floyd contained its full complement -of camp followers--5000 souls--now reduced to 100 or 200 men, it must -have been a delectable spot, teeming with gamblers and blacklegs, -grog-house-keepers and prostitutes: the revolver and the bowie-knife -had nightly work to do there, and the moral Saints were fond of -likening Frogtown to certain Cities of the Plains. Of late years it has -become more respectable, and now it contains some good stores. - -We removed from the wagon the mail-bags containing letters for the -camp, and made ourselves at home with the hospitable Gilbert. On the -next day, after “morning glory” and breakfast, we called upon the -officer commanding the department, Colonel P. St. G. Cooke, of the -2d Dragoons, and upon the commandant of the cantonment, Lieutenant -Colonel C. F. Smith. They introduced us to the greater part of the -officers, and, though living in camp fashion, did not fail to take -in the strangers after the ancient, not the modern, acceptation of -the term. It is a sensible pleasure, which every military man has -remarked, to exchange the common run of civilian for soldier society in -the United States. The reveillé in the morning speaks of discipline; -the guard-mounting has a wholesome military sound; there is a habit -of ’tention and of saluting which suggests some subordination; the -orderlies say “Sir,” not Sirree nor Sirree-bob. The stiffness and -ungeniality of professionals, who are all running a race for wealth -or fame, give way in a service of seniority, and where men become -brothers, to the frankness which belongs to the trade of arms. The -Kshatriya, or fighting caste, in the States is distinctly marked. -The officers, both of the navy and the army, are, for the most part, -Southerners, and are separated by their position from general society. -The civilian, as was the case in England twenty years ago, dislikes -the uniform. His principal boasts are, that he pays his fighting -servants well, and that he--a militia-man--is far superior to the -regular. A company of Cadets, called the Chicago Zouaves, during the -summer of 1860, made a sensation throughout the land. The newspaper -writers spoke of them in terms far higher than have been lavished upon -the flower of the French army; even the military professionals were -obliged to join in the cry. As a republican, the citizen looks upon a -soldier as a drone. “I hate those cormorants,” said to me an American -diplomat, who, _par parenthèse_, had made a fortune by the law, as he -entered a Viennese café. _L’arte della guerra presto s’ impara_ is his -motto, and he evinces his love of the civilian element by giving away -a considerable percentage of commissions in the army to those whose -political influence enables them to dispense with the preparation of -West Point. - -[UNITED STATES MILITIA.] - -I am here tempted to a few words concerning the cheap defense and -the chief pride of the United States, viz., her irregular army. The -opposite table shows the forces of the militia to be three millions, -while the regular army does not number 19,000. The institution is, -therefore, a kind of public, a writing, speaking, voting body, which -makes itself heard and felt, while the existence of the regulars is -almost ignored. To hint aught against the militia in the United States -is sure seriously to “rile up” your civil audience, and Elijah Pogram -will perhaps let you know that you can not know what you are talking -about. The outspoken Britisher, despite his title and his rank as -a general officer, had a “squeak” for his commission when, in the -beginning of the volunteer mania, he spoke of the new levies as a -useless body of men: it is on the same principle in the United States. -Thus also the liberal candidate declares to his electors his “firm -belief that, with all our enormous expenditure, the country had not -felt itself secure, and straightway a noble arm of defense, springing -unbought from the patriotism of the people, had crept into existence, -forming a better shield for our national liberties than all that we had -been able to buy with our mounds of gold.” (Cheers.) The civilian in -the United States boasts of his military institutions, his West Point -and his regular army, and never fails to inform a stranger that it is -better paid than any force in Europe. On the other hand, he prides -himself upon, as he is probably identified with, the militia. - -MILITIA FORCE OF THE UNITED STATES. - -_General Abstract of the Militia Force of the United States, according -to the latest Returns received at the Office of the Adjutant General._ - - +-----------------------+----+---------+---------+---------+---------+ - | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | - | | For| | General | Field | | - | | the| General | Staff |Officers,| Company | - |States and Territories.|Year|Officers.|Officers.| etc. |Officers.| - +-----------------------+----+---------+---------+---------+---------+ - |Maine |1856| 13 | 52 | 36 | 230 | - |New Hampshire |1854| 11 | 202 | 119 | 895 | - |Massachusetts |1859| 10 | 47 | 111 | 353 | - |Vermont |1843| 12 | 51 | 224 | 801 | - |Rhode Island |1858| 2 | 22 | 106 | 26 | - |Connecticut |1858| 3 | 9 | 82 | 199 | - |New York |1856| 93 | 299 | 1,531 | 5,495 | - |New Jersey |1852| | | | | - |Pennsylvania |1858| | | | | - |Delaware |1827| 4 | 8 | 71 | 364 | - |Maryland |1838| 22 | 68 | 544 | 1,763 | - |Virginia |1858| | | | | - |North Carolina |1845| 28 | 133 | 657 | 3,449 | - |South Carolina |1856| 20 | 135 | 535 | 1,909 | - |Georgia |1850| 39 | 91 | 624 | 4,296 | - |Florida |1845| 3 | 14 | 95 | 508 | - |Alabama |1851| 32 | 142 | 775 | 1,883 | - |Louisiana |1859| 16 | 129 | 542 | 2,105 | - |Mississippi |1838| 15 | 70 | 856 | 348 | - |Tennessee |1840| 25 | 79 | 392 | 2,644 | - |Kentucky |1852| 43 | 145 | 1,165 | 3,517 | - |Ohio |1858| | | | | - |Michigan |1854| 30 | 123 | 147 | 2,358 | - |Indiana |1832| 31 | 110 | 566 | 2,154 | - |Illinois |1855| | | | | - |Wisconsin |1855| 15 | 8 | 215 | 904 | - |Iowa | | | | | | - |Missouri |1853| | 17 | 4 | 67 | - |Arkansas |1859| 10 | 39 | 179 | 911 | - |Texas |1847| 15 | 45 | 248 | 940 | - |California |1857| 18 | 126 | 11 | 175 | - |Minnesota |1859| | | | | - |Oregon | | | | | | - |Washington Territory | | | | | | - |Nebraska Territory | | | | | | - |Kansas Territory | | | | | | - |Territory of Utah |1853| 2 | | 48 | 235 | - |Territory of N. Mexico | | | | | | - |District of Columbia |1852| 3 | 10 | 28 | 185 | - | +----+---------+---------+---------+---------+ - | Grand aggregate | | 515 | 2,374 | 9,884 | 38,687 | - +-----------------------+----+---------+---------+---------+---------+ - - +-----------------------+------------+----------------+----------+ - | | |Non-commissioned| | - | | | Officers, | | - | | Total | Musicians, | | - | |commissioned|Artificers, and | | - |States and Territories.| Officers. | Privates. |Aggregate.| - +-----------------------+------------+----------------+----------+ - |Maine | 340 | 73,248 | 73,552| - |New Hampshire | 1,227 | 32,311 | 33,538| - |Massachusetts | 521 | 157,347 | 157,868| - |Vermont | 1,088 | 22,827 | 23,915| - |Rhode Island | 156 | 16,555 | 16,711| - |Connecticut | 293 | 51,312 | 51,605| - |New York | 7,388 | 329,847 | 337,235| - |New Jersey | | | 81,984| - |Pennsylvania | | | 350,000| - |Delaware | 447 | 8,782 | 9,229| - |Maryland | 2,397 | 44,467 | 46,864| - |Virginia | | | 150,000| - |North Carolina | 4,267 | 75,181 | 79,448| - |South Carolina | 2,599 | 33,473 | 36,072| - |Georgia | 5,050 | 73,649 | 78,699| - |Florida | 620 | 11,502 | 12,122| - |Alabama | 2,832 | 73,830 | 76,662| - |Louisiana | 2,792 | 88,532 | 91,324| - |Mississippi | 825 | 35,259 | 36,084| - |Tennessee | 3,607 | 67,645 | 71,252| - |Kentucky | 4,870 | 84,109 | 88,979| - |Ohio | | | 279,809| - |Michigan | 2,858 | 94,236 | 97,094| - |Indiana | 2,861 | 51,052 | 53,913| - |Illinois | | | 257,420| - |Wisconsin | 1,142 | 50,179 | 51,321| - |Iowa | | | | - |Missouri | 88 | 117,959 | 118,047| - |Arkansas | 1,139 | 46,611 | 47,750| - |Texas | 1,248 | 18,518 | 19,766| - |California | 330 | 207,400 | 207,730| - |Minnesota | | | 23,972| - |Oregon | | | | - |Washington Territory | | | | - |Nebraska Territory | | | | - |Kansas Territory | | | | - |Territory of Utah | 285 | 2,536 | 2,821| - |Territory of N. Mexico | | | | - |District of Columbia | 226 | 7,975 | 8,201| - | +------------+----------------+----------+ - | Grand aggregate | 51,460 | 1,876,342 | 3,070,987| - +-----------------------+------------+----------------+----------+ - -That writing, speaking, and voting have borne fruit in favor of the -militia, may be read in the history of the Americo-Mexican War. The -fame of the irregulars penetrated to Calcutta and China: it was -stopped only by the Orient sun. But who ever heard of the regulars? -The “newspaper heroes” were almost all militiamen, rangers, and other -guerrillas: “keeping an editor in pay” is now a standing sarcasm. The -sages of the Revolution initiated a yeomanry second to none in the -world: they had, however, among them crowds of frontiersmen accustomed -to deal with the bear and the Indian, not with the antelope and the -deer. The Texan Rangers in later times were a first-rate body of -men for irregular purposes, not to be confounded with the militia, -yet always put forward as a proof how superior to the “sweepings -of cities,” as the regular army was once called in the Senate, are -the irregulars, who “never fire a random shot, never draw trigger -till their aim is sure,” and are “here to-night and to-morrow are -fifty miles off.” But the true modern militia is pronounced by the -best authorities--indeed, by all who hold it no economy to be ill -served, for any but purely defensive purposes, a humbug, which costs -in campaigns more blood and gold--neglect of business is perhaps the -chief item of the expenditure--than a standing army would. As a “Garde -Nationale” it is quite efficient. When called out for distant service, -as in the Mexican War, every _pekin_ fault becomes apparent. Personally -the men suffer severely from unaccustomed hardship and exposure; in -dangerous climates they die like sheep; half are in hospital, and the -other half must nurse them: Nature soon becomes stronger than martial -law; under the fatigue of the march they will throw away their rations -and military necessaries rather than take the trouble to carry them: -improvident and wasteful, their convoys are timid and unmanageable. -Mentally they are in many cases men ignoring the common restraints of -society, profoundly impressed with insubordination, which displays -equality, which has to learn all the wholesome duty of obedience, and -which begins with as much respect for discipline as for the campaigns -of Frederick the Great. If inclined to retire, they can stay at -home and obtain double or treble the wages: not a few are driven to -service by that enthusiasm which, as Sir Charles Napier well remarked, -readily makes men run away. Their various defects make organization -painfully slow. In camp they amuse themselves with drawing rations, -target practice, asking silly questions, electing officers, holding -meetings, issuing orders, disobeying orders, “’cussing and discussing:” -the sentinels will sit down to a quiet _euchre_ after planting their -bayonets in the ground, and to all attempts at dislodging them the -reply will be, “You go to ----, Cap.! I’m as good a man as you.” In the -field, like all raw levies, they are apt to be alarmed by any thing -unaccustomed, as the sound of musketry from the rear, or a threatened -flank attack: they can not reserve their fire; they aim wildly, to -the peril of friend and foe, and they have been accused of unmilitary -cruelties, such as scalping and flaying men, shooting and killing -squaws and children. And they never fail, after the fashion of such -men, to claim that they have done all the fighting.[187] - - [187] These remarks were penned in 1860; I see no reason to alter - them in 1861. - -Such is, I believe, the United States militia at the beginning of a -campaign. After a reasonable time, say a year, which kills off the weak -and sickly, and rubs out the brawler and the mutineer; when men have -learned to distinguish the difference between the often Dutch courage -of a bowie-knife squabble and the moral fortitude that stands firm -in presence of famine or a night attack, then they become regulars. -The American--by which I understand a man whose father is born in the -United States--is a first-rate soldier, distinguished by his superior -intelligence from his compeers in other lands; but he rarely takes to -soldiering. There are not more than five of these men per company, the -rest being all Germans and Irishmen. The percentage in the navy is -greater, yet it is still inconsiderable. The Mexican War, as History -writes it, is the triumph of the militia, whom old “Rough and Ready” -led to conquest as to a “manifest destiny.”[188] On the other hand, -the old and distinguished officer who succeeded General Taylor has -occasionally, it is said, given utterance to opinions concerning the -irregulars which contrast strongly with those generally attributed to -him. - - [188] And it will be remembered, the Mexicans were not Austrians or - Russians. - -[HATRED AND MURDER.--SERGEANT PIKE.--MR. HENNEFER.] - -At Camp Floyd I found feeling running high against the Mormons. “They -hate us, and we hate them,” said an intelligent officer; consequently, -every statement here, as in the city, must be received with many -grains of salt. At Camp Floyd one hears the worst version of every -fact, which, as usual hereabouts, has its many distinct facets. These -anti-Mormons declare that ten murders per annum during the last twelve -years have been committed without punishment in New Zion, whereas New -York averages 18-33. They attribute the phenomenon to the impossibility -of obtaining testimony, and the undue whitewashing action of juries, -which the Mormons declare to be “punctual and hard-working in -sustaining the dignity of the law,” and praise for their “unparalleled -habits of industry and sobriety, order, and respect to just rights.” -Whatever objection I made was always answered by the deception of -appearances, and the assertion that whenever a stranger enters Great -Salt Lake City, one or two plausible Mormons are told off to amuse -and hoodwink him. Similarly the Mormons charge the Christians with -violent injustice. On a late occasion, the mayor of Springville, Mr. -H. F. Macdonald, and the bishop were seized simply because they were -Church dignitaries, on the occasion of a murder, and the former, after -durance vile of months at Camp Floyd, made his escape and walks about -a free man, swearing that he will not again be taken alive. In 1853, -Captain J. W. Gunnison and seven of his party were murdered near -Nicollet on Sevier River, twenty-five miles south of Nephi City. The -anti-Mormons declare that the deed was done under high counsel, by -“white Indians,” to prevent the exploration of a route to California, -and the disclosures which were likely to be made. The Mormons point -to their kind treatment of the previous expedition upon which the -lamented officer was engaged, to the friendliness of his book, to the -circumstance that an Indian war was then raging, and that during the -attack an equal number of Yuta Indians were killed. M. Remy distinctly -refers the murder to the Pahvant Indians, some of whom had been -recently shot by emigrants to California.[189] The horrible “Mountain -Meadow Massacre”[190] was, according to the anti-Mormons, committed -by the Saints to revenge the death of an esteemed apostle--Parley P. -Pratt--who, in the spring of 1857, when traveling through Arkansas, -was knived by one Hector M‘Lean, whose wife he had converted and -taken unto himself. The Mormons deny that the massacre was committed -by their number, and ask the Gentiles why, if such be the case, the -murderers are not brought to justice? They look upon Mr. P. P. Pratt’s -proceeding--even in El Islam, the women of the infidels are, like -their property, _halal_, or lawful to those who win them--as perfectly -justifiable.[191] In February, 1859, occurred sundry disturbances -between the soldiers and citizens at Rush Valley, thirty-five miles -west of Great Salt Lake City, in which Mr. Howard Spencer, nephew to -Mr. Daniel Spencer, a squatter, while being removed from a government -reservation by First Sergeant Ralph Pike of the 10th Infantry, raised -a pitchfork, and received in return a broken head. Shortly afterward -the sergeant, having been summoned to Great Salt Lake City, was met -in Main Street and shot down before all present. The anti-Mormons, of -course, declare the deed to have been done by Mr. Spencer, and hold it, -under the circumstances--execution of duty and summons of justice--an -unpardonable outrage; and the officers assert that they could hardly -prevent their men arming and personally revenging the foul murder of a -comrade, who was loved as an excellent soldier and an honest man.[192] -The Mormons assert that the “shooting” was done by an unknown hand; -that the sergeant had used unnecessary violence against a youth, who, -single-handed and surrounded by soldiers, had raised a pitchfork to -defend his head, and that the provocation thus received converted the -case from murder to one of justifiable homicide. In the month of June -before my arrival, a Lieutenant Saunders and Assistant Surgeon Covey -had tied to a cart’s tail and severely flogged Mr. Hennefer, a Mormon. -The opposition party assert that they recognized in him the man who -two years before had acted as a spy upon them when sitting in Messrs. -Livingston’s store, and, when ordered to “make tracks,” had returned -with half a dozen others, and had shot Dr. Covey in the breast. The -Mormons represent Mr. Hennefer to be a peaceful citizen, and quiet, -unoffending man, thus brutally outraged by tyrannical servants of -government, and, moreover, prove for him an _alibi_ from the original -cause of quarrel. I have given but a few instances: all are equally -contradictory, and _tantas componere lites quis audet_? - - [189] See Translation, vol. i., p. 463. - - [190] The following is the account of that affair, officially given, - of course, by anti-Mormons: On the 4th or 5th of September, 1857, - a large emigrant train from Arkansas, proceeding to California - with horses, mules, and ox-wagons, conveying stores of clothing - and valuables, was suddenly attacked near a spring at the west end - of Mountain Meadow Valley. The Indians, directed by white men, cut - off from water the travelers, who had fortified themselves behind - the vehicles, which they filled with earth, and killed and wounded - several. When the attacked party, distressed by thirst and a galling - fire, showed symptoms of surrender, several Mormons, among whom the - leaders, John D. Lee and Elder Isaac C. Haight, are particularly - mentioned, approached them with a white flag, and by soft words - persuaded them that if they would give up their weapons they should - be safely forwarded to Panther Creek and Cedar City. The emigrants - unwisely disarmed themselves, and flocked toward the spring. The - work of murder and robbery began near a patch of scrub-oak brush, - about one mile and a half from water. Between 115 and 120 adults - were slain. Three emerged from the valley; of these, two were soon - overtaken and killed, and the third was slaughtered at Muddy Creek, - distant about fifty miles. One of the Mormons--the name has been - variously given--is accused of a truly detestable deed; a girl, - sixteen years old, knelt to him, imploring mercy; he led her away - into the thicket--and then cut her throat. Seventeen children, aged - from two months to seven years, were taken from the Indians by the - whites, and were distributed among the several Mormon families in - Cedar City, Fort Harmony, Santa Clara, etc. Of these, sixteen were - recovered, and the seventeenth was found in the April of 1858. Mr. - Jacob Forney, the late Superintendent of Indian Affairs, conducted - the investigation on the part of the federal government; he reported - that white men joined in the murder and the robbery. The Mormons - of course deny, _in toto_, complicity with the Indians, and remark - that many trains--for instance, to quote no others, the emigrants at - Sublette’s Cut-off, Oregon, in August, 1858--have similarly suffered, - and that they can not be responsible for the misfortunes which men - who insult and ill-treat the natives bring upon themselves. - - [191] The following is an extract from the “Millennial Star,” July - 25th, 1857. The article is headed “More of the Assassination:” - “We publish the following extract from a letter written by two - gentlemen to the editor of a New York paper. The letter was dated - Flint-Cherokee Nation, Arkansas, May 17th, 1857, and says that after - Elder Pratt was arrested in the Indian country, he was ‘placed - under a strong guard, and by a military escort conveyed in chains - to the Supreme Court, Van Buren, Arkansas. The case being promptly - investigated, and there being no evidence upon which a bill of - indictment could be found, he was liberated on the 13th instant. - Brother Pratt, being without arms, and without friends to protect - him, and knowing that M‘Lean was thirsting for his blood, and that - he had the aid of a mass of the corrupt, money-bought citizens of - Van Buren, endeavored to make his escape on horseback, unmolested; - but every road and passway being under strict watch, he did not - succeed in getting far till his path was discovered. M‘Lean and half - a dozen other armed fiends pursued him; and Brother Pratt being - totally unarmed, they succeeded in killing him without being hurt. - Two of the party in advance intercepted his road, and brought him - to a halt, while M‘Lean and the others came up in the rear. M‘Lean - discharged a six-shooter at him, but the balls took no effect: some - passed through his clothes, others lodged in his saddle. The parties - now being in immediate contact, M‘Lean stabbed him (both being on - horseback) with a heavy bowie-knife twice under the left arm. Brother - Pratt dropped from his horse, and M‘Lean dismounted, and probed the - fatal wounds still deeper; he then got a Derringer from one of his - aids, and, as Brother Pratt lay dying upon his back, shot him in the - upper part of the breast, dropping the pistol by the side of the - victim. The assassin then mounted his horse and fled. This occurred - within a few steps of the residence of a farmer by the name of Wire. - Two gentlemen, being at the house at the time, saw the whole affair, - and have made oath to what they witnessed before a coroner’s jury. - Brother Pratt survived the work of this assassin two hours and a - half, and was enabled to tell those who came to his assistance who - he was, that he had been murdered by a fiend for doing his duty, - and gave full instructions as to what course should be pursued in - interring his body, and the disposition of the means and property - connected with his person. His instructions were fully attended to - by Elder Higginson and Mrs. M‘Lean, who reached the place of his - assassination the same evening. Those who saw his last moments state - that Brother Pratt died without a murmur or a groan, and apparently - without a pain, perfectly resigned to the will of Heaven. Brother - Pratt told Elder Higginson, the morning after his arrest, that his - enemies would kill him, and requested Elder Higginson to go through - with this spring’s emigration to Utah, and carry the news of his - death to the Church and his family. This Elder Higginson will do, - the Lord helping. After perpetrating this heaven-daring deed, M‘Lean - returned to Van Buren and made it known. After remaining in town - several hours, and walking the streets with impunity, he was escorted - by a number of citizens of Van Buren to the boat, and took his leave - of the place. Verily we had long thought that the bloodthirsty - mobocrats of Missouri and Illinois were without a parallel in the - world, but we now yield the palm to the Church-going citizens of - Van Buren, for they have proven to the world that they are a den of - murderers and assassins. - - GEORGE HIGGINSON. - GEORGE CROUCH.’” - - [192] On this occasion, Cedar Fort, a neighboring settlement, with - cultivation, and a few huts, near Camp Floyd, was attacked at night - by camp-followers (soldiers); a single calf was killed (the whole - place was burned to the ground), and the damages speedily rose from a - dozen to $10,000, claimed from Congress (which did not half repay the - injury done). - -Strongly disclaiming the idea that the officers who discussed with me -the subject at Camp Floyd had any tendency to exaggeration or to set -down aught in malice, and quite conscious, as they never failed to -remark, that a stranger is allowed to see only the _beau côté_ of the -New Faith, I can not but think that their views are greatly warped by -causes external to it. This is to be expected. Who, after the massacre -of Cawnpore, would have admitted into his mind a shadow of excuse for -Nana Sahib? Among so many, however blinded and fanatic, and however -fond of polygamy--this is ever the first reproach--there must be some -good men. Yet from the “chief impostor” to the last “acolyte,” all -are represented to be a gang of miscreants. The Mormons are far more -tolerant; they have praise for those Gentiles, even federal officers, -who have abstained from injuring them. They speak well of Lieutenant -Colonel E. J. Steptoe, 9th Regiment of Infantry, and the officers of -his force;[193] of General Wilson, afterward the Navy Agent at San -Francisco; and of the present commandant, Colonel Cooke. They have -nothing to say against Judge Reed, or Mr. John J. Kinney, the Chief -Justice of the Supreme Court; and when Judge Leonidas Shaver died -in 1855, they put the papers in mourning, and buried the Gentile in -their cemetery. They do not abuse even their merchant rivals. Mr. J. -B. Kimball, to mention no other, is generally praised and trusted. -But when they find it necessary or advisable to take away a man’s -character, they can do it, “and no mistake.” At the same time, their -tolerance and discipline are, to say the least, remarkable. Judge -Brocchus,[194] to quote but one, would run the risk of being torn to -pieces in almost any fanatical meeting in Europe. - - [193] Mr. Hyde (chap. vi.) gives the official document in which these - officers petitioned President Pierce to reappoint Mr. Brigham Young - as Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Utah Territory, - and it speaks volumes in praise of the much-abused Saints. - - [194] Chap. vi. - -[“BOSTON.”] - -At Camp Floyd I was introduced to Colonel G. H. Crossman, Department -Quarter-master General, and Major Montgomery of the same department; to -Dr. Porter, who was uncommonly and unnecessarily shy upon the subject -of a “sick certificate;” and to Lieutenant N. A. M. Dudley, when we -passed many a merry time over “simpkin.” It is hardly necessary to say -that the judge, having no authority to demand, did not obtain either -escort or carriage. Colonel Cooke frankly told him that he had neither -men nor conveyance at liberty, and even if they were that he could not -exceed orders. The Secretary of War is ready to “be down” upon such -offenses, and in the United States Army probably more officers throw -up the service from distress for leave than in the English army. It was -clear that we must travel without the dignities, so we inspected an -ambulance and a four-mule team, for which the Hungarian refugee, its -owner, asked $1000--but little beyond its worth. After an exceedingly -satisfactory day in a private sense, I passed the evening at Captain -Gove’s, and watched with astonishment the game of Boston. Invented by -the French prisoners in the islands of the American Liverpool, and -abounding in “grand misery,” “little misery,” and other appropriate -terms, it combines all the difficulties of whist, écarté, piquet, brag, -and cribbage, and seems to possess the same attractions which beam -upon the mind of the advanced algebraic scholar. Fortunately there was -an abundance of good commissariat whisky and excellent tobacco, whose -attractions were greater than that of Boston. On the morrow, a gloomy -morning, with cold blasts and spatters of rain from the southwest, and -the tameness of the snow-birds--which here represent - - “Cock Robin and Jenny Wren, - God Almighty’s cock and hen”-- - -warned us that the fine season was breaking up, and that we had no time -to lose. So, inspanning Julia and Sally, we set out, and after six -hours reached once more the City of the Saints. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -Excursions continued. - - -[COTTON-WOOD KANYON.] - -I had long been anxious to visit the little chain of lakes in the -Wasach Mountains, southeast of the city, and the spot where the -Saints celebrate their “Great Twenty-fourth of July.” At dinner the -subject had been often on the carpet, and anti-Mormons had informed -me, hinting at the presence of gold, that no Gentile was allowed to -enter Cotton-wood Kanyon without a written permit from the President -Prophet. Through my friend the elder I easily obtained the sign manual; -it was explained to me that the danger of fires in a place which will -supply the city with lumber for a generation, and the mischievousness -of enemies, were at the bottom of the precaution. Before starting, -however, two Saints were chosen to accompany me, Mr. S----, and Mr., -or rather Colonel, Feramorz, popularly called Ferry, Little. This -gentleman, a partner, relative, and connection of Mr. Brigham Young, is -one of the “Seventies;” of small and spare person, he is remarkable for -pluck and hardihood, and in conjunction with Ephe Hanks, the Danite, he -has seen curious things on the Prairies. - -A skittish, unbroken, stunted, weedy three-year-old for myself, and a -tall mule for my companion, were readily lent by Mr. Kennedy, an Irish -Gentile and stock-dealer, who, being bound on business to California, -was in treaty with us for reward in case of safe-conduct. We chose the -morning of the 14th of September, after the first snow had whitened -the peaks, and a glorious cool, clear day it was--a sky diaphanous, as -if earth had been roofed with rock crystal. While awaiting the hour to -depart under the veranda of the hotel, Governor Cumming pointed out to -me Bill Hickman, once the second of the great “Danite” triumvirate, -and now somewhat notorious for meddling with Church property. He is a -good-looking fellow, about forty-five, rather stout and square, with -high forehead, open countenance, and mild, light blue eye, and owns, I -believe, to only three deaths. On the last Christmas-day, upon occasion -of a difficulty with a youth named Lot Huntingdon, the head of the -youngster party, he had drawn his “bowie,” and a “shooting” took place, -both combatants exchanging contents of revolvers across the street, -both being well filled with slugs, and both living to tell the tale. - -“Do you know what that fellow is saying to himself?” asked the -governor, reading the thoughts of a fiercely frowning youth who -swaggered past us. - -I confessed to the negative. - -“He is only thinking, ‘D--d gov’rnor, wonder if he’s a better man than -me,’” said my interlocutor. - -About 4 P.M. we mounted and rode out of the city toward the mouth -of the kanyon, where we were to meet Mr. Little. Passing by the -sugar-mills and turning eastward, after five or six miles we saw at a -distance a block of buildings, which presently, as if by enchantment, -sank into the earth; an imperceptible wave of ground--a common -prairie formation--had intervened. From the summit of the land we -again sighted the establishment. It is situated in the broad bed of -a dry _fiumara_--which would, by-the-by, be a perilous place in the -tropics--issuing from Parley’s Kanyon. The ravine, which is sometimes -practiced by emigrant trains, is a dangerous pass, here and there but a -few rods wide, and hemmed in by rocks rising perpendicularly 2000 feet. -The principal house was built for defense, the garden was walled round, -and the inclosure had but two small doors. - -We were met at the entrance by Mr. Little, who, while supper was being -prepared, led us to the tannery and the grist-mill, of which he is -part proprietor. The bark used for the process is the red fir, costing -$25 per cord, and the refuse is employed in composts. The hides are -received unsalted; to save labor, they are pegged to soak upon wheels -turned by water-power. The leather is good, and under experienced -European workmen will presently become cheaper than that imported from -England. - -Beyond the tannery was an adobe manufacture. The brick in this part -splits while burning, consequently the sun-dried article is preferred; -when the wall is to be faced, pegs are driven into it to hold the -plaster. The material is clay or silt from the creek, puddled with -water, and if saltish it is better than sweet soil; unity of color -and formation are the tests of goodness. Each brick weighs, when dry, -16 lbs., and the mould is mostly double. On the day after making they -are stacked, and allowed to stand for two months; the season is June, -July, and August, after which it becomes too cold. The workman is paid -75 per cent.; 400 per diem would be tolerable, 700 good work; thus an -able-bodied bricklayer can make twenty-one shillings a day--rather a -contrast to the wages of an unfortunate laborer in England. - -[EVERY CHILD A RELATIVE.] - -Returning home, we walked through Mr. Little’s garden, and admired -its neatness. The fruit-trees were mostly barren; in this year the -city sets down a loss of $100,000 by frost. I tasted, for the first -time, the Californian grape, “uvas admodum maturas, ita voluit anni -intemperies;” they not a little resembled the northern French. A -single vine sometimes bears $100 worth. There was a little rhubarb, -but it is not much used where sugar costs forty-five cents per pound. -After supping with Mr. Little, his wife and family, we returned to the -_andronitis_, and prepared for the night with a chat. The principal -point illustrated was the curious amount of connection caused by -polygamy; all men, calling each other brothers, become cousins, and -it is hardly possible, among the old Mormons, to stop a child in the -street without finding that it is a relative. I was surprised at the -comfort, even the luxury, of a Mormon householder in these remote -wilds, and left it with a most favorable impression. - -At the dawn of the next day we prepared to set out; from the city -to the mouth of the kanyon the distance is about thirteen, and to -the lakelets twenty-seven miles. Mr. Little now accompanied us on -horseback, and his son James, whom I may here safely call a boy, was -driving a buck-board. This article is a light gig-body mounted upon -a thin planking, to which luggage is strapped; it can go where a -horse can tread, and is easier to both animals than riding down steep -hills. The boy, like Mormon juveniles generally, had a great aptitude -at driving, riding, and using the axe; he attended a school, but -infinitely preferred that of Nature, and showed all the disposition -to become the father of a stout, brave Western man. As in the wilder -parts of Australia, where the pedagogue has less pay than the shepherd, -“keep a school” is here equivalent to semi-starvation; there is no -superstitious aversion, as the Gentiles have asserted, to a modicum of -education, but the state of life renders manual labor more honored and -profitable. While the schoolmaster gains $2 50 per mensem, a ditcher -would make the same sum per diem. Besides impatience of study, the boys -are ever anxious to become men--“bring up a child and away it goes,” -says the local proverb--and literature will not yet enable a youth to -marry and to set up housekeeping in the Rocky Mountains. - -Our route lay over the bench; on our right was a square adobe fort, -that had been used during the Indian troubles, and fields and houses -were scattered about. Passing the mouth of Parley’s Kanyon, we -entered the rich bottom-land of the Great Cotton-wood, beautified -with groves of quaking asp, whose foliage was absolute green, set off -by paper-white stems. After passing through an avenue of hardheads, -_i.e._, erratic granite boulders, which are carted to the city for -building the Temple, we turned to the left and entered the mouth of the -kanyon, where its sides flare out into gentler slopes. - -A clear mountain stream breaks down the middle. The bed is a mass of -pebbles and blocks: hornblende; a white limestone, almost marble, but -full of flaws; red sandstone, greenstone, and a conglomerate like -mosaic-work. The bank is thick with the poplar, from which it derives -its name; willow clumps; the alder, with its dry, mulberry-like fruit; -the hop vine, and a birch whose bark is red as the cherry-tree’s. -Above the stream the ravine sides are in places too steep for growth; -as a rule, the northern is never wooded save where the narrowness of -the gorge impedes the action of the violent south winds. On the lower -banks the timber is mostly cleared off. Upon the higher slopes grow -the mountain mahogany and the scrub maple wherever there is a foot of -soil. There is a fine, sturdy growth of abies. The spruce, or white -pine, rises in a beautifully regular cone often 100 feet high; there -are two principal varieties of fir, one with smooth light bark, and the -other, which loves a higher range, and looks black as it bristles out -of its snowy bed, is of a dun russet. Already appeared the splendid -tints which make the American autumn a fit subject “_pictoribus atque -poetis_.” An atmosphere of blue seemed to invest the pines; the maple -blushed bright red; and the willow clumps of the bed and the tapestry -of ferns had turned to vegetable gold, while snow, bleached to more -than usual whiteness by intervals of deep black soil, flecked the -various shade of the poison hemlocks and balsam firs, and the wild -strawberry, which the birds had stripped of fruit. - -[GREAT COTTON-WOOD KANYON.] - -Great Cotton-wood Kanyon, like the generality of these ravines in -the western wall of the Wasach, runs east and west till near the -head, when it gently curves toward the north, and is separated from -its neighbor by a narrow divide. On both sides the continuity of the -gap is cut by deep jagged gullies, rendering it impossible to crown -the heights. The road, which winds from side to side, was worked by -thirty-two men, directed by Mr. Little, in one season, at a total -expense of $16,000. After exhausting Red Buttes, Emigration, and other -kanyons, for timber and fuel, Great Cotton-wood was explored in 1854, -and in 1856 the ascent was made practicable. In places where the gorge -narrows to a gut there were great difficulties, but rocks were removed, -while tree-trunks and boughs were spread like a corduroy, and covered -over with earth brought from a distance: Mormon energy overcame every -obstacle. It is repaired every summer before the anniversary festival; -it suffers during the autumn, and is preserved from destruction by -the winter snows. In many places there are wooden bridges, one of -which pays toll, and at the end of the season they become not a little -rickety. As may be imagined, the water-power has been utilized. Lines -and courses carefully leveled, and in parts deeply excavated, lest the -precious fluid should spread out in basins, are brought from afar, and -provided with water-gates and coffer-dams. The mills are named after -the letters C, B, A, D, and lastly E. Already 700,000 square feet of -lumber have been cut during this summer, and a total of a million is -expected before the mills are snowed up; you come upon these ugly -useful erections suddenly, round a sharp turn in the bed; they have a -queer effect with their whirring saws and crash of timber, forming a -treble to the musical bass of the water-gods. - -We halted at the several mills, when Mr. Little overlooked his -accounts, and distributed stores of coffee, sugar, and tobacco. After -the first five miles we passed flecks of snow; the thermometer, -however, in the shade never showed less than 60° F. In places the -hill sides were bald from the effect of avalanches, and we saw where -a house had lately been swept away. In others a fine white limestone -glistened its deception. After passing Mill D, we debouched upon the -basin also called the Big Prairie, a dwarf turfy savanna, about 100 -yards in diameter, rock and tree girt, and separated from Parley’s -Kanyon on the north by a tall, narrow wall. We then ascended a slope -of black, viscid, slippery mud, in which our animals were nearly -mired, with deep slush-holes and cross-roots: as we progressed the -bridges did not improve. On our left, in a pretty grove of thin pines, -stood a bear-trap. It was a dwarf hut, with one or two doors, which -fall when Cuffy tugs the bait from the figure of 4 in the centre. -These mountaineers apparently ignore the simple plan of the Tchuvash, -who fill up with corn-brandy a hollow in some tree lying across -“old Ephraim’s” path, and catch him dead drunk. In many places the -quaking-asp trunks were deeply indented with claw-scars, showing that -the climbing species is here common. Shortly before, a bear had been -shot within a few miles of Great Salt Lake City, and its paws appeared -upon the hotel _table d’hôte_. - -About mid afternoon we dismounted, and left our nags and traps at Mill -E, the highest point, where we were to pass the night. Mr. Little was -suffering from a severe neuralgia, yet he insisted upon accompanying -us. With visions of Albano, Killarney, and Windermere, I walked up the -half mile of hill separating us from Great Cotton-wood Lake. In front -rose tall pine-clad and snow-strewed peaks, a _cul de sac_ formed by -the summit of the Wasach. We could not see their feet, but instinct -told me that they dropped around the water. The creek narrowed to a -jump. Presently we arrived at a kind of punch-bowl, formed by an -amphitheatre of frowning broken mountains, highest and most snowy on -the southeast and west, and nearly clear of snow and trees on the east. -The level ground, perhaps one mile in diameter, was a green sward, -dotted with blocks and boulders, based on black humus and granite -detritus. Part of it was clear, the rest was ivy-grown, with pines, -clumps, and circlets of tall trees, surrounded by their young in -bunches and fringes, as if planted by the hand of man. There were signs -of the last season’s revelry--heaps of charcoal and charred trunks, -rough tables of two planks supported by trestles, chairs or rail-like -settles, and the brushy remnants of three “boweries.” Two skulls showed -that wolves had been busy with the cattle. Freshly-caught trout lay -upon the table, preserved in snow, and in the distance the woodman’s -axe awoke with artful sound the echoes of the rocks. - -At last we came upon the little tarn which occupies the lowest angle, -the western ridge of the punch-bowl or prairie basin. Unknown to -Captain Stansbury, it had been visited of old by a few mountain-men, -and since 1854 by the mass of the Mormons. According to my informants -it is the largest of a chaplet of twelve pools, two to the S.W. and -ten to the S.E., which are probably independent bulges in the several -torrent beds. Some are described as having no outlet, yet all are -declared to be sweet water. The altitude has not been ascertained -scientifically. It is roughly set down between 9500 and 10,000 feet. It -was then at its smallest--about half a mile long by one quarter broad. -After the melting of the snow it spreads out over the little savanna. -The bottom is sandy and gravelly, sloping from ten to twenty feet deep. -It freezes over in winter, and about 25-30 May the ice breaks up and -sinks. The runnel which feeds it descends from the snow-capped peak to -the south, and copious supplies trickle through the soppy margin at the -base of the dripping hills around. The surplus escapes through a head -to the north, where a gated dam is thrown across to raise the level, -and to regulate the water-power. The color is a milky white; the water -is warm, and its earthy vegetable taste, the effect of the weeds that -margin it, contrasts with the purity of the creek which drains it. The -fish are principally mountain trout and the gymnotus eel. In search of -shells we walked round the margin, now sinking in the peaty ground, -then clambering over the boulders--white stones that, rolled down from -the perpendicular rocks above, simulated snow--then fighting our way -through the thick willow clumps. Our quest, however, was not rewarded. -After satisfying curiosity, we descended by a short cut of a quarter -of a mile under tall trees whose shade preserved the snow, and found -ourselves once more in Mill E. - -[FELLING TREES.] - -The log hut was of the usual make. A cold wind--the mercury had -fallen to 50° F.--rattled through the crannies, and we prepared for -a freezing night by a blazing fire. The furniture--two bunks, with -buffalo robes, tables and chairs, which were bits of plank mounted on -four legs--was of the rudest. I whiled away the last hours of light -by adding to my various accomplishments an elementary knowledge of -felling trees. Handling the timber-axe is by no means so simple a -process as it appears. The woodman does it by instinct; the tyro, who -is always warned that he may easily indent or slice off a bit of his -leg, progresses slowly and painfully. The principal art is to give the -proper angle to the blade, to whirl the implement loosely round the -head, and to let it fall by the force of its own weight, the guiding -hand gliding down the haft to the other, in order not to break the -blow. We ate copiously; appetite appeared to come by eating, though not -in the Parisian sense of the phrase--what a treasure would be such a -sanitarium in India! The society was increased by two sawyers, gruff -and rugged men, one of whom suffered from ophthalmia, and two boys, who -successfully imitated their elders. - -[INDEPENDENCE DAY.] - -Our fireside chat was sufficiently interesting. Mr. S---- described the -ceremonies of the last Mormon Independence Day. After the preliminaries -had been settled as below,[195] the caravans set out from the Holy -City. In 1860 there were 1122 souls, 56 carriages, 163 wagons, 235 -horses, 159 mules, and 168 oxen. They bivouacked for the night upon -the road, and marched with a certain ceremony. The first President -issued an order allowing any one to press forward, though not at the -expense of others; still no one would precede him; nor would the second -advance before the third President--a good example to some who might -want teaching. Moreover, the bishops had the privilege of inviting, or, -rather, of permitting the people of their several wards, even Gentiles, -to attend. The “pioneers”--the survivors of the noble 143 who, guided -by their Joshua, Mr. Brigham Young, first attempted the Promised -Land--were distinguished by their names on banners, and the bands -played lustily “God save the King,” and the “Star-spangled Banner,” -“Happy Land,” and “Du-dah.” At six on the fine morning of the 24th, -which followed ugly weather, a salute of three guns, in honor of the -First Presidency, was fired, with music in the intervals, the stars and -the stripes floating on the top of the noblest staff, a tall fir-tree. -At 9 A.M. a salute of thirteen guns, denoting the age of New Zion, and -at 6 P.M. twelve guns, corresponding with the number of the apostles, -were discharged with similar ceremonies. The scene must have been -lively and picturesque around the bright little tarn, and under the -everlasting hills--a holiday crowd, with wagons and ambulances drawn -up, tents and marquees pitched under the groves, and horse-races, in -which the fair sex joined, over the soft green sward. At 10 P.M., after -the dancing in the boweries had flagged, the bands finished with “Home, -sweet Home,” and the Saints returned to their every-day occupations. - - [195] Extract from the Great Salt Lake correspondent of that amiable - and conscientious periodical, the “New York Herald.” - - “_The Great Twenty-fourth of July._ - - “In my last I gave your readers a full account of the Mormon - demonstrations on the anniversary of American independence. That - done, they have now before them the celebration of their own - independence. Adhesiveness is largely developed in the Mormon - cranium. They will hold on to their notions. On the 24th of July, - 1847, Brigham, at the head of the pioneers, entered this now - beautiful valley--then a barren wilderness. Forgetful of the means - that forced them here, the day was set apart for rejoicing. They laid - aside the weeds of mourning, and consecrated the day to feasting - and dancing. The Twenty-fourth is the day of deliverance that will - be handed down to generations when the Fourth is immeasurably - forgotten. Three years ago, two thousand persons were congregated - at the head-waters of Big Cotton-wood, commemorating independence, - when messengers from the East arrived with the intelligence that - the troops were on the plains. I need not farther allude to what - was then said and done; suffice it, things have been so disjointed - since that Big Cotton-wood has been left alone in solitude. Setting - aside the restraint of years, it seems that the faithful are to again - enjoy themselves. The following card tells the marching orders; the - interstices will be filled up with orations, songs, prayers, dances, - and every kind of athletic game that the young may choose to indulge - in: - - “_Twenty-fourth of July at the Head-quarters of Big - Cotton-wood._--President Brigham Young respectfully invites ---- to - attend a picnic excursion to the lake in Big Cotton-wood Kanyon, on - Tuesday, the 24th of July. - - “_Regulations._--You will be required to start so as to pass the - first mill, about four miles up the kanyon, before twelve o’clock - on Monday, the 23d, as no person will be allowed to pass that point - after two o’clock P.M. of that day. All persons are forbidden to - smoke segars or pipes, or kindle fires at any place in the kanyon, - except on the camp-ground. The bishops are requested to accompany - those invited from their respective wards, and see that each person - is well fitted for the trip with good, substantial, steady teams, - wagons, harness, hold-backs and locks, capable of completing the - journey without repair, and a good driver, so as not to endanger the - life of any individual. Bishops, heads of families, and leaders of - small parties will, before passing the first mill, furnish a full and - complete list of all persons accompanying them, and hand the same to - the guard at the gate. - - “_Committee of Arrangements._--A. O. Smoot, John Sharp, L. W. Hardy, - A. Cunningham, E. F. Sheets, F. Kesler, Thomas Callister, A. H. - Raleigh, Henry Moon. J. C. Little, Marshal of the Day; Colonel R. T. - Burton will arrange the Guard. - - “Great Salt Lake City, July 10, 1860.” - -[FREE-MASONRY.--MORALITY.--TOLERANCE.] - -Mr. Little also recounted to us his experiences among the Indians, whom -he, like all the Mormons, firmly believed to be children of Israel -under a cloud. He compared the medicine lodge to a masonic hall, and -declared that the so-called Red Men had signs and grips like ourselves; -and he related how an old chief, when certain symbolic actions were -made to him, wept and wailed, thinking how he and his had neglected -their observances. The Saints were at one time good masons; unhappily -they wanted to be better. The angel of the Lord brought to Mr. Joseph -Smith the lost key-words of several degrees, which caused him, when he -appeared among the brotherhood of Illinois, to “work right ahead” of -the highest, and to show them their ignorance of the greatest truths -and benefits of masonry. The natural result was that their diploma -was taken from them by the Grand Lodge, and they are not admitted -to a Gentile gathering. Now heathens without the gate, they still -cling to their heresy, and declare that other masonry is, like the -Christian faith, founded upon truth, and originally of the eternal -Church, but fallen away and far gone in error. There is no race, -except perhaps antiquaries, more credulous than the brethren of the -mystic craft. I have been told by one who may have deceived himself, -but would not have deceived me, that the Royal Arch, notoriously a -corruption of the Royal Arras, is known to the Bedouins of Arabia; -while the dairy of the Neilgherry Todas, with its exclusion of women, -and its rude ornamentation of crescents, circles, and triangles, was -at once identified with the “old religion of the world whose vestiges -survive among all people.” But these are themes unfit for an “entered -apprentice.” Mr. Little corroborated concerning the Prairie Indians -and the Yutas what is said of the settled tribes, namely, that the -comforts of civilization tend to their destruction. The men, enervated -by indoor life for half the year, are compelled at times to endure -sudden privation, hardship, and fatigue, of which the results are -rheumatism, consumption, and fatal catarrhs. Yet he believed that the -“valleys of Ephraim” would yet be full of them. He spoke freely of the -actualities and prospects of Mormonism. My companions asserted with -truth that there is not among their number a single loafer, rich or -poor, an idle gentleman or a lazy vagabond, a drunkard or a gambler, -a beggar or a prostitute. Those honorable professions are membered by -the Gentiles. They boasted, indeed, of what is sometimes owned by their -enemies, that there are fewer robberies, murders, arsons, and rapes in -Utah than in any other place of equal population in the world. They -held that the laws of the United States are better adapted to secure -the happiness of a small community than to consolidate the provinces of -a continent into one huge empire, and they looked confidently forward -to the spread of Mormonism over the world. They claimed for themselves, -like other secessionists, “_le droit sacré d’insurrection_,” against -which in vain the Gentiles raged and the federal government devised -vain things. They declared themselves to be the salt of the Union, -and that in the fullness of time they shall break the republic in -pieces like a potter’s vessel. Of Washington, Jefferson, and the other -sages of the Revolution they speak with all respect, describing them -as instruments in the hand of the Almighty, and as Latter-Day Saints -in will if not in deed. I was much pleased by their tolerance; but -tolerance in the West is rather the effect of climate and occupation -than of the reasoning faculty. Gentiles have often said before me -that Mormonism is as good as any other religion, and that Mr. Joseph -Smith “had as good a right to establish a Church as Luther, Calvin, -Fox, Wesley, or even bluff King Hal.” The Mormons are certainly the -least fanatical of our faiths, owning, like Hindoos, that every man -should walk his own way, while claiming for themselves superiority in -belief and politics. At Nauvoo they are said to have been puffed up -by the rapid growth of their power, and to have been presumptuous, -haughty, insolent, and overbearing; to have assumed a jurisdiction -independent of, and sometimes hostile to, the nine counties around them -and to the States; to have attached penalties to speaking evil of the -Prophet; and to have denied the validity of legal documents, unless -countersigned by him who was also mayor and general. They are certainly -changed for the better in these days. With respect to their future -views, the anti-Mormons assert that Saints have now been driven to the -end of their tether, and must stand to fight or deliver; that the new -Territory of Nevada will presently be a fatal rival to them; that the -States will no longer tolerate this theocratic despotism in the bosom -of a democracy; and that presently they must be wiped out. The Mormons -already discern the dawning of a brighter day. In the reaction which -has taken place in their favor they fear no organized attack by the -United States on account of lobby influence at Washington, and the -_vis inertiæ_ inherent in so slow and unwieldy a body as the federal -government. They count upon secession, quoting a certain proverb -touching conjunctures when honest men come in. They believe that the -supernatural aid of God, plus their vote, will presently make them a -state. “Some time this side of the great millennium” they will realize -their favorite dream, restoration (which might indeed happen in ten -years) to their quondam Zion--Independence, Mo., the centre of the old -terrestrial Paradise. Of this promised land their President said, with -“something of prophetic strain,” “while water runs and grass grows, -while virtue is lovely and vice hateful, and while a stone points out -a sacred spot where a fragment of American liberty once was”--Lord -Macaulay’s well-known Zealander shall apparently take his passage by -Cunard’s--“I or my posterity will plead the cause of injured innocence, -until Missouri makes atonement for all her sins, or sinks disgraced, -degraded, and damned to hell, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is -not quenched.” Then shall the Jews of the Old World rebuild the Temple -of Solomon, and the Jews of the New World (the Mormons) recover their -own Zion. Gog and Magog--that is to say, the kings of the Gentiles--and -their hosts shall rise up against the Latter-Day Saints, who, guided -by a prophet that wields the sword of Laban, shall mightily overthrow -them at the battle of Armageddon. Then the spears, bows, and arrows -(probably an abstruse allusion to the descendants of our Miniés and -Armstrongs) shall be burned with fire seven years; the earth and its -fullness shall be theirs, and the long-looked-for millennium shall come -at last. And as prophecy without date is somewhat liable to be vague -and indefinite, these great events are fixed in Mr. Joseph Smith’s -Autobiography for the year of grace 1890. Meantime they can retire, if -forbidden the Saskatchewan River and Vancouver’s Island, to the rich -“minerales” in “Sonora of the Gold Mountains.” - -[THE “GAUGE OF PHILOSOPHY.”--MISSIONARIES.] - -On the morning of the next day, Sunday, the 16th of September, we -mounted and rode slowly on. I had neglected to take “leggins,” and -the loss of cuticle and cutis was deplorable. Once at the Tabernacle -was enough: on this occasion, however, non-attendance was a mistake. -There had been a little “miff” between Mr. President and the “Gauge -of Philosophy,” Mr. O. Pratt. The latter gentleman, who is also an -apostle, is a highly though probably a self-educated man, not, as is -stated in an English work, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. The -Usman of the New Faith, writer, preacher, theologian, missionary, -astronomer, philosopher, and mathematician--especially in the higher -branches--he has thrust thought into a faith of ceremony which is -supposed to dispense with the trouble of thinking, and has intruded -human learning into a scheme whose essence is the utter abrogation of -the individual will. He is consequently suspected of too much learning; -of relying, in fact, rather upon books and mortal paper than that royal -road to all knowledge, inspiration from on high, and his tendencies -to let loose these pernicious doctrines often bring him into trouble -and place him below his position. In his excellent discourse delivered -to-day he had declared the poverty of the Mormons, and was speedily put -down by Mr. Brigham Young, who boasted the Saints to be the wealthiest -(_i. e._, in good works and post-obit prospects) people in the world. I -had tried my best to have the pleasure of half an hour’s conversation -with the Gauge, who, however, for reasons unknown to me, declined. At -the same meeting Mr. Heber C. Kimball solemnly consigned to a hotter -place than the tropics Messrs. Bell and Livingston, the cause being -their supposed complicity in bringing in the federal troops. I write -it with regret, but both of these gentlemen, when the sad tidings were -communicated to them, showed a quasi-Pharaonic hardening of the carnal -heart. A measure, however, was on this occasion initiated, which more -than compensated for these small _ridicules_. To the present date -missionaries were sent forth, to Canton even, or Kurrachee, like the -apostles of Judea, working their passages and supporting themselves -by handiwork; being wholly without purse or scrip, baggage or salary, -they left their business to languish, and their families to want. When -man has no coin of his own, he is naturally disposed to put his hand -into his neighbor’s pocket, and the greediness of a few unprincipled -propagandists, despite the prohibitions of the Prophet, had caused -a scandal by the richness of their “plunder.” A new ordinance was -therefore issued to the thirty new nominees.[196] The missionaries -were forbidden to take from their converts, and in compensation they -would receive regular salaries, for which funds were to be collected -in the several wards. On the same evening I was informed a single -ward, the 13th, subscribed $3000. That Sunday was an important day to -myself also; I posted a “sick certificate,” advising extension of leave -for six months, signed by W. F. Anderson, M.D., of the University of -Maryland. It was not wholly _en règle_; it required two signatures -and the counter-signature of H. B. M.’s consul to affirm that the -signatures were _bonâ fide_, not “bogus.” But the signer was the -only M.D. in the place, H. B. M.’s nearest consul was distant about -600 miles, and to suggest that a gentleman may be quietly forging or -falsifying his signature is to incur an unjustifiable personal risk in -the Far West. - - [196] The following is a copy of the elder’s certificate, officially - signed by the president and his two councilors, and supplied to the - departing missionary: - - “_To all Persons to whom this Letter shall come_: - - “This certifies that the bearer, Elder A. B., is in full faith and - fellowship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and - by the general authorities of said Church has been duly appointed a - mission to Liverpool to preach the Gospel, and administer in all the - ordinances thereof pertaining to his office. - - “And we invite all men to give heed to his teachings and counsels as - a man of God, sent to open to them the door of life and salvation, - and assist him in his travels, in whatsoever things he may need. - - “And we pray God, the Eternal Father, to bless Elder A. B., and all - who receive him and minister to his comfort, with the blessings of - heaven and earth, for time and for all eternity, in the name of Jesus - Christ: Amen. - - “Signed at Great Salt Lake City, Territory of Utah, ----, 186-, in - behalf of said Church.” - -Still bent upon collecting the shells of the Basin, I accepted Mr. -S----’s offer of being my guide to Ensign Peak, where they are said -to be found in the greatest number. Our route lay through the broken -wall which once guarded the land against Lemuel, and we passed close -by the large barn-like building called the Arsenal, where the military -school will also be. Motives of delicacy prevented my asking questions -concerning the furniture of the establishment. Anti-Mormons, however, -whisper that it contains cannon, mortars, and other large-scaled -implements of destruction, prepared, of course, for treasonable -purposes. The Arsenal naturally led us into conversation concerning the -Nauvoo Legion, the Mormon Battalion, the Danite band, and other things -military, of which the reader may not be undesirous of knowing “some.” - -[THE NAUVOO LEGION.--GRANTS.] - -The Nauvoo Legion was organized in 1840, and was made to include all -male Saints between the ages of sixteen and fifty. In 1842 it numbered -2000 men, well officered, uniformed, armed, and drilled. It now may -amount throughout the Territory to 6000-8000 men: the Utah militia, -however, is officially laid down in the latest returns at 2821. In case -of war, it would be assisted by 30,000 or 40,000 Indian warriors. The -Legion is commanded by a lieutenant general, at present Mr. Daniel C. -Wells, the Martin Hofer of this Western Tyrol; the major general is Mr. -C. D. Grant, who, in case of vacancy, takes command. The lieutenant -general is elected by a majority of the commissioned officers, and -is then commissioned by the governor: he organizes the Legion into -divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, companies, and districts: -his staff, besides heads of departments--adjutant, commissary -quarter-master, paymaster, and surgeon general--consists of three aids -and two topographical engineers with the rank of colonel, a military -secretary with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and two chaplains. The -present adjutant general is Mr. William Ferguson, one of the few Irish -Saints, originally sergeant-major in the Mormon battalion, who, after -the fashion of the Western world, combines with the soldier the lawyer -and the editor. The minutest directions are issued to the Legion in -“An Act to provide for the farther Organization of the Militia of the -Territory of Utah” (Territorial Laws, chap. 35), and it is divided into -military districts as below.[197] There is, moreover, an independent -battalion of Life Guards in Great Salt Lake County not attached to -any brigade or division, but subject at all times to the call of the -governor and lieutenant general. There are also minute-men, picked -fighters, ready to mount, at a few minutes’ notice, upon horses that -range near the Jordan, and to take the field in pursuit of Indians or -others, under their commandant Colonel Burton. These corps form the -nuclei of what will be, after two generations, formidable armies. The -increase of Saintly population is rapid, and from their childhood men -are trained to arms: each adult has a rifle and a sabre, a revolver and -a bowie-knife, and he wants only practice to become a good, efficient, -and well-disciplined soldier. Grants amounting to a total of $5000 have -at different times been apportioned to military purposes, buildings, -mounting ordnance, and schools: Gentiles declare that it was required -for education, but I presume that the Mormons, like most people, claim -to know their own affairs best. As in the land of Liberty generally, -there is a modified conscription; “all free male citizens”--with a -few dignified exceptions and exempts--are subject to soldier’s duty -within thirty days after their arrival at any military district in the -Territory. - - [197] There are eleven originally established, viz.: - - 1st. The Great Salt Lake Military District shall include all the - militia within the boundaries of Great Salt Lake City. - - 2d. The Davis Military District shall include all the militia within - the limits of Davis County. - - 3d. The Weber Military District shall include all the militia within - the limits of Weber County. - - 4th. The Western Jordan Military District shall include all the - militia in Great Salt Lake County west of the Jordan River. - - 5th. The Tooele Military District shall include all the militia - within the limits of Tooele County. - - 6th. The Cotton-wood Military District shall include all the militia - in Great Salt Lake County south of the south line of Great Salt Lake - City and east of the Jordan River. - - 7th. The Utah Military District shall include all the militia in Utah - County. - - 8th. The San Pete Military District shall include all the militia - within the limits of San Pete County. - - 9th. The Parovan Military District shall include all the militia - within the limits of Millard County. - - 10th. The Iron Military District shall include all the militia within - the limits of Iron County. - - 11th. The Green River Military District shall include all the militia - within the limits of Green River County. - -That the Mormon battalion did good service in the Mexican War of 1847 -is a matter of history. It was sent at a most critical conjuncture. -Application was made to the Saints, when upon the point of commencing -their exodus from Egypt, through the deserts of Paran and Sin, where -the red Amalekite and the Moabite lay in wait to attack them, and -when every male was wanted to defend the old and sick, the women and -children, and the valuables of which the Egyptian had not despoiled -them. Yet the present Prophet did not hesitate to obey the call: he -sent off 500 of his best men, who fought through the war and shared -in the triumph. Providence rewarded them. It was a Mormon--James -W. Marshall--who, when discharged from service, entered with some -comrades the service of a Swiss land-owner, Captain Suter--a remnant of -Charles X.’s guard--near Sacramento, on the American River, and who, -in January, 1848, when sinking a mill-run or water-run, discovered the -shining metal which first made California a household word. On the -return of the battalion to Great Salt Lake City, laden with nearly -half a million of gold, a mint was established, and a $5 piece was -added to the one million dollars which forms the annual circulation of -the United States. It bears on the reverse, “Holiness to the Lord,” -surmounting a three-cornered cap, placed over a single eye: the former -alludes, I was told, mystically to the first Presidency; the obverse -having two hands clasped over the date (1849), and the words “Five -Dollars, G. S. L. C. P. G.” The $5 appeared somewhat heavier, though -smaller than an English sovereign. Anti-Mormons adduce this coinage as -an additional proof of saintly presumption; but it was legally done: -a Territory may not stamp precious metal with the federal arms, but -it has a right to establish its own. They adduce, moreover, a severe -charge, namely, that the $5 piece was 15-20 per cent. under weight, and -yet was forcibly made current. One remarkable effect the gold certainly -had. When the Kirtland Safety Savings Bank, established by Mr. Joseph -Smith in February, 1831, broke, he stout-heartedly prophesied that -before twenty years should elapse the worthless paper should be again -at par. The financial vaticination was true to the letter.[198] - - [198] The Mormons quote two other prophecies both equally offensive - to the United States, and both equally well known. - - On the 26th of April, 1843, Mr. Joseph Smith distinctly declared, in - the name of the Lord, that before the arrival of the Son of Man the - “question of slavery would cause a rebellion in South Carolina,” and - effect a “division of the Southern against the Northern States.” It - was a calamity easy to be foreseen, but we look with anxiety to the - unfulfilled portion, the “terrible bloodshed” which will result. - - In 1846, when, humanly speaking, want and destitution stared the - Saints in the face, Mr. Brigham Young predicted that within five - years they would be wealthier than before. This was palpably - fulfilled in 1849, when the passage of emigrants to California - enabled the Saints to exchange their supplies of food for goods and - valuables at enormous profits. - - I commend these “uninspired prophecies” to the simple-minded - translator of “Forewarnings, Prophecies on the Church, Antichrist - (who was born, we are told, four years ago), and Revelations in - the Last Times.” Messrs. Smith and Young’s vaticinations will be - found quite as respectable as the “Visions of an Aged Nun” and the - “Predictions of Sister Rosa Columba.” Prophecy, being the highest aim - of human induction, is apparently universally and equally diffused. - -[Illustration: ENSIGN PEAK. (North End of Great Salt Lake City.)] - -[THE DANITE BAND.] - -The “Danite band,” a name of fear in the Mississippi Valley, is said -by anti-Mormons to consist of men between the ages of seventeen and -forty-nine. They were originally termed Daughters of Gideon, Destroying -Angels--the Gentiles say Devils--and, finally, Sons of Dan, or Danites, -from one of whom it was prophesied that he should be a serpent in the -path. They were organized about 1837, under D. W. Patten, popularly -called Captain Fearnot, for the purpose of dealing as avengers of -blood with Gentiles; in fact, they formed a kind of “Death Society,” -Desperadoes, Thugs, Hashshashiyun--in plain English, assassins in -the name of the Lord. The Mormons declare categorically the whole -and every particular to be the calumnious invention of the impostor -and arch apostate Mr. John C. Bennett, whilom mayor of Nauvoo; that -the mystery and horror of the idea made it equally grateful to the -knave and fool who persecuted them, and that not a trader could be -scalped, nor a horse-stealer shot, nor a notorious villain of a Gentile -knived without the deed of blood being attributed to Danite hands -directed by prophetic heads. It was supposed that the Danites assume -savage disguises: “he has met the Indians” was a proverbial phrase, -meaning that a Gentile has fallen into the power of the destroying -angels. I but express the opinion of sensible and moderate neutrals -in disbelieving the existence of an organized band of “Fidawi;” where -every man is ready to be a Danite, Danites are not wanting. Certainly, -in the terrible times of Missouri and Illinois, destroying angels were -required to smite secretly, mysteriously, and terribly the first-born -of Egypt; now the necessity has vanished. This, however, the Mormons -deny, declaring the existence of the Danites, like that of spiritual -wives, to be, and ever to have been, literally and in substance totally -and entirely untrue. - -[THE JEBEL NUR.] - -Meanwhile we had nearly ascended the Jebel Nur of this new Meccah, the -big toe of the Wasach Mountains, and exchanged the sunny temperature -below for a cold westerly wind, that made us feel snow: the air -improved in purity, as we could judge by the effects of carcasses -lying at different heights. The bench up which we trod was gashed by -broad ravines, and bore upon its red soil a growth of thin sage and -sunflower. A single fossil and two varieties of shells were found: iron -and quartz were scattered over the surface, and there is a legend of -gold having been discovered here. Presently, standing upon the topmost -bluff, we sat down to enjoy a view which I have attempted to reproduce -in a sketch. Below the bench lay the dot-like houses of Zion. We could -see with bird’s-eye glance the city laid out like a chess-board, and -all the length and breadth of its bee-line streets and crow-flight -avenues, which, bordered by distance-dwarfed trees, narrowed to threads -as they drew toward a vanishing point. Beyond the suburbs stretched the -valley plain, sprinkled with little plantations clustering round the -smaller settlements, and streaked by the rivulets which, arising from -the frowning pine-clad heights on the left, flowed toward the little -Jordan of this young Judea on the right. The extreme south was bounded -by the denticulated bench which divided like a mole the valleys of the -Great Salt and Utah Lakes. Already autumn had begun: the purpling plain -and golden slopes shed a dying glory over the departing year, while the -mellowing light of evening, and aerial blue from above, toned down to -absolute beauty each harsher feature of the scene. - -After lingering for a while over the fair _coup d’œil_, we descended, -holding firm the sage-bushes, the abrupt western slope, and we passed -by the warm Harrowgate spring, with its sulphury blue waters, white -lime-like bed, and rushy margins in dark earth, snow-capped with -salt efflorescence. As we entered the city we met a noted Gentile -innocently driving out a fair Saint: both averted their faces as they -passed us, but my companion’s color darkened. All races have their -pet prohibitions and aversions, their likes and dislikes in matters -of sin. Among the Mormons, a suspicion of immorality is more hateful -than the reputation of bloodshed. So horse-thieving in the Western -States is a higher crime than any other--in fact, the sin which is -never forgiven. An editor thus unconcernedly sums up the history of one -lately shot when plundering stock: “He was buried by those who meted -out to him summary justice, not exactly attending to law, but upon a -more speedy, economical, and salutary principle, and a stake was placed -at the head of his grave, on which was inscribed ‘A. B. B----, shot for -horse-stealing, July 1, 1860.’” - -Entering the city by the northwest, we passed the Academy of the 7th -Ward. Standing in a 10-acre block, it is a large adobe building with -six windows, built for a hotel, and bought for educational purposes by -the Prophet. Forms and tables, scattered with the usual school-books, -were the sole furniture, and the doors were left open as if they had -nothing to defend. My companion had a truly brotherly way of treating -his co-religionists; he never met one, however surly-looking, without -a salute, and when a door was opened he usually walked in. Thus we -visited successively a water-power-mill, a tannery, and an English -coachmaker, painter, and varnisher. Some of the houses which we -passed were neat and cleanly curtained, especially that belonging to -an Englishwoman whose husband, Captain R----, had lately left her -in widowhood. We finished with the garden of Apostle Woodruff, who -introduced us to his wife, and showed us work of which he had reason -to be proud. Despite the hard, ungrateful soil which had required -irrigation for the last ten years, there were apricots from Malta, -the Hooker strawberries, here worth $5 the plant, plum-trees from -Kew Gardens, French and Californian grapes, wild plum and buffalo -berry, black currants, peaches, and apples--with which last we were -hospitably loaded--in numbers. The kitchen garden contained rhubarb, -peas, potatoes, Irish and sweet, asparagus, white and yellow carrots, -cabbages, and huge beets: the sugar-cane had been tried there, but it -was not, like the sweet holcus, a success. - -[CEMETERY.] - -The last time I walked out of Great Salt Lake City was to see the -cemetery, which lies on the bench to the northeast of the settlement. -There is but one cemetery for saint and sinner, and it has been -prudently removed about three miles from the abodes of the living. -The tombs, like the funeral ceremonies, are simple, lacking the -“monumental mockery” which renders the country church-yard in England a -fitter study for farce than for elegy. On occasions of death, prayers -are offered in the house, and the corpse is carried at once to its -last home. The grave-yard is walled round, and contains a number of -occupants, the tombs being denoted by a stone or board, with name and -date, and sometimes a religious sentence, at the head and foot. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -Latter-Day Saints.--Of the Mormon Religion. - - -No less an authority than Alexander von Humboldt has characterized -positive religions in general as consisting of an historical novelette -more or less interesting, a system of cosmogony more or less -improbable, and a code of morals mostly pure.[199] Two thirds of this -description apply to the faith of the Latter-Day Saints: they have, -however, escaped palæological criticism by adopting Genesitic history, -and by “swallowing Eve’s apple” in the infancy of their spiritual life. - - [199] A somewhat free version of “toutes les réligions positives - offrent trois parties distinctes; un traité de mœurs partout le - même et très pur, un rêve géologique, et un mythe ou petit roman - historique: le dernier élément obtient le plus d’importance.”--LX. - Letter, Dec. 3d, 1841. - -[THE WORD “MORMON.”] - -Before proceeding to comment upon the New Dispensation--for such, -though not claiming or owning to be, it _is_--I may compare the two -leading interpretations of the word “Mormon,” which, as has been -well remarked,[200] truly convey the widely diverging opinions of -the opposers and supporters of Mormonism. Mormon (μορμων) signifies -literally a lamia, a maniola, a female spectre; the mandrill, for its -ugliness, was called Cynocephalus mormon. “Mormon,” according to Mr. -Joseph Smith’s Mormonic, or rather Pantagruelic interpretation, is the -best--_scil._, of mankind. “We say from the Saxon _good_, the Dane -_god_, the Goth _goder_, the German _gut_, the Dutch _goed_, the Latin -_bonus_, the Greek _kalos_, the Hebrew _tob_, and the Egyptian _mon_. -Hence, with the addition of More, or the contraction Mor, we have the -word Mormon, which means literally “more good.” By faith it is said man -can remove mountains: perhaps it will also enable him to believe in -the spirit of that philology that revealed unto Mr. Joseph Smith his -derivation, and rendered it a shibboleth to his followers. This is not -the place to discuss a subject so broad and so long, but perhaps--the -idea will suggest itself--the mind of man most loves those errors and -delusions into which it has become self-persuaded, and is most fanatic -concerning the irrationalities and the supernaturalities to which it -has bowed its own reason. - - [200] The Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, by Lieutenant J. W. - Gunnison, of the United States Topographical Engineers. Philadelphia, - 1852. - -Unaccountably enough, seeing that it means “more good,” _scil._, the -best of mankind, the word Mormon is distasteful to its disciples, who -look upon it as Jew by a Hebrew, Mohammedan by a Moslem, and Romanist -or Puseyite by the sectarian Christian. They prefer to be called -Latter-Day Saints, or, to give them their title in full, the Church -of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in contradistinction to the -Former-Day Saints. Latter Day alludes to the long-looked-for convulsion -that will end the present quiescent geologic epoch. Its near approach -has ever been a favorite dogma and improvement subject of the Christian -Church, from the time of St. Paul to that of Mr. Joseph Smith, and Drs. -Wolff and Cumming;[201] for who, inquires Panurge, “is able to tell if -the world shall last yet three years?” Others read it as a prophecy -that “Gentilism,” alias “the corrupted Christianity of the age,” is -“on its last legs.” Even as “Saints” is a term which has been applied -from time immemorial in the Apocalypse and elsewhere to the orthodox, -_i.e._, those of one’s own doxy, and as Enoch speaks of “saints” -before the Flood or Noachian cataclysm, so the honorable title has in -these days been appropriated by seers, revelators, and prophets, and -conferred upon the Lord’s chosen people, _i.e._, themselves and their -followers. According to anti-Mormons, the name Latter-Day Saints was -assumed in 1835 by the Mormons at the suggestion of Sidney Rigdon. - - [201] The Mormon Prophet fixed “the end of the world” for A.D. 1890; - Dr. Cumming, I believe, in 1870. - -[THE MORMON ELEMENT.] - -Before beginning a description of what Mormonism really is, I would -succinctly lay down a few positions illustrating its genesis. - -1. The religious as well as the social history of the progressive -Anglo-Saxon race is a succession of contrasts, a system of reactions; -at times retrogressive, it has a general onward tendency toward an -unknown development. The Unitarians of New England, for instance, arose -out of Calvinism. The Puritanism of the present generation is the -natural consequence of the Rationalism which preceded it. - -[STATISTICS.] - -2. In what a French author terms “le triste état de dissolution dans -lequel gît le Chrétienté de nos jours”--the splitting of the Church -into three grand divisions, Roman, Greek, and Eastern, the convulsion -of the Northern mind, which created Protestantism, and the minute -subdivision of the latter into Episcopalians and Presbyterians, -Lutherans and Calvinists, Quakers and Shakers, the multiform Methodists -and various Baptists, and, to quote no farther _variétés des églises_, -the Congregationalists, Unitarians, and Universalists--a rationalistic -race finds reason to inquire, “What is Christianity?” and holds itself -prepared for a new faith, a regeneration of human thought--in fact, a -religious and social change, such as the Reformation of the sixteenth -century represented and fondly believed itself to be.[202] - - [202] - - _Religious Denominations in the United States, according to the - Census of 1861._ - - (From the “American Almanac” of 1861.) - - +---------------+-------+----------+--------+-----------+--------+ - | | | Aggre- | | Total | Average| - |Denominations. | No. of| gate | Average| Value | Value | - | |Church-| Accommo- |Accommo-| of Church |of Prop-| - | | es. | dation. | dation.| Property. | erty. | - +---------------+-------+----------+--------+-----------+--------+ - |Baptist | 8,791| 3,130,878| 356 |$10,931,382| $1,244 | - |Christian | 812| 296,050| 365 | 845,810| 1,041 | - |Congregational | 1,674| 795,177| 475 | 7,973,962| 4,763 | - |Dutch Reformed | 324| 181,986| 561 | 4,096,730| 12,644 | - |Episcopal | 1,422| 625,213| 440 | 11,261,970| 7,919 | - |Free | 361| 108,605| 300 | 251,255| 698 | - |Friends | 714| 282,823| 396 | 1,709,867| 2,395 | - |German Reformed| 327| 156,932| 479 | 965,880| 2,953 | - |Jewish | 31| 16,575| 534 | 371,600| 11,987 | - |Lutheran | 1,203| 531,100| 441 | 2,867,886| 2,383 | - |Mennonite | 110| 29,900| 272 | 94,245| 856 | - |Methodist | 12,487| 4,209,333| 337 | 14,636,671| 1,174 | - |Moravian | 331| 112,185| 338 | 443,347| 1,339 | - |Presbyterian | 4,584| 2,040,316| 445 | 14,369,889| 3,135 | - |Roman Catholic | 1,112| 620,950| 558 | 8,973,838| 8,069 | - |Swedenborgian | 15| 5,070| 338 | 108,100| 7,206 | - |Tunker | 52| 35,075| 674 | 46,025| 885 | - |Union | 619| 213,552| 345 | 690,065| 1,114 | - |Unitarian | 243| 137,367| 565 | 3,268,122| 13,449 | - |Universalist | 494| 205,462| 415 | 1,766,015| 3,576 | - |Minor sects | 325| 115,347| 354 | 741,980| 2,283 | - | +-------+----------+--------+-----------+--------+ - | Total | 36,011|13,849,896| 384 |$86,416,639| $2,400 | - +---------------+-------+----------+--------+-----------+--------+ - -3. Mormonism boasts of few Roman Catholic or Greek converts; the French -and Italians are rare, and there is a remarkable deficiency of Germans -and Irish--those wretched races without nationality or loyalty--which -have overrun the Eastern American States. It is, then, to Protestantism -that we must look for the origin of the New Faith. - -4. In 1800-1804, and in 1820, a mighty Wesleyan “revival,” which -in Methodism represents the missions and retreats of Catholicism, -had disturbed and excited the public mind in America, especially in -Kentucky and Tennessee. The founder of Mormonism, Mr. Joseph Smith, -his present successor, and his principal disciples and followers, -were Campbellites, Millerites, Ranters, or other Methodists. Wesleyan -sectarianism, like the old Arab paganism in El Islam, still shows -its traces in the worship and various observances of a doxology which -by literalism and exaggeration has wholly separated itself from the -older creeds of the world. Thus we find Mormonism to be in its origin -English, Protestant, anti-Catholic, Methodistic. - -[HISTORY OF MORMONISM.] - -It may be advisable briefly to trace the steps by which we arrive -at this undesirable end. The birth of Romanism, according to the -Reformed writers, dates from certain edicts issued by Theodosius II. -and by Valentinian III., and constituting the Bishop of Rome “Rector -of the whole Church.” The newly-born hierarchy found tender nurses in -Justinian, Pepin, and Charlemagne, and in the beginning of the eleventh -century St. Gregory VII. (Hildebrand the Great) supplied the prime -want of the age by establishing a visible theocracy, with a vicar of -Jesus Christ at its head. To the existence of a mediatorial priestly -caste, the officials of a spiritual despotism, claiming power of -censure and excommunication, and the gift of the crown terrestrial as -well as celestial, anti-papistical writers trace the various vices and -corruptions inherent in a semi-barbarous age, the “melancholy duality” -of faith and works of religion and morality which seems to belong to -the Southern mind, and the Oriental semi-Pelagianism which taught that -man might be self-sanctified or vicariously saved, with its logical -deductions, penance, benefices, indulgences. An excessive superstition -endured for a season. Then set in the inevitable reaction: the extreme -religiousness, that characteristic of the earnest quasi-pagan age of -the Christian Church, in the fullness of time fell into the opposite -excess, Rationalism and its natural consequences, infidelity and -irreligion. - -Reformers were not wanting before the Reformation. As early as 1170, -Pierre Vaud, or Valdo, of Lyons, sold off his merchandise, and -appealing from popery to Scripture and to primitive Christianity, -as, in a later day did Jeremy Bentham from St. Paul to his Master, -attacked the Roman hierarchy. John Wicliffe (1310-1385) is claimed by -his countrymen to have originated the “liberal ideas” by which British -Protestantism was matured; it is owned even by foreigners that he -influenced opinion from Oxford to far Bohemia. He died peaceably, but -the Wicliffites, who presently were called Lollards--“tares” sown by -the fiend--though supported by the Commons against Henry IV. and his -party, the dignified clergy, suffered, until the repeal of the Act “de -hæreticis comburendis,” the fiercest persecution. During the reign of -Henry V. they gained strength, as the pronunciamento of 20,000 men in -St. Giles’s Fields under Sir John Oldcastle proves: the cruel death of -their leader only served to strengthen them, supported as they were -by the lower branch of the Legislature in their opposition to the -crown. On the Continent of Europe the great follower of Wicliffe was -John Huss, who preached in Bohemia about a century before the days of -Luther, and who, condemned by the Councils of Constance and Basle, -perished at the stake in 1432. Jerome Savonarola, tortured and burnt -in 1498, and other minor names, urged forward the fatal movement until -the Northern element once more prevailed, in things spiritual as in -things temporal, over the Southern; the rude and violent German again -attacked the soft, sensuous Italian, and Martin Luther hatched the -egg which the schools of Rabelais and Erasmus had laid. It was the -work of rough-handed men; the reformer Zuingle emerged from an Alpine -shepherd’s hut; Melancthon, the theologian, from an armorer’s shop, -as Augustine, the monk, from the cottage of a poor miner. Such, in -the 16th century, on the Continent of Europe, were the prototypes and -predecessors of Messrs. Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, -and Brigham Young, who arose nearly three centuries afterward in the -New World. - -In England, when the unprincipled tyranny of Henry VIII. had -established, by robbing and confiscating, hanging and quartering, that -“reformed new-cast religion,” of which Sir Thomas Brown “disliked -nothing but the name,” the bigotry of the ultra-reformatory school lost -no time in proceeding to extremes. William Chillingworth, born A.D. -1602, and alternately Protestant, Catholic, Socinian, and Protestant, -put forth in his “Religion of Protestants a safe Way of Salvation,” -that Chillingworthi Novissima, “the Bible and nothing but the Bible.” -This dogma swept away ruthlessly all the cherished traditions of a past -age--the ancient observed customs of the Church--all, in fact, that -can beautify and render venerable a faith, and substituted in their -stead a bald Bibliolatry which at once justifies credulity and forbids -it; which tantalizes man with the signs and wonders of antiquity, and -yet which, with an unwise contradictoriness, forbids him to revise -or restore them. And as each man became, by Bible-reading, his own -interpreter, with fullest right of private judgment, and without any -infallible guide--the inherent weakness of reformation--to direct him, -the broad and beaten highway of belief was at once cut up into a parcel -of little footpaths which presently attained the extreme of divergence. - -[METHODISM.] - -One of the earliest products of such “religious freedom” in England -was Methodism, so called from the Methodistic physicians at Rome. The -founder and arch-priest of the schism, the Rev. John Wesley, son of the -Rector of Epworth in Lincolnshire, and born in 1703, followed Luther, -Calvin, and other creedmongers in acting upon his own speculation -and peculiar opinions. One of his earliest disciples--only eleven -years younger than his master--was the equally celebrated George -Whitfield, of Gloucester. Suffice it to remark, without dwelling -upon their history, that both these religionists, and mostly the -latter, who died in 1770 at Newberry, New England, converted and -preached to thousands in America, there establishing field-services -and camp-meetings, revivals and conferences, which, like those of the -French Convulsionists in the last century, galvanized Christianity -with a wild and feverish life. Falling among uneducated men, the -doctrine, both in England and the colonies, was received with a -bewilderment of enthusiasm, and it soon produced the usual fruits of -such phrensy--prophecies that fixed the end of the world for the 28th -of February, 1763, miraculous discernment of angels and devils, mighty -comings of the power of God and outpourings of the Spirit, rhapsodies -and prophecies, dreams and visions, accompanied by rollings, jerks, -and barks, roarings and convulsions, syncope, catalepsy, and the other -hysterical affections and obscure disorders of the brain, forming the -characteristic symptoms of religious mania. - -[TRUE PROTESTANTS.] - -Thus, out of the semi-barbarous superstitions of the Middle Ages, -succeeded by the revival of learning, which in the 15th century -followed the dispersion of the wise men of the East from captured -Byzantium, proceeded “Protestant Rationalism,” a system which, -admitting the right of private judgment, protested against the -religion of Southern Europe becoming that of the whole world. From -Protestantism sprung Methodism, which restored to man the grateful -exercise of his credulity--a leading organ in the human brain--his -belief in preternatural and supernatural agencies and appearances, -and his faith in miraculous communication between God and man; in -fact, in that mysticism and marvel-love, which are the columns and -corner-stones of religion. Mormonism thus easily arose. It will be -found to contain little beyond a literal and verbal interpretation -of the only book which Chillingworth recognizes as the rule for -Christians, and a pointed condemnation of those who make the contents -of the Bible typical, metaphysical, or symbolical, “as if God were -not honest when he speaks with man, or uses words in other than their -true acceptation,” or could “palter in a double sense.” It proposed -as its three general principles, firstly, total immersion in the -waters of baptism in the name of the three sacred names; secondly, -the commissioning of prophets, apostles, and elders to administer in -things holy the revelation and authority of heaven; and, thirdly, the -ministering of angels. New Tables of the Law appeared in the Golden -Plates. Another Urim and Thummim revealed to Mr. Joseph Smith that he -was of the house of Israel and the tribe of Joseph, the inheritor of -all things promised to that favored seed. It tempered the superstitions -of popery with the rationalism of the Protestant; it supplied mankind -with another sacred book and with an infallible interpreter. Human -belief had now its weight to carry: those pining for the excitement -of thaumaturgy felt satisfied. The Mormons were no longer compelled -to ask “what made miracles cease,” and “why and in which A.D. was the -power taken from the Church.” It relieved them from holding an apparent -absurdity, viz., that the voices and visitations, the signs, miracles, -and interventions--in fact, all that the Bible submitted to human faith -had ended without reason about the time when one Constantine became -king, and do not recommence now when they are most wanted. The Mormons -are not forced to think that God is virtually dead in the world; the -eminently practical tendencies of the New-World race cause them to -develop into practice their contradiction of an inference from which -human nature revolts. They claim to be the true Protestants, _i. e._, -those who protest against the doctrines of a ceased fellowship between -the Creator and the creature made in his image; they gratify their -self-esteem by sneering at those who confine themselves to the old -and obsolete revelation, and by pitying the blindness and ignorance -that can not or will not open its eyes to the new light. Hence it -follows that few Catholics become Mormons, and that those few become -bad Mormons. Man’s powers of faith grow, like his physical force, -with exercise. He considers over-belief a venial error compared with -under-belief, and he progresses more easily in belief than he can -retrograde into disbelief. Thus Catholicism has spread more widely -over the world than the less credulous Protestantism, and the more -thaumaturgic Mormonism is better adapted to some minds--the Hindoo’s, -for instance--than Catholicism. - -In Mormonism, or, rather, in Mormon sacred literature, there are -three epochs which bring us down to the present day. The first is -the monogamic age, that of the books of Mormon, and of Doctrines and -Covenants--1830-1843. The second is the polygamic, from the first -revelation of “celestial marriage” to Mr. Joseph Smith in 1843, and by -him communicated to three followers only, until its final establishment -by Mr. Brigham Young in 1852, when secrecy was no longer deemed -necessary. The third is the materialistic period; the doctrine, “not -founded on modern supernatural revelation, but on reason and common -sense,” was the work of 1848-1849. - -[THE BOOK OF MORMON.] - -The first epoch laid the foundations of the Faith. It produced the Book -of Mormon, “an abridgment written by the hand of Mormon upon plates -taken from the plates of Nephi. Wherefore it is an abridgment of the -record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites; written to -the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel, and also to -Jew and Gentile: written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit -of prophecy and of revelation. Written and sealed up, and hid up unto -the Lord, that they might not be destroyed: to come forth by the gift -and power of God unto the interpretation thereof: sealed by the hand of -Mormon, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by the way -of Gentile; the interpretation thereof by the gift of God!” - -“An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of -the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded -the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get (!) -to heaven; which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel -what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that -they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off -forever; and also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS -is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself to all nations; -and now, if there are faults, they are the mistakes of men; therefore -condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the -judgment-seat of Christ. Moroni.” - - “Translated by Joseph Smith, Jun.” - -This extract is followed by the testimony of three witnesses, Oliver -Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, who declare to have seen -the Golden Plates with their engravings, which were shown to them by -the power of God, not of man; and that they knew by the voice of God -that the records had been translated by the gift and power of God. -Furthermore they “declare with words of solemnness that an angel of God -came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we -beheld and saw the plates and the engravings thereon.” They conclude -with these solemn words: “And the honor be to the Father, and to the -Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God, Amen.” Then comes “also -the testimony of eight witnesses”--four Whitmers, three Smiths, and one -Page[203]--who make it “known unto all nations, kindred, tongues, and -people, unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jun., the -translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath -been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the -leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with our hands; -and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance -of ancient work and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record -with words of soberness that the said Smith has shown unto us, for we -have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got -the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our hands unto the -world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen; and we lie -not, God bearing witness of it.” - - [203] The total witnesses are thus eleven, exactly the number that - bore evidence to the original Christian miracles. - -The nature of the Latter-Day Saints’ Biblion will best be understood -from the subjoined list of contents.[204] - - [204] At the end of this chapter I have inserted a synopsis of Mormon - chronology. - - FIRST BOOK OF NEPHI. - - Language of the Record. - Nephi’s Abridgment. - Lehi’s Dream. - Lehi departs into the Wilderness. - Nephi slayeth Laban. - Sariah complains of Lehi’s Vision. - Contents of the brass Plates. - Ishmael goes with Nephi. - Nephi’s Brethren rebel, and bind him. - Lehi’s Dream of the Tree, Rod, etc. - Messiah and John prophesied of. - Olive-branches broken off. - Nephi’s Vision of Mary. - Do. the Crucifixion of Christ. - Do. Darkness and Earthquake. - Great abominable Church. - Discovery of the Promised Land. - Bible spoken of. - Book of Mormon and Holy Ghost promised. - Other Books come forth. - Bible and Book of Mormon one. - Promises to the Gentiles. - Two Churches. - The Work of the Father to commence. - A Man in white Robes (John). - Nephites come to Knowledge. - Rod of Iron. - The Sons of Lehi take Wives. - Director found (Ball). - Nephi broke his Bow. - Directors work by Faith. - Ishmael died. - Lehi and Nephi threatened. - Nephi commanded to build a Ship. - Nephi about to be worshiped by - his Brethren. - Dancing in the Ship. - Nephi bound; Ship driven back. - Arrived on the Promised Land. - Plates of Ore made. - Zenos, Neum, and Zenock. - Isaiah’s Writings. - Holy One of Israel. - - * * * * * - - SECOND BOOK OF NEPHI. - - Lehi to his Sons. - Opposition in all Things. - Adam fell that Men might be. - Joseph saw our Day. - A choice Seer. - Writings grow together. - Prophet promised to the Lamanites. - Joseph’s Prophecy on brass Plates. - Lehi buried. - Nephi’s Life sought. - Nephi separated from Laman. - Temple built. - Skin of Blackness. - Priests, etc., consecrated. - Make other Plates. - Isaiah’s Words (by Jacob). - Angels to a Devil. - Spirits and Bodies reunited. - Baptism. - No Kings upon this Land. - Isaiah prophesieth. - Rod of the Stem of Jesse. - Seed of Joseph perish not. - Law of Moses kept. - Christ shall show himself. - Signs of Christ, Birth and Death. - Whisper from the Dust; Book sealed up. - Priestcraft forbidden. - Sealed Book to be brought forth. - Three Witnesses behold the Book. - The Words [read this, I pray thee]. - Seal up the Book again. - Their Priests shall contend. - Teach with their Learning, and - deny the Holy Ghost. - Rob the Poor. - A Bible, a Bible. - Men judged of the Books. - White and a delightsome People. - Work commence among all People. - Lamb of God baptized. - Baptism by water and Holy Ghost. - - * * * * * - - BOOK OF JACOB. - - Nephi anointed a King. - Nephi died. - Nephites and Lamanites. - A righteous Branch from Joseph. - Lamanites shall scourge you. - More than one Wife forbidden. - Trees, Waves, and Mountains obey us. - Jews looked beyond the Mark. - Tame Olive-tree. - Nethermost Part of the Vineyard. - Fruit laid up against the Season. - Another Branch. - Wild Fruit had overcome. - Lord of the Vineyard wept. - Branches overcome the Roots. - Wild Branches plucked off. - Sherem the Anti-Christ. - A Sign; Sherem smitten. - Enos takes the Plates from his Father. - - * * * * * - - THE BOOK OF ENOS. - - Enos, thy Sins are forgiven. - Records threatened by Lamanites. - Lamanites eat raw Meat. - - * * * * * - - THE BOOK OF JAROM. - - Nephites waxed strong. - Lamanites drink Blood. - Fortify Cities. - Plates delivered to Omni. - - * * * * * - - THE BOOK OF OMNI. - - Plates given to Amaron. - Plates given to Chemish. - Mosiah warned to flee. - Zarahemla discovered. - Engravings on a Stone. - Coriantumr discovered. - His Parents came from the Tower. - Plates delivered to King Benjamin. - - * * * * * - - THE WORDS OF MORMON. - - False Christs and Prophets. - - * * * * * - - BOOK OF MOSIAH. - - Mosiah made King, and received. - The Plates of Brass, Sword, and - Director. - King Benjamin teacheth the People. - Their Tent Doors toward the Temple. - Coming of Christ foretold. - Beggars not denied. - Sons and Daughters. - Mosiah began to reign. - Ammon, etc., bounded and imprisoned. - Limhi’s Proclamation. - Twenty-four Plates of Gold. - Seer and Translator. - - * * * * * - - RECORD OF ZENIFF. - - A Battle fought. - King Laman died. - Noah made King. - Abinadi the Prophet. - Resurrection. - Alma believed Abinadi. - Abinadi cast into Prison and scourged with fagots. - Waters of Mormon. - The Daughters of the Lamanites stolen by King Noah’s Priests. - Records on Plates of Ore. - Last Tribute of Wine. - Lamanites’ deep Sleep. - King Limhi baptized. - Priest and Teachers labor. - Alma saw an Angel. - Alma fell (dumb). - King Mosiah’s Sons preach to the Lamanites. - Translation of Records. - Plates delivered by Limhi. - Translated by two Stones. - People back to the Tower. - Records given to Alma. - Judges appointed. - King Mosiah died. - Alma died. - Kings of Nephi ended. - - * * * * * - - THE BOOK OF ALMA. - - Nehor slew Gideon. - Amlici made King. - Amlici slain in Battle. - Amlicites painted red. - Alma baptized in Sidon. - Alma’s Preaching. - Alma ordained Elders. - Commanded to meet often. - Alma saw an Angel. - Amulek saw an Angel. - Lawyers questioning Amulek. - Coins named. - Zeezrom the Lawyer. - Zeezrom trembles. - Election spoken of. - Melchizedek Priesthood. - Alma and Amulek stoned. - Records burned. - Prison rent. - Zeezrom healed and baptized. - Nehor’s Desolation. - Lamanites converted. - Flocks scattered at Sebus. - Ammon smote off Arms. - Ammon and King Lamoni. - King Lamoni fell. - Ammon and the Queen. - King and Queen prostrate. - Aaron, etc., delivered. - Jerusalem built. - Preaching in Jerusalem. - Lamoni’s Father converted. - Land Desolation and Bountiful. - Anti-Nephi-Lehies. - General Council. - Swords buried. - 1005 massacred. - Lamanites perish by Fire. - Slavery forbidden. - Anti-Nephi-Lehies removed to Jershon, called Ammonites. - Tremendous Battle. - Anti-Christ, Korihor. - Korihor struck dumb. - The Devil in the Form of an Angel. - Korihor trodden down. - Alma’s Mission to Zorämites. - Rameumptom (holy Stand). - Alma on Hill Onidah. - Alma on Faith. - Prophecy of Zenos. - Prophecy of Zenock. - Amulek’s Knowledge of Christ. - Charity recommended. - Same Spirit possess your Body. - Believers cast out. - Alma to Helaman. - Plates given to Helaman. - 24 Plates and Directors. - Gazelem, a Stone (secret). - Liahona, or Compass. - Alma to Shiblon. - Alma to Corianton. - Unpardonable Sin. - Resurrection. - Restoration. - Justice in Punishment. - If, Adam, took, Tree, Life. - Mercy rob Justice. - Moroni’s Stratagem. - Slaughter of Lamanites. - Moroni’s Speech to Zerahemnah. - Prophecy of a Soldier. - Lamanites’ Covenant of Peace. - Alma’s Prophecy 400 years after Christ. - Dwindle in Unbelief. - Alma’s strange Departure. - Amalickiah leadeth away the People; destroyeth the Church. - Standard of Moroni. - Joseph’s Coat rent. - Jacob’s Prophecy of Joseph’s Seed. - Fevers in the Land; Plants and - Roots for Diseases. - Amalickiah’s Plot. - The King stabbed. - Amalickiah marries the Queen, and is acknowledged King. - Fortifications by Moroni. - Ditches filled with dead Bodies. - Amalickiah’s Oath. - Pahoran appointed Judge. - Army against King-men. - Amalickiah slain. - Ammoron made King. - Bountiful fortified. - Dissensions. - 2000 young Men. - Moroni’s Epistle to Ammoron. - Ammoron’s Answer. - Lamanites made drunk. - Moroni’s Stratagem. - Helaman’s Epistle to Moroni, Helaman’s Stratagem. - Mothers taught Faith. - Lamanites surrendered. - City of Antiparah taken. - City of Cumeni taken. - 200 of the 2000 fainted. - Prisoners rebel; slain. - Manti taken by Stratagem. - Moroni to the Governor. - Governor’s Answer. - King Pachus slain. - Cords and Ladders prepared. - Nephihah taken. - Teancum’s Stratagem; slain. - Peace established. - Moronihah made Commander. - Helaman dies. - Sacred Things; Shiblon. - Moroni died. - 5400 emigrated North. - Ships built by Hagoth. - Sacred Things committed to Helaman; Shiblon died. - - * * * * * - - THE BOOK OF HELAMAN. - - Pahoran died. - Pahoran appointed Judge. - Kishkumen slew Pahoran. - Pacumeni appointed Judge. - Zarahemla taken. - Pacumeni killed. - Coriantumr slain. - Lamanites surrendered. - Helaman appointed Judge. - Secret Signs discovered, and Kishkumen stabbed. - Gadianton fled. - Emigration Northward. - Cement Houses. - Many Books and Records. - Helaman died. - Nephi made Judge. - Nephites become wicked. - Nephi gave the Judgment Seat to Cezoram. - Nephi and Lehi preached to the Lamanites. - 8000 baptized. - Alma and Nephi surrounded with Fire. - Angels administer. - Cezoram and Son murdered. - Gadianton’s Robbers. - Gadianton’s Robbers destroyed. - Nephi’s Prophecy. - Gadianton’s Robbers are Judges. - Chief Judge slain. - Seantum detected. - Keys of the Kingdom. - Nephi taken away by the Spirit. - Famine in the Land. - Gadianton’s Band destroyed. - Famine removed. - Samuel’s Prophecy. - Tools lost. - Two Days and a Night; Light. - Sign of the Crucifixion. - Samuel stoned, etc. - Angels appeared. - - * * * * * - - BOOK OF NEPHI. - - Lachoneus chief Judge. - Nephi receives the Records. - Nephi’s strange Departure. - No Darkness at Night. - Lamanites became white. - Giddianhi to Lachoneus. - Gidgiddoni chief Judge. - Giddianhi slain. - Zemnarihah hanged. - Robbers surrendered. - Mormon abridges the Records. - Church began to be broken up. - Government of the Land destroyed. - Chief Judge murdered. - Divided into Tribes. - Nephi raised the Dead. - Sign of the Crucifixion. - Cities destroyed, Earthquakes, Darkness, etc. - Law of Moses fulfilled. - Christ appeared to Nephites. - Print of the Nails. - Nephi and others called. - Baptism commanded. - Doctrine of Christ. - Christ the End of the Law. - Other Sheep spoken of. - Blessed are the Gentile. - Gentile Wickedness on the Land of Joseph. - Isaiah’s Words fulfilled. - Jesus healed the Sick. - Christ blessed Children. - Little Ones encircled with Fire. - Christ administered the Sacrament. - Christ taught his Disciples. - Names of the Twelve. - The Twelve taught the Multitude. - Baptism, Holy Ghost, and Fire. - Disciples made white. - Jesus came, second Time. - Faith, great. - Christ breaks Bread again. - Miracle; Bread and Wine. - Gentiles destroyed (Isaiah). - Zion established. - From Gentiles to your Seed. - Sign; Father’s Work commenced. - He shall be marred. - Gentiles destroyed (Isaiah). - New Jerusalem built. - Work commenced among all the Tribes. - Isaiah’s Words. - Saints did arise. - Malachi’s Prophecy. - Faith tried by the Book of Mormon. - Children’s Tongues loosed. - The Dead raised. - Baptism and Holy Ghost. - All Things common. - Christ appeared third Time. - Moses’s Church. - Three Nephites tarry. - The Twelve caught up. - Change upon their Bodies. - Disciples raise the Dead. - Zarahemla rebuilt. - Other Disciples ordained in their stead. - Nephi died; Amos kept the Records in his stead. - Amos died, and his Son Amos kept the Records. - Prisons rent by the Three. - Secret Combinations. - Amaron hid Records. - - * * * * * - - BOOK OF MORMON. - - Three Disciples taken away. - Mormon forbidden to preach. - Mormon appointed Leader. - Samuel’s Prophecy fulfilled. - Mormon makes a Record. - Lands divided. - The Twelve shall judge. - Desolation taken. - Women and Children sacrificed. - Mormon took the Records hid in Shim. - Mormon repented of his Oath and took Command. - Coming forth of Records. - Records hid in Cumorah. - 230,000 Nephites slain. - Shall not get Gain by the Plates. - These Things shall come forth out of the Earth. - The State of the World. - Miracles cease; Unbelief. - Disciples go into all the World - and preach. - Language of the Book. - - * * * * * - - BOOK OF ETHER. - - Twenty-four Plates found. - Jared cried unto the Lord. - Jared went down to the Valley of Nimrod. - Deserét Honey-bee. - Barges built. - Decree of God; choice Land. - Free from Bondage. - Four Years in Tents at Moriancumer. - Lord talked three Hours. - Barges like a Dish. - Eight Vessels; sixteen Stones. - Lord touched the Stones. - Finger of the Lord seen. - Jared’s Brother saw the Lord. - Two Stones given. - Stones sealed up. - Went aboard of Vessels. - Furious Wind blew. - 344 Days’ Passage. - Orihah anointed King. - King Shule taken captive. - Shule’s Son slew Noah. - Jared carries his Father away captive. - The Daughter of Jared danced. - Jared anointed King by the Hand of Wickedness. - Jared murdered, and Akish reigned in his Stead. - Names of Animals. - Poisonous Serpents. - Riplakish’s cruel Reign. - Morianton anointed King. - Poisonous Serpents destroyed. - Many wicked Kings. - Moroni on Faith. - Miracles by Faith. - Moroni saw Jesus. - New Jerusalem spoken of. - Ether cast out. - Records finished in the Cavity of a Rock. - Secret Combinations. - War in all the Land. - King Shared murdered by his High-priest; the High-priest was murdered - by Lib. - Lib slain by Coriantumr. - Dead Bodies cover the Land, and none to bury them. - 2,000,000 of Men slain. - Hill Ramah. - Cries rend the Air. - Slept on their Swords. - Coriantumr slew Shiz. - Do. fell to the Earth. - Records hid by Ether. - - * * * * * - - BOOK OF MORONI. - - Christ’s Words to the Twelve. - Manner of Ordination. - Order of Sacrament. - Order of Baptism. - Faith, Hope, Charity. - Baptism of little Children. - Women fed on their Husbands’ Flesh. - Daughters murdered and eaten. - Sufferings of Women and Children. - Can not recommend them to God. - Moroni to the Lamanites. - 420 Years since the Sign. - Records sealed up (Moroni). - Gifts of the Spirit. - God’s Word shall hiss forth. - -[THE MORMON BIBLE.] - -The Book of Covenants and Doctrines is what the Vedanta is to the -Vedas, the Talmud to the Old Testament, the Traditions to the Gospel, -and the Ahadis to the Koran--a necessary supplement of amplifications -and explanations. It contains two parts. The first, of sixty-four -pages, is entitled “Lectures on Faith;” although published in the name -of the Prophet Joseph, it was written, men say, by Sidney Rigdon. -The second, which, with the Appendix, concludes the book, is called -Covenants and Commandments (_scil._, of the Lord to his servants of the -Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). - -[DOCTRINES AND COVENANTS.] - -Of the Lectures, the first is upon “Faith itself--what it is.” It -treats the subject in the normal way, showing how much faith is -unconsciously exercised by man in his every-day life, and making it -“the principle by which Jehovah acts.” The second is concerning “the -subject on which Faith rests,” and contains an ancient chronology from -Adam to Abraham, showing how the knowledge of God was preserved. The -third, on the attributes of God, enlarges upon the dogma that “correct -ideas of the character of God are necessary in order to the exercise of -faith in him for life and salvation.” The fourth shows the “connection -there is between correct ideas of the attributes of God, and the -exercise of faith in him unto eternal life.” The fifth, following those -that treat of the being, character, perfection, and attributes of God, -“speaks of the Godhead”--meaning the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost--and -explains the peculiarities of the “personage of tabernacle.” The sixth -“treats of the knowledge which persons must have, that the tenor of -life which they preserve is according to the will of God, in order that -they may be enabled to exercise faith in him unto life and salvation.” -The seventh and last discusses the effects of faith. Each lecture is -followed by “questions and answers on the foregoing principles,” after -the fashion of school catechisms, and to asterisk’d sentences a note is -appended: “Let the student commit the paragraph to memory.” There is -one merit in the lectures: like Wesley’s Hymns, they are written for -the poor and simple; consequently, they are read where a higher tone of -thought and style would remain unheeded. - -[POLYGAMY.] - -The “Index in order of date to Part Second” will explain its -contents.[205] The Appendix contains twelve pages of revelation on -marriage, government, and laws in general, and finally the “martyrdom -of Joseph Smith” (no longer junior) “and his brother Hyrum.” -Respecting the connubial state, the Gentile and exoteric reads with -astonishment the following sentence (no date, but between 1842 and -1843): “Inasmuch as this Church of Christ has been reproached with the -crime of fornication and polygamy, we declare that we believe that one -man should have one wife, and one woman but one husband, except in case -of death, when either is at liberty to marry again.” - - [205] Index in the order of date to Part Second: - - Sec. - 30. Revelation to J. Smith, jun. July, 1828. - 31. Revelation to J. Smith, sen. Feb., 1829. - 32. Revelation to J. Smith, jun., and M. Harris March, 1829. - 8. Revelation to O. Cowdery and J. Smith, jun. April, 1829. - 33. Revelation whether John tarried on earth April, 1829. - 34. Revelation to O. Cowdery April, 1829. - 35. Revelation on translation, to O. Cowdery April, 1829. - 36. Revelation on losing some of the Book of Mormon May, 1829. - 37. Revelation to H. Smith May, 1829. - 38. Revelation to J. Knight, sen. May, 1829. - 39. Revelation to D. Whitmer June, 1829. - 40. Revelation to J. Whitmer June, 1829. - 41. Revelation to P. Whitmer, jun. June, 1829. - 42. Revelation to O. Cowdery, D. Whitmer, and M. - Harris June, 1829. - 43. Revelation to choose Twelve June, 1829. - 44. Revelation to M. Harris March, 1830. - 2. Revelation on Church government April 6, 1830. - 46. Revelation to J. Smith, jun. April 6, 1830. - 47. Revelation on re-baptism April, 1830. - 45. Revelation to O. Cowdery, H. Smith, and S. H. - Smith, etc. April, 1830. - 9. Revelation to J. Smith, jun., and O. Cowdery July, 1830. - 48. Revelation to Emma Smith July, 1830. - 49. Revelation to J. Smith, jun., O. Cowdery, and - J. Whitmer July, 1830. - 50. Revelation on Sacrament, first paragraph August, 1830. - 50. Revelation on ditto, second and third paragraphs Sept., 1830. - 51. Revelation to O. Cowdery and the Church Sept., 1830. - 10. Revelation to six elders Sept., 1830. - 52. Revelation to D. Whitmer, P. Whitmer, jun., and - J. Whitmer Sept., 1830. - 53. Revelation to T. B. Marsh Sept., 1830. - 54. Revelation to P. P. Pratt and Z. Peterson October, 1830. - 55. Revelation to E. Thayre and N. Sweet October, 1830. - 56. Revelation to O. Pratt Nov., 1830. - 11. Revelation to J. Smith, jun., and S. Rigdon Dec., 1830. - 57. Revelation to E. Partridge Dec., 1830. - 58. Revelation to J. Smith, jun., and S. Rigdon Dec., 1830. - 12. Revelation to the Church Jan. 2, 1831. - 39. Revelation to J. Covill Jan. 5, 1831. - 60. Revelation concerning J. Covill Jan., 1831. - 61. Revelation appointing E. Partridge bishop Feb. 4, 1831. - 13. Revelation on Laws of the Church Feb. 9, 1831. - 14. Revelation to the Church Feb., 1831. - 62. Revelation calling the elders together Feb., 1831. - 15. Revelation on Prophecy Mar. 7, 1831. - 16. Revelation on the Gifts Mar. 8, 1831. - 63. Revelation to J. Smith, jun., and J. Whitmer Mar. 8, 1831. - 64. Revelation to settle certain families for the - present March, 1831. - 65. Revelation concerning the Shakers March, 1831. - 17. Revelation on the Spirit May, 1831. - 23. Revelation to E. Partridge, concerning the - Colesville branch, in Thompson May, 1831. - 66. Revelation on sending elders to Missouri June 7, 1831. - 67. Revelation to S. Gilbert June, 1831. - 68. Revelation to Newel Knight June, 1831. - 69. Revelation to W. W. Phelps June, 1831. - 70. Revelation to T. B. Marsh and E. Thayre June, 1831. - 27. Revelation on the location of Zion July, 1831. - 18. Revelation on the tribulations of Zion Aug. 1, 1831. - 19. Revelation on the Sabbath Aug. 7, 1831. - 71. Revelation to certain men to return from - Missouri Aug. 8, 1831. - 72. Revelation of Destructions upon the Waters Aug. 12, 1831. - 73. Revelation to certain elders on the Bank of - Missouri Aug. 13, 1831. - 20. Revelation to the Church in Kirtland August, 1831. - 21. Revelation given in Kirtland Sept. 11, 1831. - 24. Revelation on Prayer October, 1831. - 75. Revelation to W. E. M‘Lellin October, 1831. - 1. Revelation, or the Lord’s preface to this book Nov. 1, 1831. - 25. Revelation on the testimony of the Commandments Nov., 1831. - 22. Revelation to O. Hyde, L. and L. Johnson, - W. E. M‘Lellin, and Items of Law Nov., 1831. - 108. Revelation, or Appendix Nov. 3, 1831. - 28. Revelation to O. Cowdery and J. Whitmer Nov., 1831. - 26. Revelation on Stewardships Nov., 1831. - 91. Revelation to J. Smith, jun., and S. Rigdon Nov., 1831. - 90. Revelation appointing a bishop in Kirtland Dec. 4, 1831. - 29. Revelation, elders’ duty till Conference Jan. 10, 1832. - 74. Revelation, explanation on Corinthians Jan., 1832. - 88. Revelation to several elders in Amherst Jan. 25, 1832. - 92. Revelation, a Vision Feb. 16, 1832. - 76. Revelation on the order of Enoch March, 1832. - 77. Revelation to Jared Carter March, 1832. - 78. Revelation to S. Burnett March, 1832. - 80. Revelation to F. G. Williams March, 1832. - 87. Revelation on the order of Enoch April 26, 1832. - 89. Revelation in addition to the law April 30, 1832. - 4. Revelation on Priesthood Sept. 22-3, do. - 6. Revelation, Parable of the Wheat, etc. Dec. 6, 1832. - 7. Revelation called the olive leaf Dec. 27, 1832. - 81. Revelation, a Word of Wisdom Feb. 27, 1833. - 85. Revelation concerning the keys of the kingdom Mar. 8, 1833. - 93. Revelation concerning the Apocrypha Mar. 9, 1833. - 94. Revelation on the order of Enoch, etc. Mar. 15, 1833. - 83. Revelation, John’s record of Christ May 6, 1833. - 84. Revelation on the building of the Lord’s houses May 6, 1833. - 96. Revelation on Chastening June, 1833. - 97. Revelation showing the order of Enoch’s stake June 4, 1833. - 82. Revelation for a school in Zion Aug. 2, 1833. - 86. Revelation, Laws of the Ancients Aug. 6, 1833. - 79. Revelation to J. Murdock August, 1833. - 95. Revelation to J. Smith and S. Rigdon in - Perrysburg Oct. 12, 1833. - 98. Revelation, Parable on Zion Dec. 16, 1833. - 5. Organization of the High Council Feb. 17, 1834. - 101. Revelation, Redemption of Zion by power Feb. 24, 1834. - 99. Revelation on Enoch’s order for the poor April 23, 1834. - 102. Revelation given on Fishing River, Missouri June 22, 1834. - 100. Revelation to Warren A. Cowdery Nov., 1834. - 3. Quorums of Priesthood. - 104. Revelations to T. B. Marsh concerning the Twelve July 23, 1837. - 107. Revelations, Tithing July 8, 1838. - 103. Revelations on the Temple and Nauvoo house Jan. 19, 1841. - 105. J. Smith’s address Sept. 1, 1842. - 106. J. Smith’s address Sept. 6, 1842. - 109. Marriage. - 110. Governments and laws in general. - 111. Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. - -[POLYGAMY REVEALED.] - -The polygamic era directly followed the monogamic: it became the custom -of the Church when, on their toil-conquered oasis in the Great Desert, -the Mormons found themselves in comparative security. I give _in -extenso_ the sole command of heaven upon the subject of - - CELESTIAL MARRIAGE: - - A REVELATION ON THE PATRIARCHAL ORDER OF MATRIMONY, OR PLURALITY OF - WIVES. - - _Given to Joseph Smith, the Seer, in Nauvoo, July 12th, 1843._ - - 1. Verily, then saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph, that - inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand - wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, - as also Moses, David, and Solomon, my servants, as touching the - principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines: - Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as - touching this matter: therefore prepare thy heart to receive and obey - the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who - have this law revealed unto them must obey the same; for behold, I - reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide - not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this - covenant, and be permitted to enter into my glory; for all who will - have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed - for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as was instituted from - before the foundations of the world; and as pertaining to the new and - everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fullness of my glory; - and he that receiveth a fullness thereof must and shall abide the - law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God. - - 2. And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are - these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, - performances, connections, associations, or expectations that are - not made and entered into, and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, - of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, - and that, too, most holy, by revelation and commandment, through - the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to - hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold - this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth - at a time on whom this power and the keys of the priesthood are - conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the - resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto - this end have an end when men are dead. - - 3. Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and - not a house of confusion. Will I accept of an offering, saith the - Lord, that is not made in my name? Or will I receive at your hands - that which I have not appointed? And will I appoint unto you, saith - the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained unto - you before the world was? I am the Lord thy God, and I give unto - you this commandment, that no man shall come unto the Father but by - me, or by my word which is my law, saith the Lord; and every thing - that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or - principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, - that are not by me, or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown - down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after - the resurrection, saith the Lord your God; for whatsoever things - remaineth are by me, and whatsoever things are not by me shall be - shaken and destroyed. - - 4. Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry - her not by me, nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as - he is in the world, and she with him, their covenant and marriage - is not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the - world; therefore they are not bound by any law when they are out of - the world; therefore, when they are out of the world, they neither - marry nor are given in marriage, but are appointed angels in heaven, - which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are - worthy of a far more and an exceeding and an eternal weight of glory; - for these angels did not abide my law, therefore they can not be - enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in - their saved condition, to all eternity, and from henceforth are not - gods, but are angels of God forever and ever. - - 5. And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make - a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that covenant - is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by - the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and - appointed unto this power, then it is not valid, neither of force, - when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, - saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world, - it can not be received there, because the angels and the gods are - appointed there, by whom they can not pass: they can not, therefore, - inherit my glory, for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord - God. - - 6. And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my - word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and - it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is - anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power, and the keys of this - priesthood, and it shall be said unto them, ye shall come forth in - the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, - in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, - principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths, then - shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life that he shall commit - no murder whereby to shed innocent blood; and if ye abide in my - covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it - shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put - upon them, in time and through all eternity, and shall be of full - force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the - angels, and the gods which are set there, to their exaltation and - glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which - glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and - ever. - - 7. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall - they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then - shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. - Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels - are subject unto them. - - 8. Verily, verily I say unto you, except ye abide my law, ye can not - attain to this glory; for straight is the gate and narrow the way - that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and - few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world, - neither do ye know me. But if ye receive me in the world, then shall - ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation, that where I am ye - shall be also. This is eternal life, to know the only wise and - true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, - therefore, my law. Broad is the gate and wide the way that leadeth to - death, and many there are that go in thereat, because they receive me - not, neither do they abide in my law. - - 9. Verily, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife according - to my word, and they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise - according to mine appointment, and he or she shall commit any sin or - transgression of the new and everlasting covenant whatever, and all - manner of blasphemies, and if they commit no murder wherein they shed - innocent blood, yet they shall come forth in the first resurrection, - and enter into their exaltation, but they shall be destroyed in the - flesh, and shall be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan unto the - day of redemption, saith the Lord God. - - 10. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall not be forgiven - in the world nor out of the world, is in that ye commit murder - wherein ye shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death after ye - have received my new and everlasting covenant, saith the Lord God; - and he that abideth not this law can in nowise enter into my glory, - but shall be damned, saith the Lord. - - 11. I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my - holy priesthood, as was ordained by me, and my Father before the - world was. Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by - revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath - entered into his exaltation, and sitteth upon his throne. - - 12. Abraham received promises concerning his seed and of the fruit of - his loins--from whose loins ye are, viz., my servant Joseph--which - were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching - Abraham and his seed out of the world, they should continue; both in - the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable - as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the sea-shore, - ye could not number them. This promise is yours also, because ye are - of Abraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law - are the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth - himself. Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into - my law, and ye shall be saved. But if ye enter not into my law ye can - not receive the promises of my Father which he made unto Abraham. - - 13. God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. - And why did she do it? Because this was the law, and from Hagar - sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other - things, the promises. Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? - Verily, I say unto you, _Nay_; for I, the Lord, commanded it. Abraham - was commanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written, - Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was - accounted unto him for righteousness. - - 14. Abraham received concubines, and they bare him children, and it - was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given - unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and - he abode in my law; as Isaac also, and Jacob did none other things - than that which they were commanded, and because they did none other - things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into - their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones; - and are not angels, but are gods. David also received many wives and - concubines, as also Solomon, and Moses my servant; and also many - others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this - time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they - received not of me. - - 15. David’s wives and concubines were given unto him, of me, by the - hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the - keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against - me, save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and therefore he hath - fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall - not inherit them out of the world; for I gave them unto another, - saith the Lord. - - 16. I am the Lord thy God, and I gave unto thee, my servant Joseph, - an appointment, and to restore all things; ask what ye will, and - it shall be given unto you, according to my word; and as ye have - asked concerning adultery, verily, verily I say unto you, if a man - receiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she - be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy - anointing, she hath committed adultery, and shall be destroyed. If - she be not in the new and everlasting covenant, and she be with - another man, she has committed adultery; and if her husband be with - another woman, and he was under a vow, he hath broken his vow, and - hath committed adultery; and if she hath not committed adultery, but - is innocent, and hath not broken her vow, and she knoweth it, and I - reveal it unto you, my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, - by the power of my holy priesthood, to take her and give her unto - him that hath not committed adultery, but hath been faithful, for he - shall be made ruler over many; for I have conferred upon you the keys - and power of the priesthood, wherein I restore all things, and make - known unto you all things in due time. - - 17. And verily, verily I say unto you, that whatsoever you seal on - earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth, in - my name and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound - in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you remit on earth, shall be - remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins ye retain on - earth, shall be retained in heaven. - - 18. And again, verily I say, whomsoever you bless I will bless, and - whomsoever you curse I will curse, saith the Lord; for I, the Lord, - am thy God. - - 19. And again, verily I say unto you, my servant Joseph, that - whatsoever you give on earth, and to whomsoever you give any one on - earth, by my word, and according to my law, it shall be visited with - blessings, and not cursings, and with my power, saith the Lord, and - shall be without condemnation on earth and in heaven; for I am the - Lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the end of the world, - and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, - and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father with Abraham - your father. Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive - all your sins; I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which - I have told you: go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as - I accepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac. - - 20. Verily I say unto you, a commandment I give unto mine handmaid, - Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay - herself, and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer - unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I - did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand by - covenant and sacrifice; and let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive - all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are - virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have - said they are pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God; for I - am the Lord thy God, and ye shall obey my voice: and I give unto my - servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things, for he - hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will - strengthen him. - - 21. And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto - my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this - commandment, she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the - Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law; but - if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph - do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I will bless him, - and multiply him, and give unto him an hundred-fold in this world, of - fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives - and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds. And - again, verily I say, let mine handmaid forgive my servant Joseph his - trespasses, and then shall she be forgiven her trespasses wherein she - has trespassed against me; and I, the Lord thy God, will bless her - and multiply her, and make her heart to rejoice. - - 22. And again I say, let not my servant Joseph put his property out - of his hands, lest an enemy come and destroy him, for Satan seeketh - to destroy; for I am the Lord thy God, and he is my servant; and - behold, and lo, I am with him, as I was with Abraham thy father, even - unto his exaltation and glory. - - 23. Now, as touching the law of the priesthood, there are many things - pertaining thereunto. Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was - Aaron, by mine own voice, and by the voice of him that sent me, and I - have endowed him with the keys of the power of this priesthood, if he - do any thing in my name, and according to my law, and by my word, he - will not commit sin, and I will justify him. Let no one, therefore, - set on my servant Joseph; for I will justify him; for he shall do the - sacrifice which I require at his hands, for his transgressions, saith - the Lord your God. - - 24. And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood: If any man - espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give - her consent; and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and - have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he can not commit - adultery, for they are given unto him; for he can not commit adultery - with that that belongeth unto them, and to none else: and if he have - ten virgins given unto him by this law, he can not commit adultery, - for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is - he justified. But if one, or either of the ten virgins, after she - is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, - and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and - replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfill the - promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the - world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may - bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, - that he may be glorified. - - 25. And again, verily, verily I say unto you, if any man have a wife - who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of - my priesthood as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe, - and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord - your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon - all those who receive and abide in my law. Therefore it shall be - lawful in me, if she receive not this law, for him to receive all - things whatsoever I, the Lord his God, will give unto him, because - she did not believe and administer unto him, according to my word; - and she then becomes the transgressor, and he is exempt from the law - of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham according to the law, when I - commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife. And now, as pertaining to - this law: Verily, verily I say unto you, I will reveal more unto you - hereafter; therefore let this suffice for the present. Behold, I am - Alpha and Omega. Amen. - -Following the revelation is this explanation: - -[POLYGAMY EXPLAINED.] - - PLURALITY OF WIVES is a doctrine very popular among most of mankind - at the present day. It is practiced by the most powerful nations - of Asia and Africa, and by numerous nations inhabiting the islands - of the sea, and by the aboriginal nations of the great western - hemisphere. The one-wife system is confined principally to a few - small nations inhabiting Europe, and to those who are of European - origin inhabiting America. It is estimated by the most able - historians of our day that about four fifths of the population of the - globe believe and practice, according to their respective laws, the - doctrine of a plurality of wives. If the popularity of a doctrine - is in proportion to the numbers who believe in it, then it follows - that the _plurality system_ is four times more popular among the - inhabitants of the earth than the _one-wife system_. - - Those nations who practice the plurality doctrine consider it as - virtuous and as right for one man to have many wives as to have one - only. Therefore they have enacted laws not only giving this right to - their citizens, but also protecting them in it, and punishing all - those who infringe upon the chastity of the marriage covenant by - committing adultery with any one of the wives of his neighbor. Those - nations do not consider it possible for a man to commit adultery - with any one of those women to whom he has been legally married - according to their laws. The posterity raised up unto the husband - through each of his wives are all considered to be legitimate, and - provisions are made in their laws for those children the same as if - they were the children of one wife. Adulteries, fornications, and - all unvirtuous conduct between the sexes are severely punished by - them. Indeed, plurality among them is considered not only virtuous - and right, but a great check or preventive against adulteries and - unlawful connections, which are among the greatest evils with which - nations are cursed, producing a vast amount of suffering and misery, - devastation and death; undermining the very foundations of happiness, - and destroying the frame-work of society and the peace of the - domestic circle. - - Some of the nations of Europe who believe in the one-wife system - have actually forbidden a plurality of wives by their laws, and the - consequences are that the whole country among them is overrun with - the most abominable practices; adulteries and unlawful connections - prevail through all their villages, towns, cities, and country places - to a most fearful extent. And among some of these nations these sinks - of wickedness, wretchedness, and misery are licensed by law, while - their piety would be wonderfully shocked to authorize by law the - plurality system, as adopted by many neighboring nations. - - The Constitution and laws of the United States, being founded upon - the principles of freedom, do not interfere with marriage relations, - but leave the nation free to believe in and practice the doctrine - of a plurality of wives, or to confine themselves to the one-wife - system, just as they choose. This is as it should be: it leaves the - conscience of man untrammeled, and, so long as he injures no person, - and does not infringe upon the rights of others, he is free by the - Constitution to marry one wife, or many, or none at all, and becomes - accountable to God for the righteousness or unrighteousness of his - domestic relations. - - The Constitution leaves the several States and Territories to enact - such laws as they see proper in regard to marriages, provided that - they do not infringe upon the rights of conscience and the liberties - guaranteed in that sacred document. Therefore, if any State or - Territory feels disposed to enact laws guaranteeing to each of its - citizens the right to marry many wives, such laws would be perfectly - constitutional; hence the several States and Territories practice the - one-wife system out of choice, and not because they are under any - obligations so to do by the national Constitution. Indeed, we doubt - very much whether any State or Territory has the constitutional right - to make laws prohibiting the plurality doctrine in cases where it - is practiced by religious societies as a matter of conscience or - as a doctrine of their religious faith. The first Article of the - Amendments to the Constitution says expressly that “Congress shall - make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or _prohibiting - the free exercise thereof_.” Now, if even Congress itself has no - power to pass a law “prohibiting the free exercise of religion,” much - less has any State or Territory power to pass such an act. - - The doctrine of a plurality of wives was believed and practiced by - Abraham, the father of the faithful; and we find that, while in this - practice, the angels of God frequently ministered to him, and at one - time dined with him; and God manifested himself to him, and entered - into familiar conversation with him. Neither God nor his angels - reproved Abraham for being a polygamist, but, on the contrary, the - Almighty greatly blessed him, and made promises unto him, concerning - both Isaac and Ishmael, clearly showing that Abraham practiced - what is called polygamy under the sanction of the Almighty. Now if - the father of the faithful was thus blessed, certainly it should - not be considered irreligious for the faithful, who are called his - children, to walk in the steps of their father Abraham. Indeed, - if the Lord himself, through his holy prophets, should give more - wives unto his servants, as he gave them unto the prophet David, - it would be a great sin for them to refuse that which he gives. In - such a case, it would become a matter of conscience with them, and - a part of their religion, and they would be bound to exercise their - faith in this doctrine, and practice it, or be condemned; therefore - Congress would have no power to prohibit the free exercise of this - part of their religion, neither would the States or Territories have - power constitutionally to pass a law “prohibiting the free exercise - thereof.” Now a certain religious society, called Shakers, believe - it to be wrong for them to marry even one wife; it certainly would - be unconstitutional for either the Congress or the States to pass a - law compelling all people to marry at a certain age, because it would - infringe upon the rights of conscience among the Shakers, and they - would be prohibited the free exercise of their religion. - - From the foregoing revelation, given through Joseph the Seer, it - will be seen that God has actually commanded some of his servants to - take more wives, and has pointed out certain duties in regard to the - marriage ceremony, showing that they must be married for time and for - all eternity, and showing the advantages to be derived in a future - state by this eternal union; and showing still farther that, if they - refused to obey this command, after having the law revealed to them, - they should be damned. This revelation, then, makes it a matter of - conscience among all the Latter-Day Saints; and they embrace it as - a part and portion of their religion, and verily believe that they - can not be saved and reject it. Has Congress power, then, to pass - laws “prohibiting” the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - “_the free exercise_” of this article of their religion? Have any - of the States or Territories a constitutional right to pass laws - “prohibiting the free exercise of the religion” which the Church of - the Saints conscientiously and sincerely believe to be essential to - their salvation? No, they have no such right. - - The Latter-Day Saints have the most implicit confidence in all - the revelations given through Joseph the Prophet, and they would - much sooner lay down their lives and suffer martyrdom than to - deny the least revelation that was ever given to him. In one of - the revelations through him, we read that God raised up wise men - and inspired them to write the Constitution of our country, that - the freedom of the people might be maintained, according to the - free agency which he had given to them; that every man might be - accountable to God and not to man, so far as religious doctrines - and conscience are concerned. And the more we examine that sacred - instrument, framed by the wisdom of our illustrious fathers, the - more we are compelled to believe that an invisible power controlled, - dictated, and guided them in laying the foundation of liberty - and freedom upon this great western hemisphere. To this land the - Mohammedan--the Hindoo--the Chinese can emigrate, and each bring - with him his score of wives and his hundred children, and the - glorious Constitution of our country will not interfere with his - domestic relations. Under the broad banner of the Constitution, he - is protected in all his family associations; none have a right to - tear any of his wives or his children from him. So, likewise, under - the broad folds of the Constitution, the Legislative Assembly of - the Territory of Utah have the right to pass laws regulating their - matrimonial relations, and protecting each of their citizens in the - right of marrying one or many wives, as the case may be. If Congress - should repeal those laws, they could not do so on the ground of their - being unconstitutional. And even if Congress should repeal them, - there still would be no law in Utah prohibiting the free exercise of - that religious right; neither do the citizens of Utah feel disposed - to pass such an unconstitutional act which would infringe upon the - most sacred rights of conscience. - - Tradition and custom have great influence over nations. - Long-established customs, whether right or wrong, become sacred in - the estimation of mankind. Those nations who have been accustomed - from time immemorial to the practice of what is called polygamy would - consider a law abolishing it as the very height of injustice and - oppression; the very idea of being limited to the one-wife system - would be considered not only oppressive and unjust, but absolutely - absurd and ridiculous; it would be considered an innovation upon - the long-established usages, customs, and laws of numerous and - powerful nations; an innovation of the most dangerous character, - calculated to destroy the most sacred rights and privileges of family - associations--to upset the very foundations of individual rights, - rendered dear and sacred by being handed down to them from the most - remote ages of antiquity. - - On the other hand, the European nations who have been for centuries - restricted by law to the one-wife theory would consider it a shocking - innovation upon the customs of their fathers to abolish their - restrictive laws, and to give freedom and liberty according to the - plurality system. It is custom, then, in a great degree, that forms - the conscience of nations and individuals in regard to the marriage - relationships. Custom causes four fifths of the population of the - globe to decide that polygamy, as it is called, is a good, and not an - evil practice; custom causes the balance, or the remaining fifth, to - decide in opposition to the great majority. - - Those individuals who have strength of mind sufficient to divest - themselves entirely from the influence of custom, and examine the - doctrine of a plurality of wives under the light of reason and - revelation, will be forced to the conclusion that it is a doctrine of - divine origin; that it was embraced and practiced under the divine - sanction by the most righteous men who ever lived on the earth: holy - prophets and patriarchs, who were inspired by the Holy Ghost--who - were enrapt in the visions of the Almighty--who conversed with holy - angels--who saw God face to face, and talked with him as a man - talks with his friend--were “polygamists,” that is, they had many - wives--raised up many children by them--and were never reproved by - the Holy Ghost, nor by angels, nor by the Almighty, for believing in - and practicing such a doctrine; on the contrary, each one of these - “polygamists” received by revelation promises and blessings for - himself, for his wives, and for his numerous children born unto him - by his numerous wives. Moreover, the Lord himself gave revelation - to different wives belonging to the same man, revealing to them - the great blessings which should rest upon their posterity; angels - also were sent to comfort and bless them; and in no instance do we - find them reproved for having joined themselves in marriage to a - “polygamist.” Indeed, the Lord himself gave laws not to prohibit - “polygamy,” but showing his will in relation to the children raised - up by the different wives of the same man; and, furthermore, the - Lord himself actually officiated in giving David all the wives of - Saul; this occurred, too, when David already had several wives which - he had previously taken: therefore, as the Lord did actually give - into David’s own bosom all the wives of Saul, he must not only have - sanctioned “polygamy,” but established and instituted it upon a sure - foundation, by giving the wives himself, the same as he gave Eve to - Adam. Therefore those who are completely divested from the influence - of national customs, and who judge concerning this matter by the - Word of God, are compelled to believe that the plurality of wives - was once sanctioned for many ages by the Almighty; and by a still - farther research of the divine oracles they find no intimations that - this divine institution was ever repealed. It was an institution, not - originated under the law of Moses, but of a far more ancient date; - and instead of being abolished by that law, it was sanctioned and - perpetuated; and when Christ came to fulfill that law, and to do it - away by the introduction of a better covenant, he did not abolish the - plurality system: not being originated under that law, it was not - made null and void when that law was done away. Indeed, there were - many things in connection with the law that were not abolished when - the law was fulfilled; as, for instance, the Ten Commandments, which - the people under the Gospel covenant were still obliged to obey; - and until we can find some law of God abolishing and prohibiting - a plurality of wives, we are compelled to believe it a divine - institution; and we are furthermore compelled to believe, that if - this institution be entered into now, under the same principles which - governed the holy prophets and patriarchs, that God will approbate it - now as much as he did then; and that the persons who do thus practice - it conscientiously and sincerely are just as honorable in the sight - of God as those who have but one wife. And that which is honorable - before God should be honorable before men; and no one should be - despised when he acts in all good conscience upon any principle of - doctrine; neither should there be laws in any of these States or - Territories to compel any individual to act in violation to the - dictates of his own conscience; but every one should be left in all - matters of religion to his own choice, and thus become accountable to - God, and not to his fellow-man. - - If the people of this country have generally formed different - conclusions from us upon this subject, and if they have embraced - religions which are more congenial to their minds than the religion - of the Saints, we say to them that they are welcome to their own - religious views; the laws should not interfere with the exercise - of their religious rights. If we can not convince you by reason - nor by the Word of God that your religion is wrong, we will not - persecute you, but will sustain you in the privileges guaranteed - in the great Charter of American Liberty: we ask from you the - same generosity--protect us in the exercise of our religious - rights--convince us of our errors of doctrine, if we have any, by - reason, by logical arguments, or by the Word of God, and we will - be ever grateful for the information, and you will ever have the - pleasing reflection that you have been the instruments in the hands - of God of redeeming your fellow-beings from the darkness which you - may see enveloping their minds. Come, then, let us reason together, - and try to discover the true light upon all subjects connected - with our temporal or eternal happiness; and if we disagree in our - judgments, let us impute it to the weakness and imperfections of - our fallen natures, and let us pity each other, and endeavor with - patience and meekness to reclaim from error, and save the immortal - soul from an endless death. - -Mormonism, it will be observed, claims at once to be, like -Christianity, a progressive faith, with that development of -spiritualism which the “Tracts for the Times” exemplified, and, like -El Islam, to be a restoration by revelation of the pure and primeval -religion of the world. Convinced that plurality was unforbidden by the -founders of the former faiths, the Mormons, as well as the followers of -the Arabian Prophet, have obeyed the command of their God to restore -it, and that, too, although the Anglo-Scandinavian race every where -agrees, after the fashion of pagan and monogamic Rome, to make it a -common-law crime. Politically considered, the Mormons deem it necessary -to their existence as a people. Contrary to the scientific modern -economist, from Mr. Malthus to Mr. Mill, they hold population, not -wealth, learning, civilization, nor virtue, to be the strength of a -nation; they believe that numbers decide the rise and fall of empires, -and that, as Nature works the extinction of her doomed races by -infecundity, and as the decline of a people’s destiny is first detected -in the diminution of its census, so they look upon the celestial -promises of prolificity made to the patriarchs of old as the highest -temporal blessing. They admit in the lawgiver only a right to legislate -for the good of those who are to obey his laws, not to gratify his -“whimsy whamsies,” and that the liberty which man claims by the dignity -of his nature permits him to choose the tie, whether polyandric, -monogamic, or polygamic, that connects him with the opposite sex. Mr. -Parley P. Pratt (“Marriage and Morals in Utah,” p. 3) is explicit upon -this subject: - -“If we find laws, statutes, covenants, and precedents emanating from -God; sworn to by himself to be everlasting; as a blessing to all -nations--if we find these have to do with exceeding multiplicity of -race, and with family and national organization and increase--if such -institutions are older than Moses, and are found perpetuated and -unimpaired by Moses and the prophets, Jesus and the apostles, then it -will appear evident that no merely human legislation or authority, -whether proceeding from emperor, king, or people, has a right to -change, alter, or pervert them.” - -[MORMON MATERIALISM.] - -The third epoch is that of Materialism. In this the Mormons are -preceded, to quote but a few schools, by the classic Academics--by -the Jews, who believed in a material and personal Demiurgus, and by -many fathers of the Christian Church, who held the soul of man, while -immortal, to be material. Matter with them, as with Newton, is an -aggregate of “solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, and movable particles.” -Respecting the intelligence of its units and molecules--the test of -true materialism--they are somewhat hazy; they deride the peripatetic -dogma of perception by species or phantasms, and at the same time -ignore the doctrine of Hobbes, Spinoza, Priestley, and others, who -recognize no separate existence for the mind or spirit[206] except -as a union of atoms or particles, which, unorganized, have neither -feeling nor thought. They define matter as a something that exists in -and occupies space between any two instants, and is susceptible of -division, and of being removed from one portion of space to another. -Unlike other metaphysicians, who confess ignorance as to the substratum -of mind and matter, they boast acquaintance with the essence of all -substances, solidity, which with them is not a mere property. Although -the ultimate atoms of matter can not come under the cognizance of -the senses, they are none the less assured of their solidity, viz., -that they fill a certain amount of space, and are unable ever to -fill a greater or a lesser--in fact, to believe otherwise would be -impossible. They hold to different kinds of matter, for instance, the -fleshly body and the spiritual body, which differ in quality as iron -and oxygen. Mind and spirit, therefore, are real, objective, positive -substances, which, like the astral spirit of the old alchymists, exists -in close connection with the component parts of the porous, material -body. Immaterialism is, with them, simply absurd; it is a belief which -requires a man to put faith in a negation of time, space, and matter; -in fact, in the zero of existence, in an entity whose ens admits no -proof, and which can be described only by negative conditions and -qualities, by saying what it is not. They contend that the materiality -of spirit once taken away would negative its existence; that an -“immaterial being” is a contradiction in terms; and that immateriality -is another name for nothing; therefore, that the spirituality of spirit -“is an unphilosophical, unscriptural, and atheistical doctrine.” The -theses supported by Mr. Orson Pratt, the apostle of materialism, are -the following: - - [206] “If man,” says Dr. Priestley, “be a material being, and the - power of thinking the result of a certain organization of the brain, - does it not follow that all his functions must be regulated by the - laws of mechanism, and that, of consequence, all his actions proceed - from an irresistible necessity?” It is the glory of the present - age, the highest result of our nineteenth century physiological and - statistic studies, brought to bear by a master-mind of the age upon - the History of Civilization--to establish the fact that mankind - progresses by investigating the laws of phenomena; in fact, to prove, - not to conjecture, that such mechanism really exists. I need hardly - name Mr. Buckle. - -I. That Immaterialism is irrational opposed to true philosophy. - -II. That an Immaterial substance (_i.e._, a something existing which -is not matter and is distinct from matter, which is not dependent upon -matter for its existence, which possesses no properties nor qualities -in common with matter, and which possesses properties and qualities all -entirely different from those of matter) can not exist. - -III. That a real material unchangeable spirit, possessing parts and -extension, inhabits the body. - -Immaterialists who believe in “an inexplicable, incomprehensible, -imaginary something without extension or parts, as taught in the first -of the Thirty-nine Articles,” are therefore the worshipers of an -immortal Nihil--of a Nothing clothed with almighty powers. - -It is abundantly evident that the partition between the spiritualist -and the materialist is mainly philological, a dispute of words, a -variation of terms, spirit and matter differing about as much as azote -and nitrogen. The deductions, however, from the Mormon’s premises lead -him, as the following extracts prove, far.[207] - - [207] From Mr. Apostle Orson Pratt’s “Absurdities of Immaterialism,” - and his treatise on the “Kingdom of God.” It is hardly possible not - to believe that the author has borrowed most of his theories from Mr. - Carlyle’s “Republican.” - -“The Godhead consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The -Father is a material being. The substance of which he is composed is -wholly material. It is a substance widely different in some respects -from the various substances with which we are more immediately -acquainted. In other respects, it is precisely like all other -materials. The substance of his person occupies space the same as other -matter. It has solidity, length, breadth, and thickness, like other -matter. The elementary materials of his body are not susceptible of -occupying at the same time the same identical space with other matter. -The substance of his person, like other matter, can not be in two -places at the same instant. It requires _time_ for him to transport -himself from place to place. It matters not how great the velocity of -his movement, _time_ is an essential ingredient to all motion, whether -rapid or slow. It differs from other matter in the superiority of -its powers, being intelligent, all-wise, and possessing the property -of self-motion to a far greater extent than the coarser materials of -nature. ‘God is a spirit;’ but that does not make him an immaterial -being, a being that has no properties in common with matter.”... - -“All the foregoing statements in relation to the person of the Father -are equally applicable to the person of the Son. - -“The Holy Spirit, being one part of the Godhead, is also a material -substance, of the same nature and properties in many respects as -the Spirits of the Father and Son. It exists in vast, immeasurable -quantities, in connection with all material worlds. This is called -God in the Scriptures, as well as the Father and Son. God the Father -and God the Son can not be every where present; indeed, they can not -be even in two places at the same instant; but God the Holy Spirit is -omnipresent: it extends through all space, intermingling with all other -matter, yet no one atom of the Holy Spirit can be in two places at -the same instant, which in all cases is an absolute impossibility. It -must exist in inexhaustible quantities, which is the only possible way -for any substance to be omnipresent. All the innumerable phenomena of -universal nature are produced in their origin by the actual presence -of this intelligent, all-wise, and all-powerful material substance -called the Holy Spirit. It is the most active matter in the universe, -producing all its operations according to fixed and definite laws -enacted by itself, in conjunction with the Father and the Son. What -are called the laws of nature are nothing more nor less than the fixed -method by which this spiritual matter operates. Each atom of the Holy -Spirit is intelligent, and, like other matter, has solidity, form, and -size, and occupies space. Two atoms of this Spirit can not occupy the -same space at the same time, neither can one atom, as before stated, -occupy two separate spaces at the same time. In all these respects it -does not differ in the least from all other matter. Its distinguishing -characteristics from other matter are its almighty powers and infinite -wisdom, and many other glorious attributes which other materials do not -possess. If several of the atoms of this Spirit should exist united -together in the form of a person, then this person of the Holy Spirit -would be subject to the same necessity” (N.B., this out-anagkes anagke) -“as the other two persons of the Godhead--that is, it could not be -every where present. No finite number of atoms can be omnipresent. An -infinite number of atoms is requisite to be _every where_ in infinite -space. Two persons receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit do not -receive at the same time the same identical particles, though they each -receive a substance exactly similar in kind. It would be as impossible -for them to receive the same identical atoms at the same instant as it -would be for two men at the same time to drink the same identical pint -of water.” - -[MIND AND MATTER.] - -I will offer another instance of the danger of meddling with such edged -tools as mind and matter--concerning which mankind knows nothing beyond -certain properties--in the following answer addressed by Mr. Pratt -to the many who have been “traditionated in the absurd doctrines of -immaterialism.” “The resemblance between man and God has reference, as -we have already observed, to the shape or figure: other qualities may -or may not resemble each other. Man has legs, so has God, as is evident -from his appearance to Abraham. Man walks with his legs; so does God -sometimes, as is evident from his going with Abraham toward Sodom. God -can not only walk, but he can move up or down through the air without -using his legs as in the process of walking (Gen., xvii., 22, and xi., -5, and xxxv., 13)--‘a man wrestled with Jacob until the breaking of -day;’ after which Jacob says, ‘I have seen God face to face, and my -life is preserved’ (Gen., xxxii., 24-30). That this person had legs is -evident from his wrestling with Jacob. His image and likeness was so -much like man’s, that Jacob at first supposed him to be a man. God, -though in the figure of a man, has many powers that man has not got. He -can go upward through the air. He can waft himself from world to world -by his own self-moving powers. These are powers not possessed by man, -only through faith, as in the instances of Enoch and Elijah. Therefore, -though in the figure of a man, he has powers far superior to man.” - -This part of the subject may profitably be concluded by quoting the -venerable adage, “_Qui nescit ignorare nescit sciri_.” - -[MORMON DOXOLOGY.] - -I now offer to the reader a few remarks upon the fourteen articles -of the Mormon doxology,[208] leaving him to settle whether it be a -kakodoxy or a kakistodoxy. - - [208] From an article published in the “Frontier Guardian,” then - edited by the Apostle Orson Hyde. - - I. “WE BELIEVE IN GOD, THE ETERNAL FATHER, AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST, - AND IN THE HOLY GHOST.”--Of the thousand sects and systems that have - used this venerable Kalmah or formula of Christian faith, none have - interpreted it more peculiarly than the Mormons. - - The First Person is a perfected man, once a dweller upon earth: - advancing in intelligence and power, he became such that in - comparison with man he may be called the Infinite. Mr. Joseph Smith, - in his last sermon preached at Nauvoo, thus develops his remarkable - anthropomorphosis: “First, God himself, who sits enthroned in yonder - heavens, is a man like one of yourselves; that is the great secret. - If the veil was rent to-day, and the great God who holds this world - in its orbit, and upholds all things by his power, if you were to see - him to-day, you would see him in all the person, image, and very form - as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion and image of God; - Adam received instruction, walked, talked, and conversed with Him, as - one man talks and communes with another.” - - The Second Person is the “Son Jesus Christ,” the material offspring - of the First by the Virgin Mary, who was duly married, after - betrothal by the angel Gabriel, to the Eternal Father, on the - plains of Palestine: the Holy Babe was the “tabernacle” prepared - for and assumed by the Spirit Son. The Son is the Creator: when in - the material spirit still, he took of the “unformed chaotic matter - element which had an existence from the time God had, and in which - dwells all the glory,” and formed and peopled this planetary world, - which he afterward redeemed. He is to be worshiped as Lord of all, - heir of the Father in power, creation, and dominion. “What did Jesus - do?” “Why, I do the things that I saw my Father do when worlds came - rolling into existence. I saw my Father work out his kingdom with - fear and trembling, and I must do the same.” (“Last Sermon,” p. 61.) - - The Paraclete has already been described: it differs from the other - two Persons in being a merely spirit-material soul or existence - without a “tabernacle.” Thus the Mormons mingle with a Trinity a very - distinct, though not a conflicting Duality. - - The Mormon Godhead may be illustrated by a council composed of - three men, possessing equal wisdom, knowledge, and truth, together - with equal qualifications in every other respect: each would be a - separate person or a substance distinct from the other two, and - yet the three would compose but one body. This body consists of - three, viz., Eloheim, Jehovah, and Michael, which is Adam. From the - Christian apostles and the Apocalypse, the Mormons deduce the dogma - of gods in an _ad infinitum_ ascending series: man, however, must - limit his obedience to the last heavenly Father and Son revealed by - the Holy Spirit. And as God is perfect man, so is perfect man God: - any individual, by faith and obedience, can, as the Brahminical - faith asserts, rise to the position of a deity, until, attaining - the power of forming a planet, peopling, redeeming it, and sitting - there enthroned in everlasting power. The Mormons, like the Moslems, - believe that--“things of earth, customs, and ceremonies, being - patterned after things in the Spirit world and future abodes of the - gods”--there are inferior glories and pleasures for “hewers of wood - and drawers of water.” In the eternal heavens there are three great - mansions, the celestial of the sun, the celestial of the stars, and - the terrestrial: the other state is called the Lake of Fire, or the - Burning Caldron. - - II. “WE BELIEVE THAT MEN WILL BE PUNISHED FOR THEIR OWN SINS, AND - NOT FOR ADAM’S TRANSGRESSIONS.”--Yet the Mormons hold the Son to - be necessary to reconcile fallen man to the Father and the Holy - Spirit, to sanctify and purify the affections of men, and also to - dwell in them as a teacher of truth. “The spiritual substance of man - was formed in the beginning after the same image as the spiritual - substance of the persons of the Father and the Son. Previously to - the fall, these spirits were all moral in their nature; by the fall - the spirits of men lost their morality and virtue, but not their - essence--that continued the same: by the new birth man regains - his morality and virtue, while the essence remains the same; it - now becomes a moral, virtuous image, whereas the same substance - was before immoral. Paul (1 Cor., xv., 49), in speaking of the - resurrection, says, ‘As we have borne the image of the earthly, let - us bear also the image of the heavenly!’” Unlike the more advanced - faiths--El Islam and Unitarianism--the Mormons retain the doctrine - of a “fall.” It contrasts strangely with their dogma of man’s - perfectibility. They have not attempted to steer clear between the - Scylla and Charybdis of predestination and free will. - - III. “WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST ALL MANKIND - MAY BE SAVED BY OBEDIENCE TO THE LAWS AND ORDINANCES OF THE - GOSPEL.”--After Adam had fallen from his primal purity, a council was - held in heaven to debate how man should be saved or redeemed from the - state of evil. The elder brother Lucifer, son of the morning, the - bright star in glory, and the leader of heavenly hosts, declared, - when appealed to, that he would save man in his sins. But he who is - emphatically called “the Son”--Christ--answered, I will save him - _from_ his sins. Lucifer, the “archangel ruined,” rebelled, was cast - out from the planetary abode of the Father, and became, under the - name of Satan, the great ruler and “head devil” of evil spirits, and - of the baser sort of imps and _succubi_. I can not say whether in - their mysteries the Mormons represent Sathanas as the handsome man - of El Islam, or the horned, tailed, and cloven-footed monster which - monkish Europe fashioned probably after pagan Pan. - - IV. “WE BELIEVE THESE ORDINANCES ARE, 1ST. FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS; - 2D. REPENTANCE; 3D. BAPTISM BY IMMERSION FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS; - 4TH. LAYING ON OF HANDS BY THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT; 5TH. THE - LORD’S SUPPER.”--Faith is not only the “evidence of things that - appear not, the substance of things to be hoped for,” the first - principle of action, and an exercise of the will in intelligent - beings toward accomplishing holy works and purposes, with a view to - celestial glory; it is also the source of power both on earth and - in heaven. We find that by faith God created the world (Heb., xi., - 3); and, “take this principle or attribute away from the Deity, he - would cease to exist.” (“Lectures on Faith,” sec. 1.) “Faith, then, - is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, - and authority over all things.” (Ibid.) Of the second ordinance, - it was revealed, “Say nothing but repentance unto this generation” - (“Covenants and Commandments,” sec. 37); a very comprehensive and - valuable rule to those under whom their brethren must sit. As regards - the third, the child succeeds its parent in moral responsibility - at eight years of age, when it must be baptized “in the name of - the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen,” into the - Church. Infant baptism is regarded as a Bida’at or innovation--a - sin. Baptism by immersion--any other method being considered a - vain ceremony--remits our peccata, but it must be repeated after - each mortal act. (“Covenants and Commandments,” sec. 2, par. 21.) - Vicarious baptism for the dead is founded upon St. Paul’s saying - concerning the fathers, that they can not without us be made perfect, - and “otherwise what shall they do that are baptized for the dead, - if the dead rise not again at all? Why are they then baptized for - them?” (1 Cor., xv., 29.) Immersion in water is the symbol of death, - emersion of the resurrection, and the baptismal font is a simile - of the grave; but baptism for the dead is acceptable only in the - Temple. (“Covenants and Commandments,” sec. 103.) There being a - probationary state while the earth endures in the Spirit world--the - purgatorial doctrine of Virgil and others--the dead can by proxy - “fulfill all righteousness;” and the Saints are enjoined that “the - greatest responsibility that God has laid upon us is to look after - our dead;” so Mr. Joseph Smith, in his “Last Sermon,” says, “Every - man who has got a friend in the eternal world can save him, unless he - has committed the unpardonable sin; so you can see how you can be a - Savior.” A man baptized for deceased relations traces back the line - to one that held the priesthood among his progenitors, who, being a - saint, will take the place of sponsor, and relieve him of farther - responsibility. All thus admitted to salvation will be added at the - resurrection to the household of the baptized person, who will reign - as a patriarch forever, his rank and power among kingly spirits being - proportioned to his wives and his children--adopted or begotten--and - his baptizées. The fourth ordinance, or laying on of hands by the - water’s side, is a perfection of the regeneration begun in baptism, - and whereby the recipient is promoted to the Melchisedek priesthood; - the order was revealed, or rather renewed, in 1831. (“Covenants and - Commandments,” sec. 66.) The fifth ordinance, touching the Eucharist, - is instituted “in remembrance of the Lord Jesus:” the elder or priest - administers it kneeling with the Church, praying and blessing first - the bread and then the wine. (“Covenants and Commandments,” sec. - 2.) The second element was changed by a direct revelation (Sept., - 1830), saying, “You shall not purchase wine nor strong drink of your - enemies,” since which time water has been substituted. Mormons, young - and old, equally take the sacrament every Sabbath. - - V. “WE BELIEVE THAT MAN MUST BE CALLED OF GOD BY INSPIRATION, AND BY - LAYING ON OF HANDS FROM THOSE WHO ARE DULY COMMISSIONED TO PREACH THE - GOSPEL AND ADMINISTER IN THE ORDINANCES THEREOF.”--The Mormons hold - to a regular apostolic succession. “Every elder” (which includes the - apostles), “priest, teacher, or deacon, is to be ordained according - to the gifts and callings of God unto him; and he is to be ordained - by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the one who ordains him.” - - VI. “WE BELIEVE IN THE SAME ORGANIZATION THAT EXISTED IN THE - PRIMITIVE CHURCH, VIZ., APOSTLES, PROPHETS, PASTORS, EVANGELISTS, - ETC.”--The proper signification of these words will be explained when - treating of the Mormon hierarchy. - - VII. “WE BELIEVE IN THE POWERS AND GIFTS OF THE EVERLASTING - GOSPEL, VIZ., THE GIFT OF FAITH, DISCERNING OF SPIRITS, PROPHECY, - REVELATIONS, VISIONS, HEALING, TONGUES, AND THE INTERPRETATION OF - TONGUES, WISDOM, CHARITY, BROTHERLY LOVE, ETC.”--The everlasting - Gospel means the universal order and arrangement of things springing - from the “two self-existing principles of intelligence and element, - or matter,” and forming the law under which the primordial gods - came into being. According to Mr. Joseph Smith, “God himself could - not create himself,” and “Intelligence exists upon a self-existent - principle: it is a spirit from age to age, and there is no creation - about it.” In the far eternity two of the elementary material æons - met, compared intelligence, and calling in a third to council, united - in what became the first power, superior because prior to all others, - and ever-enduring by the union of other æons. Under this union arose - a “law governing itself and all things”--the everlasting Gospel. - The seer has not left on record the manner in which the head god - originated: the other gods, however, sprung from him as children. - Heaven has not only kings, but queens--the Sakti of Hindooism, and - the various Ario-pagan faiths--who are the mothers of gods, of men’s - souls, and of all spiritual existences. St. John saw a portion of - the everlasting Gospel in the “little book” in the hand of the angel - “coming down from heaven” to proclaim again on earth the Church of - Christ, a type of Moroni, who taught the fullness of knowledge to - Joseph the Seer, that the gladder tidings might be preached to men - with the “signs following” which were promised to the primitive - apostles. - - As regards the discerning of spirits, the human soul is not visible - to mortal eyes without a miracle, nor is it ponderable: it passes - through the body as the electric fluid through the earth. Yet, in - reality, it is more substantial than the body, for it can not be - changed nor destroyed; it “coexisted equal with God,” and had no - beginning, which would argue the possibility of an end, and “it is - immortal as God himself.” It is uncreate: “God never did have power - to create the spirit of man at all--the very idea lessens man in - my estimation--I know better.” (“Last Sermon,” p. 62.) Spiritual - existences have a choice of two paths. Either they must remain - cribbed, cabined, and confined in their own ethereal order and proper - sphere, to be called and sent as angels, heralds, or ministers from - one planet or planetary system to another; and thus the Mormon, as - the Moslem, places angelic nature below human, saying with St. Paul - (1 Cor., vi., 3), “Know you not that we shall judge angels?” or they - may choose, like the precreated spirits of El Islam in the Yaum i - Alast--the Day of Am-I-Not (thy God)?--the probation of an earthly - tabernacle; and, ignoring their past existence, descend below all - things to attain a higher than celestial glory, and perfection in - the attributes of power and happiness. As with the metempsychosist, - there are grades of tabernacles. The lowest of humans is the African, - who, being a “servant of servants unto his brethren,” is “cursed as - to the priesthood,” and therefore can not “attain to any thing above - a dim-shining glory.” Above him is the Indian, for the Red Men, - through repentance, obedience, and acceptance of the new Evangelism, - can rebecome a “fair and delightsome people,” worthy of their Hebrew - sires. Below the negro is the brute tabernacle, into which the still - rebellious spirit descends, until, yielding to Gospel law, it is - permitted to retrace its course through the successive changes to - splendor and perfection. So, “when we are tormented by a refractory - horse or an obstinate ass, it may not be amiss to reflect that they - were actuated by an apostate soul, and exemplifying a few of the - human infirmities.” The same words might be spoken orthodoxically by - a Jain or a Banyan. - - The soul is supposed to take possession of the tabernacle at the - quickening of the embryon. At baptism the Saint may ask in faith for - some particular spirit or genius--an idea familiar to the adepts and - spiritualists of this generation. Every one also has evil, false, - and seducing spirits at variance with the good, a fancy reminding - us of the poetical Moslem picture of the good guardian sitting upon - man’s right shoulder, and whispering into his ear suggestions against - which the bad spirit on the left contends. Revelations are received - by prayer and mighty faith, but only when diligence and sagacity fail - to secure the desired information--where God has appointed means he - will not work by miracles, nor will a “_de profundis_” act without a - more concrete action. Heavenly communications vouchsafed to the seer - must be registered, and kept for promulgation when the Saints can - bear them; for many “would be offended and turn back if the whole - truth”--polygamy, for instance--“were dashed down in a mass before - them.” Of prophetic times it may be observed that the habitat of - God the Father is the planet Kolob, whose revolutions--one of which - is the beginning and the end of a day equal to 1000 terrestrial - years--are the measure of heavenly time. The Deity, being finite, - employs agents and auxiliaries, _e. g._, light, sound, electricity, - inspiration, to communicate knowledge to his world of worlds. An - angel commissioned as a messenger to earth is taken either from the - chief or from a minor planet, and it naturally measures time by the - days and weeks, the months and years, of its own home--a style of - computation which must not a little confuse our poor human chronology. - - “Tongues” does not signify, as at the date of the first Pentecost, - an ability to address heteroglottists in their several languages, - which would render the gift somewhat too precise and Mezzofantian - for these days. It means that man moved by the Spirit shall utter - any set of sounds unintelligible even to himself, but which, being - known to the Lord, may, by special permission to exercise the “gift - of interpretation of tongues,” be explained by another to those - addressed. The man gravid with “tongues” must “rise on his feet, - lean in faith on Christ, and open his lips, utter a song in such - cadence as he chooses, and the Spirit of the Lord will give an - interpreter, and make it a language.” The linguistic feat has of late - years been well known in England, where it was, of course, set down - to imposture. It may more charitably be explained by an abnormal - affection of the organ of language on the part of the speaker of - “tongues,” and in the interpreter by the effect of a fervent and - fooling faith. - - [INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE.] - - VIII. “WE BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD RECORDED IN THE BIBLE; WE ALSO - BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD RECORDED IN THE BOOK OF MORMON, AND IN ALL - OTHER GOOD BOOKS.”--Some Christians have contended that the Biblia - of the Jews have been altered; that the last chapter (verse 5) of - Deuteronomy, for instance, recording the death and burial of Moses, - was not written by Moses. The Moslems assert that the Scripture of - both Hebrew and Christian has not only been misunderstood, but has - designedly been corrupted by Baulús (St. Paul) and other Greekish - Jews; that the Gospel of Infancy, and the similar compositions now - banished into the apocryphal New Testament, are mere excrescences - upon the pure commands of Jesus. The Mormons hold with the latter. - They believe, however, that the infinite errors and interpretations - have been removed by “Joseph the Seer,” to whom was given the “key - of all languages”--he has quoted in his writings only 15 out of - 3500--and the following specimen of his ultra-Bentleian emendations, - borrowed from the “Last Sermon,” may suffice: - - “I will make a comment on the very first sentence of the history of - the creation in the Bible” (_i.e._, “in King James’s version;” he - had probably never seen even the Douay translation). “It first read, - ‘The head one of the gods brought forth the gods.’[209] If you do - not believe it, you do not believe _the learned_ man of God. And, - in farther explanation, it means, ‘The head god called together the - gods, and sat in grand council. The grand councilors sat in yonder - heavens, and contemplated the worlds that were created at that time.’ - The Bible is, therefore, held to be the foundation book.” Mr. Joseph - Smith’s inspired translation or impudent _rifacciamento_ is believed - to exist in MS.: in due time it will probably be promulgated. But - the Word of God is not confined to the Bible; the Book of Mormon and - the Doctrines and Covenants are of equal authority, strands of the - “three-fold cord,” connecting by the Church God and man. If these - revelations contradict one another, the stumbling-block to the weak - in faith is easily removed by considering the “situations” under - which they were vouchsafed: “heaven’s government is conducted on - the principle of adapting revelation to the varied circumstances of - the children of the kingdom”--a dogma common to all revelationists. - Additional items may be supplied to the Mormons from day to day, a - process by which a “flood of light has poured into their souls, and - raised them to a view of the glorious things above.” The present - seer, revelator, translator, and prophet, however, shows his high - wisdom by seeing, revealing, translating, and prophesying as little - as possible. Yet he even repeats, and probably believes, that - revelation is the rock upon which the Church is founded. - - [209] I need hardly say that in the original the words are “at its - head (beginning) the gods (he) created the earth and the heaven.” - -IX. “WE BELIEVE ALL THAT GOD HAS REVEALED, ALL THAT HE DOES NOW REVEAL, -AND WE BELIEVE THAT HE WILL REVEAL MANY MORE GREAT AND IMPORTANT THINGS -PERTAINING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND MESSIAH’S SECOND COMING.”--Much of -this has been explained above. The second coming of Christ is for the -restoration or restitution of all things, as foretold by the prophet -Isaiah. When the living earth was created, the dry land emerged from -the waters, which gathered by command into one place. The “Voice of -Warning” draws an interesting picture of a state of things hitherto -unknown to geologist and palæogeographer. “There was one vast ocean -rolling around a single immense body of land, unbroken as to continents -and islands; it was a beautiful plain, interspersed with gently rising -hills and sloping vales; its climate delightfully varied with heat and -cold, wet and dry; crowning the year with productions grateful to men -and animals, while from the flowery plain or spicy grove sweet odors -were wafted on every breeze, and all the vast creation of animated -beings breathed naught but health, peace, and joy.” Over this paradise, -this general garden, “man reigned, and talked face to face with the -Supreme, with only a dimming veil between.” After the diffusion of -sin, which followed the fall, came the purification of the Noachian -cataclysm, and in the days of Peleg “the earth was divided,” _i.e._, -the Homeric circumambient sea was interposed between portions of land -rent asunder, which earthquakes and upheavals subsequently broke into -fragments and islands. We learn from the whole and varied Scriptures -that before the second coming of Christ the several pieces shall be -dovetailed into one, as they were in the morn of creation, and the -retiring sea shall reassume its pristine place, when Samudra Devta -was enthroned by the Rishis. The earth is thus restored for a people -purified to innocence, and is fitted for the first resurrection of the -body to reign with the Savior for a thousand years. - -[RESTORATION OF THE TEN TRIBES.] - -X. “WE BELIEVE IN THE LITERAL GATHERING OF ISRAEL, AND IN THE -RESTORATION OF THE TEN TRIBES; THAT ZION WILL BE ESTABLISHED UPON THE -WESTERN CONTINENT; THAT CHRIST WILL REIGN PERSONALLY UPON THE EARTH -A THOUSAND YEARS; AND THAT THE EARTH WILL BE RENEWED AND RECEIVE -ITS PARADISIACAL GLORY.”--The only novelty in this article is the -“location” of Zion, which has already been transferred from Palestine -to the celestial regions in the Valley of the Mississippi; this, in -the present era, when the old cradles of civilization upon the Ganges -and Indus, the Euphrates and the Nile, have been well-nigh depopulated -or exhausted, promises to become one of the vast hives from which -the human swarm shall issue. The American continent, as the Book of -Mormon informs us, was, at the time of the Crucifixion, shaken to its -foundation: towns and cities, lakes and mountains, were buried and -formed when “the earth writhed in the convulsive throes of agonizing -nature.” After all the seed of Israel shall have been raised from the -dead, they shall flock to Zion in Judea, and the saints of other races -shall be gathered to New Jerusalem in America: both these cities shall -be “built with fine stones, and the beauty of all precious things.” -At the end of the millennium comes the great sabbath of rest and -enjoyment; the earth shall become celestial through the baptism of -fire, while the two holy cities shall be caught up (literally) into -heaven, to descend with the Lord God for their light and their temple, -and shall remain forever on the new earth “under the bright canopy of -the new heavens.” - -XI. “WE BELIEVE IN THE LITERAL RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, AND THAT -THE REST OF THE DEAD LIVE NOT AGAIN UNTIL THE THOUSAND YEARS ARE -EXPIRED.”--Man, it has been shown, is a duality of elements. The body -is gross, the spirit--under which the intellect or mind is included--is -refined matter, permeating, vivifying, and controlling the former: -the union or fusion of the two constitutes the “living soul” alluded -to by Moses (Gen., ii., 7) in the Adamical creation. Death followed -the fall of the great patriarch, who, we are told, is called in -Scripture Michael, the Ancient of Days, with hair like wool, etc. But -in technical Mormon phrase, “Adam fell that man might be,” and ate the -forbidden fruit with a full foreknowledge of the consequences--a Shiah -belief. The “fall,” therefore, was a matter of previous arrangement, -in order that spirits choosing to undertake their probations might be -fitted with “tabernacles,” and be born of women. Death separates the -flesh and the spirit for a useful purpose, but the latter keeps guard -over every particle of the former, until, at the fiat of resurrection, -the body is again “clothed upon,” and perfect man is the result--a -doctrine familiar to the mediums. Such is also the orthodox Sunnite -faith. The heretical peculiarity of the Mormon resurrection is this: -the body will be the same as before, “except the blood,” which is -the natural life, and, consequently, the principle of mortality. A -man restored to flesh and blood would be subject to death; “flesh -and bones,” therefore, will be the constitution of the “resurrected” -body. This idea clearly derives from the Genesitic physiology, which -teaches that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Levit., xvii., -14); life being, according to the moderns, not an absolute existence -nor objective entity, but a property or condition of the corporeal -mechanism--the working, as it were, of the engine until arrested by -material lesion. It is confirmed in the Mormon mind by the Savior -bidding his disciples to handle his limbs, and to know that he had -flesh and bones, not blood. - -XII. “WE CLAIM THE PRIVILEGE OF WORSHIPING ALMIGHTY GOD ACCORDING TO -THE DICTATES OF CONSCIENCE UNMOLESTED, AND ALLOW ALL MEN THE SAME -PRIVILEGE, LET THEM WORSHIP HOW OR WHERE THEY MAY.”--This article -embodies the tenets of Roger Williams, who, in establishing his simple -democracy, provided that the will of the majority should rule, but -“only in civil things.” The charter of Rhode Island (1644) contains the -memorable words: “No person within the said colony shall be molested, -punished, disquieted, or called in question for any differences of -opinion in matters of religion who does not actually disturb the public -peace.” But how often has this been mouthed--how little it has affected -mankind! Would London--boasting in the nineteenth century to be the -most tolerant of cities--allow the Cardinal of Westminster to walk in -procession through her streets? - -XIII. “WE BELIEVE IN BEING SUBJECT TO KINGS, QUEENS, PRESIDENTS, -RULERS, AND MAGISTRATES, IN OBEYING, HONORING, AND SUSTAINING THE -LAW.”--When treating of the hierarchy, it will be made apparent that -subjection to temporals and Gentiles must be purely nominal. At the -same time, it must be owned that, throughout North America, I may -say throughout the New World, the Mormon polity is the only fixed -and reasonable form of government. The “turnpike-road of history,” -which Fisher Ames, nearly a century ago, described as “white with the -tombstones of republics,” is in a fair way to receive fresh accessions, -while the land of the Saints promises continuance and progress. - -XIV. “WE BELIEVE IN BEING HONEST, TRUE, CHASTE, TEMPERATE, BENEVOLENT, -VIRTUOUS, AND UPRIGHT, AND IN DOING GOOD TO ALL MEN; INDEED, WE MAY -SAY THAT WE FOLLOW THE ADMONITION OF PAUL; WE ‘BELIEVE ALL THINGS,’ -WE ‘HOPE ALL THINGS,’ WE HAVE ENDURED VERY MANY THINGS, AND HOPE -TO BE ABLE TO ‘ENDURE ALL THINGS.’ EVERY THING LOVELY, VIRTUOUS, -PRAISEWORTHY, AND OF GOOD REPORT, WE SEEK AFTER, LOOKING FORWARD TO -THE ‘RECOMPENSE OF REWARD.’ BUT AN IDLE OR LAZY PERSON CAN NOT BE A -CHRISTIAN, NEITHER HAVE SALVATION. HE IS A DRONE, AND DESTINED TO BE -STUNG TO DEATH, AND TUMBLED OUT OF THE HIVE.”--All over the American -Union there is an apotheosis of labor; the Latter-Day Saints add to it -the damnation of osiosity. - -[MORMON “AGGLOMERATION.”] - -This brief outline of Mormon faith will show its strange, but, I -believe, spontaneous agglomeration of tenets which, were its disciples -of a more learned and philosophical body, would suggest extensive -eclecticism. But, as I have already remarked, there is a remarkably -narrow limit to religious ideas: the moderns vainly attempt invention -when combination is now the only possible process. In the Tessarakai -Decalogue above quoted, we find syncretized the Semitic Monotheism, -the Persian Dualism, and the Triads and Trinities of the Egyptians and -the Hindoos. The Hebrews also have a personal Theos, the Buddhists -avataras and incarnations, the Brahmans self-apotheosis of man by -prayer and penance, and the East generally holds to quietism, a belief -that repose is the only happiness, and to a vast complication of -states in the world to be. The Mormons are like the Pythagoreans in -their precreation, transmigration, and exaltation of souls; like the -followers of Leucippus and Democritus in their atomic materialism; like -the Epicureans in their pure atomic theories, their _summum bonum_, and -their sensuous speculations; and like the Platonists and Gnostics in -their belief of the Æon, of ideas, and of moving principles in element. -They are fetichists in their ghostly fancies, their evestra, which -became souls and spirits. They are Jews in their theocracy, their ideas -of angels, their hatred of Gentiles, and their utter segregation from -the great brotherhood of mankind. They are Christians inasmuch as they -base their faith upon the Bible, and hold to the divinity of Christ, -the fall of man, the atonement, and the regeneration. They are Arians -inasmuch as they hold Christ to be “the first of God’s creatures,” a -“perfect creature, but still a creature.” They are Moslems in their -views of the inferior status of womankind, in their polygamy, and in -their resurrection of the material body: like the followers of the -Arabian Prophet, they hardly fear death, because they have elaborated -“continuation.” They take no leap in the dark; they spring from this -sublunary stage into a known, not into an unknown world: hence also -their worship is eminently secular, their sermons are political or -commercial, and--religion being with them not a thing apart, but a -portion and parcel of every-day life--the intervention of the Lord -in their material affairs becomes natural and only to be expected. -Their visions, prophecies, and miracles are those of the Illuminati, -their mysticism that of the Druses, and their belief in the Millennium -is a completion of the dreams of the Apocalyptic sects. Masonry has -evidently entered into their scheme; the Demiurgus whom they worship is -“as good at mechanical inventions as at any other business.” With their -later theories, Methodism, Swedenborgianism--especially in its view of -the future state--and Transcendentalism are curiously intermingled. -And, finally, we can easily discern in their doctrine of affinity of -minds and sympathy of souls the leaven of that faith which, beginning -with the Mesmer, and progressing through the Rochester Rappers and the -Poughkeepsie Seer, threatens to extend wherever the susceptible nervous -temperament becomes the characteristic of the race. - -The Latter-Day Saints do not deny this agglomeration.[210] They -maintain that, being guided by the Spirit unto all truth, they have -sifted it out from the gross mass of error that obscures it, and -that whatever knowledge has been vouchsafed to man may be found in -their possession. They assert that other sects were to them what the -Platonists and the Essenes were to Christianity. Moreover, as has been -seen, they declare their faith to be still in its infancy, and that -many dark and doubtful subjects are still to be decided by better -experience or revelation. - - [210] “One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism” (says - Mr. Joseph Smith in his sermon preached on the 9th of July, 1843) “is - to receive truth, come whence it may.”... “Presbyterians, Baptists, - Methodists, Catholics, Mohammedans, etc., are they in possession of - any truth? Yes, they have all a little truth mixed with error. We - ought to gather together all the good and true principles which are - in the world, and keep them, otherwise we shall never become pure - Mormons.” - -I borrow the following _résumé_ of Mormonism from Lieutenant -Gunnison--a Christian writer--of course, without endorsing any one of -his opinions. - -“In Mormonism we recognize an intuition of Transcendentalism--intuition, -we say, for its founder was no scholar in the idealistic philosophy. He -trampled under foot creeds and formulas, and soared away for perpetual -inspiration from the God; and by the will, which he calls faith, he won -the realms of truth, beauty, and happiness. Such things can only be -safely confided to the strong and pure-minded, and even they must -isolate themselves in self-idolatry, and be ‘alone with the alone,’ and -seek converse with the spirit of man’s spirit. - -“But this prophet was educated by passion, and sought to be social -with the weak; he therefore baptized spiritually in the waters of -materialism. Instead of evolving the godlike nature of the human -spirit, he endeavored to prove that humanity was already divinity by -investing Deity with what is manlike--men were to be like gods by -making gods men.” - -[MELCHISEDEK PRIESTHOOD.] - -The form of Mormon government is not new: it is the theocracy of the -Jews, of the Jesuit missions in Brazil, Paraguay, and elsewhere, and -briefly of all communities in which, contrary to the fitness of things, -Church is made to include, or, rather, exclude State. In opposition to -El Islam, they maintain that a hieratic priesthood is necessary to the -well-being of a religion. They divide it into two grand heads, of which -all other officers and authorities are appendages. The first is called -the Melchisedek priesthood, “because Melchisedek was such a great -high priest.”[211] The second, which is a supplement to the former, -and administers outward ordinances, is the Aaronic or Levitical, -“because it was conferred upon Aaron and his seed throughout all their -generations.” To the Melchisedek belong the high priest, priests, and -elders; to the Aaronic the bishops, the teachers or catechists, and the -deacons. - - [211] These and the following quotations are borrowed from sections 2 - and 3 of “Covenants and Commandments.” - -“The power and authority of the higher, or Melchisedek priesthood, is -to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church, to have -the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to -have the heavens opened unto them, to commune with the general assembly -and Church of the first-born, and to enjoy the communion and presence -of God the Father, and Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant. - -“The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic priesthood, is -to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in -outward ordinances the letter of the Gospel--the baptism of repentance -for the remission of sins--agreeable to the covenants and commandments.” - -The apex of the Mormon hierarchy is the First Presidency, now Messrs. -Young, Kimball, and Wells, who have succeeded to Peter, James, and -John in the Gospel Church, and who correspond on earth to the Trinity -in heaven--_numero Deus impare gaudet_. The presiding high priest over -the high priesthood of the Church--_par excellence_, “_the_” President, -also _ex-officio_ seer, revelator, translator, and prophet, is supreme. -The two sub-chiefs or counselors are _quasi_-equal: the first, however, -takes social precedence of the second. This quorum of the presidency -of the Church, elected by the whole body, is the centre of temporal as -of ecclesiastical power. It claims, under God, the right of life and -death; it holds the keys of heaven and hell, and from its decrees there -is no appeal except to the general assembly of all the quorums which -constitute the spiritual authorities of the Church. - -The second in rank is the Patriarch. The present incumbent is a nephew -of the first seer, who succeeded Mr. Joseph Smith, sen., the father of -Mr. Joseph Smith, jun.[212] As the sire of the Church, his chief duty -is to administer blessings: it is an office of dignity held for life, -whereas all others expire after the semestre. - - [212] So called in revelation until the death of Mr. Joseph Smith, - sen. - -Follows the “Second Presidency,” the twelve traveling counselors, -“called to be the twelve apostles or special witnesses of the name of -Christ in all the world,” modeled with certain political modifications -after the primitive Christian Church, and abbreviatively termed “The -Twelve.” The President of the High Apostolic College, or, in his -default, one of the members, acts as coadjutor, in the absence of a -member of the First Presidency. The Twelve come nearer the masses, and, -acting under direction of the highest authority, build up the Church, -ordain and set in order all other officers, elders, priests, teachers, -and deacons: they are empowered to baptize, and to administer bread and -wine--the emblems of the flesh and blood of Christ; to confirm those -who are baptized into the Church by the laying on of hands for the -baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost; to teach, expound, exhort, baptize, -and watch over the Church, and to take the lead in all meetings. They -preside over the several “Stakes of Zion;” there is one, for instance, -to direct, under the title of president, the European, and another the -Liverpool mission. If there be several together, the eldest is the -standing president of the quorum, and they act as councilors to one -another. - -The fourth body in rank is the Seventies. The “Seventy” act in the -name of the Lord, under direction of the “Twelve,” in building up -the Church, and, like them, are traveling ministers, sent first to -the Gentiles, and then to the Jews. Out of the “Seventy” are chosen -seven presidents, of whom one presides over the other six councilors: -these seven choose other seventy besides the first seventy, “and -also other seventy, until seven times seventy, if the labor in the -vineyard of necessity requires it.” In 1853 the minutes of the Mormon -General Conference enumerated the “Seventies” at 1572. Practically -the seventy members are seldom complete. The chief of these traveling -propagandists, the working bees of the community, is the “President of -all the Seventies.” - -The fifth body is composed of “high priests after the order of the -Melchisedek priesthood, who have a right to officiate in their own -standing, under the direction of the Presidency, in administering -spiritual things,” and to “officiate in all the offices of the Church -when there are no higher authorities present.” Thus charged with the -execution of spiritual affairs, they are usually aged and fatherly -men. Among the high priests are included, _ex-officio_, the bishops and -the high council. - -[THE MORMON BISHOP.] - -The Mormon επισκοπος is a steward, who renders an account of his -stewardship both in time and eternity, and who superintends the -elders, keeps the Lord’s store-house, receives the funds of the -Church, administers to the wants of those beneath him, and supplies -assistance to those who manage the “literary concerns,” probably -editors and magazine publishers. The bishopric is the presidency of -the Aaronic priesthood, and has authority over it. No man has a legal -right to the office except a literal descendant of Aaron. As these, -however, are _non inventi_, and as a high priest of the Melchisedek -order may officiate in all lesser offices, the bishop, who never -affects a _nolo episcopari_, can be ordained by the First Presidency, -or Mr. Brigham Young. Thus the episcopate is a local authority in -stakes, settlements, and wards, with the directorship of affairs -temporal as well as spiritual. This “overseer” receives the tithes on -the commutation-labor, which he forwards to the public store-house; -superintends the registration of births, marriages, and deaths, makes -domiciliary visits, and hears and determines complaints either laical -or ecclesiastic. - -[THE HIGH COUNCIL.] - -The High Council was organized by revelation in Kirtland (Feb. 17, -1834) for the purpose of settling, when the Church or the “Bishop’s” -council might fail, important difficulties that might arise between two -believers. Revelation directed it to consist of twelve high priests, -ascertained by lots or ballot, and one or three presidents, as the case -might require. The first councilors, when named, were asked if they -would act in that office according to the law of heaven: they accepted, -and at once, _more Americano_--“voted.” After deciding that the -President of the Church should also be President of the Council, it was -laid down that the duty of the twelve councilors should be to cast lots -by numbers, and thereby ascertain who of the twelve shall speak first, -commencing with number one, and so in succession to number twelve. In -an easy case only two speak; in a difficult one, six. The defendant has -a right to one half of the council, and “those who draw even numbers, -that is, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, are the individuals who are to stand -up in behalf of the accused, and to prevent insult or injustice.” After -the evidence is heard, and the councilors, as well as the accuser -and the accused, have “said their say,” the president decides, and -calls upon the “twelve” to sanction his decision by their vote. When -error is suspected, the case is subject to a “careful rehearing;” and -in peculiar difficulties the appeal is to revelation. I venture to -recommend this form of special jury to those who have lost faith in a -certain effete and obsolete “palladium of British liberty” that dates -from the days of Ethelbert. After all, it is sometimes better, _jurare -in verba magistri_, especially of an inspired master. - -The High Council is a standing council. It bears the same relationship -to the federal power as the university Sex viri to a court of civil law -in England, and it saves the saints the expense of Gentile proceedings, -which may roughly be set down at fifty per cent. The sessions take -place in the Social Hall. Such an institution, which transfers to St. -Peter all the duties, salaries, and honors which Justinianus gives, -is, of course, most unpopular among the anti-Mormons, who call it -Star-Chamber, and other ugly names. I look upon it rather as the -Punchayat (_quinque viri_) Court of East India, a rough but ready -instrument of justice, which, like spontaneous growths generally, have -been found far superior to the exotic institutions forced upon the -popular mind by professional improvers. - -The Latter-Day Saint, when in a foreign land, can be punished for -transgression by his own people. The presiding authority calls a -council to examine the evidence for and against the offense; and if -guilt be proven, the offender, after being officially suspended from -his missionary functions and the fellowship of the Church, is sent, -with a special report, to be tried by his own presidency at Great Salt -Lake City. - -The elders are those from whom the apostles are taken; they are, in -fact, promoted priests charged with all the duties of that order, and -with the conduct of meetings, “as they are led by the Holy Ghost, -according to the commandments and revelations of God.” They hold -Conferences once in every three months, receive their licenses from the -elders or from the Conferences; they are liable to be sent on missions, -and are solemnly enjoined, by a revelation of January, 1832, to “gird -up their loins and be sober.” - -The priest is the master mason of the order. It is his duty to preach, -teach, expound, exhort, baptize, administer the sacrament, visit -domiciliarily, exhort the saints to pray “vocally and in secret,” -ordain other priests, teachers, and deacons, take the lead of meetings -when there is no elder present, and assist the elder when occasion -requires. - -Of the Aaronic order, the head are the bishops; under them are two -ranks, who form the entered apprentices of the Mormon lodge. - -1st. The teachers, who have no authority to baptize, to administer the -sacrament, or to lay on hands, but who “warn, expound, exhort, teach, -and invite all to come unto Christ, watch over the Church, and take -the lead of meetings in the absence of the elder or priest.” Of these -catechists one or two is usually attached to each bishop. - -2d. The deacon, or διακονος, an assistant teacher. He also acts as -treasurer to the missions in the several branches of the Church, -collects money for the poor, and attends to the temporal wants of -converts. - -The rise of the “Church of Christ in these last days dates from 1830, -since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:” thus, A.D. -1861 is Annus Josephi Smithii 31. In that year Mirabilis the book -of Mormon appeared, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -was organized, and the Body Ecclesiastic, after the fashion of those -preceding it, was exodus’d or hegira’d to Kirtland, Ohio. - -[“UPPER CRUST.”] - -The actual composition of the Mormon hierarchy is that of a cadre -of officers to a skeleton army of saints and martyrs, which may be -filled up _ad infinitum_. It is inferior in simplicity, and therefore -in power, to that which the Jesuit organization is usually supposed -to be, yet it is not deficient in the wherewithal of a higher grasp. -It makes state government, especially that of Gentile communities, -an excrescence upon the clerical body. The first president is the -governor; the second is the lieutenant governor; the third is the -secretary of state; the High Council is the Supreme Court; the -bishops are justices of peace: briefly, the Church is legislative, -judiciary, and executive--what more can be required? It has evidently -not neglected the masonic, monotheistic, and monocratic element, as -opposed to, and likely to temper the tripartite rule of Anglo-American -civil government. The first president is the worshipful master of the -lodge, the second and third are the senior and junior wardens, while -the inferior ranks represent the several degrees of the master and -apprentice. It symbolizes the leveling tendencies of Christianity -and progressiveism, while its civil and ecclesiastical despotism and -its sharp definition of rank are those of a disciplined army--the -model upon which socialism has loved to form itself. In society, -while all are brothers, there is a distinct aristocracy, called west -of the Atlantic “upper crust;” not of titles and lands, nor of bales -and boxes, but of hierarchical position; and, contrary to what might -be expected, there is as little real social fusion among Mormons as -between the “sixties,” the “forties,” and the “twenties” of silly -Guernsey. - -Having now attempted, after the measure of my humble capacity, to -show what Mormonism is, I will try to explain what Mormonism is not. -The sage of Norwich (“Rel. Med.,” sect. vi.) well remarked that -“every man is not a proper champion of truth, nor fit to take up the -gauntlet in the cause of verity;” and that “many, from the ignorance -of these maxims, have too rashly charged the troops of error, and -remain as trophies to the enemies of truth.” The doctrine may fitly be -illustrated by pointing out the prodigious aid lent to Mormonism by the -self-inflicted defeats of anti-Mormonism. - -[THE JAREDITE EXODUS.] - -The Jaredite exodus to America in dish-like “barges, whose length was -the length of a tree,” and whose voyage lasted 344 days, is certainly a -trial of faith. The authority of Mormonic inspiration is supposed to be -weakened by its anachronisms and other errors: the mariner’s compass, -for instance, is alluded to long before the fourteenth century. The -Mormons, however, reply that the “Liahona” of their Holy Book is not -a compass, and that if it were, nothing could be said against it: the -Chinese claim the invention long before the days of Flavio, and the -Moslems attribute it to one of their own saints.[213] The “reformed -Egyptian” of the Golden Bible is ridiculed on the supposition that -the Hebrew authors would write either in their own tongue, in the -Syrian, or in the Chaldaic, at any rate in a Semitic, not in a Coptic -language. But the first disciples of the Gospel Church were Jews, -and yet the Evangel is now Greek. As regards the Golden Plates, it -is contended that the Jews of old were in the habit of writing upon -papyrus, parchment, and so on, not upon metal, and that such plates -have never been found in America. But of late years Himyaritic -inscriptions upon brass tablets have been forwarded from Yemen to -the British Museum. Moreover, in 1843, six brass plates of a bell -shape, covered with ancient glyphs, were discovered by a “respectable -merchant” near Kinderhook, United States, proving that such material -was not unknown to the ancient Semites and to the American aborigines. -The word “Christ” often occurs (“Book of Mormon,” p. 8, etc.) long -before the coming of the Savior. But the Book of Mormon was written in -the “reformed Egyptian:” the proper noun in question was translated -“Christ” in English by the prophet, an “unlearned young man,” according -to his own understanding, and for the better comprehension of his -readers. The same argument applies to such words as “synagogues,” -“alpha and omega,” “steel,” “S.S.E.,” etc.; also to “elephant,” “cow,” -“horse,” “ass,” “swine,” and other pachyderms and solidunguls, which -were transported to America after the Columbian discovery: they are -mere translations, like the fabulous unicorn of the Old Testament and -the phœnix of the apocryphal New Testament (Clement I., xii., 2): -elephant, for instance, manifestly means mastodon, and swine, peccary. -Ptolemy’s theory of a moving earth is found anticipated. But who shall -limit revelation? and has not the Mosaic Genesis, according to a -multitude of modern divines, anticipated all the latest discoveries? -The Lord describes America to Jared (“Book of Mormon,” p. 78) as an -“isle of the sea,” and the accuracy of the geography is called in -question. But in the Semitic and other Eastern tongues, insula and -peninsula are synonymous. Moreover, if Dr. Kane’s open circumpolar -ocean prove aught but a myth, the New World is wholly insulated even by -ice from the Old. Other little contradictions and inaccuracies, which -abound in the inspired books, are as easily pooh-pooh’d as objections -to the conflicting genealogies, and the contradictory accounts of the -Crucifixion by the professors of the elder faith. - - [213] First Footsteps in East Africa, chap. i. - -[OBJECTIONS TO MORMONISM.] - -The “vulgarity” of Mormonism is a favorite theme with the anti-Mormon. -The low origin and “plebbishness” of the apostles’ names and of their -institutions (_e. g._, the “Twelve,” the “Seventies”), the snuffling -Puritanic style which the learned Gibbon hated, and execrable grammar -(_e. g._, in the first page, “Nephi’s brethren rebelleth against him”), -and the various Yankeeisms of the New Scriptures, are cited as palpable -proofs of fraud. But the primitive apostles of Christianity were of -inferior social rank and attainments to the first Mormon converts, -and of the reformers of Luther’s age it may be asked, “Where was -then the gentleman?” The Syriac-Greek of the New Testament, with its -manifold flaws of idiom and diction, must have produced upon the polite -philosophers and grammarians of Greece and Rome an effect even more -painful than that which the Americanisms of the Book of Mormon exercise -upon English nerves. These things are palpably stumbling-blocks -disposed sleeper-wise upon the railroad of faith, lest Mr. Christian’s -progress should become a mere excursion. Gentiles naturally feel -disposed to smile when they find in the nineteenth century prophets, -apostles, saints; but the Church only gains by the restoration and -reformation of her primitive discipline. The supernatural action of the -Holy Spirit believed in by the Mormons as by the Seekers (1645), the -Camisards (1688), the Leeites and Wilkinsonians (1776), is the best -answer to that atheistic school which holds that God who once lived is -now dead to man. As of the Ayat of El Islam, so of the revelations with -which Mr. Joseph Smith was favored, it is remarked that their exceeding -opportuneness excites suspicion. But of what use are such messages -from Heaven unless they arrive _à propos_? Mr. O. Hyde contends, after -the fashion of wiser men, that ambiguity, and, if I may use the word, -a certain achronology, characterize inspired prophecy: it is evident -that only a little more inspiration is wanted to render it entirely -unambiguous. - -The other sentimental objections to Mormonism may briefly be answered -as follows: - -“_That the holiest of words is profanely applied to man._” But as -Moses (Ex., iv., 16) was “instead of God to Aaron” (Ex., vii., 1), -and was “made a god” to Pharaoh, and as the Savior declared that “he -called them gods unto whom the word of God came” (John, xi., 35), the -Mormons evidently use the word in its old and scriptural sense. Thus -they assert that Mr. Joseph Smith is the god of this generation, Jesus -is his god, Michael or Adam is the god of Jesus, Jehovah is the god of -Adam, and Eloheim is the god of Jehovah. - -“_That credible persons have testified to the bad character of Mr. -Joseph Smith, junior, as a money-digger, a cheat, a liar, a vulgar -impostor, or, at best, a sincere and ignorant fanatic._” The Mormons -reply that such has been the history of every prophet. They point -with triumph and yearning love to the story of their martyr’s life, -to his intense affection for his family, and to their devotion to -him. They boast of his invincible boldness, energy, enthusiasm, and -moral courage; that he never flinched from his allotted tasks, from -the duties which he was commissioned to perform; that he was fifty -times dragged by his enemies before the tribunals, and was as often -acquitted; that he never hesitated for a moment, when such act was -necessary, to cut off from the Church those who, like Oliver Cowdery, -had been the depositaries of his intimate secrets; that his career -was one long Bartholomew’s Day, and that his end was as glorious -as his life was beautiful. In America Mr. Joseph Smith has by the -general suffrage of anti-Mormons been pronounced to be a knave, while -his successor, Mr. Brigham Young, has been declared by the same high -authority--_vox diaboli_, the Mormons term it--to be a self-deluded -but true man. I can scarcely persuade myself that great events are -brought about by mere imposture, whose very nature is feebleness: -zeal, enthusiasm, fanaticism, which are of their nature strong and -aggressive, better explain the abnormal action of man on man. On the -other hand, it is impossible to ignore the dear delights of fraud and -deception, the hourly pleasure taken by some minds in finessing through -life, in concealing their real selves from the eyes of others, and in -playing a part till by habit it becomes a nature. In the estimation of -unprejudiced persons Mr. Joseph Smith is a man of rude genius, of high -courage, of invincible perseverance, fired by zeal, of great tact, of -religious fervor, of extraordinary firmness, and of remarkable talent -in governing men. It is conceded that, had he not possessed “strong -and invincible faith in his own high pretensions and divine mission,” -he would probably have renounced the unprofitable task of prophet, and -sought refuge from persecution and misery in private life and honorable -industry. Be that as it may, he has certainly taken a place among the -notabilities of the world--he has left a footprint upon the sands of -time. - -“_That Mr. Joseph Smith prophesied lies_,” and that “_through greed of -gain he robbed the public by appropriating the moneys of the Kirtland -Bank_.” The Mormons reply that many predictions of undoubted truth -undeniably passed their prophet’s lips, and that some--_e. g._, those -referring to the Mormon Zion and to the end of the world--may still -prove true. With reference to the fact that Martin Harris was induced -by the seer to pay for the publication of the Book of Mormon, it is -pleaded that the Christian apostles (Acts, iv., 35) also received -money from their disciples. The failure of the Kirtland Bank (A.D. -1837) is thus explained: During the Prophet’s absence upon a visit -to the Saints at Toronto, the cashier, Warren Parrish, flooded the -district with worthless paper, and, fearing discovery on his master’s -return, decamped with $25,000, thereby causing a suspension of payment. -Regarding other peccadilloes, the Mormons remark that no prophet was -ever perfect or infallible. Moses, for instance, was not suffered for -his sins to enter the Promised Land, and Saul lost by his misconduct -the lasting reign over Israel. - -“_That the three original witnesses to the ‘Book of Mormon’ apostatized -and denied its truth._” To this the Mormons add, that after a season -those apostates duly repented and were rebaptized; one has died; the -second, Martin Harris, is now a Saint in Kirtland, Ohio; and the third, -Sidney Rigdon, to whom the faith owed so much, left the community after -the Prophet’s martyrdom, saying that it had chosen the wrong path, -but never rejecting Mormonism nor accusing it of fraud. The witnesses -to those modern tables of the law (the Golden Plates) were but eleven -_in toto_, and formed only three families interested in the success -of the scheme. The same paucity, or rather absence of any testimony -which would be valid in a modern court of justice, marks the birth of -every new faith, not excluding the Christian. And, finally, wickedness -proved against the witnesses does not invalidate the value of their -depositions. The disorders in the conduct of David and Solomon, for -instance, do not affect the inspiration of the Psalms and Canticles. - -“_That Mormon apostles and elders, as Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor, -denied the existence of polygamy, even after it was known and practiced -by their community._” The Mormons reply that they never attempted to -evade the imputation of the true patriarchal marriage: they merely -asserted their innocence of the “spiritual wifedom,” the Free Loveism -and the Fanny Wrightism of the Eastern States--charges brought against -them by the anti-Mormons. - -Having thus disposed of the principal allegations, I will more briefly -allude to the minor. - -“_That the Mormons do not allow monogamy._” This I know not to be the -fact, as several of my acquaintances had and have but one wife. “_That -a multitude of saints, prophets, and apostles are in full chase after -a woman, whom the absence of her husband releases from her vows; that -the missionary on duty appoints a proxy or vicarious head to his house, -and that his spouses are married_ pro tempore _to elders and apostles -at home_.” Mrs. Ferris has dreamed out this “abyss of abomination,” -and then uses it to declaim against. But is it at all credible? Would -not such conduct speedily demoralize and demolish a society which -even its enemies own to be peculiarly pure? “_That the Mormons are -‘jealous fellows’_”--a curious contradiction of the preceding charges. -The Saints hold to the semi-seclusion of Athens, Rome, and Syria, -where “she was the best of women of whom least is said, either of -good or harm,” believing with the world generally that opportunity -often makes the thief. “_That the Mormons ‘swap,’ sell, exchange, and -transfer their wives to Indians._” Mrs. Ferris started the story, -which carries its own refutation, by chronicling a report of the kind; -and Mr. Ward improves upon it by supplying false instances and names. -“_That the utmost latitude of manners is allowed in the ballroom -and the theatre_,” which are compared to the private _réunions_ of -Rosanna Townsend and other Aspasias. The contrary is notoriously the -case. “_That the young Mormons are frequently guilty of the crimes of -Absalom and other horrible offenses._” Unprejudiced Gentiles always -deny the truth of such accusations. “_That the Mormon has no home, and -that Mormon houses are dirty, slovenly, and uncomfortable._” The Far -West is not remarkable for neatness: the only exceptions to the rule -of filth which I have seen are in the abodes of the Mormons. “_That -‘plurality-families’ are in a state of perpetual storm._” I believe -that many a “happy English home” is far stormier, despite the holy -presence of monogamy. Even Mrs. Ferris tells of two wives, one young, -the other old, “who treated each other with that degree of affectionate -cordiality which properly belongs to the intercourse between mother -and daughter,” and--naïvely wonder-struck by what she could not -understand--exclaims, “What a strange spectacle!” “_That women must -be married to be saved._” The orthodox Mormon belief is that human -beings are sent into the world to sow seed for heaven; that a woman -who wittingly, and for stupid social Belgravian-mother motives, fails -in so doing, neglects a vital duty, and that whoso gives not children -to the republic has lived in vain--an opinion which the Saints are -contented to share with Moses and Mohammed, Augustus Cæsar and Napoleon -Bonaparte. “_That the Mormons marry for eternity._” They believe that -Adam and Eve, when wholly pure, were so married, and that redemption -signifies a complete restoration to all the privileges lost by the -fall. “_That Mormons are ‘sealed’ to rich old women._” The _vetula -beata_ exists, I believe, almost universally. “_That Mormons marry and -seal for the dead._” As has been seen, it is a principle of faith that -all ordinances for the living may vicariously be performed for those -departed. “_That Mormon women are pale, thin, badly and carelessly -dressed, and poorly fed--that they exhibit a sense of depression -and degradation._” I found them exceedingly pretty and attractive, -especially Miss ----. “_That it is dangerous to be the rival of a -Mormon elder in love and business._” This is true only so far that the -Saint is probably a better man than the Gentile. I have been assured by -Gentiles that they would rather trust the followers of Mr. Joseph Smith -than their own people, and that, under Mormon rule, there never has -been, and never can be, a case of bankruptcy. The hunters and Indian -traders dislike the Saints for two chief reasons: in the first place, -the hunting-grounds have been narrowed; and, secondly, industry and -sobriety have taken the place of rollicking and dare-devilism. “_That -the Mormons are bigoted and intolerant._” The Mormon’s golden rule is, -“Mind your own business, and let your neighbor mind his.” At Great Salt -Lake City I found all the most violent anti-Mormon books, and have -often heard Gentiles talk in a manner which would not be tolerated in -Paris, London, and Rome. “_That the Church claims possession of, and -authority over, a dead disciple’s goods and chattels._” This is done -only in cases when heirs fail. “_That it is the Mormon’s duty to lay -all his possessions at the apostles’ feet._” The Mormons believe that -the Lord has ordered his Church to be established on earth; that its -success involves man’s salvation; that the apostles are the pillars -of the sacred edifice, and that the disciple is bound, like Barnabas, -when called upon, to lay his all at the apostles’ feet; practically, -however, the measure never takes place. “_That the high dignitaries -are enriched by tithes and by plundering the people._” I believe, for -reasons before given, this assertion to be as wholly destitute of fact -as of probability. “_That the elders borrow money from their Gentile -disciples, and that the Saints ‘milk the Gentiles.’_” The Mormons, like -sensible men, do not deny that their net has drawn up bad fish as well -as good; they assert, however, and I believe with truth, that their -community will bear comparison in point of honesty with any other. - -[POLITICAL OBJECTIONS.] - -I have already remarked how thoroughly hateful to the petulant -fanatical republican of the New World is the Mormon state within state, -their absolute aristocracy clothed in the wolf-skin of democracy; and I -have also shown how little of that “largest liberty,” concerning which -the traveler in the United States hears so often and sees so seldom, -has been extended to them or to their institutions. Let us now consider -a few of the political objections to Mormonism. - -“_That the Mormon Church overshadows and controverts the actions -and opinions, the property, and even the lives of its members._” -The Mormons boast that their Church, which is their state, does so -legitimately, and deny any abuse of its power. “_That the Church -usurps and exercises the legislative and political business of -the Territory._” The foregoing pages disprove this. “_That the -Church organizes and commands a military force._” True, for her own -protection. “_That the Church disposes of public lands on her own -terms._” The Mormons reply that, as squatters, they have earned by -their improvements the right of pre-emption, and as the federal -government delays to recognize their title, they approve of the -Church so doing. “_That the Church has coined money and forced its -circulation._” The former clause is admitted, and the excellence of -the Californian gold is warranted; the latter is justly treated with -ridicule. “_That the Church levies the tenth part of every thing from -its members under the charge of tithing._” The Mormons derive this -practice from the laws of Moses, and assert that the gift is purely a -free-will offering estimated by the donor, and never taken except from -those who are in full communion. “_That the Church imposes enormous -taxes upon Gentile citizens._” The Mormons own that they levy a large -octroi, in the form of a regulated license system, upon ardent spirits, -but they deny that more is taken from the Gentile than from the Saint. -“_That the Church supervises and penetrates into the domestic circle, -and enjoins and inculcates obedience to her own counsels, as articles -of faith paramount to all the obligations of society and morality, -allegiance and law._” The Mormons reply that the counsel and the -obligations run in the same grooves. - -Mormonism in England would soon have fallen to the level of Leeism -or Irvingism; its teachers to the rank of the Southcoteans and -Muggletonians. Its unparalleled rise and onward march could have -taken place only in a new hemisphere, in another world. Its genius is -essentially Anglo-American, without one taint of Gallic, Teutonic, or -Keltic. It is Rationalistic: the analytic powers, sharpened by mundane -practice, and wholly unencumbered by religious formal discipline, -are allowed, in things ultra mundane, a scope, a perfect freedom, -that savors of irreverence: thus the Deity is somewhere spoken of -as a “right-hand man.” It is Exaggerative in matter as in manner: -the Pentateuch, for instance, was contented with one ark, Mormonism -required eight. It is Simplificative: its fondness for facilitation -has led it through literalism into that complete materialism which, -to choose one point only, makes the Creator of the same species as -his creature. It is Imitative to an extent that not a vestige of -originality appears: the Scripture names are carefully moulded in -Hebrew shape; and, to quote one of many instances, the death-bed of -the first patriarch (“Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet,” chap. xlii.) -is a travestie of that of Israel, with his prayers, prophecies, and -blessings; while the titles of the apostles, _e. g._, Lion of the Lord, -are literally borrowed from El Islam. It has a mystic element the other -side of its severe rationalism, even as the American character mixes -transcendentalism with the purest literalism, as Mr. Emerson, the Sufi, -contrasts with the Pilgrim fathers and Sam Slick. It is essentially -Practical, though commonplaces and generalisms are no part of its -composition. Finally, it is admirably puffed, as the note upon Mormon -bibliography proves--better advertised than Colonel Colt’s excellent -revolvers. - -I had proposed to write a chapter similar to this upon the Mormon -annals. After sundry attempts, the idea was abandoned in despair. -It would be necessary to give two distinct or rather opposite -versions--according to the Mormons and the anti-Mormons--of every -motive and action which have engendered and produced history. Such a -style would not be lively. Moreover, the excessive positivism with -which each side maintains its facts, and the palpable sacrifice of -truth to party feeling, would make it impossible for any but an -eye-witness, who had lived through the scenes, and had preserved his -impartiality, to separate the wheat from the chaff. The Mormons declare -that if they knew their prophet to be an impostor, they could still -love, respect, and follow him in this life to the next. The Gentiles, -I can see, would not accept him, even if he were proposed to them by a -spirit from the other world. There is little inducement in this case to -break the scriptural injunction, “Judge not.” - -Under these considerations, I have added to the Appendix (No. V.) a -detailed chronological table of Mormon events: it is compiled from both -parties, and has at least one merit--impartiality. - - -CHRONOLOGY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS RECORDED IN THE BOOK OF MORMON. - -[MORMON CHRONOLOGY.] - -(_By Elder James Marsden, and printed in the Compendium of Faith and -Doctrines._) - - B.C. - - 600. Lehi, Sariah, and their four sons, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and - Nephi, left Jerusalem by the commandment of God, and journeyed into - the wilderness of Arabia (p. 17, 44, 97, pars. 3, 47, 4). - - 592. Lehi and his family arrived at the land Bountiful, so called - because of its much fruit. Its modern name is Arabia Felix, or Arabia - the Happy (p. 36, par. 17). - - 570. Jacob and Joseph were consecrated priests and teachers over the - people of Nephi (p. 66, par. 5). - - 560. Nephi was commanded to make a second volume of plates (p. 67, - par. 6). - - 545. Nephi commanded Jacob to write on the small plates such things - as he considered most precious (p. 114, par. 1). - - 421. Jacob having committed the records into the hands of his son - Enos, and Enos being old, he gave the records into the hands of his - son Jarom (p. 133, 136, pars. 9, 7). - - 400. The people of Nephi kept the law of Moses, and they rapidly - increased in numbers, and were greatly prospered (p. 137, par. 3). - - 362. Jarom being old, delivered the records into the hands of his son - Omni (p. 138, par. 6). - - 324. Omni was a wicked man, but he defended the Nephites from their - enemies (p. 138, par. 2). - - 280. Amaron delivered the plates to his brother Chemish (p. 139, par. - 3). - - 124. After Abinadom, the son of Chemish, Amaleki,[214] the son - of Abinadom, King Benjamin, and Mosiah had successively kept the - records, Mosiah, the son of King Benjamin, was consecrated king (p. - 157, par. 2). - -121. Mosiah sent sixteen men to the land of Lehi-Nephi to inquire -concerning their brethren (p. 158, par. 2). - -91. Mosiah died, having conferred the records upon Alma, who was the -son of Alma. Mosiah also established a republican form of government, -and appointed Alma the first and chief judge of the land (p. 205, 209, -pars. 1, 7). - -90. Nehor suffered an ignominious death for apostasy and for killing -Gideon (p. 210, pars. 3, 4). - -86. The usurper Amlici was slain by Alma. In this year many battles -were fought between the Nephites on the one hand, and the Amlicites, -who were Nephite revolutionists, and the Lamanites on the other. The -Nephites were mostly victorious (p. 215, 217, pars. 14, 18). - -85. Peace was restored and many were baptized in the waters of Sidon, -and became members of the Church (p. 218, par. 1). - -84. Peace continued, and three thousand five hundred became members of -the Church of God (p. 218, par. 2). - -83. The members of the Church became proud because of their great -riches (p. 218, par. 3). - -82. Alma delivered up the office of chief judge to Nephilah, and -confined himself wholly to the high priesthood, after the holy order of -God (p. 219, par. 5). - -81. Alma performed a mission to the land of Melek, and to the City -Ammonihah (p. 230, pars. 2, 3). - -80. Alma and Amulek were delivered from prison by the mighty power of -God (p. 251, par. 11). - -79. The Lamanites destroyed the people of Ammonihah (p. 253, par. 2). - -76. There was peace during three years, and the Church was greatly -prospered (p. 254, par. 8). - -75. Ammon performed a successful mission among the Lamanites (p. 288, -par. 10). - -73. Korihor, the great anti-Christ, made his appearance (p. 290, par. -2). - -72. Alma committed the record to the keeping of his son Helaman, and -commanded him to continue the history of his people (p. 310, par. 5). - -71. The Nephites obtained a complete victory over the Lamanites in the -borders of Manti (p. 331, par. 16). - -71. Helaman performed a successful mission among the Nephites (p. 333, -par. 4). - -69. Moroni commanded that the Nephites should fortify all their cities. -They also built many cities (p. 346, par. 1). - -68. This was the most comfortable, prosperous, and happy year that the -Nephites had ever seen (p. 348, par. 3). - -65. The people of Morianton prevented from escaping to the North or -Lake Country. Also Nephilah died, and his son Pahoran succeeded him as -chief judge of the land (p. 348, pars. 5, 8). - -64. A contention between the advocates of monarchy on the one hand, -and of republicanism on the other, was peaceably settled by the voice -of the people. But 4000 of the monarchy men were slain for refusing to -take up arms in defense of their country against the Lamanites (p. 350, -par. 3). - -63. Preparations for war between the Nephites and the Lamanites were -made (p. 354, par. 4). - -62. The same continued (p. 355, par. 4). - -61. Moroni retook the city of Melek, and obtained a complete victory -over the Lamanites (p. 356, par. 12). - -60. Moroni, by stratagem, overcame the Lamanites, and liberated his -people from prison (p. 363, par. 7). - -59. Moroni received an epistle from Helaman, of the city of Judea, in -which is set forth the wonderful victories obtained in that part of the -land over the Lamanites (p. 364, par. 1). - -58. Moroni obtained possession of the city of Nephilah (p. 386, par. -18). - -54. Peace having been restored, the Church became very prosperous, and -Helaman died (p. 387, par. 3). - -53. Shiblon took possession of the sacred records, and Moroni died (p. -387, pars. 1, 2). - -52. 5400 men, with their wives and children, left Zarahemla for the -North country (p. 388, par. 3). - -50. Shiblon conferred the sacred records upon Helaman, the son of -Helaman, and then died (p. 388, par. 5). - -49. Pahoran, the chief judge, having died, his son Pahoran was -appointed to succeed him. This Pahoran was murdered by Kishkumen, and -his brother Pacumeni was appointed by his successor (p. 389, par. 3). - -48. Coriantumr led a numerous host against Zarahemla, took the city, -and killed Pacumeni; but Moronihah retook the city, slew Coriantumr, -and obtained a complete victory over the Lamanites (p. 390, par. 5). - -47. Helaman was appointed chief judge, and the band of Gadianton -robbers was organized (p. 392, par. 8). - -46. Peace reigned among the Nephites (p. 393, par. 1). - -45. Peace continued (p. 393, par. 1). - -44. Peace continued (p. 393, par. 1). - -43. Great contention among the Nephites; many of them traveled -northward (p. 394, par. 2). - -36. Helaman died, and his son Nephi was appointed chief judge. - -31. The Nephites, because of their wickedness, lost many of their -cities, and many of them were slain by the Lamanites (p. 397, par. 8). - -28. The Nephites repented at the preaching of Moronihah (p. 397, par. -10). - -27. Moronihah could obtain no more possessions from the Lamanites. -Nephi vacated the office of chief judge in favor of Cezoram (p. -398, 399, pars. 11, 13). The greater part of the Lamanites became a -righteous people (p. 403, par. 25). - -26. Nephi and Lehi went northward to preach unto the people (p. 404, -par. 26). - -23. Cezoram was murdered by an unknown hand as he sat on the -judgment-seat. His son, who was appointed to succeed him, was also -murdered (p. 404, par. 28). - -22. The Nephites became very wicked (p. 406, par. 31). - -21. The Lamanites observed the laws of righteousness, and utterly -destroyed the Gadianton robbers from among them (p. 406, par. 32). - -20. Men belonging to the Gadianton band usurped the judgment-seat (p. -407, par. 1). - -18. Nephi prophesied many important things against his people (p. 416, -par. 15). - -14. Three years’ famine brought the people to repentance, and caused -them to destroy the Gadianton robbers (p. 417, pars. 2,3). - -13. Peace being restored, the people spread themselves abroad, to -repair their waste places (p. 418, par. 4). - -12. The majority of the people, both Nephites and Lamanites, became -members of the Church (p. 418, par. 4). - -9. Certain dissenters among the Nephites stirred up the Lamanites -against their brethren, and they revived the secrets of Gadianton (p. -419, par. 5). - -5. The Lamanites prevailed against the Nephites, because of their great -wickedness (p. 420, par. 7). - -4. Samuel the Lamanite performed a mission among the Nephites (p. 422, -par. 1). - -1. Great signs and wonders were given unto the people, and the words of -the Prophets began to be fulfilled (p. 431, par. 10). - -Lachoneus was the chief judge and governor of the land. Nephi gave the -records into the hands of his son Nephi (p. 432, par. 1). - -The Lord revealed to Nephi that he would come into the world the next -day, and many signs of his coming were given (p. 433, par. 3). - -A.C. - -3. The Gadianton robbers committed many depredations (p. 434, par. 6). - -4. The Gadianton robbers greatly increased (p. 434, par. 6). - -9. The Nephites began to reckon their time from the coming of Christ -(p. 435, par. 8). - -13. The Nephites were joined by many of the Lamanites in defense -against the robbers, who had now become very numerous and formidable -(p. 436, par. 9). - -15. The Nephites were worsted in several engagements (p. 436, par. 10). - -16. Gidgidoni, who was a chief judge and a great prophet, was appointed -commander-in-chief (p. 438, par. 3). - -17. The Nephites gathered themselves together for the purpose of mutual -defense, and provided themselves with seven years’ provisions (p. 439, -par. 4). - -19. A great battle was fought between the Nephites and the Gadianton -robbers, in which the latter were defeated, and their leader, -Giddianhi, was slain (p. 440, pars. 6, 8). - -21. The Nephites slew tens of thousands of the robbers, and took all -that were alive prisoners, and hanged their leader, Zemnarihah (p. 441, -442, pars. 9, 10). - -25. Mormon made new plates, upon which he made a record of what took -place from the time Lehi left Jerusalem until his own day, and also a -history of his own times (p. 443, par. 11). - -26. The Nephites spread themselves abroad on their former possessions -(p. 445, par. 1). - -30. Lachoneus, the son of Lachoneus, was appointed governor of the -land. He was murdered, and the people became divided into numerous -tribes (p. 446, 447, pars. 3, 4). - -31. Nephi having great faith in God, angels did minister to him daily -(p. 449, par. 8). - -32. The few who were converted through the preaching of Nephi were -greatly blessed of God (p. 449, par. 10). - -33. Many were baptized into the Church (p. 449, par. 10). - -34. A terrible tempest took place, which changed and deformed the whole -face of the land. Three days elapsed during which no light was seen. - -The voice of Jesus Christ was heard by all the people of the land, -declaring that he had caused this destruction, and commanding them to -cease to offer burnt-offerings and sacrifices (p. 453, pars. 7, 8). - -35. In this year Jesus Christ appeared among the Nephites, and unfolded -to them at large the principles of the Gospel (p. 455, pars. 11, 1). -The apostles of Christ formed a Church of Christ (p. 492, par. 1). - -36. Both the Nephites and the Lamanites were all converted, and had all -things in common (p. 492, par. 2). - -37. Many miracles were wrought by the disciples of Jesus (p. 492, par. -3). - -59. The people rebuilt the city of Zarahemla, and were very prosperous -(p. 493, par. 3). - -100. The disciples of Jesus, whom he had chosen, had all gone to -Paradise except the three who obtained the promise that they should not -taste of death (p. 493, par. 5). - -110. Nephi died, and his son Amos kept the record (p. 493, par. 6). - -194. Amos died, and his son Amos kept the record (p. 494, par. 7). - -201. The people ceased to have all things in common; they became proud, -and were divided into classes (p. 494, par. 7). - -210. There were many churches who were opposed to the true Church of -Christ (p. 494, par. 8). - -230. The people dwindled in unbelief and wickedness from year to year -(p. 494, par. 8). - -231. A great division took place among the people (p. 495, par. 8). - -244. The wicked part of the people became stronger and more numerous -than the righteous (p. 495, par. 9). - -260. The people began to build up the secret oaths and combinations of -Gadianton (p. 495, par. 9). - -300. The Gadianton robbers spread themselves all over the face of the -land (p. 496, par. 10). - -305. Amos died, and his brother Ammaron kept the record in his stead -(p. 496, par. 11). - -320. Ammaron hid up all the sacred records unto the Lord, and gave -commandment unto Mormon concerning them (p. 496, pars. 11, 1). - -321. A war commenced between the Nephites and Lamanites, in which the -former were victorious (p. 497, par. 2). - -325. Mormon was restrained from preaching to the people, and because -of their wickedness, and the prevalence of sorceries, witchcrafts, and -magic, their treasures slipped away from them (p. 497, par. 2). - -326. Mormon was appointed leader of the Nephite armies (p. 498, par. 3). - -330. A great battle took place in the land of Joshua, in which the -Nephites were victorious (p. 498, par. 3). - -344. Thousands of the Nephites were hewn down in their open rebellion -against God (p. 499, par. 4). - -345. Mormon had obtained the plates according to commandment of -Ammaron, and he made an account of the wickedness and abominations of -his people (p. 499, par. 5). - -346. The Nephites were driven northward to the land of Shem, and there -fought and beat a powerful army of the Lamanites (p. 500, par. 6). - -349. The Nephites obtained by treaty all the land of their inheritance, -and a ten years’ peace ensued (p. 500, par. 6). - -360. The king of the Lamanites sent an epistle to Mormon indicating -that they were again preparing for war (p. 501, par. 7). - -361. A battle took place near the City of Desolation. The Nephites were -victorious (p. 501, par. 8). - -362. A second battle ensued with the like result (p. 501, par. 8). -Mormon now gave up the command of the Nephite army (p. 501, par. 9). - -363. The Lamanites obtained a signal victory over the Nephites, and -took possession of the City of Desolation (p. 502, par. 1). - -364. The Nephites retook the City of Desolation (p. 503, par. 2). - -366. The Lamanites again took possession of the City of Desolation, and -also succeeded in taking the City of Teancum (p. 503, par. 3). - -367. The Nephites avenged the murder of their wives and children, and -drove the Lamanites out of their land; and ten years’ peace ensued (p. -503, par. 3). - -375. The Lamanites came again to battle with the Nephites, and beat -them (p. 504, par. 3). - -The Nephites from this time forth were prevailed against by the -Lamanites; Mormon therefore took all the records which Ammaron had hid -up unto the Lord (p. 504, par. 3). - -379. Mormon resumed the command of the Nephite armies (p. 504, par. 4). - -380. Mormon wrote an abridged account of the events which he had seen -(p. 505, par. 5). - -384. The Nephites encamped around the hill Cumorah. Mormon hid up in -the hill Cumorah all the plates that were committed to his trust, -except a few which he gave to his son Moroni (p. 507, pars. 1, 2). - -The battle of Cumorah was fought, in which two hundred and thirty -thousand of the Nephites were slain (p. 507, pars. 2, 3). - -400. All the Nephites, as a distinct people, except Moroni, were -destroyed (p. 509, par. 1). - -421. Moroni finished and sealed up all the records, according to the -commandment of God (p. 561, par. 1). - - [214] While Amaleki was keeping the records, Mosiah, the father of - King Benjamin, and as many as would hearken to the voice of God, were - commanded to go into the wilderness, and were led by the power of the - Almighty to the Land of Zarahemla, where they discovered a people who - left Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah was carried away captive - into Babylon. They were led by Mulek, the only surviving son of - Zedekiah; and on their arrival in America, met with Coriantumr, the - late king of the Jaredites, who were slain a little previous to the - immigration of Mulek and his people (p. 139, 40, 411, 549, pars. 6, - 9). - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -Farther Observations at Great Salt Lake City. - - -[THE COURT-HOUSE.--P. K. DOTSON.] - -One of my last visits was to the court-house on an interesting -occasion. The _Palais de Justice_ is near where the old fort once was, -in the western part of the settlement. It is an unfinished building of -adobe, based on red sandstone, with a flag-staff and a tinned roof, -which gives it a somewhat Muscovite appearance, and it cost $20,000. -The courts and Legislature sit in a neat room, with curtains and -chandeliers, and polished pine-wood furniture, all as yet unfaded. -The occasion which had gathered together the notabilities of the -place was this: Mr. Peter Dotson, the United States Marshal of the -Territory, living at Camp Floyd, and being on the opposition side, -had made himself--the Mormons say--an unscrupulous partisan. In July, -1859, he came from the cantonment armed with a writ issued by Mr. -Delana R. Eckels, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and accompanied -by two officers of the United States Army, to the Holy City for the -purpose of arresting a Mr. Mackenzie--now in the Penitentiary for -counterfeiting “quarter-masters’ drafts”--an engraver by profession, -and then working in the Deserét store of Mr. Brigham Young. Forgery -and false coining are associated in the Gentile mind with Mormonism, -and inveterately so; whether truly or not, I can not say: it is highly -probable that Mr. Bogus’s[215] habitat is not limited by latitude, -altitude, or longitude; at the same time, the Saints are too much _en -évidence_ to entertain him publicly. The marshal, probably not aware -that the Territory had passed no law enabling the myrmidons of justice -to seize suspicious implements and apparatus made _main forte_, levied, -despite due notice, upon what he found appertaining to Mr. Mackenzie, -a Bible, a Book of Mormon, and--here was the rub--the copper plates of -the Deserét Currency Association. This plunder was deposited for the -night with the governor, and was carried in a sack on the next day -to Camp Floyd. Then the anti-Mormons sang Io pæans; they had--to use -a Western phrase--“got the dead wood on Brigham;” letters traced back -to officials appeared in the Eastern and other papers, announcing to -the public that the Prophet was a detected forger. Presently, the true -character of the copper plates appearing, they were generously offered -back; but, as trespass had been committed, to say nothing of libel, and -as all concerned in the affair were obnoxious men, it was resolved to -try law. A civil suit was instituted, and a sum of $1600 was claimed -for damage done to the plates by scratching, and for loss of service, -which hindered business in the city. The unfortunate marshal, who was -probably a “cat’s-paw,” had “caught a Tartar;” he possessed a house and -furniture, a carriage and horses, all of which were attached, and the -case of “Brigham Young, sen., _vs._ P. K. Dotson,” ended in a verdict -for the plaintiff, viz., value of plates destroyed, $1668; damages, -$648 66. The anti-Mormons declared him a martyr; the Mormons, a vicious -fool; and sensible Gentiles asserted that he was rightly served for -showing evil animus. The case might have ended badly but for the -prudence of the governor. Had a descent been made for the purpose of -arrest upon the Prophet’s house, the consequences would certainly have -been serious to the last degree. - - [215] Bogus, according to Mr. Bartlett, who quotes the “Boston - Courier” of June 12, 1857, is a Western corruption of Borghese, - “a very corrupt individual, who, twenty years ago or more, did a - tremendous business in the way of supplying the great West and - portions of the Southwest with counterfeit bills and drafts on - fictitious banks.” The word is now applied in the sense of sham, - forged, counterfeit, and so on; there are bogus laws and bogus - members; in fact, bogus enters every where. - -The cause was tried in the Probate Court, which I have explained to be -a Territorial, not a federal court. The Honorable Elias Smith presided, -and the arguments for the prosecution and the defense were conducted by -the ablest Mormon and anti-Mormon lawyers. I attended the house, and -carefully watched the proceedings, to detect, if possible, intimidation -or misdirection; every thing was done with even-handed justice. The -physical aspect of the court was that which foreign travelers in the -Far West delight to describe and ridicule, wholly forgetting that they -have seen the same scene much nearer home. His honor sat with his chair -tilted back and his boots on the table, exactly as if he had been an -Anglo-Indian collector and magistrate, while by a certain contraction -and expansion of the dexter corner of his well-closed mouth I suspected -the existence of the quid. The position is queer, but not more so than -that of a judge at Westminster sleeping soundly, in the attitude of -Pisa’s leaning monster, upon the bench. By the justice’s side sat the -portly figure of Dr. Kay, opposite him the reporters, at other tables -the attorneys; the witnesses stood up between the tables, the jury were -on the left, and the public, including the governor, was distributed -like wall-flowers on benches around the room. - -There is a certain monotony of life in Great Salt Lake City which does -not render the subject favorable for description. Moreover, a Moslem -gloom, the result of austere morals and manners, of the semi-seclusion -of the sex, and, in my case, of a reserve arising toward a stranger who -appeared in the train of federal officials, hangs over society. There -is none of that class which, according to the French author, _repose -des femmes du monde_. We rose early--in America the climate seems to -militate against slugabedism--and breakfasted at any hour between 6 -and 9 A.M. Ensued “business,” which seemed to consist principally of -correcting one’s teeth, and walking about the town, with occasional -“liquoring up.” Dinner was at 1 P.M., announced, not by the normal -gong of the Eastern States, which lately so direfully offended a pair -of Anglo-Hibernian ears, but by a hand-bell which sounded the _pas -de charge_. Jostling into the long room of the ordinary, we took our -seats, and, seizing our forks, proceeded at once to action, after the -fashion of Puddingburn House, where - - “They who came not the first call, - Got no meat till the next meal.” - -Nothing but water was drunk at dinner, except when a gentleman -preferred to wash down roast pork with a tumbler of milk; wine in this -part of the world is of course dear and bad, and even should the Saints -make their own, it can scarcely be cheap on account of the price of -labor. Feeding ended with a glass of liquor, not at the bar, because -there was none, but in the privacy of one’s chamber, which takes from -drinking half its charm. Most well-to-do men found time for a siesta in -the early afternoon. There was supper, which in modern English parlance -would be called dinner, at 6 P.M., and the evening was easily spent -with a friend. - -[HISTORIAN AND RECORDER’S OFFICE.] - -One of my favorite places of visiting was the Historian and Recorder’s -Office, opposite Mr. Brigham Young’s block. It contained a small -collection of volumes, together with papers, official and private, -plans, designs, and other requisites, many of them written in the -Deserét alphabet, of which I subjoin a copy.[216] It is, as will -readily be seen, a stereographic modification of Pitman’s and other -systems. Types have been cast for it, and articles are printed in the -newspapers at times; as man, however, prefers two alphabets to one, -it will probably share the fate of the “Fonetik Nuz.” Sir A. Alison -somewhere delivers it as his opinion that the future historian of -America will be forced to Europe, where alone his material can be -found; so far from this being the case, the reverse is emphatically -true: every where in the States, even in the newest, the Historical -Society is an institution, and men pride themselves upon laboring for -it. At the office I used to meet Mr. George A. Smith, the armor-bearer -to the Prophet in the camp of Zion, who boasts of having sown the first -seed, built the first saw-mill, and ground the first flour in Southern -Utah, whence the nearest settlements, separated by terrible deserts, -were distant 200 miles. His companions were Messrs. W. Woodruff, Bishop -Bentley, who was preparing for a missionary visit to England, and -Wm. Thomas Bullock, an intelligent Mormon, who has had the honor to -be soundly abused in Mrs. Ferris’s 11th letter. The lady’s “wicked -Welshman”--I suppose she remembered the well-known line anent the sons -of the Cymri-- - - “Taffy is a Welshman, Taffy is a thief”-- - -is no Cambrian, but an aborigine of Leek, Staffordshire, England, -and was from 1838 to 1843 an excise officer in her majesty’s Inland -Revenue; he kindly supplied me with a plan of the city, and other -information, for which he has my grateful thanks. - - [216] See next page. - - +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ - | THE DESERÉT ALPHABET. | - +---------------------+-------++------------------------------------+ - | =VOCAL SOUNDS.= | 𐐘 Ga ||The sounds of the letters 𐐆, 𐐇, 𐐈, | - +---------+-----------+ ||𐐉, 𐐊, 𐐋 are heard in the words fit, | - |=Long.= | =Double.= | 𐐙 F ||net, fat, cot, nut, foot. | - | | | || | - | 𐐀 E | 𐐌 I | 𐐚 V ||𐐕, 𐐘, 𐐛, 𐐜, 𐐟 are heard in the words| - | | | ||_chee_-se, _ga_-te, s-_eth_, _the_, | - | 𐐁 A | 𐐍 Ow | 𐐛 Eth ||fl-_esh_. | - | | | || | - | 𐐂 Ah | 𐐎 Woo | 𐐜 The ||𐐡 is like _ir_ in st-_ir_; _are_ is | - | | | ||made by the combination of 𐐈 𐐡; 𐐥 is| - | 𐐃 Aw | 𐐏 Ye | 𐐝 S ||heard in l-_eng_-th. | - | | | || | - | 𐐄 O |=Aspirate.=| 𐐞 Z ||=Learn this Alphabet and appreciate | - | | 𐐐 H | || its advantages.= | - | 𐐅 Oo +===========+ 𐐟 Esh || | - | |=Articulate| || | - | | Sounds.= | 𐐠 Zhe || | - |=Short.= | 𐐑 P | || | - |𐐆} | | 𐐡 Ur || | - | }(This | 𐐒 B | || | - |𐐇}column | | 𐐢 L || | - | } of | 𐐓 T | || | - |𐐈}letters| | 𐐣 M || | - | }are the| 𐐔 D | || | - |𐐉} short | | 𐐤 N || | - | }sounds | 𐐕 Che | || | - |𐐊}of the | | 𐐥 Eng || | - | }above).| 𐐖 G | || | - |𐐋} | | || | - | | 𐐗 K | || | - +---------+-----------+-------++------------------------------------+ - -[FEDERAL OFFICIALS.] - -At the office, the undying hatred of all things Gentile-federal had -reached its climax; every slight offered to the faith by anti-Mormons -is there laid up in lavender, every grievance is carefully recorded. -There I heard how, at a general conference of the Church of Jesus -Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in September, 1851, Perry E. Brocchus, a -judge of the Supreme Court, having the design of becoming Territorial -delegate to Congress, ascended the rostrum and foully abused their most -cherished institution, polygamy.[217] He was answered with sternness -by Mr. Brigham Young, and really, under the circumstances, the Saints -behaved very well in not proceeding to _voies de faits_. Mr. Brocchus, -seeing personal danger, left the city in company with Chief Justice -L. C. Brandenburg and Mr. Secretary Harris, whom the Mormons very -naturally accused of carrying away $24,000, the sum appropriated by -Congress for the salary and the mileage of the local Legislature, -thus putting a clog upon the wheels of government. I also heard how -Judge Drummond, in 1856, began the troubles by falsely reporting to -the federal authority that the Mormons were in a state of revolt; -that they had burned the public library, and were, in fact, defying -the Union--how, bigotry doing its work, the officials at Washington -believed the tale without investigation, and sent an army which was -ready to renew the scenes of St. Bartholomew and Nauvoo. The federal -troops were rather pitied than hated; had they been militia they -would have been wiped out; but “wretched Dutchmen, and poor devils -of Irishmen,” acting under orders, were simply despised. Their -_fainéantise_ was contrasted most unfavorably with the fiery Mormon -youth that was spoiling for a fight; that could ride, like part of -the horse, down places where no trooper dared venture; that picked -up a dollar at full gallop, drove off the invaders’ cattle, burned -wagons, grass, and provisions, offered to lasso the guns, and, when -they had taken a prisoner, drank with him and let him go--how Governor -Cumming, after his entry, at once certified the untruthfulness of -the scandal spread by Judge Drummond, especially that touching the -library and archives, and reported that no federal officer had ever -been killed or even assaulted by the Saints--how the effects of these -misrepresentations have been and still are serious. In 1857, for -instance, the mail was cut off, and a large commercial community was -left without postal communication for a whole year: the ostensible -reason was the troubled state of the Territory; the real cause was the -desire of the Post-office Department to keep the advance of the troops -dark. The Mormons complain that they have ever been made a subject -of political capital. President Van Buren openly confessed to them, -“Gentlemen, your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you; if I -took your part I should lose the vote of Missouri.” Every grievance -against them, they say, is listened to and readily believed: as an -example, a Mr. John Robinson, of Liverpool, had lately represented to -her Britannic majesty’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs that his mother -and sister were detained in Utah Territory against their will; the -usual steps were taken; the British minister applied to the United -States Secretary of State, who referred the affair to the governor of -the Territory; after which process the tale turned out a mere _canard_. -This sister had been married to Mr. Ferguson, adjutant general of the -Nauvoo Legion; the mother had left the City of the Saints for Illinois, -and had just written to her son-in-law for means by which she could -return to a place whence she was to be rescued by British interference. -To a false prejudice against themselves the Mormons attribute the -neglect with which their project of colonizing Vancouver’s Island -was treated by the British government, and the active opposition to -be expected should they ever attempt to settle in the Valley of the -Saskatchewan. And they think it poor policy on the part of England to -“bluff off” 100,000 moral, industrious, and obedient subjects, who -would be a bulwark against aggression on the part of the States, and -tend materially to prepare the thousand miles of valley between the -Mississippi and the Pacific for the coming railway. - - [217] On the 5th of April, 1860, the Chamber of Representatives at - Washington passed a projected law to repress polygamy by a majority - of 149 to 60. Fortunately, the Committee of the Senate had no time - to report upon it, and the slave discussion assumed dimensions which - buried Mormonism in complete oblivion. - -[CHILDREN OF THE SAINTS.] - -At the office I also obtained details concerning education in Great -Salt Lake City. Before commencing the subject it will be necessary -to notice certain statements relating to the ingenuous youth of Utah -Territory. It is generally asserted that juvenile mortality here ranks -second only to Louisiana, and the fault is, of course, charged upon -polygamy. A French author talks of the _mortalité effrayante_ among -the newly-born, while owning, anomalously, that the survivors _sont -braves et robustes_. I “doubt the fact.” Mr. Ferris, moreover, declares -that there is “nowhere out of the Five Points of New York City a more -filthy, miserable, and disorderly rabble of children than can be found -in the streets of Great Salt Lake City.” As far as my experience goes, -it is the reverse. I was surprised by their numbers, cleanliness, and -health, their hardihood and general good looks. They are bold and -spirited. The Mormon father, like the Indian brave, will not allow -the barbarous use of the stick; but this is perhaps a general feeling -throughout the States, where the English traveler first observes the -docility of the horses and the indocility of the children. But, as -regards rudeness, let a man “with whiskers under his snout,” _i. e._, -mustaches, ride through a village in Essex or Warwickshire, and he -will suffer more contumely at the hands of the infant population in -half an hour than in half a year in the United States or in Utah. M. -Remy, despite a “_vif désir_” to judge favorably of the Saints, could -not help owning that the children are mostly _grossiers_, _menteurs_, -_libertins avant l’âge_; that they use _un langage honteux, comme -si les mystères de la polygamie leur avaient été révélés dès l’âge -de raison_. Apparently since 1855 _cette corruption précoce_ has -disappeared. I found less premature depravity than in the children of -European cities generally. Mr. J. Hyde also brings against the juvenile -Saints severe charges, too general, however, not to be applicable to -other lands. “Cheating the confiding is called smart trading;” the -same has been said of New England. “Mischievous cruelty, evidences of -spirit;” the attribute of Plato’s boys and of the Western frontiers -generally. “Pompous bravado, manly talk;” not unusual in New York, -London, and Paris. “Reckless riding, fearless courage;” so apparently -thinks the author of “Guy Livingstone.” “And if they outtalk their -fathers, outwit their companions, whip their schoolteacher, outcurse a -Gentile, they are thought to be promising greatness, and are praised -accordingly. Every visitor to Salt Lake will recognize the portrait, -for every visitor proclaims them to be the most whisky-loving, -tobacco-chewing, saucy, and precocious children he ever saw.” This is -the glance of the anti-Mormon eye pure and simple. Tobacco and whisky -are too dear for childhood at the City of the Saints; moreover, twenty -years ago, before Tom Brown taught boys not to be ashamed of being -called good, a youth at many an English public school would have been -“cock of the walk” if gifted with the rare merits described above. I -remarked that the juveniles had all the promptness of reply and the -peremptoriness of information which characterizes the Scotch and the -people of the Eastern States. A half-educated man can not afford to own -ignorance. He must answer categorically every question, however beyond -his reach; and the result is fatal to the diaries of those travelers -who can not diagnostize the disease. - -[MORMON EDUCATION.] - -Mormon education is of course peculiar. The climate predisposes to -indolence. While the emigrants from the Old Country are the most -energetic and hard-working of men, their children, like the race of -backwoodsmen in mass, are averse to any but pleasurable physical -exertion. The object of the young colony is to rear a swarm of -healthy working bees. The social hive has as yet no room for drones, -book-worms, and gentlemen. The work is proportioned to their powers and -inclinations. At fifteen a boy can use a whip, an axe, or a hoe--he -does not like the plow--to perfection. He sits a bare-backed horse -like a Centaur, handles his bowie-knife skillfully, never misses a -mark with his revolver, and can probably dispose of half a bottle of -whisky. It is not an education which I would commend to the generous -youth of Paris and London, but it is admirably fitted to the exigencies -of the situation. With regard to book-work, there is no difficulty to -obtain in Great Salt Lake City that “mediocrity of knowledge between -learning and ignorance” which distinguished the grammar-schools of the -Western Islands in the days of Samuel Johnson. Amid such a concourse -of European converts, any language, from Hebrew to Portuguese, can be -learned. Mathematics and the exact sciences have their votaries. There -are graduates of Harvard, Dartmouth, and other colleges. I saw one -gentleman who had kept a school in Portsmouth, and another, who had had -a large academy in Shropshire, taught in the school of the 14th ward. -Music, dancing, drawing, and other artlets, which go by the name of -accomplishments, have many votaries. Indefatigable travelers there are -in abundance. Almost every Mormon is a missionary, and every missionary -is a voyager. Captain Gibson, a well-known name for “personal -initiative” in the Eastern Main, where he was seized by the Dutch of -Java, lately became a convert to Mormonism, married his daughter to -Mr. Brigham Young, and in sundry lectures delivered in the Tabernacle, -advised the establishment of a stake of Zion in the “Islands of the -Seas,” which signified, I suppose, his intention that the Netherlands -should “smell H--ll.” Law is commonly studied, and the practice, as I -have shown, is much simplified by the absence of justice. A solicitor -from London is also established here. Theology is the growth of the -soil. Medicine is represented by two graduates--one of Maryland; the -other, who prefers politics to practice, of New York. I am at pains -to discover what gave rise to the Gentile reports that the Mormons, -having a veritable horror of medicine, leave curing to the priests, and -dare not arrogate the art of healing. Masterships and apprenticeships -are carefully regulated by Territorial law. Every one learns to read -and write; probably the only destitutes are the old European pariahs, -and the gleanings from the five or six millions of English illiterati. -The Mormons have discovered, or, rather, have been taught, by their -necessities as a working population in a state barely twelve years old, -that the time of school drudgery may profitably be abridged. A boy, -they say, will learn all that his memory can carry during three hours -of book-work, and the rest had far better be spent in air, exercise, -and handicraft. To their eminently practical views I would offer one -suggestion, the advisability of making military drill and extension -movements, with and without weapons, a part of scholarhood. For -“setting up” the figure, forming the gait, and exercising the muscles, -it is the best of gymnastic systems, and the early habit of acting in -concert with others is a long stride in the path of soldiership. - -While it is the fashion with some to deride the attempts of this -painstaking and industrious community of hard-handed men to improve -their minds, other anti-Mormons have taken the popular ground of -representing the Saints as averse to intellectual activity, despisers -of science, respecters only of manual labor, and “_singulièrement -épris de la force brutale_.” It is as ungenerous as to ridicule the -proceedings of an English Mechanics’ Institute, or the compositions of -an “Ed. Mechanics’ Magazine.” The names of their literary institutions -are, it is true, somewhat pretentious and grandiloquent; but in these -lands there is every where a leaning toward the grandiose. Humility -does not pay. Modesty _laudatur et alget_. - -As early as December, 1854, an act was approved enabling the Chancellor -and Board of Regents of the University of the State of Deserét to -appoint a superintendent of common schools for the Territory of Utah, -and duly qualified trustees were elected to assess and collect for -educational purposes a tax upon all taxable property. In the same -year a pathetic memorial was dispatched to Congress, requesting -that honorable body to appropriate the sum of $5000 to advance the -interests of the University established by law in the City of Great -Salt Lake. I know not whether it was granted. As yet there is no -educational tax leviable throughout the Territory. Each district makes -its own regulations. A city rate supports a school in each ward. The -buildings are of plain adobe, thirty feet by twenty. They also serve as -meeting-places on Sabbath evenings. There are tutoresses in three or -four of the school-houses, who teach all the year round, whereas male -education is usually limited by necessity to the three winter months. -A certain difficulty exists in finding instructors. As in Australia, -the pedagogue is cheaper than a porter, and “turning schoolmaster” is a -proverbial phrase about equivalent to coming upon the parish. - -The principal educational institutions in Great Salt Lake City have -been the following: - -1. The Deserét Universal Scientific. - -2. The “Polysophical Society,” a name given by Judge Phelps. - -3. The Seventies’ Variety Club. - -4. The Council of Health, a medico-physiologio-clinical and matronly -establishment, like the Dorcas Societies of the Eastern States. - -5. The Deserét Theological Institution, whose President was Mr. Brigham -Young. - -6. The Deserét Library and Musical Society. - -7. The Phrenological and Horticultural Society. - -8. The Deserét Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, which has -already been alluded to. It has many branch societies, whose members -pay an annual subscription of $1. - -9. The Academy founded in April, 1860, with an appropriation by the -local Legislature of Church money to the extent of $2500. Science -and art are to be taught gratis to all who will pledge themselves to -learn thoroughly and to benefit the Territory by their exertions. The -superintendent is Mr. Orson Pratt; and his son, Mr. O. Pratt, junior, -together with Mr. Cobb, a Gentile, acts as teacher. At present those -educated are males; in course of time a girl class will be established -for accomplishments and practical education. - -The Historian’s Office was ever to me a place of pleasant resort; -I take my leave of it with many expressions of gratitude for the -instructive hours passed there. - -It will, I suppose, be necessary to supply a popular view of -the “peculiar institution,” at once the bane and blessing of -Mormonism--plurality. I approach the subject with a feeling of despair, -so conflicting are opinions concerning it, and so difficult is it to -naturalize in Europe the customs of Asia, Africa, and America, or to -reconcile the habits of the 19th century A.D. with those of 1900 B.C. A -return to the patriarchal ages, we have seen, has its disadvantages. - -There is a prevailing idea, especially in England, and even the -educated are laboring under it, that the Mormons are Communists or -Socialists of Plato’s, Cicero’s, Mr. Owen’s, and M. Cabet’s school; -that wives are in public, and that a woman can have as many husbands -as the husband can have wives--in fact, to speak colloquially, that -they “all pig together.” The contrary is notably the case. The man -who, like Messrs. Hamilton and Howard Egan, murders, in cold blood, -his wife’s lover, is invariably acquitted, the jury declaring that -civil damages mark the rottenness of other governments, and that “the -principle, the only one that beats and throbs through the heart of the -_entire inhabitants_ (!) of this Territory, is simply this: _The man -who seduces his neighbor’s wife must die, and her nearest relation -must kill him_.” Men, like Dr. Vaughan and Mr. Monroe, slain for the -mortal sin, perish for their salvation; the Prophet, were they to lay -their lives at his feet, would, because unable to hang or behead them, -counsel them to seek certain death in a righteous cause as an expiatory -sacrifice,[218] which may save their souls alive. Their two mortal sins -are: 1. Adultery; 2. Shedding innocent blood. - - [218] The form of death has yet to be decided. They call this a - scriptural practice, viz., “to deliver such a one unto Satan for the - destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of - the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor., v., 5). - -This severity of punishing an offense which modern and civilized -society looks upon rather in the light of a sin than of a crime, is -clearly based upon the Mosaic code. It is also, _lex loci_, the “common -mountain law,” a “religious and social custom,” and a point of personal -honor. Another idea underlies it: the Mormons hold, like the Hebrews of -old, “children of shame” in extreme dishonor. They quote the command of -God, Deuteronomy (xxiii., 2), “a mamzer shall not enter into the Church -of the Lord till the tenth generation,” and ask when the order was -repealed. They would expel all impurity from the Camp of Zion, and they -adopt every method of preventing what they consider a tremendous evil, -viz., the violation of God’s temple in their own bodies. - -The marriage ceremony is performed in the temple, or, that being -impossible, in Mr. Brigham Young’s office, properly speaking by the -Prophet, who can, however, depute any follower, as Mr. Heber C. -Kimball, a simple apostle, or even an elder, to act for him. When -mutual consent is given, the parties are pronounced man and wife in the -name of Jesus Christ, prayers follow, and there is a patriarchal feast -of joy in the evening. - -[_THE_ WIFE.] - -The first wife, as among polygamists generally, is _the_ wife, and -assumes the husband’s name and title. Her “plurality”-partners are -called sisters--such as Sister Anne or Sister Blanche--and are the -aunts of her children. The first wife is married for time, the others -are sealed for eternity. Hence, according to the Mormons, arose the -Gentile calumny concerning spiritual wifedom, which they distinctly -deny. Girls rarely remain single past sixteen--in England the average -marrying age is thirty--and they would be the pity of the community if -they were doomed to a waste of youth so unnatural. - -[DIVORCE.] - -Divorce is rarely obtained by the man who is ashamed to own that he can -not keep his house in order; some, such as the President, would grant -it only in case of adultery: wives, however, are allowed to claim it -for cruelty, desertion, or neglect. Of late years, Mormon women married -to Gentiles are cut off from the society of the Saints, and, without -uncharitableness, men suspect a sound previous reason. The widows of -the Prophet are married to his successor, as David took unto himself -the wives of Saul; being generally aged, they occupy the position of -matron rather than wife, and the same is the case when a man espouses a -mother and her daughter. - -[THE VIRGIN’S END.] - -It is needless to remark how important a part matrimony plays in the -history of an individual, and of that aggregate of individuals, a -people; or how various and conflicting has been Christian practice -concerning it, from the double marriage, civil and religious, the -former temporary, the latter permanent, of the Coptic or Abyssinian -Church, to the exaggerated purity of Mistress Anna Lee, the mother of -the Shakers, who exacted complete continence in a state established -according to the first commandment, _crescite et multiplicamini_. -The literalism with which the Mormons have interpreted Scripture -has led them directly to polygamy. The texts promising to Abraham -a progeny numerous as the stars above or the sands below, and that -“in his seed (a polygamist) all the families of the earth shall be -blessed,” induce them, his descendants, to seek a similar blessing. -The theory announcing that “the man is not without the woman, nor -the woman without the man,” is by them interpreted into an absolute -command that both sexes should marry, and that a woman can not enter -the heavenly kingdom without a husband to introduce her. A virgin’s -end is annihilation or absorption, _nox est perpetua una dormienda_; -and as baptism for the dead--an old rite, revived and founded upon -the writings of St. Paul quoted in the last chapter--has been made -a part of practice, vicarious marriage for the departed also enters -into the Mormon scheme. Like certain British Dissenters of the royal -burgh of Dundee, who in our day petitioned Parliament for permission -to bigamize, the Mormons, with Bossuet and others, see in the New -Testament no order against plurality,[219] and in the Old dispensation -they find the practice sanctioned in a family, ever the friends of God, -and out of which the Redeemer sprang. Finally, they find throughout the -nations of the earth three polygamists in theory to one monogame. - - [219] Histoire des Variations, liv. iv. “L’Evangile n’a ni révoqué - ni défendu ce qui avait été permis dans la loi de Moïse à l’égard du - mariage: Jesus Christ n’a pas changé la police extérieure, mais il - a ajouté seulement la justice et la vie éternelle pour récompense.” - So, in 1539, the Landgrave Philip of Hesse, wishing to marry a second - wife while the first was alive, was permitted to “commit bigamy” by - the eminent reformers, M. Luther, Kuhorn (M. Bucer), Melancthon, - and others, with the sole condition of secrecy. In the present age, - the Right Rev. J. W. Colenso, D.D. and Bishop of Natal, “not only - tolerates polygamy in converts, but defends it on the ground of - religion and humanity.” - -[POLYGAMY.] - -The “chaste and plural marriage,” being once legalized, finds a -multitude of supporters. The anti-Mormons declare that it is at once -fornication and adultery--a sin which absorbs all others. The Mormons -point triumphantly to the austere morals of their community, their -superior freedom from maladive influences, and the absence of that -uncleanness and licentiousness which distinguish the cities of the -civilized world. They boast that, if it be an evil, they have at -least chosen the lesser evil; that they practice openly as a virtue -what others do secretly as a sin--how full is society of these -latent Mormons!--that their plurality has abolished the necessity of -concubinage, cryptogamy, contubernium, celibacy, _mariages du treizième -arrondissement_, with their terrible consequences, infanticide, and -so forth; that they have removed their ways from those “whose end is -bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword.” Like its sister -institution Slavery, the birth and growth of a similar age, Polygamy -acquires _vim_ by abuse and detraction: the more turpitude is heaped -upon it, the brighter and more glorious it appears to its votaries. - -There are rules and regulations of Mormonism--I can not say whether -they date before or after the heavenly command to pluralize--which -disprove the popular statement that such marriages are made to gratify -licentiousness, and which render polygamy a positive necessity. All -sensuality in the married state is strictly forbidden beyond the -requisite for insuring progeny--the practice, in fact, of Adam and -Abraham. During the gestation and nursing of children, the strictest -continence on the part of the mother is required--rather for a hygienic -than for a religious reason. The same custom is practiced in part by -the Jews, and in whole by some of the noblest tribes of savages; the -splendid physical development of the Kaffir race in South Africa is -attributed by some authors to a rule of continence like that of the -Mormons, and to a lactation prolonged for two years. The anomaly of -such a practice in the midst of civilization is worthy of a place in De -Balzac’s great repertory of morbid anatomy: it is only to be equaled by -the exceptional nature of the Mormon’s position, his past fate and his -future prospects. Spartan-like, the Faith wants a race of warriors, and -it adopts the best means to obtain them. - -Besides religious and physiological, there are social motives for the -plurality. As in the days of Abraham, the lands about New Jordan are -broad and the people few. Of the three forms that unite the sexes, -polygamy increases, while monogamy balances, and polyandry diminishes -progeny. The former, as Montesquieu acutely suggested, acts inversely -to the latter by causing a preponderance of female over male births: -“Un fait important à noter,” says M. Remy, “c’est qu’il y a en Utah -beaucoup plus de naissances de filles que de garçons, resultat opposé -à ce qu’on observe dans tous les pays où la monogamie est pratiquée, -et parfaitement conforme à ce qu’on a remarqué chez les polygames -Mussulmans.” M. Remy’s statement is as distinctly affirmed by Mr. Hyde, -the Mormon apostate. In the East, where the census is unknown, we can -judge of the relative proportions of the sexes only by the families -of the great and wealthy, who invariably practice polygamy, and we -find the number of daughters mostly superior to that of sons, except -where female infanticide deludes the public into judging otherwise. -In lands where polyandry is the rule, for instance, in the Junsar and -Bawur pergunnahs of the Dhun, there is a striking discrepancy in the -proportions of the sexes among young children as well as adults: thus, -in a village where 400 boys are found, there will be 120 girls; and, -on the other hand, in the Gurhwal Hills, where polygamy is prevalent, -there is a surplus of female children. The experienced East Indian -official who has published this statement[220] is “inclined to give -more weight to nature’s adaptability to national habit than to the -possibility of infanticide,” for which there are no reasons. If these -be facts, Nature then has made provision for polygamy and polyandry: -our plastic mother has prepared her children to practice them all. Even -in Scotland modern statists have observed that the proportion of boys -born to girls is greater in the rural districts; and, attributing the -phenomenon to the physical weakening of the parents, have considered it -a rule so established as to “afford a valuable hint to those who desire -male progeny.” The anti-Mormons are fond of quoting Paley: “It is not -the question whether one man will have more children by five wives, but -whether these five women would not have had more children if they had -each a husband.” The Mormons reply that--setting aside the altered rule -of production--their colony, unlike all others, numbers more female -than male immigrants; consequently that, without polygamy, part of the -social field would remain untilled.[221] - - [220] Hunting in the Himalaya, by R. H. W. Dunlop, C.B., B.C.S., - F.R.G.S., London, Richard Bentley, 1860. - - [221] I am sure of the correctness of this assertion, which is thus - denied in general terms by M. Reclus, of the Revue des Deux-Mondes. - “A la fin de 1858, on comptaît sur le Territoire 3617 maris - polygames, dont 1117 ayant cinque femmes ou d’avantage: mais un grand - nombre de Mormons n’avaient encore pu trouver d’épouses; il est - probable même que le chiffre des hommes depasse celui des femmes, - comme dans tous les pays peuplés d’emigrans. L’équilibre entre les - sexes n’est pas encore établi.” - -To the unprejudiced traveler it appears that polygamy is the rule where -population is required, and where the great social evil has not had -time to develop itself. In Paris or London the institution would, like -slavery, die a natural death; in Arabia and in the wilds of the Rocky -Mountains it maintains a strong hold upon the affections of mankind. -Monogamy is best fitted for the large, wealthy, and flourishing -communities in which man is rarely the happier because his quiver is -full of children, and where the Hetæra becomes the succedaneum of -the “plurality-wife.” Polyandry has been practiced principally by -priestly and barbarous tribes,[222] who fear most for the increase of -their numbers, which would end by driving them to honest industry. -It reappears in a remarkable manner in the highest state of social -civilization, where excessive expenditure is an obstacle to freehold -property, and the practice is probably on the increase. - - [222] The Mahabharata thus relates the origin of the practice in - India. The five princely Pandava brothers, when contending for a - prize offered by the King of Drona to the most successful archer, - agreed to divide it if any of them should prove the winner. Arjun, - the eldest, was declared victor, and received in gift Draupadi, the - king’s daughter, who thus became the joint-stock property of the - whole fraternity. They lived _en famille_ for some years at the foot - of Bairath, the remains of which, or rather a Ghoorka structure on - the same site, are still visible on a hill near the N.W. corner of - the Dhun. (Hunting in the Himalaya, chap. vii.) - -The other motive for polygamy in Utah is economy. Servants are rare and -costly; it is cheaper and more comfortable to marry them. Many converts -are attracted by the prospect of becoming wives, especially from places -where, like Clifton, there are sixty-four females to thirty-six males. -The old maid is, as she ought to be, an unknown entity. Life in the -wilds of Western America is a course of severe toil: a single woman can -not perform the manifold duties of housekeeping, cooking, scrubbing, -washing, darning, child-bearing, and nursing a family. A division -of labor is necessary, and she finds it by acquiring a sisterhood. -Throughout the States, whenever a woman is seen at manual or outdoor -work, one is certain that she is Irish, German, or Scandinavian. The -delicacy and fragility of the Anglo-American female nature is at once -the cause and the effect of this exemption from toil. - -[MORMON WOMEN.--POLYGAMY.] - -The moral influence diffused over social relations by the presence -of polygyny will be intelligible only to those who have studied the -workings of the system in lands where seclusion is practiced in its -modified form, as among the Syrian Christians. In America society -splits into two parts--man and woman--even more readily than in -England; each sex is freer and happier in the company of its congeners. -At Great Salt Lake City there is a gloom like that which the late -Professor H. H. Wilson described as being cast by the invading Moslem -over the innocent gayety of the primitive Hindoo. The choice egotism -of the heart called Love--that is to say, the propensity elevated -by sentiment, and not undirected by reason, subsides into a calm -and unimpassioned domestic attachment: romance and reverence are -transferred, with the true Mormon concentration, from love and liberty -to religion and the Church. The consent of the first wife to a rival -is seldom refused, and a _ménage à trois_, in the Mormon sense of the -phrase, is fatal to the development of that tender tie which must be -confined to two. In its stead there is household comfort, affection, -circumspect friendship, and domestic discipline. Womanhood is not -petted and spoiled as in the Eastern States; the inevitable cyclical -revolution, indeed, has rather placed her below par, where, however, -I believe her to be happier than when set upon an uncomfortable and -unnatural eminence. - -It will be asked, What view does the softer sex take of polygyny? -A few, mostly from the Old Country, lament that Mr. Joseph Smith -ever asked of the Creator that question which was answered in the -affirmative. A very few, like the Curia Electa, Emma, the first wife -of Mr. Joseph Smith--who said of her, by-the-by, that she could not -be contented in heaven without rule--apostatize, and become Mrs. -Bridemann. The many are, as might be expected of the easily-moulded -weaker vessel, which proves its inferior position by the delicate -flattery of imitation, more in favor of polygyny than the stronger. - -For the attachment of the women of the Saints to the doctrine of -plurality there are many reasons. The Mormon prophets have expended -all their arts upon this end, well knowing that without the hearty -co-operation of mothers and wives, sisters and daughters, no -institution can live long. They have bribed them with promises of -Paradise--they have subjugated them with threats of annihilation. -With them, once a Mormon always a Mormon. I have said that a modified -reaction respecting the community of Saints has set in throughout -the States; people no longer wonder that their missionaries do not -show horns and cloven feet, and the federal officer, the itinerant -politician, the platform orator, and the place-seeking demagogue, can -no longer make political capital by bullying, oppressing, and abusing -them. The tide has turned, and will turn yet more. But the individual -still suffers: the apostate Mormon is looked upon by other people as a -scamp or a knave, and the woman worse than a prostitute. Again, all the -fervor of a new faith burns in their bosoms with a heat which we can -little appreciate, and the revelation of Mr. Joseph Smith is considered -on this point as superior to the Christian as the latter is in others -to the Mosaic Dispensation. Polygamy is a positive command from heaven: -if the flesh is mortified by it, _tant mieux_--“no cross, no crown;” -“blessed are they that mourn.” I have heard these words from the lips -of a well-educated Mormon woman, who, in the presence of a Gentile -sister, urged her husband to take unto himself a second wife. The -Mormon household has been described by its enemies as a hell of envy, -hatred, and malice--a den of murder and suicide. The same has been -said of the Moslem harem. Both, I believe, suffer from the assertions -of prejudice or ignorance. The temper of the New is so far superior to -that of the Old Country, that, incredible as the statement may appear, -rival wives do dwell together in amity, and do quote the proverb “the -more the merrier.” Moreover, they look with horror at the position of -the “slavey” of a pauper mechanic at being required to “nigger it” -upon love and starvation, and at the necessity of a numerous family. -They know that nine tenths of the miseries of the poor in large cities -arise from early and imprudent marriages, and they would rather be the -fiftieth “sealing” of Dives than the toilsome single wife of Lazarus. -The French saying concerning motherhood--“_le premier embellit, le -second détruit, le troisième gâte tout_,” is true in the Western world. -The first child is welcomed, the second is tolerated, the third is -the cause of tears and reproaches, and the fourth, if not prevented -by gold pills or some similar monstrosity, causes temper, spleen, and -melancholy, with disgust and hatred of the cause. What the Napoleonic -abolition of the law of primogeniture, combined with centralization of -the peasant class in towns and cities, has effected on this side of -the Channel, the terrors of maternity, aggravated by a highly nervous -temperament, small cerebellum, constitutional frigidity, and extreme -delicacy of fibre, have brought to pass in the older parts of the Union. - -Another curious effect of fervent belief may be noticed in the married -state. When a man has four or five wives, with reasonable families by -each, he is fixed for life: his interests, if not his affections, bind -him irrevocably to his new faith. But the bachelor, as well as the -monogamic youth, is prone to backsliding. Apostasy is apparently so -common that many of the new Saints form a mere floating population. He -is proved by a mission before being permitted to marry, and even then -women, dreading a possible renegade, with the terrible consequences -of a heavenless future to themselves, are shy of saying yes. Thus it -happens that male celibacy is mixed up in a curious way with polygamy, -and that also in a faith whose interpreter advises youth not to remain -single after sixteen, nor girls after fourteen. The celibacy also is -absolute; any infraction of it would be dangerous to life. Either, -then, the first propensity of the phrenologist is poorly developed -in these lands--this has been positively stated of the ruder sex in -California--or its action is to be regulated by habit to a greater -degree than is usually believed. - -[MRS. PRATT’S OPINION.] - -I am conscious that my narrative savors of incredibility; the fault is -in the subject, not in the narrator. _Exoneravi animan meam._ The best -proof that my opinions are correct will be the following quotation. It -is a letter addressed to a sister in New Hampshire by a Mrs. Belinda -M. Pratt, the wife of the celebrated apostle. M. Remy has apparently -dramatized it (vol. ii., chap. ii.) by casting it into dialogue form, -and placing it in the mouth of _une femme distinguée_. Most readers, -feminine and monogamic, will remark that the lady shows little heart -or natural affection; the severe calm of her judgment and reasoning -faculties, and the soundness of her physiology, can not be doubted. - - “Great Salt Lake City, Jan. 12, 1854. - - “DEAR SISTER,--Your letter of October 2 was received on yesterday. - My joy on its reception was more than I can express. I had waited - so long for your answer to our last, that I had almost concluded my - friends were offended, and would write to me no more. Judge, then, - of my joy when I read the sentiments of friendship and of sisterly - affection expressed in your letter. - - “We are all well here, and are prosperous and happy in our family - circle. My children, four in number, are healthy and cheerful, and - fast expanding their physical and intellectual faculties. Health, - peace, and prosperity have attended us all the day long. - - “It seems, my dear sister, that we are no nearer together in our - religious views than formerly. Why is this? Are we not all bound to - leave this world, with all we possess therein, and reap the reward - of our doings _here_ in a never-ending hereafter? If so, do we not - desire to be undeceived, and to _know and to do the truth_? Do we not - all wish in our very hearts to be sincere with ourselves, and to be - honest and frank with each other? - - “If so, you will bear with me patiently while I give a few of my - reasons for embracing and holding sacred that particular point in the - doctrine of the Church of the Saints to which you, my dear sister, - together with a large majority of Christendom, so decidedly object. I - mean, a ‘_plurality of wives_.’ - - “I have a Bible which I have been taught from my infancy to hold - sacred. In this Bible I read of a holy man named Abraham, who is - represented as the friend of God, a faithful man in all things, a - man who kept the commandments of God, and who is called in the New - Testament ‘the father of the faithful.’ See James, ii., 23; Rom., - iv., 16; Gal., iii., 8, 9, 16, 29. - - “I find this man had a plurality of wives, some of which were called - concubines. See Book of Genesis; and for his concubines, see xxv., 6. - - “I also find his grandson Jacob possessed of four wives, twelve - sons, and a daughter. These wives are spoken very highly of by the - sacred writers as honorable and virtuous women. ‘_These_,’ say the - Scriptures, ‘_did build the house of Israel_.’ - - “Jacob himself was also a man of God, and the Lord blessed him and - his house, and commanded him to be fruitful and multiply. See Gen., - xxx. to xxxv., and particularly xxxv., 10,11. - - “I find also that the twelve sons of Jacob by these four wives - became princes, heads of tribes, patriarchs, whose names are had in - everlasting remembrance to all generations. - - “Now God talked with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob frequently, and his - angels also visited and talked with them, and blessed them and their - wives and children. He also reproved the sins of some of the sons - of Jacob for hating and selling their brother, and for adultery. - But in all his communications with them he never condemned their - family organization, but, on the contrary, always approved of it, - and blessed them in this respect. He even told Abraham that he would - make him the father of many nations, and that in him and his seed all - the nations and kindreds of the earth should be blessed. See Gen., - xviii., 17-19; also xii., 1-3. In later years I find the plurality of - wives perpetuated, sanctioned, and provided for in the law of Moses. - - “David the Psalmist not only had a plurality of wives, but the Lord - himself spoke by the mouth of Nathan the prophet, and told David that - _he_ (the Lord) had given his master’s wives into his bosom; but - because he had committed adultery with the wife of Uriah, and had - caused his murder, _he_ would take _his_ wives and give them to a - neighbor of his, etc. See 2 Sam., xii., 7-11. - - “Here, then, we have the Word of the Lord not only sanctioning - polygamy, but actually giving to King David the wives of his master - (Saul), and afterward taking the wives of David from him, and giving - them to another man. Here we have a sample of severe reproof and - punishment for adultery and murder, while polygamy is authorized and - approved by the Word of God. - - “But to come to the New Testament. I find Jesus Christ speaks very - highly of Abraham and his family. He says, ‘_Many shall come from - the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, - and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of - God_.’ Luke, xiii., 28, 29. - - “Again he said, ‘_If ye were Abraham’s seed ye would do the works of - Abraham_.’ - - “Paul the apostle wrote to the saints of his day, and informed them - as follows: ‘As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have - put on Christ; and if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, - and heirs according to the promise.’ - - “He also sets forth Abraham and Sarah as patterns of faith and good - works, and as the father and mother of faithful Christians, who - should, by faith and good works, aspire to be counted the sons of - Abraham and daughters of Sarah. - - “Now let us look at some of the works of Sarah, for which she is so - highly commended by the apostles, and by them held up as a pattern - for Christian ladies to imitate. ‘_Now Sarah, Abram’s wife, bare - him no children; and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name - was Hagar. And Sarah said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath - restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid: it may - be that I may obtain children of her. And Abram hearkened unto the - voice of Sarah. And Sarah, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the - Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and - gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife._’ See Gen., xvi., 1-3. - - “According to Jesus Christ and the apostles, then, the only way to be - saved is to be adopted into the great family of polygamists by the - Gospel, and then strictly follow their examples. - - “Again, John the Revelator describes the Holy City of the heavenly - Jerusalem, with the names of the twelve sons of Jacob inscribed on - the gates. Rev., xxi., 12. - - “To sum up the whole, then, I find that polygamists were the friends - of God; that the family and lineage of a polygamist were selected - in which all nations should be blessed; that a polygamist is named - in the New Testament as the father of the faithful Christians of - after ages, and cited as a pattern for all generations; that the - wife of a polygamist, who encouraged her husband in the practice of - the same, and even urged him into it, and officiated in giving him - another wife, is named as an honorable and virtuous woman, a pattern - for Christian ladies, and the very mother of all holy women in the - Christian Church, whose aspiration it should be to be called her - daughters; that Jesus Christ has declared that the great fathers of - the polygamic family stand at the head in the kingdom of good; in - short, that all the saved of after generations should be saved by - becoming members of a polygamic family; that all those who do not - become members of it are strangers and aliens to the covenant of - promise, the commonwealth of Israel, and not heirs according to the - promise made to Abraham; that all people from the east, west, north, - or south, who enter into the kingdom, enter into the society of - polygamists, and under their patriarchal rule and government; indeed, - no one can even approach the gates of heaven without beholding the - names of twelve polygamists (the sons of four different women by one - man) engraven in everlasting glory upon the pearly gates. - - “My dear sister, with the Scriptures before me, I could never find it - in my heart to reject the heavenly vision which has restored to man - the fullness of the Gospel, or the Latter-Day prophets and apostles, - merely because in this restoration is included the ancient law of - family organization and government preparatory to the restoration of - all Israel. - - “But, leaving all Scripture, history, or precedent out of the - question, let us come to Nature’s law. What, then, appears to be the - great object of the marriage relations? I answer, the multiplying of - our species, the rearing and training of children. - - “To accomplish this object, natural law would dictate that a husband - should remain apart from his wife at certain seasons, which, in the - very constitution of the female, are untimely; or, in other words, - indulgence should be not merely for pleasure or wanton desires, but - mainly for the purpose of procreation. - - “The mortality of nature would teach a mother that, during Nature’s - process in the formation and growth of embryo man, her heart should - be pure, her thoughts and affections chaste, her mind calm, her - passions without excitement, while her body should be invigorated - with every exercise conducive to health and vigor, but by no means - subjected to any thing calculated to disturb, irritate, weary, or - exhaust any of its functions. - - “And while a kind husband should nourish, sustain, and comfort the - wife of his bosom by every kindness and attention consistent with her - situation and with his most tender affection, still he should refrain - from all those untimely associations which are forbidden in the great - constitutional laws of female nature, which laws we see carried out - in almost the entire animal economy, human animals excepted. - - “Polygamy, then, as practiced under the patriarchal law of God, tends - directly to the chastity of women, and to sound health and morals in - the constitutions of their offspring. - - “You can read in the law of God, in your Bible, the times and - circumstances under which a woman should remain apart from her - husband, during which times she is considered unclean; and should her - husband come to her bed under such circumstances, he would commit a - gross sin both against the laws of nature and the wise provisions - of God’s law, as revealed in his word; in short, he would commit an - abomination; he would sin both against his own body, against the body - of his wife, and against the laws of procreation, in which the health - and morals of his offspring are directly concerned. - - “The polygamic law of God opens to all vigorous, healthy, and - virtuous females a door by which they may become honorable wives - of virtuous men, and mothers of faithful, virtuous, healthy, and - vigorous children. - - “And here let me ask you, my dear sister, what female in all New - Hampshire would marry a drunkard, a man of hereditary disease, a - debauchee, an idler, or a spendthrift; or what woman would become a - prostitute, or, on the other hand, live and die single, or without - forming those inexpressibly dear relationships of wife and mother, - if the Abrahamic covenant, or patriarchal laws of God, were extended - over your State, and held sacred and honorable by all? - - “Dear sister, in your thoughtlessness you inquire, ‘Why not a - plurality of husbands as well as a plurality of wives?’ To which I - reply, 1st. God has never commanded or sanctioned a plurality of - husbands; 2d. ‘_Man is the head of the woman_,’ and no woman can - serve two lords; 3d. Such an order of things would work death and - not life, or, in plain language, it would multiply disease instead - of children. In fact, the experiment of a plurality of husbands, - or rather of one woman for many men, is in active operation, and - has been for centuries, in all the principal towns and cities of - ‘_Christendom!_’ It is the genius of ‘_Christian institutions_,’ - falsely so called. It is the result of ‘_Mystery Babylon, the great - whore of all the earth_.’ Or, in other words, it is the result of - making void the holy ordinances of God in relation to matrimony, - and introducing the laws of Rome, in which the clergy and nuns - are forbidden to marry, and other members only permitted to have - one wife. This law leaves females exposed to a life of single - ‘_blessedness_,’ without husband, child, or friend to provide for - or comfort them; or to a life of poverty and loneliness, exposed to - temptation, to perverted affections, to unlawful means to gratify - them, or to the necessity of selling themselves for lucre. While the - man who has abundance of means is tempted to spend it on a mistress - in secret, and in a lawless way, the law of God would have given her - to him as an honorable wife. These circumstances give rise to murder, - infanticide, suicide, disease, remorse, despair, wretchedness, - poverty, untimely death, with all the attendant train of jealousies, - heartrending miseries, want of confidence in families, contaminating - disease, etc.; and, finally, to the horrible license system, in which - governments called Christian license their fair daughters, I will - not say to play the beast, but to a degradation far beneath them; - for every species of the animal creation, except man, refrain from - such abominable excesses, and observe in a great measure the laws of - nature in procreation. - - “I again repeat that Nature has constituted the female differently - from the male, and for a different purpose. The strength of the - female constitution is designed to flow in a stream of _life_, to - nourish and sustain the embryo, to bring it forth, and to nurse it - on her bosom. When Nature is not in operation within her in these - particulars and for these heavenly ends, it has wisely provided - relief at regular periods, in order that her system may be kept pure - and healthy, without exhausting the fountain of life on the one hand, - or drying up its river of life on the other, till mature age and an - approaching change of worlds render it necessary for her to cease - to be fruitful, and give her to rest a while, and enjoy a tranquil - life in the midst of that family circle, endeared to her by so many - ties, and which may be supposed, at this period of her life, to be - approaching the vigor of manhood, and therefore able to comfort and - sustain her. - - “Not so with man. He has no such drawback upon his strength. It is - his to move in a wider sphere. If God shall count him worthy of a - hundred fold in this life of wives and children, and houses, and - lands, and kindreds, he may even aspire to patriarchal sovereignty, - to empire; to be the prince or head of a tribe or tribes; and, - like Abraham of old, be able to send forth, for the defense of his - country, hundreds and thousands of his own warriors, born in his own - house. - - “A noble man of God, who is full of the Spirit of the Most High, - and is counted worthy to converse with Jehovah or with the Son of - God, and to associate with angels and the spirits of just men made - perfect--one who will teach his children, and bring them up in the - light of unadulterated and eternal truth--is more worthy of a hundred - wives and children than the ignorant slave of passion, or of vice and - folly, is to have one wife and one child. Indeed, the God of Abraham - is so much better pleased with one than with the other, that he would - even take away the one talent, which is habitually abused, neglected, - or put to an improper use, and give it to him who has ten talents. - - “In the patriarchal order of family government the wife is bound - to the law of her husband. She honors, ‘_calls him lord_,’ even as - Sarah obeyed and honored Abraham. She lives for him, and to increase - his glory, his greatness, his kingdom, or family. Her affections are - centred in her God, her husband, and her children. - - “The children are also under his government worlds without end. - ‘_While life, or thought, or being lasts, or immortality endures_,’ - they are bound to obey him as their father and king. - - “He also has a head to whom he is responsible. He must keep the - commandments of God and observe his laws. He must not take a wife - unless she is given to him by the law and authority of God. He must - not commit adultery, nor take liberties with any woman except his - own, who are secured to him by the holy ordinances of matrimony. - - “Hence a nation organized under the law of the Gospel, or, in - other words, the law of Abraham and the patriarchs, would have no - institutions tending to licentiousness; no adulteries, fornications, - etc., would be tolerated. No houses or institutions would exist - for traffic in shame, or in the life-blood of our fair daughters. - Wealthy men would have no inducement to keep a mistress in secret, - or unlawfully. Females would have no grounds for temptation in any - such lawless life. Neither money nor pleasure could tempt them, nor - poverty drive them to any such excess, because the door would be - open for every virtuous female to form the honorable and endearing - relationships of wife and mother in some virtuous family, where - love, and peace, and plenty would crown her days, and truth and the - practice of virtue qualify her to be transplanted with her family - circle in that eternal soil where they might multiply their children - without pain, or sorrow, or death, and go on increasing in numbers, - in wealth, in greatness, in glory, might, majesty, power, and - dominion, in worlds without end. - - “Oh my dear sister, could the dark veil of tradition be rent from - your mind--could you gaze for a moment on the resurrection of the - just--could you behold Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their wives - and children, clad in the bloom, freshness, and beauty of immortal - _flesh and bones_--clothed in robes of fine white linen, bedecked - with precious stones and gold, and surrounded with an offspring - of immortals as countless as the stars of the firmament or as the - grains of sand upon the sea-shore, over which they reign as kings and - queens forever and ever, you would then know something of the weight - of those words of the sacred writer which are recorded in relation - to the four wives of Jacob, the mothers of the twelve patriarchs, - namely, ‘_These did build the house of Israel_.’ - - “Oh that my dear kindred could but realize that they have need - to repent of the sins, ignorance, and traditions of those - perverted systems which are misnamed ‘_Christianity_,’ and be - baptized--_buried_ in the water, in the likeness of the death and - burial of Jesus Christ, and rise to newness of life in the likeness - of his resurrection; receive his Spirit by the laying on of the - hands of an apostle, according to promise, and forsake the world and - the pride thereof. Thus they would be adopted into the family of - Abraham, become his sons and daughters, see and enjoy for themselves - the visions of the Spirit of eternal truth, which bear witness of - the family order of heaven, and the beauties and glories of eternal - kindred ties, for my pen can never describe them. - - “Dear, _dear_ kindred: remember, according to the New Testament, - and the testimony of an ancient apostle, if you are ever saved in - the kingdom of God, it must be by being adopted into the family of - polygamists--the family of the great patriarch Abraham; for in his - seed, or family, and not out of it, ‘_shall all the nations and - kindreds of the earth be blessed_.’ - - “You say you believe polygamy is ‘_licentious_;’ that it is - ‘_abominable_,’ ‘_beastly_,’ etc.; ‘the practice only of the most - barbarous nations, or of the Dark Ages, or of some great or good men - who were left to commit gross sins.’ Yet you say you are anxious for - me to be converted to your faith; and that we may see each other in - this life, and be associated in one great family in that life which - has no end. - - “Now, in order to comply with your wishes, I must renounce the Old - and New Testaments; must count Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their - families, as licentious, wicked, beastly, abominable characters; - Moses, Nathan, David, and the prophets, no better. I must look upon - the God of Israel as partaker in all these abominations, by holding - them in fellowship; and even as a minister of such iniquity, by - giving King Saul’s wives into King David’s bosom, and afterward by - taking David’s wives from him, and giving them to his neighbor. I - must consider Jesus Christ, and Paul, and John, as either living in a - dark age, as full of the darkness and ignorance of barbarous climes, - or else willfully abominable and wicked in fellowshiping polygamists, - and representing them as fathers of the faithful and rulers in - heaven. I must doom them all to hell, with adulterers, fornicators, - etc., or else, at least, assign to them some nook or corner in - heaven, as ignorant persons, who, knowing but little, were beaten - with few stripes; while, by analogy, I must learn to consider the - Roman popes, clergy, and nuns, who do not marry at all, as foremost - in the ranks of glory, and those Catholics and Protestants who have - but one wife as next in order of salvation, glory, immortality, and - eternal life. - - “Now, dear friends, much as I long to see you, and dear as you are - to me, I can never come to these terms. I feel as though the Gospel - had introduced me into the right family, into the right lineage, and - into good company. And, besides all these considerations, should - I ever become so beclouded with unbelief of the Scriptures and - heavenly institutions as to agree with my kindred in New Hampshire in - _theory_, still my practical circumstances are different, and would, - I fear, continue to separate us by a wide and almost impassable gulf. - - “For instance, I have (as you see, in all good conscience, founded - on the Word of God) formed family and kindred ties which are - inexpressibly dear to me, and which I can never bring my feelings to - consent to dissolve. I have a good and virtuous husband whom I love. - We have four little children which are mutually and inexpressibly - dear to us. And, besides this, my husband has seven other living - wives, and one who has departed to a better world. He has in all - upward of twenty-five children. All these mothers and children are - endeared to me by kindred ties, by mutual affection, by acquaintance - and association; and the mothers in particular, by mutual and - long-continued exercises of toil, patience, long-suffering, and - sisterly kindness. We all have our imperfections in this life; but - I know that these are good and worthy women, and that my husband - is a good and worthy man; one who keeps the commandments of Jesus - Christ, and presides in his family like an Abraham. He seeks to - provide for them with all diligence; he loves them all, and seeks to - comfort them and make them happy. He teaches them the commandments - of Jesus Christ, and gathers them about him in the family circle to - call upon his God, both morning and evening. He and his family have - the confidence, esteem, good-will, and fellowship of this entire - Territory, and of a wide circle of acquaintances in Europe and - America. He is a practical teacher of morals and religion, a promoter - of general education, and at present occupies an honorable seat in - the Legislative Council of this Territory. - - “Now, as to visiting my kindred in New Hampshire, I would be pleased - to do so were it the will of God. But, first, the laws of that State - must be so modified by enlightened legislation, and the customs and - consciences of its inhabitants, and of my kindred, so altered, that - my husband can accompany me with all his wives and children, and be - as much respected and honored in his family organization and in his - holy calling as he is at home, or in the same manner as the patriarch - Jacob would have been respected had he, with his wives and children, - paid a visit to his kindred. As my husband is yet in his youth, as - well as myself, I fondly hope we shall live to see that day; for - already the star of Jacob is in the ascendency; the house of Israel - is about to be restored; while ‘_Mystery Babylon_,’ with all her - institutions, awaits her own overthrow. Till this is the case in New - Hampshire, my kindred will be under the necessity of coming here - to see us, or, on the other hand, we will be mutually compelled to - forego the pleasure of each other’s company. - - “You mention in your letter that Paul the apostle recommended that - bishops be the husband of one wife. Why this was the case I do not - know, unless it was, as he says, that while he was among Romans he - did as Romans did. Rome at that time governed the world, as it were; - and, although gross idolaters, they held to the one-wife system. - Under these circumstances, no doubt, the apostle Paul, seeing a great - many polygamists in the Church, recommended that they had better - choose for this particular temporal office men of small families, who - would not be in disrepute with the government. This is precisely our - course in those countries where Roman institutions still bear sway. - Our elders there have but one wife, in order to conform to the laws - of men. - - “You inquire why Elder W., when at your house, denied that the Church - of this age held to the doctrine of plurality. I answer that he might - have been ignorant of the fact, as our belief on this point was not - published till 1852. And had he known it, he had no right to reveal - the same until the full time had arrived. God kindly withheld this - doctrine for a time, because of the ignorance and prejudice of the - nations of mystic Babylon, that peradventure he might save some of - them. - - “Now, dear sister, I must close. I wish all my kindred and old - acquaintances to see this letter, or a copy thereof, and that they - will consider it as if written to themselves. I love them dearly, and - greatly desire and pray for their salvation, and that we may all meet - with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God. - - “Dear sister, do not let your prejudices and traditions keep you from - believing the Bible, nor the pride, shame, or love of the world keep - you from your seat in the kingdom of heaven, among the royal family - of polygamists. Write often and freely. - - “With sentiments of the deepest affection and kindred feeling, I - remain, dear sister, your affectionate sister, - - “BELINDA MARDEN PRATT.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -Last Days at Great Salt Lake City. - - -I now terminate my observations upon the subject of Mormonism. It will -be remarked that the opinions of others--not my own--have been recorded -as carefully as my means of study have permitted, and that facts, not -theories, have been the object of this dissertation. - -[MORMONISM THE FAITH OF THE POOR.] - -It will, I think, be abundantly evident that Utah Territory has been -successful in its colonization. Every where, indeed, in the New World, -the stranger wonders that a poor man should tarry in Europe, or that -a rich man should remain in America; nothing but the strongest chains -of habit and _vis inertiæ_ can reconcile both to their miserable lots. -I can not help thinking that, morally and spiritually, as well as -physically, the _protégés_ of the Perpetual Emigration Fund gain by -being transferred to the Far West. Mormonism is emphatically the faith -of the poor, and those acquainted with the wretched condition of the -English mechanic, collier, and agricultural laborer--it is calculated -that a million of them exist on £25 per annum--who, after a life of -ignoble drudgery, of toiling through the year from morning till night, -are ever threatened with the work-house, must be of the same opinion. -Physically speaking, there is no comparison between the conditions of -the Saints and the class from which they are mostly taken. In point of -mere morality, the Mormon community is perhaps purer than any other -of equal numbers.[223] I have no wish to commend their spiritual, or, -rather, their materialistic vagaries--a materialism so leveling in its -unauthorized deductions that even the materialist must reject it; but -with the mind as with the body, bad food is better than none. When -wealth shall be less unequally distributed in England, thus doing away -with the contrast of excessive splendor and utter destitution, and when -Home Missions shall have done their duty in educating and evangelizing -the unhappy pariahs of town and country, the sons of the land which -boasts herself to be the foremost among the nations will blush no more -to hear that the Mormons or Latter-Day Saints are mostly English. - - [223] I refer the reader to Appendix IV. - -About the middle of September the time of my departure drew nigh. Judge -Flennikin found a change of _venue_ to Carson Valley necessary; Thomas, -his son, was to accompany him, and the Territorial marshal, Mr. -Grice--a quondam volunteer in the Mexican War--was part of the cortége. -Escort and ambulance had been refused; it was imperative to find both. -Several proposals were made and rejected. At last an eligible presented -himself. Mr. Kennedy, an Irishman from the neighborhood of Dublin, and -an _incola_ of California, where evil fate had made him a widower, had -“swapped” stock, and was about to drive thirty-three horses and mules -to the “El Dorado of the West.” For the sum of $150 each he agreed -to convey us, to provide an ambulance which cost him $300, and three -wagons which varied in price from $25 to $75. We had reason to think -well of his probity, concerning which we had taken counsel; and as he -had lost a horse or two, and had received a bullet through the right -arm in an encounter with the Yuta Indians near Deep Creek on the 3d -of July of the same year, we had little doubt of his behaving with -due prudence. He promised also to collect a sufficient armed party; -and as the road had lately seen troubles--three drivers had been -shot and seventeen Indians had been reported slain in action by the -federal troops--we were certain that he would keep his word. It was the -beginning of the hungry season, when the Indians would be collecting -their pine nuts and be plotting onslaughts upon the spring emigrants. - -I prepared for difficulties by having my hair “shingled off” till -my head somewhat resembled a pointer’s dorsum, and deeply regretted -having left all my wigs behind me. The marshal undertook to lay in our -provisions: we bought flour, hard bread or biscuit, eggs and bacon, -butter, a few potted luxuries, not forgetting a goodly allowance of -whisky and korn schnapps, whose only demerit was that it gave a taste -to the next morning. The traveling canteen consisted of a little china, -tin cups and plates, a coffee-pot, frying-pan, and large ditto for -bread-baking, with spoons, knives, and forks. - -[ADIEUX.] - -The last preparations were soon made. I wrote to my friends, among -others to Dr. Norton Shaw, who read out the missive _magno cum risu -audientium_, bought a pair of leather leggins for $5, settled with M. -Gebow, a Gamaliel at whose feet I had sat as a student of the Yuta -dialect, and defrayed the expenses of living, which, though the bill -was curiously worded,[224] were exemplarily inexpensive. Colonel -Stambaugh favored me with a parting gift, the “Manual of Surveying -Instructions,” which I preserve as a reminiscence, and a cocktail whose -aroma still lingers in my olfactories. My last evening was spent with -Mr. Stambaugh, when Mr. John Taylor was present, and where, with the -kindly aid of Madam, we drank a _café au lait_ as good as the _Café -de Paris_ affords. I thanked the governor for his frank and generous -hospitality, and made my acknowledgments to his amiable wife. All -my adieux were upon an extensive scale, the immediate future being -somewhat dark and menacing. - - [224] The bill in question: - - Gt. S. L. City, September 18th, 1860. - - Captain Burten to James Townsend, Dr. - - Aug. 27. 14 Bottle Beer 600 - Belt & Scabbard 500 - Cleaning Vest and Coat 250 - 2 Bottles Branday 450 - Washing 525 - to Cash, five dollars 500 - to 3 weaks 3 days Bord 3425 - ----- - 62·50 - - Cash, five dollars 500 - ----- - 67·50 - -[“ALL ABOORD.”] - -The start in these regions is coquettish as in Eastern Africa. We were -to depart on Wednesday, the 19th of September, at 8 A.M.--then 10 -A.M.--then 12 A.M.--then, after a deprecatory visit, on the morrow. -On the morning of the eventful next day, after the usual amount of -“smiling,” and a repetition of adieux, I found myself “all aboord,” -wending southward, and mentally ejaculating _Hierosolymam quando -revisam?_ - -[MOUNT NEBO.] - -[Illustration: MOUNT NEBO.] - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -To Ruby Valley. - - -Mounted upon a fine mule, here worth $240, and “bound” to fetch in -California $400, and accompanying a Gentile youth who answered to the -name of Joe, I proceeded to take my first lesson in stock-driving. -We were convoying ten horses, which, not being wild, declined to -herd together, and, by their straggling, made the task not a little -difficult to a tyro. The road was that leading to Camp Floyd before -described. At the Brewery near Mountain Point we found some attempts at -a station, and were charged $1 50 for frijoles, potatoes, and bread: -among other decorations on the wall was a sheet of prize-fighters, in -which appeared the portraiture of an old man, once the champion of the -light weights in the English ring, now a Saint in Great Salt Lake City. -The day was fine and wondrous clear, affording us a splendid back view -of the Happy Valley before it was finally shut out from sight, and -the Utah Lake looked a very gem of beauty, a diamond in its setting -of steely blue mountains. After fording the Jordan we were overtaken -by Mr. Kennedy, who had been delayed by more last words, and at the -dug-out we drank beer with Shropshire Joe the Mormon, who had been -vainly attempting to dig water by a divining rod of peach-tree. When -moonlight began to appear, Joe the Gentile was ordered by the “boss” -to camp out with the horses, where fodder could be found gratis, a -commandment which he obeyed with no end of grumbling. It was deep in -the night before we entered Frogtown, where a creaking little Osteria -supplied us with supper, and I found a bed at the quarters of my friend -Captain Heth, who obligingly insisted upon my becoming his guest. - -The five days between the 20th and the 26th of September sped merrily -at my new home, Camp Floyd; not pressed for time, I embraced with -pleasure the opportunity of seeing the most of my American brothers -in arms. My host was a son of that Old Dominion of Queen Elizabeth, -where still linger traces of the glorious Cavalier and the noble feudal -spirit, which (alas!) have almost disappeared from the mother country; -where the genealogical tree still hangs against the wall; where the -principal families, the Nelsons, Harrisons, Pages, Seldens, and Allens, -intermarry and bravely attempt to entail; and where the houses, -built of brick brought out from England, still retain traces of the -seventeenth century. A winter indeed might be passed most pleasantly -on the banks of James River and in the west of Virginia--a refreshing -winter to those who love, as I do, the traditions of our ancestors. - -[SPREES.] - -From Captain Heth I gathered that in former times, in Western America -as in British India, a fair aborigine was not unfrequently the -copartner of an officer’s hut or tent. The improved communication, -however, and the frequency of marriage, have abolished the custom by -rendering it unfashionable. The Indian squaw, like the Beebee, seldom -looked upon her “mari” in any other light but her banker. An inveterate -beggar, she would beg for all her relations, for all her friends, and -all her tribe, rather than not beg at all, and the lavatory process -required always to be prefaced with the bribe. Officers who were long -thrown among the Prairie Indians joined, as did the Anglo-Indian, in -their nautches and other amusements, where, if whisky was present, a -cut or stab might momentarily be expected. The skin was painted white, -black, and red, the hair was dressed and decorated, and the shirt -was tied round the waist, while broadcloth and blanket, leggins and -moccasins completed the costume. The “crack thing to do” when drinking -with Indians, and listening to their monotonous songs and tales, was -to imitate Indian customs; to become, under the influence of the jolly -god, a Hatim Tai; exceedingly generous; to throw shirt to one man, -blanket to another, leggins to a third--in fact, to return home in -breech-cloth. Such sprees would have been severely treated by a highly -respectable government; they have now, however, like many a pleasant -hour in British India, had their day, and are sunk, many a fathom deep, -in the genuine Anglo-Scandinavian gloom. - -[ARMY GRIEVANCES.] - -I heard more of army grievances during my second stay at Camp Floyd. -The term of a soldier’s enlistment, five years, is too short, -especially for the cavalry branch, and the facilities for desertion -are enormous. Between the two, one third of the army disappears every -year. The company which should number 84 has often only 50 men. The -soldier has no time to learn his work; he must drive wagons, clear -bush, make roads, and build huts and stables. When thoroughly drilled -he can take his discharge, and having filled a purse out of his very -liberal pay ($11 per mensem), he generally buys ground and becomes -a landed proprietor. The officers are equally well salaried; but -marching, countermarching, and contingent expenses are heavy enough to -make the profession little better than it is in France. The Secretary -of War being a civilian, with naturally the highest theoretical idea of -discipline and command combined with economy, is always a martinet; no -one can exceed the minutest order, and leave is always obtained under -difficulties. As the larger proportion of the officers are Southern -men, especially Virginians, and as the soldiers are almost entirely -Germans and Irish--the Egyptians of modern times--the federal army will -take little part in the ensuing contest. It is more than probable that -the force will disband, break in two like the nationalities from which -it is drawn. As far as I could judge of American officers, they are -about as republican in mind and tone of thought as those of the British -army. They are aware of the fact that the bundle of sticks requires a -tie, but they prefer, as we all do, King Stork to King Log, and King -Log to King Mob. - -I took sundry opportunities of attending company inspections, and found -the men well dressed and tolerably set up, while the bands, being -German, were of course excellent. Mr. Chandless and others talk of -the United States army discipline as something Draconian; severity is -doubtless necessary in a force so constituted, but--a proof of their -clemency--desertion is the only crime punishable by flogging. The -uniform is a study. The States have attempted in the dress of their -army, as in the forms of their government, a moral impossibility. It is -expected to be at once cheap and soldier-like, useful and ornamental, -light and heavy, pleasantly hot in the arctic regions, and agreeably -cool under the tropics. The “military tailors” of the English army -similarly forget the number of changes required in civilian raiment, -and, looking to the lightness of the soldier’s kit, wholly neglect -its efficiency, its capability of preserving the soldier’s life. The -federal uniform consists of a brigand-like and bizarre sombrero, with -Mephistophelian cock-plume, and of a blue broadcloth tunic, imitated -from the old Kentuckian hunter’s surtout or wrapper, with terminations -sometimes made to match, at other times too dark and dingy to please -the eye. Its principal merit is a severe republican plainness, very -consistent with the prepossessions of the people, highly inconsistent -with the customs of military nations. Soldiers love to dress up Mars, -not to clothe him like a butcher’s boy. - -The position of Camp Floyd is a mere brick-yard, a basin surrounded -by low hills, which an Indian pony would have little difficulty in -traversing; sometimes, however, after the fashion of the land, though -apparently easy from afar, the summits assume a mural shape, which -would stop any thing but a mountain sheep. The rim shows anticlinal -strata, evidencing upheavals, disruption, and, lastly, drainage -through the kanyons which break the wall. The principal vegetation is -the dwarf cedar above, the sage greenwood and rabbit-bush below. The -only animals seen upon the plain are jackass-rabbits, which in places -afford excellent sport. There are but few Mormons in the valley; they -supply the camp with hay and vegetables, and are said to act as spies. -The officers can not but remark the coarse features and the animal -expression of their countenances. On the outskirts of camp are a few -women that have taken sanctuary among the Gentiles, who here muster -too strong for the Saints. The principal amusement seemed to be that -of walking into and out of the sutlers’ stores, the hospitable Messrs. -Gilbert’s and Livingston’s--a _passe temps_ which I have seen at -“Sukkur Bukkur Rohri”--and in an evening ride, dull, monotonous, and -melancholy, as if we were in the vicinity of Hyderabad, Sindh. - -I had often heard of a local lion, the Timpanogos Kanyon, and my -friends Captains Heth and Gove had obligingly offered to show me its -curiosities. After breakfast on the 23d of September--a bright warm -day--we set out in a good ambulance, well provided with the materials -of a two days’ picnic, behind a fine team of four mules, on the road -leading to the Utah Lake. After passing Simple Joe’s dug-out we sighted -the water once more; it was of a whitish-blue, like the milky waves of -Jordan, embosomed in the embrace of tall and bald-headed hills and -mountains, whose monarch was Nebo of the jagged cone. Where the wind -current sets there are patches of white sand strewn with broken shells -and dried water-weed. Near Pelican Point, a long, projecting rocky -spit, there is a fine feeding-ground for geese and ducks, and swimmers -and divers may always be seen dotting the surface. On the south rises a -conspicuous buttress of black rock, and thirty miles off we could see -enormous dust columns careering over the plain. The western part of -the valley, cut with suncracks and nullahs, and dotted with boulders, -shelves gradually upward from the selvage of the lake to small divides -and dwarf-hill ranges, black with cedar-bush, and traversed only by -wood roads. On the east is the best wheat country in this part of the -Territory; it is said to produce 106 bushels per acre. - -[JORDAN BRIDGE.] - -After seventeen miles we crossed Jordan Bridge, another rickety affair, -for which, being Mormon property, we paid 50 cents; had we been Saints -the expense would have been one half. Two more miles led us to Lehi, a -rough miniature of Great Salt Lake City, in which the only decent house -was the bishop’s; in British India it would have been the collector -and magistrate’s. My companions pointed out to me a hut in which -an apostate Mormon’s throat had been cut by blackened faces. It is -gratifying to observe that throughout the United States, as in the Old -Country, all historical interest pales before a barbarous murder. As we -advanced a wall of rock lay before us; the strata were in confusion as -if a convulsion had lately shuddered through their frame, and tumbled -fragments cumbered the base, running up by precipitous ascents to the -middle heights. The colors were as grotesque: the foreground was a mass -of emerald cane, high and bushy; beyond it, the near distance was pink -with the beautiful bloom most unpoetically termed “hogweed,” and azure -with a growth like the celebrated blue-grass of Kentucky; while the -wall itself was a bloodstone dark green with cedar--which, 100 feet -tall, was dwarfed to an inch--and red stained with autumnal maple, and -below and around the brightest yellow of the faded willow formed the -bezel, a golden rim. - -[AMERICAN FORK.] - -Two miles and a half from Lehi led us to American Fork, a soft sweet -spring of snow-water, with dark shells adhering to white stones, and -a quantity of trout swimming the limpid wave. The bridge was rickety -and loose planked--in fact, the worst I ever saw in the United States, -where, as a rule, the country bridges can never be crossed without -fear and trembling; the moderate toll was $1 both ways. Three miles -and a half more placed us at Battle Creek, where in 1853 the Yuta -Indians fled precipitately from a Mormon charge. Six miles over a -dusty beach conducted us to the mouth of the kanyon, a brown tract -crossed by a dusty road and many a spring, and showing the base of -the opposite wall encumbered with degraded masses, superimposed upon -which were miniature castles. The mouth of the ravine was a romantic -spot: the staples were sister giants of brown rock--here sheer, their -sloping--where pines and firs found a precarious root-hold, and ranged -in long perspective lines, while between them, through its channel, -verdant with willow, and over a clear pebbly bed, under the screes and -scaurs, coursed a mountain torrent more splendid than Ruknabad. - -We forded the torrent and pursued the road, now hugging the right, then -the left side of the chasm. The latter was exceedingly beautiful, misty -with the blue of heaven, and rising till its solidity was blent with -the tenuity of ether. The rest of the scenery was that of the great -Cotton-wood Kanyon; painting might express the difference, language can -not. After six miles of a narrow winding road, we reached the place of -Cataracts, the principal lion of the place, and found that the season -had reduced them to two thin milky lines coursing down bitumen-colored -slopes of bare rock, bordered by shaggy forests of firs and cedars. The -shrinking of the water’s volume lay bare the formation of the cascades, -two steps and a slope, which at a happier time would have been veiled -by a continuous sheet of foam. - -After finding a suitable spot we outspanned, and, while recruiting -exhausted nature, allowed our mules to roll and rest. After dining -and collecting a few shells, we remounted and drove back through a -magnificent sunset to American Fork, where the bishop, Mr. Lysander -Dayton, of Ohio, had offered us bed and board. The good episkopos -was of course a Mormon, as we could see by his two pretty wives; he -supplied us with an excellent supper as a host, not as an innkeeper. -The little settlement was Great Salt Lake City on a small scale--full -of the fair sex; every one, by-the-by, appeared to be, or about to be, -a mother. Fair, but, alas! not fair to us; it was verily - - “Water, water every where, - And not a drop to drink!” - -[THE OLD “DANITE.”] - -Before setting out homeward on the next day we met O. Porter Rockwell, -and took him to the house with us. This old Mormon, in days gone by, -suffered or did not suffer imprisonment for shooting or not shooting -Governor Boggs, of Missouri: he now herds cattle for Messrs. Russell -and Co. His tastes are apparently rural; his enemies declare that -his life would not be safe in the City of the Saints. An attempt had -lately been made to assassinate him in one of the kanyons, and the -first report that reached my ears when _en route_ to California was -the murder of the old Danite by a certain Mr. Marony. He is one of -the triumvirate, the First Presidency of “executives,” the two others -being Ephe Hanks and Bill Hickman--whose names were loud in the land; -they are now, however, going down; middle age has rendered them -comparatively inactive, and the rising generation, Lot Huntington, -Ike Clawson, and other desperadoes, whose teeth and claws are full -grown, are able and willing to stand in their stead. Peter Rockwell -was a man about fifty, tall and strong, with ample leather leggins -overhanging his huge spurs, and the saw-handles of two revolvers -peeping from his blouse. His forehead was already a little bald, and -he wore his long grizzly locks after the ancient fashion of the United -States, plaited and gathered up at the nape of the neck; his brow, -puckered with frowning wrinkles, contrasted curiously with his cool, -determined gray eye, jolly red face, well touched up with “paint,” -and his laughing, good-humored mouth. He had the manner of a jovial, -reckless, devil-may-care English ruffian. The officers called him -Porter, and preferred him to the “slimy villains” who will drink with -a man and then murder him. After a little preliminary business about -a stolen horse, all conducted on the amiable, he pulled out a dollar, -and sent to the neighboring distillery for a bottle of Valley Tan. The -_aguardiente_ was smuggled in under a cloth, as though we had been -respectables in a Moslem country, and we were asked to join him in a -“squar’ drink,” which means spirits without water. The mode of drinking -was peculiar. Porter, after the preliminary sputation, raised the -glass with cocked little finger to his lips, with a twinkle of the eye -ejaculated “Wheat!” that is to say, “good,” and drained the tumbler -to the bottom: we acknowledged his civility with a “here’s how,” and -drank Kentucky-fashion, which in English is midshipman’s grog. Of these -“squar’ drinks” we had at least four, which, however, did not shake -Mr. Rockwell’s nerve, and then he sent out for more. Meanwhile he told -us his last adventure--how, when ascending the kanyon, he suddenly -found himself covered by two long rifles; how he had thrown himself -from his horse, drawn his revolver, and crept behind a bush, and how -he had dared the enemy to come out and fight like men. He spoke of -one Obry, a Frenchman, lately killed in a street-quarrel, who rode on -business from Santa Fé to Independence, about 600 miles, in 110 hours. -Porter offered, for the fun of the thing, to excel him by getting over -900 in 144. When he heard that I was preparing for California, he -gave me abundant good advice--to carry a double-barreled gun loaded -with buck-shot; to “keep my eyes skinned,” especially in kanyons and -ravines; to make at times a dark camp--that is to say, unhitching for -supper, and then hitching up and turning a few miles off the road; -ever to be ready for attack when the animals were being inspanned and -outspanned, and never to trust to appearances in an Indian country, -where the red varmint will follow a man for weeks, perhaps peering -through a wisp of grass on a hill-top till the time arrives for -striking the blow. I observed that, when thus speaking, Porter’s eyes -assumed the expression of an old mountaineer’s, ever rolling as if -set in quicksilver. For the purpose of avoiding “White Indians,” the -worst of their kind, he advised me to shun the direct route, which he -represented to be about as fit for traveling as is h--ll for a powder -magazine, and to journey _viâ_ Fillmore and the wonder-bearing White -Mountains;[225] finally, he comforted me with an assurance that either -the Indians would not attempt to attack us and our stock--ever a sore -temptation to them--or that they would assault us in force and “wipe us -out.” - - [225] An emigrant company lately followed this road, and when obliged - by the death of their cattle to abandon their kit, they found on the - tramp a lump of virgin silver, which was carried to California: an - exploring party afterward dispatched failed, however, to make the - lead. At the western extremity of the White Mountains there is a - mammoth cave, of which one mile has been explored: it is said to end - in a precipice, and the enterprising Major Egan is eager to trace its - course. - -When the drinking was finished we exchanged a cordial _poignée de main_ -with Porter and our hospitable host, who appeared to be the _crême de -la crême_ of Utah County, and soon found ourselves again without the -limits of Camp Floyd. - -On the evening of the 25th of September, the judge, accompanied by his -son and the Marshal of the Territory, entered the cantonment, and our -departure was fixed for the next day. The morning of the start was -spent in exchanging adieux and little gifts with men who had now become -friends, and in stirrup-cups which succeeded one another at no longer -intervals than quarter hours. Judge Crosby, who had arrived by the last -mail, kindly provided me with fishing-tackle which could relieve a diet -of eggs and bacon, and made me regret that I had not added to my outfit -a Maynard. This, the best of breech-loading guns, can also be loaded at -the muzzle; a mere carbine in size, it kills at 1300 yards, and in the -United States costs only $40 = £8. The judge, a remarkable contrast to -the usual Elijah Pogram style that still affects bird’s-eye or speckled -white tie, black satin waistcoat, and swallow-tailed coat of rusty -broadcloth, with terminations to match, had been employed for some time -in Oregon and at St. Juan: he knew one of my expatriated friends--poor -J. de C., whose exile we all lament--and he gave me introductions which -I found most useful in Carson Valley. Like the best Americans, he spoke -of the English as brothers, and freely owned the deficiencies of his -government, especially in dealing with the frontier Indians. - -We started from Lieutenant Dudley’s hospitable quarters, where a crowd -had collected to bid us farewell. The ambulance, with four mules -driven by Mr. Kennedy in person, stood at the door, and the parting -stirrup-cup was exhibited with a will. I bade farewell with a true -regret to my kind and gallant hosts, whose brotherly attentions had -made even wretched Camp Floyd a pleasant _séjour_ to me. At the moment -I write it is probably desolate, the “Secession” disturbances having -necessitated the withdrawal of the unhappies from Utah Territory. - -[JOHNSTON’S SETTLEMENT.] - -About 4 P.M., as we mounted, a furious dust-storm broke over the plain; -perhaps it may account for our night’s _méprise_, which a censorious -reader might attribute to our copious libations of whisky. The road -to the first mail station, “Meadow Creek,” lay over a sage barren; we -lost no time in missing it by forging to the west. After hopelessly -driving about the country till 10 P.M. in the fine cool night, we -knocked at a hut, and induced the owner to appear. He was a Dane who -spoke but little English, and his son, “skeert” by our fierceness, -began at once to boo-hoo. At last, however, we were guided by our -“foreloper” to “Johnston’s settlement,” in Rock Valley, and we entered -by the unceremonious process of pulling down the zigzag fences. After -some trouble we persuaded a Mormon to quit the bed in which his wife -and children lay, to shake down for us sleeping-places among the cats -and hens on the floor, and to provide our animals with oats and hay. -Mr. Grice, the marshal, one of the handiest of men, who during his -volunteer service in Mexico had learned most things from carrying a -musket to cooking a steak, was kind enough to prepare our supper, after -which, still sorely laden with whisky dying within us, we turned in. - -[A MEAN PLACE.] - - _To Meadow Creek. 27th September._ - -We rose with the dawn, the cats, and the hens, sleep being impossible -after the first blush of light, and I proceeded to inspect the -settlement. It is built upon the crest of an earth-wave rising from -grassy hollows; the haystacks told of stock, and the bunch-grass on the -borders of the ravines and nullahs rendered the place particularly fit -for pasturage. The land is too cold for cereals: in its bleak bottoms -frost reigns throughout the year; and there is little bench-ground. -The settlement consisted of half a dozen huts, which swarmed, however, -with women and children. Mr. Kennedy introduced us to a Scotch widow -of mature years, who gave us any amount of butter and buttermilk in -exchange for a little tea. She was but a lukewarm Mormon, declaring -polygamy to be an abomination, complaining that she had been inveigled -to a mean place, and that the poor in Mormondom were exceedingly poor. -Yet the canny body was stout and fresh, her house was clean and neat, -and she washed her children and her potatoes. - -We had wandered twenty-five miles out of the right road, and were -still distant fifteen to sixteen from the first mail station. For the -use of the floor, flies, and permission to boil water, we paid our -taciturn Mormon $2, and at noon, a little before the bursting of the -dusty storm-gusts, which reproduced the horrors of Sindh, we found -ourselves once more in the saddle and the ambulance. We passed by a -cattle track on rolling ground dotted with sage and greasewood, which -sheltered hosts of jackass-rabbits, and the sego with its beautiful -lily-like flowers. After crossing sundry nullahs and pitch-holes with -deep and rugged sides, we made the mail station at the west end of -Rush Valley, which is about twenty miles distant from Camp Floyd. The -little green bottom, with its rush-bordered sinking spring, is called -by Captain Simpson “Meadow Creek.” We passed a pleasant day in revolver -practice with Al. Huntington, the renowned brother of Lot, who had -lately bolted to South California, in attempts at rabbit-shooting--the -beasts became very wild in the evening--and in dining on an antelope -which a youth had ridden down and pistoled. With the assistance of the -station-master, Mr. Faust, a civil and communicative man, who added -a knowledge of books and drugs to the local history, I compiled an -account of the several lines of communication between Great Salt Lake -City and California. - -Three main roads connect the land of the Saints with the El Dorado of -the West--the northern, the central, and the southern. - -The northern road rounds the upper end of the Great Salt Lake, and -falls into the valleys of the Humboldt and Carson Rivers. It was -explored in 1845 by Colonel Frémont,[226] who, when passing over the -seventy waterless miles of the western, a continuation of the eastern -desert, lost ten mules and several horses. The “first overland trip” -was followed in 1846 by a party of emigrants under a Mr. Hastings, -who gave his name to the “cut-off” which has materially shortened the -distance. The road has been carefully described in Kelly’s California, -in Horn’s “Overland Guide,” and by M. Remy. It is still, despite its -length, preferred by travelers, on account of the abundance of grass -and water: moreover, there are now but two short stretches of desert. - - [226] Explored is used in a modified sense. Every foot of ground - passed over by Colonel Frémont was perfectly well known to the old - trappers and traders, as the interior of Africa to the Arab and - Portuguese pombeiros. But this fact takes nothing away from the - honors of the man who first surveyed and scientifically observed - the country. Among those who preceded Colonel Frémont, the most - remarkable, perhaps, was Sylvester Pattie, a Virginian, who, having - lost his wife in his adopted home on the Missouri, resolved to trap - upon and to trace out the head-waters of the Yellow River. The little - company of five persons, among whom were Pattie and his son, set out - on the 20th of June, 1824, and on the 22d of August arrived at the - head-waters of the Platte, where they found General Pratt proceeding - toward Santa Fé. Pattie, in command of 116 men, crossed the dividing - ridge, descended into the valley of the Rio Grand del Norto, entered - Santa Fé, and trapped on the Gila River. The party broke up on the - 27th of November, 1826, when Pattie, accompanied by his son and six - others, descended the Colorado, and, after incredible hardships, - reached the Hispano-American missions, where they were received - with the customary inhumanity. The father died in durance vile; the - son, after being released and vaccinated at San Diego, reached San - Francisco, whence he returned home _viâ_ Vera Cruz and New Orleans, - after an absence of six years. The whole tale is well told in - “Harper’s Magazine.” - -[PIONEER EXPLORERS.] - -The southern road, _viâ_ Fillmore and San Bernardino, to San Pedro, -where the traveler can embark for San Francisco, is long and tedious; -water is found at thirty-mile distances; there are three deserts; and -bunch and other grasses are not plentiful. It has one great merit, -namely, that of being rarely snowed up, except between the Rio Virgen -and Great Salt Lake City: the best traveling is in Spring, when the -melting snows from the eastern hills fill the rivulets. This route -has been traveled over by Messrs. Chandless and Remy, who have well -described it in their picturesque pages. I add a few notes, collected -from men who have ridden over the ground for several years, concerning -the stations: the information, however, it will be observed, is merely -hearsay.[227] - - [227] The distance from Great Salt Lake City to San Bernardino is, - according to my informant, about 750 miles, and has been accomplished - in fourteen days. The road runs through Provo to Salt Cruz, formed by - a desert of 50-60 miles, and making Sevier River the half-way point - to the capital. At Corn Creek is an Indian farm, and Weaver is 64 - miles from Fillmore. Cedar Spring is the entrance to Paravan Valley, - where as early as 1806 there was a fort and a settlement. Then comes - Fillmore, the territorial capital, and 96 miles afterward it passes - through Paravan City in Little Salt Lake Valley. At Cold Creek it - forks, the central road being that mostly preferred. The next station - is Mountain Meadows, the Southern Rim of the Basin, celebrated for - its massacre; ensues the Santa Clara River, and thence a total of 70 - miles, divided into several stages, lead to the Rio Virgen. After - following the latter for 20-30 miles, the path crosses the divide - of Muddy River, and enters a desert 55-67 miles in breadth leading - to Las Vegas. Thirty miles beyond that point lies a pretty water - called “Mountain Springs,” a preliminary to “Dry Lake,” a second - desert 40-45 miles broad, and ending at an alkaline water called - Kingston Springs. The third desert, 40 miles broad, leads to a post - established for the protection of emigrants, and called Bitter or - Bidder’s Springs, 115 miles from Las Vegas. The next stage of 35 is - to the Indian River, a tributary of the Colorado, whence there is - another military establishment: the land is now Californian. Thence - following and crossing the course of the stream, the traveler sights - the Sierra Nevada. After 50 miles down the Mohave Kanyon is San - Bernardino, once a thriving Mormon settlement, 90 miles from San - Pedro and 120 from San Diego, where water conveyance is found to San - Francisco. - -The central route is called Egan’s by the Mormons, Simpson’s by the -Gentiles. Mr. or Major Howard Egan is a Saint and well-known guide, an -indefatigable mountaineer, who for some time drove stock to California -in the employ of Messrs. Livingston, and who afterward became -mail-agent under Messrs. Chorpenning and Russell. On one occasion he -made the distance in twelve days, and he claims to have explored the -present post-office route between 1850 and the winter of 1857-1858. -Captain J. H. Simpson, of the federal army, whose itinerary is given -in Appendix I., followed between May and June, 1859. He traveled along -Egan’s path, with a few unimportant deviations, for 300 miles, and -left it ten miles west of Ruby Valley, trending southward to the suite -of the Carson River. On his return he pursued a more southerly line, -and fell into Egan’s route about thirty miles west of Camp Floyd. The -_employés_ of the route prefer Egan’s line, declaring that on Simpson’s -there is little grass, that the springs are mere fiumaras of melted -snow, and that the wells are waterless. Bad, however, is the best, as -the following pages will, I think, prove. - - _To Tophet. 28th September._ - -On a cool and cloudy morning, which at 10 A.M. changed into a clear -sunny day, we set out, after paying $3 for three feeds, to make the -second station. Our road lay over the seven miles of plain that -ended Rush Valley: we saw few rabbits, and the sole vegetation was -stunted sage. Ensued a rough divide, stony and dusty, with cahues -and pitch-holes: it is known by the name of General Johnston’s -Pass. The hills above it are gray and bald-headed, a few bristles -of black cedar protruding from their breasts, and the land wears an -uninhabitable look. After two miles of toil we halted near the ruins -of an old station. On the right side of the road was a spring half way -up the hill: three holes lay full of slightly alkaline water, and the -surplus flowed off in a black bed of vegetable mud, which is often -dry in spring and summer. At “Point Look-out,” near the counterslope -of the divide, we left on the south Simpson’s route, and learned by a -sign-post that the distance to Carson is 533 miles. The pass led to -Skull Valley, of ominous sound. According to some, the name is derived -from the remains of Indians which are found scattered about a fine -spring in the southern parts. Others declare that the mortal remains -of bison here lie like pavement-stones or cannon balls in the Crimean -Valley of Death. Skull Valley stretches nearly southwest of the Great -Salt Lake plain, with which it communicates, and its drainage, as in -these parts generally, feeds the lake. Passing out of Skull Valley, we -crossed the cahues and pitch-holes of a broad bench which rose above -the edge of the desert, and after seventeen miles beyond the Pass -reached the station which Mormons call Egan’s Springs, anti-Mormons -Simpson’s Springs, and Gentiles Lost Springs. - -Standing upon the edge of the bench, I could see the Tophet in prospect -for us till Carson Valley: a road narrowing in perspective to a point -spanned its grisly length, awfully long, and the next mail station -had shrunk to a little black knob. All was desert: the bottom could -no longer be called basin or valley: it was a thin fine silt, thirsty -dust in the dry season, and putty-like mud in the spring and autumnal -rains. The hair of this unlovely skin was sage and greasewood: it was -warted with sand-heaps; in places mottled with bald and horrid patches -of salt soil, while in others minute crystals of salt, glistening -like diamond-dust in the sunlight, covered tracts of moist and oozy -mud. Before us, but a little to the right or north, and nearly due -west of Camp Floyd, rose Granite Mountain, a rough and jagged spine -or hog’s-back, inhabited only by wolves and antelopes, hares and -squirrels, grasshoppers, and occasionally an Indian family. Small sweet -springs are found near its northern and southern points. The tradition -of the country declares it to be rich in gold, which, however, no -one dares to dig. Our road is about to round the southern extremity, -wheeling successively S. and S.E., then W. and N.W., then S.W. and -S.E., and S.W. and N.W.--in fact, round three quarters of the compass; -and for three mortal days we shall sight its ugly frowning form. A -direct passage leads between it and the corresponding point of the -southern hill: we contemplate, through the gap, a blue ridge where lies -Willow-Spring Station, the destination of our party after to-morrow; -but the straight line which saves so much distance is closed by bogs -for the greater part of the year, and the size of the wild sage would -impede our wagon-wheels. - -[THE GREAT DESERT.] - -The great desert of Utah Territory extends in length about 300 miles -along the western side of the Great Salt Lake. Its breadth varies: a -little farther south it can not be crossed, the water, even where not -poisonous, being insufficient. The formation is of bottoms like that -described above, bench-lands, with the usual parallel and perfectly -horizontal water-lines, leaving regular steps, as the sea settled down, -by the gradual upheaval of the land. They mark its former elevation -upon the sides of the many detached ridges trending mostly N. and S. -Like the rim of the Basin, these hills are not a single continuous -mountain range which might be flanked, but a series of disconnected -protrusions above the general level of the land. A paying railway -through this country is as likely as a profitable canal through the -Isthmus of Suez: the obstacles must be struck at right angles, with -such assistance as the rough kanyons and the ravines of various levels -afford. - -We are now in a country dangerous to stock. It is a kind of central -point, where Pávant, Gosh Yuta (popularly called Gosh Ute), and Panak -(Bannacks) meet. Watches, therefore, were told off for the night. -Next morning, however, it was found that all had stood on guard with -unloaded guns. - - _To Fish Springs. 29th September._ - -[OUR PARTY.] - -At Lost Springs the party was mustered. The following was found to -be the material. The Ras Kafilah was one Kennedy, an Irishman, whose -brogue, doubly Dublin, sounded startlingly in the Great American -Desert. On a late trip he had been victimized by Indians. The savages -had driven off two of his horses into a kanyon within sight of the -Deep-Creek Station. In the hurry of pursuit he spurred up the ravine, -followed by a friend, when, sighting jerked meat, his own property, -upon the trees, he gave the word _sauve qui peut_. As they whirled -their horses the Yutas rushed down the hill to intercept them at the -mouth of the gorge, calling them in a loud voice dogs and squaws, and -firing sundry shots, which killed Kennedy’s horse and pierced his right -arm. Most men, though they jest at scars before feeling a wound, are -temporarily cowed by an infliction of the kind, and of that order was -the good Kennedy. - -The next was an excellent traveler, by name Howard. On the road between -Great Salt Lake City and Camp Floyd I saw two men, who addressed me as -Mr. Kennedy the boss, and, finding out their mistake, followed us to -the place of rendezvous. The party, with one eye gray and the other -black, mounted upon a miserable pony, was an American. After a spell at -the gold diggings of California he had revisited the States, and he now -wished to return to his adopted country without loss of time. He was a -hardy, fine-tempered fellow, exceedingly skilled in driving stock. His -companion was a Frenchman and ex-Zouave, who, for reasons best known -to himself, declared that he came from Cuba, and that he had forgotten -every word of Spanish. Like foreigners among Anglo-Scandinavians -generally, the poor devil fared badly. He could not hold his own. With -the most labor, he had the worst of every thing. He felt himself _mal -placé_, and before the end of the journey he slunk away. - -At Lost Springs we were joined by two Mormon fugitives, “pilgrims of -love,” who had, it was said, secretly left the city at night, fearing -the consequences of having “loved not wisely, but too well.” The first -of the Lotharios was a Mr. R----, an English farrier-blacksmith, -mounted upon an excellent horse and leading another. He soon took -offense at our slow rate of progress, and, afflicted by the thought -that the avenger was behind him, left us at Deep Creek, and “made -tracks” to Carson City in ten days, with two horses and a total -traveling kit of two blankets. We traced him to California by the -trail of falsehoods which he left on the road. His comrade, Mr. A----, -a New Englander, was also an apostate Mormon, a youth of good family -and liberal education, who, after ruining himself by city sites and -copper mines on Lake Superior, had permanently compromised himself -with society by becoming a Saint. Also a Lothario, he had made his -escape, and he proved himself a good and useful member of society. I -could not but admire the acuteness of both these youths, who, flying -from justice, had placed themselves under the protection of a judge. -They reminded me of a debtor friend who found himself secure from the -bailiff only within the walls of Spike Island or Belvidere Place, -Southwark. - -Another notable of the party was an apostate Jew and _soi disant_ -apostate Mormon who answered to the name of Rose. He had served as -missionary in the Sandwich Islands, and he spoke Kanaka like English. -His features were those which Mr. Thackeray loves to delineate; -his accents those which Robson delights to imitate. He denied his -connection with the Hebrews. He proved it by eating more, by driving -a better bargain, by doing less work than any of the party. It was -truly refreshing to meet this son of old Houndsditch in the land of -the Saints, under the shadow of New Zion, and the only drawback to our -enjoyment was the general suspicion that the honorable name of apostate -covered the less respectable calling of spy. He contrasted strongly -with Jim Gilston of Illinois, a lath-like specimen of humanity, -some six feet four in length--a perfect specimen of the Indianized -white, long hair, sun-tanned, and hatchet-faced; running like an -ostrich, yelping like a savage, and ready to take scalp at the first -provocation. He could not refrain, as the end of the journey drew -nigh, from deserting without paying his passage. Mr. Colville, a most -determined Yankee, far advanced in years, was equally remarkable. -He had $90 in his pocket. He shivered for want of a blanket, and he -lived on hard bread, bacon, and tea, of which no man was ever seen to -partake. Such were the seven “free men,” the independent traders of the -company. There were also six “broths of boys,” who paid small sums up -to $40 for the benefit of our escort, and who were expected to drive -and to do general work. Traveling soon makes friends. No illusions of -_amicitia_, however, could blind my eyes to the danger of entering an -Indian country with such an escort. Untried men for the most part, they -would have discharged their weapons in the air and fled at the whoop -of an Indian, all of them, including Jake the Shoshonee, who had been -permitted to accompany us as guide, and excepting our stanch ones, -Howard, “Billy” the colt, and “Brandy” the dog. - -[“GENTLE ANNIE.”--“YOU _BET_.”] - -The station was thrown somewhat into confusion by the presence of a -petticoat, an article which in these regions never fails to attract -presents of revolvers and sides of bacon. “Gentle Annie,” attended by -three followers, was passing in an ambulance from California to Denver -City, where her “friend” was. To most of my companions’ inquiries about -old acquaintances in California, she replied, in Western phrase, that -the individual subject of their solicitude had “got to git up and git,” -which means that he had found change of air and scene advisable. Most -of her sentences ended with a “you _bet_,” even under circumstances -where such operation would have been quite uncalled for. So it is -related that when Dr. P----, of Camp Floyd, was attending Mrs. A. B. C. -at a most critical time, he asked her tenderly, “Do you suffer much, -Mrs. C.?” to which the new matron replied, “You _bet_!” - -We set out about noon, on a day hot as midsummer by contrast with the -preceding nights, for a long spell of nearly fifty miles. Shortly -after leaving the station the road forks. The left-hand path leads to -a grassy spring in a dwarf kanyon near the southern or upper part of a -river bottom, where emigrants are fond of camping. The hills scattered -around the basin were of a dark metallic stone, sunburnt to chocolate. -The strata were highly tilted up and the water-lines distinctly drawn. -After eight miles we descended into the yellow silty bed of a bald -and barren fiumara, which was not less than a mile broad. The good -judge sighed when he contrasted it with Monongahela, the “river of the -falling banks.” It flows northward, and sinks near the western edge of -the lake. At times it runs three feet of water. The hills around are -white-capped throughout the winter, but snow seldom lies more than a -week in the bottoms. - -After twenty miles over the barren plain we reached, about sunset, -the station at the foot of the Dugway. It was a mere “dug-out”--a -hole four feet deep, roofed over with split cedar trunks, and -provided with a rude adobe chimney. The tenants were two rough young -fellows--station-master and express rider--with their friend, an -English bull-dog. One of them had amused himself by decorating the -sides of the habitation with niches and Egyptian heads. Rude art seems -instinctively to take that form which it wears on the banks of Nilus, -and should some Professor Rafinesque discover these traces of the -aborigines after a sepulture of a century, they will furnish materials -for a rich chapter on ante-Columbian immigration. Water is brought to -the station in casks. The youths believe that some seven miles north of -the “Dugway” there is a spring, which the Indians, after the fashion of -that folk, sensibly conceal from the whites. Three wells have been sunk -near the station. Two soon led to rock; the third has descended 120 -feet, but is still bone dry. It passes first through a layer of surface -silt, then through three or four feet of loose, friable, fossilless, -chalky lime, which, when slaked, softened, and, mixed with sand, is -used as mortar. The lowest strata are of quartz gravel, forming in the -deeper parts a hard conglomerate. The workmen complained greatly of the -increasing heat as they descend. Gold now becomes uppermost in man’s -mind. The youths, seeing me handle the rubbish, at once asked me if I -was prospecting for gold. - -After roughly supping we set out, with a fine round moon high in the -skies, to ascend the “Dugway Pass” by a rough dusty road winding -round the shoulder of a hill, through which a fiumara has burst its -way. Like other Utah mountains, the highest third rises suddenly -from a comparatively gradual incline, a sore formation for cattle, -requiring draught to be at least doubled. Arriving on the summit, we -sat down, while our mules returned to help the baggage-wagons, and -amused ourselves with the strange aspect of the scene. To the north, or -before us, and far below, lay a long broad stretch, white as snow--the -Saleratus Desert, west of the Great Salt Lake. It wore a grisly aspect -in the silvery light of the moon. Behind us was the brown plain, -sparsely dotted with shadows, and dewless in the evening as in the -morning. As the party ascended the summit with much noisy shouting, -they formed a picturesque group--the well-bred horses wandering to -graze, the white-tilted wagons with their panting mules, and the men -in felt capotes and huge leather leggins. In honor of our good star -which had preserved every hoof from accident, we “liquored up” on that -summit, and then began the descent. - -[THE DEVIL’S HOLE.] - -Having reached the plain, the road ran for eight miles over a broken -surface, with severe pitch-holes and wagon-tracks which have lasted -many a month; it then forked. The left, which is about six miles the -longer of the two, must be taken after rains, and leads to the Devil’s -Hole, a curious formation in a bench under “High Mountain,” about -ninety miles from Camp Floyd, and south, with a little westing, of the -Great Salt Lake. The Hole is described as shaped like the frustrum of -an inverted cone, forty feet in diameter above, twelve to fifteen -below. As regards the depth, four lariats of forty feet each, and a -line at the end, did not, it is said, reach the bottom. Captain Simpson -describes the water as brackish. The drivers declare it to be half -salt. The Devil’s Hole is popularly supposed to be an air-vent or -shaft communicating with the waters of the Great Salt Lake in their -subterraneous journey to the sea (Pacific Ocean). An object cast into -it, they say, is sucked down and disappears; hence, if true, probably -the theory. - -[SLOUGHS.] - -We chose the shorter cut, and, after eight miles, rounded Mountain -Point, the end of a dark brown butte falling into the plain. Opposite -us and under the western hills, which were distant about two miles, -lay the station, but we were compelled to double, for twelve miles, -the intervening slough, which no horse can cross without being mired. -The road hugged the foot of the hills at the edge of the saleratus -basin, which looked like a furrowed field in which snow still lingers. -In places, warts of earth tufted with greasewood emerged from hard, -flaky, curling silt-cakes; in others, the salt frosted out of the damp -black earth like the miniature sugar-plums upon chocolate bonbons. We -then fell into a saline resembling freshly-fallen snow. The whiteness -changes to a slaty blue, like a frozen pond when the water still -underlies it; and, to make the delusion perfect, the black rutted path -looked as if lately cut out after a snow-storm. Weird forms appeared in -the moonlight. A line of sand-heaps became a row of railroad cars; a -raised bench was mistaken for a paling; and the bushes were any thing -between a cow and an Indian. This part of the road must be terrible in -winter; even in the fine season men are often compelled to unpack half -a dozen times. - -After ascending some sand-hills we halted for the party to form up -in case of accident, and Mr. Kennedy proceeded to inspect while we -prepared for the worst part of the stage--the sloughs. These are three -in number, one of twenty and the two others of 100 yards in length. -The tule, the bayonet-grass, and the tall rushes enable animals to -pass safely over the deep slushy mud, but when the vegetation is well -trodden down, horses are in danger of being permanently mired. The -principal inconvenience to man is the infectious odor of the foul -swamps. Our cattle were mad with thirst; however, they crossed the -three sloughs successfully, although some had nearly made Dixie’s Land, -in the second. - -Beyond the sloughs we ascended a bench, and traveled on an improved -road. We passed sundry circular ponds garnished with rush; the water -is sulphury, and, according to the season, is warm, hot, or cold. Some -of these debord, and send forth what the Somal would call Biya Gora, -“night-flowing streams.” About 3 A.M., cramped with cold, we sighted -the station, and gave the usual “Yep! yep!” A roaring fire soon revived -us; the strong ate supper and the weak went to bed, thus ending a -somewhat fatiguing day. - - _To Willow Creek. 30th September._ - -On this line there are two kinds of stations--the mail station, where -there is an agent in charge of five or six “boys,” and the express -station--every second--where there is only a master and an express -rider. The boss receives $50-$75 per mensem, the boy $35. It is a -hard life, setting aside the chance of death--no less than three -murders have been committed by the Indians during this year--the work -is severe; the diet is sometimes reduced to wolf-mutton, or a little -boiled wheat and rye, and the drink to brackish water; a pound of -tea comes occasionally, but the droughty souls are always “out” of -whisky and tobacco. At “Fish Springs,” where there is little danger of -savages, two men had charge of the ten horses and mules; one of these -was a German Swiss from near Schaffhausen, who had been digging for -gold to little purpose in California. - -A clear cool morning succeeding the cold night aroused us betimes. -Nature had provided an ample supply of warm water, though slightly -sulphury, in the neighboring pot-holes, and at a little distance -from the station was one conveniently cool. The fish from which the -formation derives its name is a perch-like species, easily caught on a -cloudy day. The men, like the citizens of Suez, accustom themselves to -the “rotten water,” as strangers call it, and hardly relish the purer -supplies of Simpson’s Springs or Willow Springs: they might have built -the station about one mile north, near a natural well of good cool -water, but apparently they prefer the warm bad. - -The saleratus valley looked more curious in daylight than in moonlight. -The vegetation was in regular scale; smallest, the rich bunch-grass -on the benches; then the greasewood and the artemisia, where the -latter can grow; and largest of all, the dwarf cedar. All was of -lively hue, the herbage bright red, yellow, and sometimes green, the -shrubs were gray and glaucous, the cedars almost black, and the rim -of hills blue-brown and blue. We had ample time to contemplate these -curiosities, for Kennedy, whose wits, like those of Hiranyaka, the -mouse, were mightily sharpened by the possession of wealth, had sat up -all night, and wanted a longer sleep in the morning. After a breakfast -which the water rendered truly detestable, we hitched up about 10 A.M., -and set out _en route_ for Willow Springs. - -[THE DESERT VIEW.] - -About an hour after our departure we met the party commanded by -Lieutenant Weed, two subaltern officers, ninety dragoons, and ten -wagons; they had been in the field since May, and had done good service -against the Gosh Yutas. We halted and “liquored up,” and, after -American fashion, talked politics in the wilderness. Half an hour then -led us to what we christened “Kennedy’s Hole,” another circular bowl, -girt with grass and rush, in the plain under a dark brown rock, with -black bands and scatters of stone. A short distance beyond, and also on -the right of the road, lay the “Poison Springs,” in a rushy bed: the -water was temptingly clear, but the bleached bones of many a quadruped -skeleton bade us beware of it. After turning a point we saw in front a -swamp, the counterpart of what met our eyes last night; it renewed also -the necessity of rounding it by a long southerly sweep. The scenery was -that of the Takhashshua near Zayla, or the delicious land behind Aden, -the Arabian sea-board. Sand-heaps--the only dry spots after rain--fixed -by tufts of metallic green salsolæ, and guarded from the desert wind -by rusty cane-grass, emerged from the wet and oozy plain, in which -the mules often sank to the fetlock. The unique and snowy floor of -thin nitre, bluish where deliquescent, was here solid as a sheet of -ice; there a net-work of little ridges, as if the salt had expanded -by crystallization, with regular furrows worked by rain. After heavy -showers it becomes a soft, slippery, tenacious, and slushy mud, that -renders traveling exceeding laborious; the glare is blinding by day, -and at night the refrigerating properties of the salt render the wind -bitterly cold, even when the mercury stands at 50° F. - -[SPORTING.] - -We halted to bait at the half-way house, the fork of the road leading -to Pleasant Valley, an unpleasant place, so called because discovered -on a pleasant evening. As we advanced the land improved, the salt -disappeared, the grass was splendidly green, and, approaching the -station, we passed Willow Creek, where gophar-holes and snipes, willows -and wild roses, told of life and gladdened the eye. The station lay -on a bench beyond the slope. The express rider was a handsome young -Mormon, who wore in his felt hat the effigy of a sword; his wife was -an Englishwoman, who, as usual under the circumstances, had completely -thrown off the Englishwoman. The station-keeper was an Irishman, one -of the few met among the Saints. Nothing could be fouler than the log -hut; the flies soon drove us out of doors; hospitality, however, was -not wanting, and we sat down to salt beef and bacon, for which we were -not allowed to pay. The evening was spent in setting a wolf-trap, -which consisted of a springy pole and a noose: we strolled about after -sunset with a gun, but failed to bag snipe, wild-fowl, or hare, and -sighted only a few cunning old crows, and black swamp-birds with yellow -throats. As the hut contained but one room, we slept outside. The Gosh -Yuta are apparently not a venturesome people; still, it is considered -advisable at times to shift one’s sleeping quarters, and to acquire the -habit of easily awaking. - - _To Deep Creek and halt. 1st and 2d of October, 1860._ - -A “little war” had been waging near Willow Springs. In June the station -was attacked by a small band of Gosh Yuta, of whom three were shot -and summarily scalped; an energetic proceeding, which had prevented -a repetition of the affair. The savages, who are gathering their -pine-nut harvest, and are driven by destitution to beg at the stations, -to which one meal a week will attach them, are now comparatively -peaceful: when the emigration season recommences they are expected -to be troublesome, and their numbers--the Pa Yutas can bring 12,000 -warriors into the field--render them formidable. “Jake,” the Shoshonee, -who had followed us from Lost Springs, still considered his life in -danger; he was as unwilling to wend his way alone as an Arab Bedouin -or an African negro in their respective interiors. With regard to -ourselves, Lieutenant Weed had declared that there was no danger; the -station people thought, on the contrary, that the snake, which had -been scotched, not killed, would recover after the departure of the -soldiers, and that the work of destruction had not been carried on with -sufficient vigor. - -At 6 A.M. the thermometer showed 45° F.; we waited two hours, till the -world had time to warm. After six miles we reached “Mountain Springs,” -a water-sink below the bench-land, tufted round with cotton-wood, -willow, rose, cane, and grass. On our right, or eastward, lay Granite -Rock, which we had well-nigh rounded, and through a gap we saw -Lost-Springs Station, distant apparently but a few hours’ canter. -Between us, however, lay the horrible salt plain--a continuation of the -low lands bounding the western edge of the Great Salt Lake--which the -drainage of the hills over which we were traveling inundates till June. - -After twelve miles over the bench we passed a dark rock, which protects -a water called Reading’s Springs, and we halted to form up at the mouth -of Deep-Creek Kanyon. This is a dangerous gorge, some nine miles long, -formed by a water-course which sheds into the valley of the Great Salt -Lake. Here I rode forward with “Jim,” a young express rider from the -last station, who volunteered much information upon the subject of -Indians. He carried two Colt’s revolvers, of the dragoon or largest -size, considering all others too small. I asked him what he would do if -a Gosh Yuta appeared. He replied that if the fellow were civil he might -shake hands with him, if surly he would shoot him; and, at all events, -when riding away, that he would keep a “stirrup eye” upon him: that he -was in the habit of looking round corners to see if any one was taking -aim, in which case he would throw himself from the saddle, or rush -on, so as to spoil the shooting--the Indians, when charged, becoming -excited, fire without effect. He mentioned four Red Men who could “draw -a bead” against any white; usually, however, they take a minute to -load; they require a long aim, and they stint their powder. He pointed -out a place where Miller, one of the express riders, had lately been -badly wounded, and lost his horse. Nothing, certainly, could be better -fitted for an ambuscade than this gorge, with its caves and holes in -snow-cuts, earth-drops, and lines of strata, like walls of rudely-piled -stone; in one place we saw the ashes of an Indian encampment; in -another, a whirlwind, curling, as smoke would rise, from behind a -projecting spur, made us advance with the greatest caution. - -As we progressed the valley opened out, and became too broad to be -dangerous. Near the summit of the pass the land is well lined with -white sage, which may be used as fodder, and a dwarf cedar adorns the -hills. The ground gives out a hollow sound, and the existence of a -spring in the vicinity is suspected. Descending the western water-shed, -we sighted, in Deep-Creek Valley, St. Mary’s County, the first patch of -cultivation since leaving Great Salt Lake. The Indian name is Aybá-pá, -or the Clay-colored Water; pity that America and Australia have not -always preserved the native local terms. It is bisected by a rivulet -in which three streamlets from the southern hills unite; like these -features generally, its course is northward till it sinks: fields -extend about one mile from each bank, and the rest of the yellow bottom -is a tapestry of wire grass and wheat grass. An Indian model farm -had been established here; the war, however, prevented cultivation; -the savages had burned down the house, and several of them had been -killed by the soldiers. On the west of the valley were white rocks of -the lime used for mortar: the hills also showed lias and marble-like -limestones. The eastern wall was a grim line of jagged peaks, here -bare with granite, there black with cedar; they are crossed by a short -cut leading to the last station, which, however, generally proves the -longest way, and in a dark ravine Kennedy pointed out the spot where he -had of late nearly left his scalp. Coal is said to be found there in -chunks, and gold is supposed to abound; the people, however, believing -that the valley can not yet support extensive immigration, conceal it -probably by “counsel.” - -[DEEP-CREEK STATION.--MR. WADDINGTON.] - -At 4 P.M. we reached the settlement, consisting of two huts and a -station-house, a large and respectable-looking building of unburnt -brick, surrounded by fenced fields, water-courses, and stacks of good -adobe. We were introduced to the Mormon station-master, Mr. Sevier, -and others. They are mostly farm-laborers, who spend the summer here -and supply the road with provisions: in the winter they return to -Grantsville, where their families are settled. Among them was a Mr. -Waddington, an old Pennsylvanian and a bigoted Mormon. It is related -of him that he had treasonably saved 300 Indians by warning them of -an intended attack by the federal troops. He spoke strongly in favor -of the despised Yutas, declared that they are ready to work, and can -be led to any thing by civility. The anti-Mormons declared that his -praise was for interested motives, wishing the savages to labor for him -gratis; and I observed that when Mr. Waddington started to cut wood in -the kanyon, he set out at night, lest his dust should be seen by his -red friends. - -The Mormons were not wanting in kindness; they supplied us with -excellent potatoes, and told us to make their house our home. We -preferred, however, living and cooking afield. The station was dirty to -the last degree: the flies suggested the Egyptian plague; they could -be brushed from the walls in thousands; but, though sage makes good -brooms, no one cares to sweep clean. This, I repeat, is not Mormon, -but Western: the people, like the Spaniards, apparently disdain any -occupation save that of herding cattle, and will do so till the land is -settled. In the evening Jake the Shoshonee came in, grumbling loudly -because he had not been allowed to ride; he stood cross-legged like an -African, ate a large supper at the station, and a second with us. No -wonder that the savage in civilization suffers, like the lady’s lapdog, -from “liver.” He was, however, a first-rate hand in shirking any work -except that of peering and peeping into every thing; neither Gospel -nor gunpowder can reform this race. Mr.R----, the English farrier and -Lothario, left us on this day, after a little quarrel with Kennedy. We -were glad to receive permission to sleep upon the loose wheat in an -inner room: at 8 A.M. the thermometer had shown 59° F., but on this -night ice appeared in the pails. - -The next day was a halt; the stock wanted rest and the men provisions. -A “beef”--the Westerns still retain the singular of “beeves”--was -killed, and we obtained a store of potatoes and wheat. Default of oats, -which are not common, this heating food is given to horses--12 lbs. -of grain to 14 of long forage--and the furious riding of the Mormons -is the only preventive of its evil effects. The people believe that -it causes stumbling by the swelling of the fetlock and knee joint; -similarly every East Indian ghorewalla will declare that wheaten bread -makes a horse tokkar khana--“eat trips.” The _employés_ of the station -were quiet and respectable, a fact attributed by some of our party to -the want of liquor, which is said to cause frequent fights. Our party -was less peaceable; there had been an extensive prigging of blankets; -the cold now made them valuable, and this drove the losers “fighting -mad.” - - _En route again. 3d October._ - -The severity of the last night made us active; the appearance of deep -snow upon the mountains and of ice in the valleys was an intelligible -hint that the Sierra Nevada which lay before us would be by no means -an easy task. Despite, therefore, the idleness always engendered by a -halt, and the frigid blasts which poured down from the eastern hills, -where rain was falling in torrents, we hitched up, bade adieu to our -Mormon host, and set out about 4 P.M. Antelope Springs, the next -station, was 30 miles distant; we resolved, therefore, to divide it, -after the fashion of Asia and Africa, by a short forenoon march. - -The road runs to the southwest down the Deep-Creek Valley, and along -the left bank of the western rivulet. Near the divide we found a -good bottom, with plenty of water and grass; the only fuel was the -sage-bush, which crackled merrily, like thorns, under the pot, but -tainted the contents with its medicinal odor. The wagons were drawn -up in a half circle to aid us in catching the mules; the animals were -turned out to graze, the men were divided into watches, and the masters -took up their quarters in the wagons. Age gave the judge a claim to the -ambulance, which was admitted by all hands; I slept with “Scotch Joe,” -an exceedingly surly youth, who apparently preferred any thing to work. -At 8 P.M. a storm of wind and rain burst upon us from the S.W.: it was -so violent that the wagons rocked before the blast, and at times the -chance of a capsize suggested itself. The weather was highly favorable -for Indian plundering, who on such nights expect to make a successful -attack. - - _To the Wilderness. 4th October._ - -[EIGHT-MILE SPRINGS.] - -We awoke early in the frigid S.W. wind, the thermometer showing 39° F. -After a few hundred yards we reached “Eight-mile Springs,” so called -from the distance to Deep Creek. The road, which yesterday would have -been dusty to the hub, was now heavy and viscid; the rain had washed -out the saleratus, and the sight and scent, and the country generally, -were those of the environs of a horse-pond. An ugly stretch of two -miles, perfectly desert, led to Eight-mile-Spring Kanyon, a jagged -little ravine about 500 yards long, with a portaled entrance of tall -rock. It is not, however, considered dangerous. - -Beyond the kanyon lay another grisly land, if possible more deplorable -than before; its only crops were dust and mud. On the right hand were -turreted rocks, around whose base ran Indian trails, and a violent -west wind howled over their summits. About 1 30 P.M. we came upon the -station at Antelope Springs: it had been burned by the Gosh Yutas in -the last June, and had never been rebuilt. “George,” our cook, who had -been one of the inmates at the time, told us how he and his _confrères_ -had escaped. Fortunately, the corral still stood: we found wood in -plenty, water was lying in an adjoining bottom, and we used the two to -brew our tea. - -[SHELL CREEK.] - -Beyond Antelope Springs was Shell Creek, distant thirty miles by -long road and eighteen by the short cut. We had some difficulty in -persuading Kennedy to take the latter; property not only sharpens the -intellect, it also generates prudence, and the ravine is a well-known -place for ambush. Fortunately two express riders came in and offered -to precede us, which encouraged us. About 3 P.M. we left the springs -and struck for the mouth of the kanyon, which has not been named; -Sevier and Farish are the rival claimants. Entering the jagged fir -and pine-clad breach, we found the necessity of dismounting. The bed -was dry--it floods in spring and autumn--but very steep, and in a -hole on the right stood water, which we did not touch for fear of -poison. Reaching the summit in about an hour we saw below the shaggy -foreground of evergreens, or rather ever-blacks, which cast grotesque -and exaggerated shadows in the last rays of day, the snowy-white -mountains, gloriously sunlit, on the far side of Shell Creek. Here for -the first time appeared the piñon pine (_P. Monophyllus_), which forms -the principal part of the Indian’s diet; it was no beauty to look upon, -a dwarfish tree, rendered shrub-like by being feathered down to the -ground. The nut is ripe in early autumn, at which time the savages stow -away their winter provision in dry ravines and pits. The fruit is about -the size of a pistachio, with a decided flavor of turpentine, tolerably -palatable, and at first laxative. The cones are thrown upon the fire, -and when slightly burnt the nuts are easily extracted; these are eaten -raw, or like the Hindoo’s toasted grains. The harvest is said to fail -every second year. Last season produced a fine crop, while in this -autumn many of the trees were found, without apparent reason but frost, -dead. - -We resumed the descent along a fiumara, which presently “sank,” and at -5 P.M. halted in a prairillon somewhat beyond. Bunch-grass, sage-fuel, -and water were abundant, but the place was favorable for an attack. -It is a golden rule in an Indian country never to pitch near trees or -rocks that can mask an approach, and we were breaking it in a place of -danger. However, the fire was extinguished early, so as to prevent its -becoming a mark for Indians, and the pickets, placed on both sides of -the ravine, were directed to lie motionless a little below the crest, -and to fire at the first comer. I need hardly say we were not murdered; -the cold, however, was uncommonly piercing. - - _To “Robber’s Roost.” 5th October._ - -We set out at 6 A.M. the next morning, through a mixture of snow and -hail and howling wind, to finish the ravine, which was _in toto_ -eight miles long. The descent led us to Spring Valley, a bulge in the -mountains about eight miles broad, which a sharp divide separates from -Shell Valley, its neighbor. On the summit we fell into the line of -rivulet which gives the low lands a name. At the foot of the descent -we saw a woodman, and presently the station. Nothing could more want -tidying than this log hut, which showed the bullet-marks of a recent -Indian attack. The master was a Français de France, Constant Dubail, -and an ex-Lancier: his mother’s gossip had received a remittance of -2000 francs from a son in California, consequently he had torn himself -from the _sein_ of _sa pauvre mère_, and with three others had started -in search of fortune, and had nearly starved. The express riders were -three roughs, of whom one was a Mormon. We passed our time while the -mules were at bait in visiting the springs. There is a cold creek 200 -yards below the station, and close by the hut a warm rivulet, said to -contain leeches. The American hirudo, however, has a serious defect -in a leech--it will not bite; the faculty, therefore, are little -addicted to hirudination; country doctors rarely keep the villainous -bloodsuckers, and only the wealthy can afford the pernicious luxury, -which, imported from Spain, costs $12 per dozen, somewhat the same -price as oysters at Nijni Novgorod. - -The weather, which was vile till 10 A.M., when the glass showed 40° -(F.), promised to amend, and as the filthy hole--still full of flies, -despite the cold--offered no attraction, we set out at 2 P.M. for -Egan’s Station, beyond an ill-omened kanyon of the same name. We -descended into a valley by a regular slope--in proportion as we leave -distance between us and the Great Salt Lake the bench formation on this -line becomes less distinct--and traversed a barren plain by a heavy -road. Hares and prairie-hens seemed, however, to like it, and a frieze -of willow thicket at the western end showed the presence of water. We -in the ambulance halted at the mouth of the kanyon; the stock and the -boys had fallen far behind, and the place had an exceedingly bad name. -But the cold was intense, the shades of evening were closing in, so we -made ready for action, looked to the priming of gun and revolver, and -then _en avant_! After passing that kanyon we should exchange the land -of the Gosh Yuta for those of the more friendly Shoshonee. - -[AN UGLY PLACE.] - -An uglier place for sharp-shooting can hardly be imagined. The floor -of the kanyon is almost flush with the bases of the hills, and in such -formations, the bed of the creek which occupies the sole is rough -and winding. The road was vile--now winding along, then crossing the -stream--hedged in with thicket and dotted with boulders. Ahead of us -was a rocky projection which appeared to cross our path, and upon this -Point Dangerous every eye was fixed. - -[COLD COMFORT.] - -Suddenly my eye caught sight of one fire--two fires under the black -bunch of firs half way up the hill-side on our left, and as suddenly -they were quenched, probably with snow. Nothing remained but to hear -the war-whoop, and to see a line of savages rushing down the rocks. -We loosed the doors of the ambulance, that we might jump out, if -necessary, and tree ourselves behind it; and knowing that it would be -useless to return, drove on at our fastest speed, with sleet, snow, -and wind in our faces. Under the circumstances, it was cold comfort -to find, when we had cleared the kanyon, that Egan’s Station at the -farther mouth had been reduced to a chimney-stack and a few charred -posts. The Gosh Yutas had set fire to it two or three days before -our arrival, in revenge for the death of seventeen of their men by -Lieutenant Weed’s party. We could distinguish the pits from which the -wolves had torn up the corpses, and one fellow’s arm projected from -the snow. After a hurried deliberation, in which Kennedy swore, with -that musical voice in which the Dublin swains delight, that “shure -we were all kilt”--the possession of property not only actuates the -mind, and adds industry to its qualities, it also produces a peculiar -development of cautiousness--we unhitched the mules, tethered them to -the ambulance, and planted ourselves behind the palisade, awaiting all -comers, till the boys could bring re-enforcement. The elements fought -for us: although two tongues of high land directly in front of us would -have formed a fine mask for approach, the snow lay in so even a sheet -that a prowling coyote was detected, and the hail-like sleet which beat -fiercely on our backs would have been a sore inconvenience to a party -attacking in face. Our greatest disadvantage was the extreme cold; it -was difficult to keep a finger warm enough to draw a trigger. Thomas, -the judgeling, so he was called, was cool as a cucumber, mentally and -bodily: youths generally are. Firstly, they have their “_preuves_” to -make; secondly, they know not what they do. - -After an hour’s freezing, which seemed a day’s, we heard with quickened -ears the shouts and tramp of the boys and the stock, which took a -terrible load off the exile of Erin’s heart. We threw ourselves into -the wagons, numbed with cold, and forgot, on the soft piles of saddles, -bridles, and baggage, and under heaps of blankets and buffalos, the -pains of Barahut. About 3 A.M. this enjoyment was brought to a close -by arriving at the end of the stage, Butte Station. The road was six -inches deep with snow, and the final ascent was accomplished with -difficulty. The good station-master, Mr. Thomas, a Cambrian Mormon, who -had, he informed me, three brothers in the British army, bade us kindly -welcome, built a roaring fire, added meat to our supper of coffee and -doughboy, and cleared by a summary process among the snorers places -for us on the floor of “Robber’s Roost,” or “Thieves’ Delight,” as the -place is facetiously known throughout the country-side. - - _Halt at “Robber’s Roost.” 6th October._ - -[THE WESTERN MAN’S HOME.] - -The last night’s sound sleep was allowed to last through the morning. -This day was perforce a halt: the old white mare and her colt had -been left at the mouth of the kanyon, and one of the Shoshonee Indian -servants of the station had been persuaded by a bribe of a blanket and -some gunpowder to return for them. About noon we arose, expecting a -black fog, and looked down upon Butte Valley, whose northern edge we -had traversed last night. Snow still lay there--that bottom is rarely -without frost--but in the fine clear sunny day, with the mercury at 43° -F. in the shade, the lowest levels re-became green, the hill cedars -turned once more black, earth steamed like a garment hung out to dry, -and dark spots here and there mottled the hills, which were capped with -huge turbans of muslin-like mist. While the Shoshonee is tracking and -driving the old mare, we will glance around the “Robber’s Roost,” which -will answer for a study of the Western man’s home. - -It is about as civilized as the Galway shanty, or the normal -dwelling-place in Central Equatorial Africa. A cabin fronting east and -west, long walls thirty feet, with port-holes for windows, short ditto -fifteen; material, sandstone and bog ironstone slabs compacted with -mud, the whole roofed with split cedar trunks, reposing on horizontals -which rested on perpendiculars. Behind the house a corral of rails -planted in the ground; the inclosed space a mass of earth, and a mere -shed in one corner the only shelter. Outside the door--the hingeless -and lockless backboard of a wagon, bearing the wounds of bullets--and -resting on lintels and staples, which also had formed parts of -locomotives, a slab acting stepping-stone over a mass of soppy black -soil strewed with ashes, gobs of meat offals, and other delicacies. On -the right hand a load of wood; on the left a tank formed by damming a -dirty pool which had flowed through a corral behind the “Roost.” There -was a regular line of drip distilling from the caked and hollowed snow -which toppled from the thick thatch above the cedar braces. - -The inside reflected the outside. The length was divided by two -perpendiculars, the southernmost of which, assisted by a half-way -canvas partition, cut the hut into unequal parts. Behind it were two -bunks for four men: standing bedsteads of poles planted in the ground, -as in Australia and Unyamwezi, and covered with piles of ragged -blankets. Beneath the frame-work were heaps of rubbish, saddles, -cloths, harness, and straps, sacks of wheat, oats, meal, and potatoes, -defended from the ground by underlying logs, and dogs nestled where -they found room. The floor, which also frequently represented bedstead, -was rough, uneven earth, neither tamped nor swept, and the fine end of -a spring oozing through the western wall kept part of it in a state of -eternal mud. A redeeming point was the fireplace, which occupied half -of the northern short wall: it might have belonged to Guy of Warwick’s -great hall; its ingle nooks boasted dimensions which one connects with -an idea of hospitality and jollity; while a long hook hanging down it -spoke of the bouillon-pot, and the iron oven of hot rolls. Nothing -could be more simple than the furniture. The chairs were either posts -mounted on four legs spread out for a base, or three-legged stools with -reniform seats. The tables were rough-dressed planks, two feet by two, -on rickety trestles. One stood in the centre for feeding purposes; the -other was placed as buffet in the corner near the fire, with eating -apparatus--tin coffee-pot and gamelles, rough knives, “pitchforks,” -and pewter spoons. The walls were pegged to support spurs and pistols, -whips, gloves, and leggins. Over the door, in a niche, stood a broken -coffee-mill, for which a flat stone did duty. Near the entrance, on a -broad shelf raised about a foot from the ground, lay a tin skillet and -its “dipper.” Soap was supplied by a handful of gravel, and evaporation -was expected to act towel. Under the board was a pail of water with -a floating can, which enabled the inmates to supply the drainage of -everlasting chaws. There was no sign of Bible, Shakspeare, or Milton; -a Holywell-Street romance or two was the only attempt at literature. -_En revanche_, weapons of the flesh, rifles, guns, and pistols, lay and -hung all about the house, carelessly stowed as usual, and tools were -not wanting--hammers, large borers, axe, saw, and chisel. An almost -invariable figure in these huts is an Indian standing cross-legged at -the door, or squatting uncomfortably close to the fire. He derides -the whites for their wastefulness, preferring to crouch in parties of -three or four over a little bit of fuel than to sit before a blazing -log. These savages act, among other things, as hunters, bringing home -rabbits and birds. We tried our revolvers against one of them, and beat -him easily; yet they are said to put, three times out of four, an arrow -through a keyhole forty paces off. In shooting they place the thumb and -forefinger of the right hand upon the notch, and strengthen the pull by -means of the second finger stretched along the bowstring. The left hand -holds the whipped handle, and the shaft rests upon the knuckle of the -index. - -From Mr. Thomas we heard an account of the affair which took place near -Egan’s Kanyon. In the last August, Lieutenant Weed happened to be “on -a scout,” with seventeen mounted riflemen, after Indians. An express -rider from the West had ridden up to the station, which, being in a -hollow, can not be seen from afar, and found it surrounded by Gosh -Yuta Indians. The fellows had tied up the master and the boy, and were -preparing with civilized provisions a good dinner for themselves, to be -followed by a little treat in the form of burning down the house and -roasting their captives. The Indians allowed the soldiers brought up -by the express rider to draw near, thinking that the dust was raised -by fresh arrivals of their own people; and when charged, at once fled. -The mounted riflemen were armed with revolvers, not with sabres, or -they would have done considerable execution; as it was, seventeen of -the enemy remained upon the field, besides those who were carried off -by their friends. The Indian will always leave a scalped and wounded -fellow-tribesman in favor of an unscalped corpse. - -In the evening the Shoshonee returned, bringing with him the white mare -and her colt, which he had recovered _selon lui_ from the hands of two -Gosh Yutas. The weather still held up; we had expected to be snowed up -in five days or so; our departure, therefore, was joyfully fixed for -the morrow. - - _To Ruby Valley. 7th October._ - -A frosty night was followed by a Tuscan day: a cold tramontana from the -south, and a clear hot sun, which expanded the mercury at 10 A.M. to -70° F. After taking leave of the hospitable station-master, we resumed -the road which ran up the short and heavy ascent, through a country -here and there eighteen inches deep in snow, and abounding in large -sage and little rabbits. A descent led into Long Valley, whose northern -end we crossed, and then we came upon a third ascent, where, finding a -sinking creek, a halt was called for lunch. The formation of the whole -country is a succession of basins and divides. Ensued another twelve -miles’ descent, which placed us in sight of Ruby Valley, and a mile -beyond carried us to the station. - -[RUBY VALLEY.] - -Ruby Valley is a half-way house, about 300 miles from Great Salt Lake -City, and at the same distance from Carson Valley. It derives its -name from the small precious stones which are found like nuggets of -gold in the crevices of primitive rock. The length of the valley is -about 100 miles, by three or four broad, and springs are scattered -in numbers along the base of the western mountains. The cold is said -to be here more severe than in any place on the line of road, Spring -Valley excepted. There is, however, excellent bench-land for grazing. -In this season the scenery is really pretty. The white peaks tower over -hill-land black with cedar, and this looks down upon the green bottom -scattered over with white sage--winter above lying by the side of -summer below. - -[“UNCLE BILLY.”] - -We were received at the Ruby-Valley Station by Colonel Rogers, better -known as “Uncle Billy.” He had served in the troublous days of -California as marshal, and has many a hairbreadth escape to relate. -He is now assistant Indian agent, the superintendent of a government -model farm, and he lives _en garçon_, having left his wife and children -at Frogtown. We were soon introduced to the chief of the country, -Chy̆ŭkŭpĭchyă (the “old man”), a word of unpronounceable slur, changed -by whites into Chokop (“earth”). His lands are long to the north and -south, though of little breadth. He commands about 500 warriors, and, -as Uncle Billy is returning to Frogtown, he is collecting a large -hunting-party for the autumnal battue. In 1849 his sister was wantonly -shot by emigrants to California. He attacked the train, and slew -in revenge five men, a fact with which we were not made acquainted -till after our departure. His father and grandfather are both alive, -but they have abdicated under the weight of years and infirmities, -reserving their voices for the powwow. - -We dined in the colonel’s stone hut, and then saw the lions feed; -after us, Chokop and five followers sat down with knife and fork -before a huge tureen full of soft pie, among which they did terrible -execution, champing and chewing with the noisiness of wild beasts, and -eating each enough for three able-bodied sailors. The chief, a young -man twenty-five years old, had little to denote the Indian except -vermilion where soap should have been; one of his companions, however, -crowned with eagle’s feathers disposed in tulip shape, while the claws -depended gracefully down his back, was an object worthy of Guinea. All -were, however, to appearance, happy, and for the first time I heard -an Indian really laugh outright. Outside squatted the common herd in a -costume which explains the prevalence of rheumatism. The men were in -rags, yet they had their coquetry, vermilion streaked down their cheeks -and across their foreheads--the Indian fashion of the omnilocal rouge. -The women, especially the elders, were horrid objects, shivering and -half dressed in breech-cloths and scanty capes or tippets of wolf and -rabbit skin: the existence of old age, however, speaks well for the -race. Both are unclean; they use no water where Asiatics would; they -ignore soap, and rarely repair to the stream, except, like animals, in -hot weather. - -We then strolled about the camp and called upon the two Mistresses -Chokop. One was a buxom dame, broad and strong, with hair redolent of -antelope marrow, who boasted of a “wikeap” or wigwam in the shape of -a conical tent. The other, much her junior, and rather pretty, was -sitting apart in a bower of bushes, with a newly-born pappoose in a -willow cage to account for her isolation: the poor thing would have -been driven out even in the depth of winter, and were she to starve, -she must do without meat. As among the Jews, whenever the Great Father -is angry with the daughters of Red Men, they sit apart; they never -touch a cooking utensil, although it is not held impure to address -them, and they return only when the signs of wrath have passed away. -The abodes of the poorer clansmen were three-quarter circles of earth, -sticks, and sage-bush to keep off the southerly wind. A dog is usually -one of the occupants. Like the African, the Indian is cruel to his -brute, starves it and kicks it for attempting to steal a mouthful: -“Love me, love my dog,” however, is his motto, and he quarrels with -the stranger that follows his example. The furniture was primitive. -Upon a branch hung a dried antelope head used in stalking: concerning -this sport Uncle Billy had a story of his nearly being shot by being -mistaken for the real animal; and tripods of timber supporting cloths -and moccasins, pans, camp-kettles, stones for grinding grass-seed, and -a variety of baskets. The material was mostly willow twig, with a layer -of gum, probably from the pine-tree. Some were water-tight like the -“Hán” of Somaliland; others, formed like the Roman amphora, were for -storing grain; while others, in giant cocked-hat shape, were intended -for sweeping in crickets and the grass-seeds upon which these Indians -feed. The chief gramineæ are the atriplex and chenopodaceous plants. -After inspecting the camp we retired precipitately: its condition was -that of an Egyptian army’s last nighting-place. - -[PRICE OF A GOVERNMENT FARM.] - -About two miles from the station there is a lake covered with -water-fowl, from the wild swan to the rail. I preferred, however, to -correct my Shoshonee vocabulary under the inspection of Mose Wright, -an express rider from a neighboring station. None of your “one-horse” -interpreters, he had learned the difficult dialect in his youth, and -he had acquired all the intonation of an Indian. Educated beyond the -reach of civilization, he was in these days an oddity; he was convicted -of having mistaken a billiard cue for a whip handle, and was accused -of having mounted the post supporting the electric telegraph wire in -order to hear what it was saying. The evening was spent in listening to -Uncle Billy’s adventures among the whites and reds. He spoke highly of -his _protégés_, especially of their affection and fidelity in married -life: they certainly appeared to look upon him as a father. He owed -something to legerdemain; here, as in Algeria, a Houdin or a Love would -be great medicine-men with whom nobody would dare to meddle. Uncle -Billy managed to make the post pay by peltries of the mink, wolf, -woodchuck or ground-hog, fox, badger, antelope, black-tailed deer, and -others. He illustrated the peculiarities of the federal government by a -curious anecdote. The indirect or federal duties are in round numbers -$100,000,000, of which $60,000,000 are spent, leaving a surplus of -forty for the purpose of general corruption: the system seems to date -from the days of the “ultimus Romanorum,” President Jackson. None but -the largest claimants can expect to be recognized. A few years ago one -of the Indian agents in ---- was asked by a high official what might be -about the cost of purchasing a few hundred acres for a government farm. -After reckoning up the amount of beads, wire, blankets, and gunpowder, -the total was found to be $240. The high official requested his friend -to place the statement on paper, and was somewhat surprised the next -morning to see the $240 swollen to $40,000. The reason given was -characteristic: “What great government would condescend to pay out of -£8,000,000 a paltry £48, or would refuse to give £8000?” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -To Carson Valley. - - -Before resuming the Itinerary, it may be advisable briefly to describe -the various tribes tenanting this Territory. - -We have now emerged from the Prairie Indians, the Dakotah, Crow, Kiowa, -Comanche, Osage, Apache, Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Arapaho. Utah Territory -contains a total of about 19,000 souls of two great kindred races, -the Shoshonee or Snake, and the Yuta, called Uche by the Spaniards -and Ute by the Anglo-American trappers. Like the Comanche and Apache, -the Pimas, the Lipans, and the people of the Pueblos, they are of the -Hispano-American division, once subject to the Conquistadores, and -are bounded north by the Pánák[228] (Bannack) and the once formidable -Blackfeet. The Shoshonee own about one third of the Territory; their -principal settlements lie north of the Great Salt Lake, and on the line -of the Humboldt or Mary River, some 400 miles west, and 100 to 125 -south of the Oregon line. They number about 4500 souls, and are wildest -in the southeast parts of their motherland. The Yuta claim the rest of -the Territory between Kansas, the Sierra Nevada, New Mexico, and the -Oregon frontier. Of course the two peoples are mortal foes, and might -be well pitted against each other. The Snakes would form excellent -partisan warriors. - - [228] The Panak is a small tribe of 500 souls, now considered - dangerous: the greater part resides in Oregon, the smaller about - ninety miles in the N.E. of the Territory, where they hunt the bison - and the elk. For thirty years they have traded with Fort Bridger, and - when first known they numbered 1200 lodges. “Horn,” their principal - chief, visited the place in April, 1858. Mr. Forney, the late - Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Utah Territory, granted them a - home in the lands of Washaki, and they have intermarried and lived - peaceably with the Shoshonee. - -The Shoshonee number fourteen tribes regularly organized; the -principal, which contains about 12,000 souls, is commanded by Washaki, -assisted, as usual, by sub-chiefs, four to six in number. Five bands, -numbering near 1000 each, roam about the mountains and kanyons of Great -Salt Lake County, Weber, Bear, Cache, and Malad Valleys, extending -eighty miles north from the Holy City. These have suffered the most -from proximity with the whites, and no longer disdain agriculture. One -band, 150 to 180 in number, confines itself to the North Californian -Route from Bear and Malad Valleys to the Goose-Creek Mountains. Seven -bands roam over the country from the Humboldt River to 100 miles south -of it, and extend about 200 miles from east to west: the principal -chief, Wanamuka, or “the Giver,” had a band of 155 souls, and lived -near the Honey Lake. - -The Yuta claim, like the Shoshonee, descent from an ancient people -that immigrated into their present seats from the northwest. During -the last thirty years they have considerably decreased according to -the mountaineers, and have been demoralized mentally and physically by -the emigrants: formerly they were friendly, now they are often at war -with the intruders. As in Australia, arsenic and corrosive sublimate in -springs and provisions have diminished their number. The nation is said -to contain a total of 14,000 to 15,000 souls, divided into twenty-seven -bands, of which the following are the principal: - -The Pá Yuta (Pey Utes) are the most docile, interesting, and powerful, -containing twelve bands;[229] those in the west of the Territory, -on the Humboldt River, number 6000, and in the south 2200 souls; -they extend from forty miles west of Stony Point to the Californian -line, and northwest to the Oregon line, and inhabit the valley of the -Fenelon River, which, rising from Lake Bigler, empties itself into -Pyramid Lake. The term means Water Yuta, that is to say, those who live -upon fish which they take from lakes and rivers in wiers and traps -of willow, preferring that diet to roots, grass-seed, lizards, and -crickets, the food of the other so-called Digger tribes. - - [229] These are, 1. Wanamuka’s; 2. San Joaquim, near the forks - of that river in Carson Valley, numbering 170; 3. Hadsapoke, or - Horse-stopper band, of 110, in Gold Kanyon, on Carson River; 4. Wahi - or Fox band, on Big Bend of Carson River, 130 in number; 5. and 6. - Odakeo, “Tall-man band,” and Petodseka, “White-Spot band,” round the - lakes and sinks of the Carson and Walker Rivers, numbering 484 men, - 372 women, and 405 children; 7. Tosarke, “Gray-head band,” their - neighbors; 8. Tonoziet, “Woman-helper band,” on the Truckee River, - below Big Meadows, numbering 280 souls; 9. Torape, or “Lean-man - band,” on the Truckee River, near Lone Crossing, 360 souls; 10. - Gonega, the “Dancer band,” 290 souls, near the mouth of the Truckee - River; 11. Watsequendo, the “Four Crows,” along the shores of Pyramid - Lake, 320 souls; 12. The second Wanamuka’s band, 500 in number, along - the shores of the Northern Mud Lake. - -[THE GOSH YUTA, ETC.] - -Gosh Yuta, or Gosha Ute, is a small band, once _protégés_ of the -Shoshonee, who have the same language and limits. Their principal chief -died about five years ago, when the tribe was broken up. A body of -sixty, under a peaceful leader, were settled permanently on the Indian -farm at Deep Creek, and the remainder wandered 40 to 200 miles west of -Great Salt Lake City. Through this tribe our road lay; during the late -tumults they have lost fifty warriors, and are now reduced to about 200 -men. Like the Ghuzw of Arabia, they strengthen themselves by admitting -the outcasts of other tribes, and will presently become a mere banditti. - -Pavant, or Parovan Yuta, are a distinct and self-organized tribe, under -one principal and several sub-chiefs, whose total is set down at 700 -souls. Half of them are settled on the Indian farm at Corn Creek; the -other wing of the tribe lives along Sevier Lake, and the surrounding -country in the northeast extremity of Fillmore Valley, fifty miles from -the city, where they join the Gosh Yuta. The Pavants breed horses, wear -clothes of various patterns, grow grain, which the Gosh Yutas will not, -and are as brave and improvable as their neighbors are mean and vile. - -Timpenaguchyă,[230] or Timpana Yuta, corrupted into Tenpenny Utes, who -dwell about the kanyon of that name, and on the east of the Sweetwater -Lake. Of this tribe was the chief Wakara, who so called himself after -Walker, the celebrated trapper; the notorious horse-stealer proved -himself a friend to the Latter-Day Saints. He died at Meadow Creek, -six miles from Fillmore City, on the 29th of January, 1855, and at his -obsequies two squaws, two Pa Yuta children, and fifteen of his best -horses composed the “customs.” - - [230] In the Yuta language meaning “water among the stones.” - -Uinta Yuta, in the mountains south of Fort Bridger, and in the country -along the Green River. Of this tribe, which contains a total of -1000, a band of 500, under four chiefs, lately settled on the Indian -reservations at Spanish Fork. - -Sampichyă, corrupted, to San Pete Utas; about eighty warriors, settled -on the Indian farm at San Pete. This and the Spanish-Fork Farm number -900 inhabitants. - -Elk-Mountain Yutas, who are set down at 2000 souls, by some even 3000; -they wander over the southeast portion of the Territory, and, like the -Uinta Yutas, are the most independent of white settlers. - -Weber-River Yutas are those principally seen in Great Salt Lake City; -they are a poor and degraded tribe. Their chief settlement is forty -miles to the north, and, like the Gosh Yutas, they understand Shoshonee. - -Among the Yutas are reckoned the Washoe, from 500 to 700 souls. They -inhabit the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, from Honey Lake to -the West Fork of Walker’s River in the south. Of this troublesome -tribe there are three bands: Captain Jim’s, near Lake Bigler, and -Carson, Washoe, and Eagle Valleys, a total of 342 souls; Pasuka’s band, -340 souls, in Little Valley; and Deer Dick’s band, in Long Valley, -southeast of Honey Lake. They are usually called Shoshoko,[231] or -“Digger Indians”--a term as insulting to a Shoshonee as nigger to an -African. - - [231] It is said to mean “one who goes on foot.” - -Besides the Parawat Yutas, the Yampas, 200-300 miles south, on the -White River; the Tabechyă, or Sun-hunters, about Tête de Biche, near -Spanish lands; and the Tash Yuta, near the Navajoes: there are scatters -of the nation along the Californian road from Beaver Valley, along the -Santa Clara, Virgen, Las Vegas, and Muddy Rivers to New Mexico. - -The Indian Bureau of Utah Territory numbers one superintendent, six -agents, and three to six farm-agents. The annual expenditure is set -down at $40,000; the Mormons declare that it is iniquitously embezzled, -and that the total spent upon the Indians hardly exceeds $1000 per -annum. The savages expect blankets and clothing, flour and provisions, -arms and ammunition: they receive only a little tobacco, become surly, -and slay the settlers. It is understood that the surveyor general has -recommended to the federal government the extinction of the Indian -title--somewhat upon the principle of the English in Tasmania[232] and -New Zealand--to grounds in the Utah Territory, and the establishment -of a land-office for the sale of the two millions of acres already -surveyed. Until the citizens can own their farms and fields under the -existing pre-emption laws, and until the troublesome Indians can be -removed by treaty to reservations remote from white settlements, the -onward march of progress will be arrested. The savage and the civilized -man, like crabbed age and youth, like the black and gray rat, can not -live together: the former starves unless placed in the most fertile -spots, which the latter of course covets; the Mormons attempt a peace -policy, but the hunting-grounds are encroached upon, and terrible -massacres are the result. Here, as elsewhere, the battle of life is -fiercely fought. It has been said, - - “Man differs more from man - Than beast from beast.” - -Yet every where we trace the mighty resemblance. - - [232] Van Diemen’s Land, in the days of Captain Flinders (A.D. - 1800, two generations ago), had a population of 100,000 souls, now - well-nigh annihilated by strong waters and corrosive sublimate. - Neither man nor woman was safe in the vicinity of a native tribe; - the Anglo-Scandinavian race thus found it necessary to wipe out a - people that could not be civilized--a fair instance of the natural - selection of species. And New Zealand now threatens to walk the path - of Tasmania. - -[THE INDIAN FARMS.] - -The three principal farms which now form the nuclei of future -reservations are those at Spanish Fork, San Pete, and Corn Creek. The -two latter have often been denuded by the grasshopper; the former has -fared better. Situated in Utah Valley, under the shelter of lofty -Nebo, it extends northward within four miles of the Sweetwater Lake, -and on the northeast is bounded by the Spanish-Fork Creek, rich in -trout and other fish. It was begun five years ago for the Yutas, who -claim the land, and contains a total of 13,000 acres, of which 500 -have been cultivated; 900 have been ditched to protect the crop, -and 1000 have been walled round with a fence six feet high. Besides -other improvements, they have built a large adobe house and two rail -corrals, and dug dams and channels for irrigation, together with a -good stone-curbed well. Under civilized superintendence the savages -begin to labor, and the chiefs aspire to erect houses. Yet the crops -have been light, rarely exceeding 2500 bushels. San Pete Farm, in the -valley and on the creek of the same name, lies 150 miles south of Great -Salt Lake City; it supports, besides those who come for temporary -assistance, a band of thirty souls; 200 acres have been planted with -wheat and potatoes, two adobe houses and a corral have been made, and -irrigating trenches have been dug. Corn-Creek Farm, in Fillmore Valley, -was begun about four years ago; 300 acres have been broken up, several -adobe houses have been built for the Indians and the farm agent, with -the usual adjuncts, corral and fences. The crickets and grasshoppers -have committed sad havoc among the wheat, corn, and potatoes. It is -now tenanted by a Pahvant chief. The Uinta Farm is near Fort Bridger. -Those lately opened in Deep Creek and Ruby Valleys have this year lain -fallow in consequence of Indian troubles; the soil, however, is rich, -and will produce beets, potatoes, onions, turnips, and melons. It is -proposed to place the Pa Yutas and Washoes in the Truckee Meadows, on -the lands “watered by the majestic Kuyuehup, or Salmon-Trout River,” -where, besides fish and piñon forests, there are 15,000 acres fit for -cultivation and herding. The Indian agents report that the cost will be -$150,000, from which the Mormons deduct at least two 0’s. - -[THE YUTAS.] - -The Yuta, though divided into many tribes and bands, is a distinct -race from its prairie neighbors, speaking a single _langue mère_ much -diversified by dialect. They are a superstitious brood, and have many -cruel practices--human sacrifices and vivisepulture--like those of -Dahomey and Ashantee. Their religion is the usual African and Indian -fetichism, that germal faith which, under favorable influences and -among higher races, developed itself by natural means--or as explained -by a mythical, distinct, and independent revelation--into the higher -forms of Judaism, Christianity, and El Islam. In the vicinity of the -Mormons many savages have been baptized, and have become nominal -Saints. They divide white men into Shwop or Americans and Mormons. -Their learned men have heard of Washington, but, like the French -peasant’s superstition concerning Napoleon, they believe him to be -still alive. They have a name for the Book of Mormon, and have not -learned, like their more civilized Eastern neighbors, to look upon -it as the work of Mujhe Manitou, the bad god, who, like Wiswakarma -of the Hindoos, amuses himself by caricaturing and parodying the -creatures of the good god. They are not cannibals--the Wendigo is a -giant man-eater of a mythologic type, not an actual anthropophage--but, -like all Indians, especially those of New England, they “feel good” -after eating a bit of the enemy, a natural display of destructiveness: -they will devour the heart of a brave man to increase their courage, -or chop it up, boil it in soup, engorge a ladleful, and boast they -have drunk the enemy’s blood. They are as liable to caprice as their -Eastern neighbors. A prisoner who has distinguished himself in battle -is as often dismissed unhurt as porcupined with arrows and killed -with cruel tortures; if they yield in ingenuity of inflicting pain -to the Algonquins and Iroquois, it is not for want of inclination, -but by reason of their stupidity. Female captives who fall into their -hands are horribly treated; I was told of one who, after all manner of -atrocities, scalping included, escaped with life. They have all the -savage’s improvidence; utility is not their decalogue. Both sexes, -except when clothed by a charitable Mormon, are nearly naked, even -in the severest weather; they sleep in sleet and snow unclothed, -except with a cape of twisted rabbits’ furs and a miserable attempt -at moccasins, lined with plaited cedar bark: leggins are unknown, -even to the women. Their ornaments are vermilion, a few beads, and -shell necklaces. They rarely suffer from any disease but rheumatism, -brought on by living in the warm houses of the whites, and various -consequences of liver complaint, produced by overgorging: as with -strong constitutions generally, they either die at once or readily -recover. They dress wounds with pine gum after squeezing out the blood, -and their medicine-men have the usual variety of savage nostrums. In -the more desert parts of the Territory they are exceedingly destitute. -South of Cedar City, even ten years ago they had fields of wheat -and corn of six acres each, and supported emigrants; some of them -cultivate yearly along the stream-banks peas, beans, sweet potatoes, -and squashes. They live upon the flesh of the bear, elk, antelope, dog, -wolf, hare, snake, and lizard, besides crickets, grasshoppers, ants, -and other vermin. The cactus leaf, piñon nut, and various barks; the -seed of the bunch-grass and of the wheat or yellow grass, somewhat -resembling rye; the rabbit-bush twigs, which are chewed, and various -roots and tubers; the soft sego bulb, the rootlet of the cat-tail flag, -and of the tule, which, when sun-dried and powdered to flour, keeps -through the winter, and is palatable even to white men, conclude the -list of their dainties. When these fail they must steal or starve, and -the dilemma is easily solved, to the settler’s cost. - -The Yutas in the vicinity of the larger white settlements continually -diminish; bands of 150 warriors are now reduced to 35. Some of the -minor tribes in the southern part of the Territory, near New Mexico, -can scarcely show a single squaw, having traded them off for horses and -arms; they go about killing one another, and on kidnapping expeditions, -which farther diminish the breed. The complaint which has devastated -the South Sea Islands rages around the City of the Saints, and extends -to the Rio Virgen. In six months six squaws were shot by red Othellos -for yielding their virtue to the fascinations of tobacco, whisky, and -blankets; the Lotharios were savage as well as civilized. The operation -of courting is performed by wrapping a blanket round one’s beloved; if -she reciprocates, it is a sign of consent. A refusal in these lands is -often a serious business; the warrior collects his friends, carries -off the recusant fair, and, after subjecting her to the insults of all -his companions, espouses her. There is little of the shame which Pliny -attributes to the “Barrus.” When a death takes place they wrap the body -in a skin or hide, and drag it by the leg to a grave, which is heaped -up with stones as a protection against wild beasts. They mourn till -the end of that moon, allow a month to elapse, and then resume their -lamentations for another moon: the interval is gradually increased till -the grief ends. It is usual to make the dead man’s lodge appear as -desolate as possible. - -The Yuta is less servile, and, consequently, has a higher ethnic status -than the African negro; he will not toil, and he turns at a kick or -a blow. The emigrant who addresses him in the usual phrase, “D-- -your eyes, git out of the road or I’ll shoot you!” is pretty sure to -come to grief. Lately the Yutas demanded compensation for the use of -their grass upon the Truckee River, when the emigrants fired, killing -Wanamuka the chief. After the death of two or three whites, Mayor -Ormsby, of the militia at Carson Valley, took the field, was decoyed -into a kanyon by Indian cunning, and perished with all his men. - - _To “Chokop’s” Pass. 8th October, 1860._ - -The morning was wasted in binding two loose tires upon their respective -wheels; it was past noon before we were _en route_. We shook hands -cordially with Uncle Billy, whose generosity--a virtue highly prized by -those who, rarely practicing, expect it to be practiced upon them--has -won for him the sobriquet of the “Big-hearted Father.” He had vainly, -however, attempted to rescue my silver pen-holder, whose glitter was -too much for Indian virtue. Our route lay over a long divide, cold but -not unpicturesque, a scene of light-tinted mountain mahogany, black -cedar, pure snowy hill, and pink sky. After ten miles we reached the -place where the road forks; that to the right, passing through Pine -Valley, falls into the gravelly ford of the Humboldt River, distant -from this point eighty to eighty-five miles. After surmounting the -water-shed we descended over bench-land into a raw and dreary plain, in -which greasewood was more plentiful than sage-bush. “Huntingdon Valley” -is traversed by Smith’s Fork, which flows northward to the Humboldt -River; when we crossed it it was a mere rivulet. Our camping-ground -was at the farther end of the plain, under a Pass called after the -chief Chokop; the kanyon emitted a cold draught like the breathing -caves of Kentucky. We alighted at a water near the entrance, and found -bunch-grass, besides a little fuel. After two hours the wagon came up -with the stock, which was now becoming weary, and we had the usual -supper of dough, butter, and coffee. I should have slept comfortably -enough upon a shovel and a layer of carpet-bags had not the furious -south wind howled like the distant whooping of Indians. - - _To the Wilderness again. 9th October._ - -The frosty night was followed by a thaw in the morning. We hastened -to ascend Chokop’s Pass by a bad, steep dugway: it lies south of -“Railroad Kanyon,” which is said to be nearly flat-soled. A descent -led into “Moonshine,” called by the Yutas Pahannap Valley, and we saw -with pleasure the bench rising at the foot of the pass. The station is -named Diamond Springs, from an eye of warm, but sweet and beautifully -clear water bubbling up from the earth. A little below it drains -off in a deep rushy ditch, with a gravel bottom, containing equal -parts of comminuted shells: we found it an agreeable and opportune -bath. Hard work had begun to tell upon the temper of the party. -The judge, who ever preferred monologue to dialogue, aweary of the -rolling prairies and barren plains, the bald and rocky ridges, the -muddy flats, saleratus ponds, and sandy wastes, sighed monotonously -for the woodland shades and the rustling of living leaves near his -Pennsylvanian home. The marshal, with true Anglo-American impetuosity, -could not endure Paddy Kennedy’s “slow and shyure” style of travel; -and after a colloquy, in which the holiest of words were freely used -as adjectives, participles, and exclamations, offered to fight him -by way of quickening his pace. The boys--four or five in number--ate -for breakfast a quarter of beef, as though they had been Kaffirs or -Esquimaux, and were threatened with ration-cutting. The station folks -were Mormons, but not particularly civil: they afterward had to fly -before the savages, which, perhaps, they will be pleased to consider a -“judgment” upon them. - -Shortly after noon we left Diamond Springs, and carried on for a -stretch of seven miles to our lunching-ground, a rushy water, black -where it overlies mud, and bluish-green where light gravel and shells -form the bottom: the taste is sulphury, and it abounds in confervæ -and animalculæ like leeches and little tadpoles. After playing a tidy -bowie-knife, we remounted, and passed over to the rough divide lying -westward of Moonshine Valley. As night had closed in, we found some -difficulty in choosing a camping-place: at length we pitched upon a -prairillon under the lee of a hill, where we had bunch-grass and fuel, -but no water. The wind blew sternly through the livelong night, and -those who suffered from cramps in cold feet had little to do with the -“sweet restorer, balmy sleep.” - - _To Sheawit Creek. 10th October._ - -[SHEAWIT CREEK.] - -At 6 A.M. the mercury was sunk only to 29° F., but the elevation and -rapid evaporation, with the fierce gusty wind coursing through the -kanyon, rendered the sensation of cold painful. As usual on these -occasions, “George,” our chef, sensibly preferred standing over the -fire, and enwrapping himself with smoke, to the inevitable exposure -incurred while fetching a coffee-pot or a tea-kettle. A long divide, -with many ascents and descents, at length placed in front of us a view -of the normal “distance”--heaps of hills, white as bridal cakes, and, -nearer, a sand-like plain, somewhat more yellow than the average of -those salt-bottoms: instinct told us that there lay the station-house. -From the hills rose the smokes of Indian fires: the lands belong to -the Tusawichya, or White-Knives, a band of the Shoshonees under an -independent chief. This depression is known to the Yutas as Sheawit, or -Willow Creek: the whites call it, from Mr. Bolivar Roberts, the Western -agent, “Roberts’ Springs Valley.” It lies 286 miles from Camp Floyd: -from this point “Simpson’s Road” strikes off to the S.E., and as Mr. -Howard Egan’s rule here terminates, it is considered the latter end of -Mormondom. Like all the stations to the westward, that is to say, those -now before us, it was burned down in the late Indian troubles, and has -only been partially rebuilt. One of the _employés_ was Mr. Mose Wright, -of Illinois, who again kindly assisted me with correcting my vocabulary. - -[THE WHITE-KNIVES.] - -About the station loitered several Indians of the White-Knife tribe, -which boasts, like the old Sioux and the modern Flatheads, never to -have stained its weapons with the blood of a white man. They may be -a respectable race, but they are an ugly: they resemble the Diggers, -and the children are not a little like juvenile baboons. The dress -was the usual medley of rags and rabbit furs: they were streaked with -vermilion; and their hair--contrary to, and more sensibly than the -practice of our grandfathers--was fastened into a frontal pigtail, to -prevent it falling into the eyes. These men attend upon the station -and herd the stock for an occasional meal, their sole payment. They -will trade their skins and peltries for arms and gunpowder, but, -African-like, they are apt to look upon provisions, beads, and tobacco -in the light of presents. - -A long march of thirty-five miles lay before us. Kennedy resolved to -pass the night at Sheawit Creek, and, despite their grumbling, sent on -the boys, the stock, and the wagons, when rested from their labor, in -the early afternoon. We spent a cosy, pleasant evening--such as I have -enjoyed in the old Italian days before railroads--of travelers’ tittle -and Munchausen tattle, in the ingle corner and round the huge hearth -of the half-finished station, with its holey walls. At intervals, the -roarings of the wind, the ticking of the death-watch (a well-known -xylophagus), boring a home in the soft cotton-wood rafters, and the -howlings of the Indians, who were keening at a neighboring grave, -formed a rude and appropriate chorus. Mose Wright recounted his early -adventures in Oregon; how, when he was a greenhorn, the Indians had -danced the war-dance under his nose, had then set upon his companions, -and, after slaying them, had displayed their scalps. He favored us -with a representation of the ceremony, an ursine performance--the bear -seems every where to have been the sire of Terpsichore--while the right -hand repeatedly clapped to his lips quavered the long loud howl into -broken sounds: “Howh! howh! howh! ow! ow! ough! ough! aloo! aloo! loo! -loo! oo!” We talked of a curious animal, a breed between the dog and -the bear, which represents the semi-fabulous jumard in these regions: -it is said to be a cross far more savage than that between the dog -and the wolf. The young grizzly is a favorite pet in the Western hut, -and a canine graft is hardly more monstrous than the progeny of the -horse and the deer lately exhibited in London. I still believe that in -Africa, and indeed in India, there are accidentally mules bimanous and -quadrumanous, and would suggest that such specimens should be sought -as the means of settling on a rational basis the genus and species of -“homo sapiens.” - -Mose Wright described the Indian arrow-poison. The rattlesnake--the -copperhead and the moccasin he ignored--is caught with a forked stick -planted over its neck, and is allowed to fix its fangs in an antelope’s -liver. The meat, which turns green, is carried upon a skewer when -wanted for use: the flint-head of an arrow, made purposely to break in -the wound, is thrust into the poison, and when withdrawn is covered -with a thin coat of glue. Ammonia is considered a cure for it, and the -Indians treat snake-bites with the actual cautery. The rattlesnake -here attains a length of eight to nine feet, and is described as -having reached the number of seventy-three rattles, which, supposing -(as the theory is) that after the third year it puts forth one per -annum, would raise its age to that of man: it is much feared in Utah -Territory. We were also cautioned against the poison oak, which is -worse than the poison vine east of the Mississippi. It is a dwarf bush -with quercine leaves, dark colored and prickly like those of the holly: -the effect of a sting, of a touch, or, it is said, in sensitives of its -proximity, is a painful itching, followed by a rash that lasts three -weeks, and other highly inconvenient consequences. Strong brine was -recommended to us by our prairie doctor. - -Among the _employés_ of the station was an intelligent young mechanic -from Pennsylvania, who, threatened with consumption, had sought and -soon found health in the pure regions of the Rocky Mountains. He looked -forward to revisiting civilization, where comforts were attainable. In -these wilds little luxuries like tea and coffee are often unprocurable; -a dudeen or a cutty pipe sells for a dollar, consequently a hollowed -potato or corn-cob with a reed tube is often rendered necessary; and -tobacco must be mixed with a myrtaceous leaf called by the natives -“timaya,” and by the mountaineers “larb”--possibly a corruption of -“l’herbe” or “la yerba.” Newspapers and magazines arrive sometimes -twice a year, when they have weathered the dangers of the way. Economy -has deprived the stations of their gardens, and the shrinking of -emigration, which now dribbles eastward, instead of flowing in full -stream westward, leaves the exiles to amuse themselves. - - _To Dry Creek. 11th October._ - -[ST. MARTIN’S SUMMER.--“DRY CREEK.”] - -We arose early, and found that it had not “frosted;” that flies -were busy in the station-house; and that the snow, though thick on -the northern faces, had melted from the southern shoulders of the -hills--these were so many indices of the St. Martin’s, or Indian -summer, the last warm glow of life before the cold and pallid death -of the year. At 6 A.M. we entered the ambulance, and followed a good -road across the remains of the long, broad Sheawit Valley. After twelve -miles we came upon a water surrounded by willows, with dwarf artemisia -beyond--it grows better on the benches, where the subsoil is damper, -than in the bottoms--and there we found our lazy boys, who, as Jim -Gilston said, had been last night “on a drunk.” Resuming our way, after -three miles we reached some wells whose alkaline waters chap the skin. -Twenty miles farther led to the west end of the Sheawit Valley, where -we found the station on a grassy bench at the foot of low rolling -hills. It was a mere shell, with a substantial stone corral behind, and -the inmates were speculating upon the possibility of roofing themselves -in before the winter. Water is found in tolerable quantities below the -station, but the place deserved its name, “Dry Creek.” - -A fraternal recognition took place between Long Jim and his brother, -who discovered each other by the merest accident. Gilston, the -_employé_, was an intelligent man: at San Francisco he had learned a -little Chinese, and at Deep Creek he was studying the Indian dialects. -He had missed making a fortune at Carson Valley, where, in June or -July, 1859, the rich and now celebrated silver mines were discovered; -and he warned us against the danger of tarrying in Carson City, where -revolvers are fired even into houses known to contain “ladies.” Colonel -Totten, the station-master, explained the formation of the gold -diggings as beds of gravel, from one to 120 feet, overlying slate rock. - -Dry-Creek Station is on the eastern frontier of the western agency; as -at Roberts’ Creek, supplies and literature from Great Salt City east -and Carson City west are usually exhausted before they reach these -final points. After a frugal feed, we inspected a grave for two, which -bore the names of Loscier and Applegate, and the date 21st of May. -These men, _employés_ of the station, were attacked by Indians--Panaks -or Shoshonees, or possibly both: the former was killed by the first -fire; the latter, when shot in the groin, and unable to proceed, -borrowed, under pretext of defense, a revolver, bade good-by to his -companions, and put a bullet through his own head: the remainder then -escaped. Both these poor fellows remain unavenged. The Anglo-American, -who is admirably protected by the officials of his government in -Europe, Asia, and Africa, is systematically neglected--_teste_ -Mexico--in America. The double grave, piled up with stones, showed gaps -where the wolves had attempted to tunnel, and blue-bottle flies were -buzzing over it in expectation. Colonel Totten, at our insistence, -promised that it should be looked to. - -The night was comfortably passed at Dry Creek, under the leeward side -of a large haystack. The weather was cold, but clear and bright. We -slept the sleep of the just. - - _To Simpson’s Park. 12th October._ - -[SIMPSON’S PARK.] - -At the time of the cold clear dawn, whose gray contrasted strongly -with the blush of the most lovely evening that preceded it, the -mercury stood at 45° F. Shortly after 8 A.M. we were afield, hastening -to finish the long divide that separates Roberts’ Creek Valley from -its western neighbor, which, as yet unchristened, is known to the -b’hoys as Smoky Valley. The road wound in the shape of the letter U -round the impassable part of the ridge. Crossing the north end of -Smoky Valley, we came upon rolling ground, with water-willows and -cedars “blazed”--barked with a gash--for sign-posts. Ensued a long -kanyon, with a flat sole, not unlike Egan’s, a gate by which the swift -shallow stream had broken through the mountains: in places it was -apparently a _cul de sac_; in others, shoulder after shoulder rose in -long perspective, with points and projections behind, which an enemy -might easily turn. The granite walls were of Cyclopean form, with -regular lines of cleavage, as in the Rattlesnake Hills, which gave -a false air of stratification. The road was a mere path along and -across the rivulet bed, and the lower slopes were garnished with the -pepper-grass and the everlasting bunch-grass, so truly characteristic -of the “Basin State.” Above us, in the pellucid sky, towered the eagle -in his pride of place; the rabbit ran before us from the thicket; the -ground-squirrel cached himself in the sage-bush; and where distance -appeared, smokes upcurling in slow, heavy masses told us that man was -not far distant. A second divide, more abrupt than the former, placed -us in sight of Simpson’s Park--and such a park! a circlet of tawny -stubble, embosomed in sage-grown hills, the “Hiré” or “Look-out,” and -others, without other tree but the deformed cedars. The bottom is -notorious for cold; it freezes even in June and July; and our night -was, as may be imagined, none of the pleasantest. - -The station-house in Simpson’s Park was being rebuilt. As we issued -from Mormondom into Christendom, the civility of our hosts perceptibly -diminished; the judge, like the generality of Anglo-Americans, did -unnecessary kow-tow to those whom republicanism made his equals, and -the “gentlemen,” when asked to do any thing, became exceedingly surly. -Among them was one Giovanni Brutisch, a Venetian, who, flying from -conscription, had found a home in Halifax: an unfortunate fire, which -burned down his house, drove him to the Far West. He talked copiously -of the Old Country, breathed the usual aspirations of _Italia una_, -and thought that Garibaldi would do well “_se non lo molestano_”--a -euphuism accompanied by a look more expressive than any nod. The -station was well provided with good miniés, and the men apparently -expected to use them; it was, however, commanded by the neighboring -heights, and the haystacks were exposed to fire at a time of the year -when no more forage could be collected. The Venetian made for us some -good light bread of wheaten flour, started or leavened with hop-water, -and corn-bread “shortened” with butter, and enriched with two or three -eggs. A hideous Pa Yuta and surly Shoshonee, whom I sketched, loitered -about the station: they were dressed in the usual rabbit-skin cape, and -carried little horn bows, with which they missed small marks at fifteen -paces. The boys, who were now aweary of watching, hired one of these -men for a shirt--tobacco was not to be had, and a blanket was too high -pay--to mount guard through the night. Like the Paggi or Ramoosee of -Western India, one thief is paid to keep off many: the Indian is the -best of wardens, it being with him a principle not to attack what the -presence of a fellow-tribesman defends. - - _To Reese’s River. 13th October._ - -Simpson’s Park lies 195 miles from Carson City, where we might consider -the journey at an end; yet the cold of night did not allow us to set -out before 10 A.M. Our route lay across the park, which was dotted -with wheat-grass and broom-like reeds rising from a ground saupoudré -like salt. Presently we began to ascend Simpson’s Pass, a long kanyon -whose sloping sides and benches were dotted with the green bunch-grass. -At the divide we found the “Sage Springs,” whose position is too -elevated for the infiltration of salt: they are consequently sweet -and wholesome. Descending by a rugged road, we sighted every where on -the heights the fires of the natives. They were not symbols of war, -but signals--for which smokes are eminently adapted--made by tribes -telegraphing to one another their being _en route_ for their winter -quarters. Below us, “Reese’s River” Valley might have served for a -sketch in the African desert: a plain of saleratus, here yellow with -sand or hay, there black with fire, there brown where the skin of earth -showed through her garb of rags, and beyond it were chocolate-colored -hills, from whose heads curled blue smokes of volcanic appearance. - -Bisecting the barren plain ran a bright little stream, whose banks, -however, had been stripped of their “salt grass:” pure and clear it -flows over a bed of gravel, sheds in a northerly direction, and sinks -at a distance of about twenty miles. From afar we all mistook the -course, deceived, as travelers often are, by the horizontality of the -lines. Leaving on the right the road which forks to the lower ford, we -followed that on the left hand leading to the station. There can not be -much traveling upon these lines: the tracks last for years, unaffected -by snow: the carcasses of animals, however, no longer mummified as in -the Eastern prairies, are readily reduced to skeletons. - -The station-house in the Reese-River Valley had lately been evacuated -by its proprietors and burnt down by the Indians: a new building of -adobe was already assuming a comfortable shape. The food around it -being poor and thin, our cattle were driven to the mountains. At night, -probably by contrast with the torrid sun, the frost appeared colder -than ever: we provided against it, however, by burrowing into the -haystack, and, despite the jackal-like cry of the coyote and the near -tramping of the old white mare, we slept like tops. - - _To Smith’s Creek. 14th October._ - -Before 8 A.M. we were under way, bound for Smith’s Creek. Our path -stretched over the remainder of Reese’s River Valley, an expanse of -white sage and large rabbit-bush which affords fuel even when green. -After a long and peculiarly rough divide, we sighted the place of our -destination. It lay beyond a broad plain or valley, like a huge white -“splotch” in the centre, set in dirty brown vegetation, backed by bare -and rugged hills, which are snow-topped only on the north; presently -we reached the “splotch,” which changed its aspect from that of a -muddy pool to a yellow floor of earth so hard that the wheels scarcely -made a dent, except where a later inundation had caused the mud to -cake, flake, and curl--smooth as ice without being slippery. Beyond -that point, guided by streams meandering through willow-thickets, we -entered a kanyon--all are now wearying of the name--and presently -sighted the station deep in a hollow. It had a good stone corral and -the usual haystack, which fires on the hill-tops seemed to menace. -Among the station-folks we found two New Yorkers, a Belfast man, and -a tawny Mexican named Anton, who had passed his life riding the San -Bernardino road. The house was unusually neat, and displayed even signs -of decoration in the adornment of the bunks with osier-work taken from -the neighboring creek. We are now in the lands of the Pa Yuta, and -rarely fail to meet a party on the road: they at once propose “shwop,” -and readily exchange pine nuts for “white grub,” _i. e._, biscuits. I -observed, however, that none of the natives were allowed to enter the -station-house, whereas in other places, especially among the Mormons, -the savages squeezed themselves into the room, took the best seats near -the fire, and never showed a symptom of moving. - - _To Cold Springs. 15th October._ - -[“OLE HELLION.”--COLD-SPRINGS STATION.] - -After a warmer night than usual--thanks to fire and lodging--we awoke, -and found a genial south wind blowing. Our road lay through the kanyon, -whose floor was flush with the plain; the bed of the mountain stream -was the initiative of vile traveling, which, without our suspecting it, -was to last till the end of the journey. The strain upon the vehicle -came near to smashing it, and the prudent Kennedy, with the view of -sparing his best animals, gave us his worst--two aged brutes, one of -which, in consequence of her squealing habits, had won for herself the -title of “ole Hellion.” The divortia aquarum was a fine water-shed -to the westward, and the road was in V shape, whereas before it had -oscillated between U and WW. As we progressed, however, the valleys -became more and more desert, the sage more stunted, and the hills more -brown and barren. After a midday halt, rendered compulsory by the -old white mare, we resumed our way along the valley southward, over -a mixture of pitch-hole and boulder, which forbids me to forget that -day’s journey. At last, after much sticking and kicking on the part -of the cattle, and the mental refreshment of abundant bad language, -self-adhibited by the men, we made Cold-Springs Station, which, by -means of a cut across the hills, could be brought within eight miles of -Smith’s Creek. - -The station was a wretched place, half built and wholly unroofed; the -four boys, an exceedingly rough set, ate standing, and neither paper -nor pencil was known among them. Our animals, however, found good water -in a rivulet from the neighboring hills, and the promise of a plentiful -feed on the morrow, while the humans, observing that a “beef” had been -freshly killed, supped upon an excellent steak. The warm wind was a -pleasant contrast to the usual frost, but, as it came from the south, -all the weather-wise predicted that rain would result. We slept, -however, without such accident, under the haystack, and heard the loud -howling of the wolves, which are said to be larger on these hills than -elsewhere. - - _To Sand Springs. 16th October._ - -In the morning the wind had shifted from the south to a more pluvial -quarter, the southeast--in these regions the westerly wind promises -the fairest--and stormy cirri mottled the sky. We had a long stage of -thirty-five miles before us, and required an early start, yet the lazy -b’hoys and the weary cattle saw 10 A.M. before we were _en route_. -Simpson’s road lay to our south; we could, however, sight, about two -miles distant from the station, the easternmost formation, which he -calls Gibraltar Gate. For the first three miles our way was exceedingly -rough; it gradually improved into a plain cut with nullahs, and -overgrown with a chapparal, which concealed a few “burrowing hares.” -The animals are rare; during the snow they are said to tread in one -another’s trails after Indian fashion, yet the huntsman easily follows -them. After eight miles we passed a spring, and two miles beyond it -came to the Middle Gate, where we halted from noon till 5 15 P.M. Water -was found in the bed of a river which fills like a mill-dam after -rain, and a plentiful supply of bunch-grass, whose dark seeds it was -difficult to husk out of the oat-like capsules. We spent our halt in -practicing what Sorrentines call _la caccia degl’ uccelluzzi_, and -in vain attempts to walk round the uncommonly wary hawks, crows, and -wolves. - -Hitching to as the sun neared the western horizon, we passed through -the Gate, narrowly escaping a “spill” down a dwarf precipice. A plain -bounded on our left by cretaceous bluffs, white as snow, led to the -West Gate, two symmetrical projections like those farther eastward. -After that began a long divide broken by frequent chuck-holes, which, -however, had no cunette at the bottom. An ascent of five miles led -to a second broad basin, whose white and sounding ground, now stony, -then sandy, scattered over with carcass and skeleton, was bounded in -front by low dark ranges of hill. Then crossing a long rocky divide, so -winding that the mules’ heads pointed within a few miles to N., S., E., -and W., we descended by narrow passes into a plain. The eye could not -distinguish it from a lake, so misty and vague were its outlines: other -senses corrected vision, when we sank up to the hub in the loose sand. -As we progressed painfully, broken clay and dwarf vegetation assumed in -the dim shades fantastic and mysterious forms. I thought myself once -more among the ruins of that Arab village concerning which Lebid sang, - - “Ay me! ay me! all lone and drear the dwelling-place, the home-- - On Mina, o’er Rijam and Ghool, wild beasts unheeded roam.” - -[Illustration: FIRST VIEW OF CARSON LAKE.] - -Tired out and cramped with cold, we were torpid with what the Bedouin -calls El Rakl--la Ragle du Désert, when part of the brain sleeps while -the rest is wide awake. At last, about 2 30 A.M., thoroughly “knocked -up”--a phrase which I should advise the Englishman to eschew in the -society of the fair Columbian--we sighted a roofless shed, found a -haystack, and, reckless of supper or of stamping horses, fell asleep -upon the sand. - - _To Carson Lake. 17th October._ - -[SAND-SPRINGS STATION.] - -Sand-Springs Station deserved its name. Like the Brazas de San Diego -and other _mauvaises terres_ near the Rio Grande, the land is cumbered -here and there with drifted ridges of the finest sand, sometimes 200 -feet high, and shifting before every gale. Behind the house stood a -mound shaped like the contents of an hour-glass, drifted up by the -stormy S.E. gale in esplanade shape, and falling steep to northward or -against the wind. The water near this vile hole was thick and stale -with sulphury salts: it blistered even the hands. The station-house was -no unfit object in such a scene, roofless and chairless, filthy and -squalid, with a smoky fire in one corner, and a table in the centre of -an impure floor, the walls open to every wind, and the interior full of -dust. Hibernia herself never produced aught more characteristic. Of the -_employés_, all loitered and sauntered about _désœuvrés_ as cretins, -except one, who lay on the ground crippled and apparently dying by the -fall of a horse upon his breast-bone. - -[CARSON LAKE.] - -About 11 A.M. we set off to cross the ten miles of valley that -stretched between us and the summit of the western divide still -separating us from Carson Lake. The land was a smooth saleratus plain, -with curious masses of porous red and black basalt protruding from -a ghastly white. The water-shed was apparently to the north, the -benches were distinctly marked, and the bottom looked as if it were -inundated every year. It was smooth except where broken up by tracks, -but all off the road was dangerous ground: in one place the horses -sank to their hocks, and were not extricated without difficulty. After -a hot drive--the glass at 9 A.M. showed 74° F.--we began to toil up -the divide, a sand formation mixed with bits of granite, red seeds, -and dwarf shells, whose lips were for the most part broken off. Over -the fine loose surface was a floating haze of the smaller particles, -like the film that veils the Arabian desert. Arrived at the summit, -we sighted for the first time Carson Lake, or rather the sink of the -Carson River. It derives its name from the well-known mountaineer -whose adventurous roamings long anticipated scientific exploration. -Supplied by the stream from the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada, it -is just such a lake as might be formed in any of the basins which we -had traversed--a shallow sheet of water, which, in the cloudy sky and -mitigated glare of the sun, looked pale and muddy. Apparently it was -divided by a long, narrow ruddy line, like ochre-colored sand; a near -approach showed that water on the right was separated from a saleratus -bed on the left by a thick bed of tule rush. Stones imitated the sweep -of the tide, and white particles the color of a wash. - -Our conscientious informant at Sand-Springs Station had warned us that -upon the summit of the divide we should find a perpendicular drop, down -which the wagons could be lowered only by means of lariats affixed -to the axle-trees and lashed round strong “stubbing-posts.” We were -not, however, surprised to find a mild descent of about 30°. From the -summit of the divide five miles led us over a plain too barren for -sage, and a stretch of stone and saleratus to the watery margin, which -was troublesome with sloughs and mud. The cattle relished the water, -although tainted by the rush; we failed, however, to find any of the -fresh-water clams, whose shells were scattered along the shore. - -Remounting at 5 15 P.M. we proceeded to finish the ten miles which -still separated us from the station, by a rough and stony road, -perilous to wheel conveyances, which rounded the southern extremity of -the lake. After passing a promontory whose bold projection had been -conspicuous from afar, and threading a steep kanyon leading toward -the lake, we fell into its selvage, which averaged about one mile in -breadth. The small crescent of the moon soon ceased to befriend us, and -we sat in the sadness of the shade, till presently a light glimmered -under Arcturus, the road bent toward it, and all felt “jolly.” But, - - “Heu, heu! nos miseros, quam totus homuncio nil est!” - -A long dull hour still lay before us, and we were approaching civilized -lands. “Sink Station” looked well from without; there was a frame house -inside an adobe inclosure, and a pile of wood and a stout haystack -promised fuel and fodder. The inmates, however, were asleep, and it -was ominously long before a door was opened. At last appeared a surly -cripple, who presently disappeared to arm himself with his revolver. -The judge asked civilly for a cup of water; he was told to fetch it -from the lake, which was not more than a mile off, though, as the -road was full of quagmires, it would be hard to travel at night. Wood -the churl would not part with: we offered to buy it, to borrow it, -to replace it in the morning; he told us to go for it ourselves, and -that after about two miles and a half we might chance to gather some. -Certainly our party was a law-abiding and a self-governing one; never -did I see men so tamely bullied; they threw back the fellow’s sticks, -and cold, hungry, and thirsty, simply began to sulk. An Indian standing -by asked $20 to herd the stock for a single night. At last, George -the Cordon Blue took courage; some went for water, others broke up a -wagon-plank, and supper after a fashion was concocted. - -I preferred passing the night on a side of bacon in the wagon to -using the cripple’s haystack, and allowed sleep to steep my senses in -forgetfulness, after deeply regretting that the Mormons do not extend -somewhat farther westward. - - _To Fort Churchill. 18th October._ - -[FORT CHURCHILL.] - -The b’hoys and the stock were doomed to remain near the Carson Lake, -where forage was abundant, while we made our way to Carson Valley--an -arrangement not effected without excessive grumbling. At last the -deserted ones were satisfied with the promise that they should exchange -their desert quarters for civilization on Tuesday, and we were -permitted to start. Crossing a long plain bordering on the Sink, we -“snaked up” painfully a high divide which a little engineering skill -would have avoided. From the summit, bleak with west wind, we could -descry, at a distance of fifty miles, a snowy saddle-back--the Sierra -Nevada. When the deep sand had fatigued our cattle, we halted for an -hour to bait in a patch of land rich with bunch-grass. Descending from -the eminence, we saw a gladdening sight: the Carson River, winding -through its avenue of dark cotton-woods, and afar off the quarters and -barracks of Fort Churchill. The nearer view was a hard-tamped plain, -besprinkled with black and red porous stones and a sparse vegetation, -with the ruddy and yellow autumnal hues; a miserable range of low, -brown, sunburnt rocks and hills, whose ravines were choked with white -sand-drifts, bounded the basin. The farther distance used it as a foil; -the Sierra developed itself into four distinct magnificent tiers of -snow-capped and cloud-veiled mountain, whose dissolving views faded -into thin darkness as the sun disappeared behind their gigantic heads. - -[FIGHTING LAWYERS.] - -While we admired these beauties night came on; the paths intersected -one another, and, despite the glow and gleam of a camp-fire in the -distance, we lost our way among the tall cotton-woods. Dispersing in -search of information, the marshal accidentally stumbled upon his -predecessor in office, Mr. Smith, who hospitably insisted upon our -becoming his guests. He led us to a farm-house already half roofed -in against the cold, fetched the whisky for which our souls craved, -gave to each a peach that we might be good boys, and finally set -before us a prime beefsteak. Before sleeping we heard a number of -“shooting stories.” Where the corpse is, says the Persian, there will -be the kites. A mining discovery never fails to attract from afar a -flock of legal vultures--attorneys, lawyers, and judges. As the most -valuable claims are mostly parted with by the ignorant fortunate for a -song, it is usual to seek some flaw in the deed of sale, and a large -proportion of the property finds its way into the pockets of the acute -professional, who works on half profits. Consequently, in these parts -there is generally a large amount of unscrupulous talent. One gentleman -judge had knived a waiter and shot a senator; another, almost as “heavy -_on_ the shyoot,” had in a single season killed one man and wounded -another. My informants declared that in and about Carson a dead man -for breakfast was the rule; besides accidents perpetually occurring to -indifferent or to peace-making parties, they reckoned per annum fifty -murders. In a peculiar fit of liveliness, an intoxicated gentleman -will discharge his revolver in a ballroom, and when a “shyooting” -begins in the thin-walled frame houses, those not concerned avoid -bullets and splinters by jumping into their beds. During my three -days’ stay at Carson City I heard of three murders. A man “heavy _on_ -the shoulder,” who can “hit out straight from the hip,” is a valuable -acquisition. The gambler or professional player, who in the Eastern -States is exceptionably peaceful, because he fears the publicity of a -quarrel, here must distinguish himself as a fighting-man. A curious -story was told to illustrate how the ends of justice might, at a pinch, -in the case of a popular character, be defeated. A man was convicted -of killing his adversary after saying to the by-standers, “Stoop down -while I shoot the son of a dog (female).” Counsel for the people showed -_malice prepense_; counsel for defense pleaded that his client was -_rectus in curia_, and manifestly couldn’t mean a man, but a dog. The -judge ratified the verdict of acquittal. - -Such was the state of things, realizing the old days of the Californian -gold-diggings, when I visited in 1860 Carson City. Its misrule, or -rather want of rule, has probably long since passed away, leaving -no more traces than a dream. California has been transformed by her -Vigilance Committee, so ignorantly and unjustly declaimed against -in Europe and in the Eastern States of the Union, from a savage -autonomy to one of the most orderly of the American republics, and San -Francisco, her capital, from a den of thieves and prostitutes, gamblers -and miners, the offscourings of nations, to a social status not -inferior to any of the most favored cities. - - _Hurrah again--in! 19th October._ - -This day will be the last of my diary. We have now emerged from the -deserts of the Basin State, and are debouching upon lands where coaches -and the electric telegraph ply. - -After a cold night at the hospitable Smith’s, and losing the cattle, -we managed to hitch to, and crossed, not without difficulty, the deep -bed of the Carson River, which runs over sands glittering with mica. -A little beyond it we found the station-house, and congratulated -ourselves that we had escaped a twelve hours’ durance vile in its -atmosphere of rum, korn schnapps, stale tobacco, flies, and profane -oaths, not to mention the chance of being “wiped out” in a “difference” -between a soldier and a gambler, or a miner and a rider. - -[FORT CHURCHILL.] - -From the station-house we walked, accompanied by a Mr. O.--who, -after being an editor in Texas, had become a mail-rider in Utah -Territory--to the fort. It was, upon the principle of its eastern -neighbors, a well-disposed cantonment, containing quarters for the -officers and barracks for the men. Fort Churchill had been built -during the last few months: it lodged about two companies of infantry, -and required at least 2000 men. Captain F. F. Flint (6th Regiment) -was then commanding, and Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Swords, a deputy -quarter-master general, was on a tour of inspection. We went straight -to the quarter-master’s office, and there found Lieutenant Moore, who -introduced us to all present, and supplied us with the last newspapers -and news. The camp was Teetotalist, and avoided cards like good -Moslems: we were not, however, expected to drink water except in the -form of strong waters, and the desert had disinclined us to abstain -from whisky. Finally, Mr. Byrne, the sutler, put into our ambulance a -substantial lunch, with a bottle of cocktail, and another of cognac, -especially intended to keep the cold out. - -The dull morning had threatened snow, and shortly after noon the west -wind brought up cold heavy showers, which continued with intervals to -the end of the stage. Our next station was Miller’s, distant 15 to 16 -miles. The road ran along the valley of Carson River, whose trees were -a repose to our eyes, and we congratulated ourselves when we looked -down the stiff clay banks, 30 feet high, and wholly unfenced, that -our journey was by day. The desert was now “done.” At every few miles -was a drinking “calaboose:”[233] where sheds were not a kettle hung -under a tree, and women peeped out of the log huts. They were probably -not charming, but, next to a sea voyage, a desert march is the finest -cosmetic ever invented. We looked upon each as if - - “Her face was like the Milky Way i’ the sky, - A meeting of gentle lights without a name.” - - [233] The Spanish is calabozo, the French calabouse. In the - Hispano-American countries it is used as a “common jail” or a - “dog-hole,” and, as usual, is converted into a verb. - -At Miller’s Station, which we reached at 2 30 P.M., there really was -one pretty girl--which, according to the author of the Art of Pluck, -induces proclivity to temulency. While the rain was heavy we sat -round the hot stove, eating bread and cheese, sausages and anchovies, -which Rabelais, not to speak of other honest drinkers, enumerates -among provocatives to thirst. When we started at 4 P.M. through the -cold rain, along the bad road up the river bed, to “liquor up” was -manifestly a duty we owed to ourselves. And, finally, when my impatient -companions betted a supper that we should reach Carson City before 9 -P.M., and sealed it with a “smile,” I knew that the only way to win was -to ply Mr. Kennedy, the driver, with as many _pocula_ as possible. - -Colder waxed the weather and heavier the rain as, diverging from the -river, we ascended the little bench upon which China-town lies. The -line of ranches and frame houses, a kind of length-without-breadth -place, once celebrated in the gold-digging days, looked dreary and grim -in the evening gloom. At 5 30 P.M. we were still fourteen miles distant -from our destination. The benches and the country round about had been -turned topsy-turvy in the search for precious metal, and the soil was -still burrowed with shaft and tunnel, and crossed at every possible -spot by flumes, at which the natives of the Flowery Land still found -it worth their while to work. Beyond China-town we quitted the river, -and in the cold darkness of night we slowly began to breast the steep -ascent of a long divide. - -We had been preceded on the way by a young man, driving in a light -cart a pair of horses, which looked remarkable by the side of the -usual Californian teams, three pair with the near wheeler ridden. -Arriving at a bad place, he kindly called out to us, but before his -warning could be taken a soft and yielding sensation, succeeded by a -decided leaning to the right, and ending with a loud crash, announced -an overturn. In due time we were extricated, the pieces were picked -up, and, though the gun was broken, the bottle of cocktail fortunately -remained whole. The judge, probably and justly offended by my evil -habit of laughing out of season, informed us that he had never been -thrown before, an announcement which made us expect more “spills.” The -unhappy Kennedy had jumped off before the wheels pointed up hill; he -had not lost a hoof, it is true, on the long march, but he wept spirits -and water at the disappointing thought that the ambulance, this time -drawn by his best team, and laden with all the dignities, had come to -grief, and would not be fit to be seen. After 100 yards more another -similar series of sensations announced a repetition of the scene, which -deserved the epitaph, - - “Hic jacet amphora vini.” - -This time, however, falling down a bank, we “came to smash;” the -bottle (eheu!) was broken, so was the judge’s head, while the ear of -the judgeling--serve him right for chaffing!--was cut, the pistols and -powder-flasks were half buried in the sand, a variety of small objects -were lost, and the flying gear of the ambulance was a perfect wreck. -Unwilling to risk our necks by another trial, we walked over the rest -of the rough ground, and, conducted by the good Croly, found our way -to “Dutch Nick’s,” a ranch and tavern apparently much frequented by -the teamsters and other roughs, who seemed, honest fellows! deeply to -regret that the accident had not been much more serious. - -Remounting after a time, we sped forward, and sighted in front a -dark line, but partially lit up about the flanks, with a brilliant -illumination in the centre, the Kursaal of Mr. Hopkins, the local -Crockford. Our entrance to Penrod House, the Fifth Avenue of Carson -City, was by no means of a triumphal order; Nature herself seemed -to sympathize with us, besplashing us with tears heavier than Mr. -Kennedy’s. But after a good supper and change of raiment, a cigar, -“something warm,” and the certainty of a bed, combined to diffuse over -our minds the calm satisfaction of having surmounted our difficulties -_tant bien que mal_. - -[Illustration: VIRGINIA CITY. (From the Northeast.)] - - - - -CONCLUSION. - - -[CONCLUSION.] - -The traveler and the lecturer have apparently laid down a law that, -whether the journey does or does not begin at home, it should always -end at that “hallowed spot.” Unwilling to break through what is now -becoming a time-honored custom, I trespass upon the reader’s patience -for a few pages more, and make my final _salaam_ in the muddy-puddly -streets, under the gusty, misty sky of the “Liverpool of the South.” - -After a day’s rest at Carson City, employed in collecting certain -necessaries of tobacco and raiment, which, intrinsically vile, were -about treble the price of the best articles of their kind in the -Burlington Arcade, I fell in with Captain Dall, superintendent of the -Ophir mines, for whom I bore a recommendation from Judge Crosby, of -Utah Territory. The valuable silver leads of Virginia City occupied -me, under the guidance of that hospitable gentleman, two days, and on -the third we returned to Carson City, _viâ_ the Steam-boat Springs, -Washoe Valley, and other local lions. On the 24th appeared the boys -driving in the stock from Carson Lake: certain of these youths had -disappeared; Jim Gilston, who had found his brother at Dry-Creek -Station, had bolted, of course forgetting to pay his passage. A -stage-coach, most creditably horsed, places the traveler from Carson -City at San Francisco in two days; as Mr. Kennedy, however, wished to -see me safely to the end, and the judge, esteeming me a fit Mentor -for youth, had intrusted to me Telemachus, alias Thomas, his son, I -resolved to cross the Sierra by easy stages. After taking kindly leave -of and a last “liquor up” with my old _compagnons de voyage_, the judge -and the marshal, we broke ground once more on the 25th of October. At -Genoa, pronounced Ge-nóa, the county town, built in a valley thirteen -miles south of Carson, I met Judge Cradlebaugh, who set me right on -grounds where the Mormons had sown some prejudices. Five days of a very -dilatory travel placed us on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada; -the dugways and zigzags reminded me of the descriptions of travelers -over the Andes; the snow threatened to block up the roads, and our -days and nights were passed among teamsters _en route_ and in the -frame-house inn. On the 30th of November, reaching Diamond Springs, I -was advised by a Londoner, Mr. George Fryer, of the “Boomerang Saloon,” -to visit the gold diggings at Placerville, whither a coach was about to -start. At “Hangtown,” as the place was less euphoniously termed, Mr. -Collum, of the Cary House, kindly put me through the gold washing and -“hydraulicking,” and Dr. Smith, an old East Indian practitioner, and -Mr. White, who had collected some fine specimens of minerals, made -the evenings pleasant. I started on the 1st of November by coach to -Folsom, and there found the railroad, which in two hours conducts to -Sacramento: the negro coachmen driving hacks and wagons to the station, -the whistling of the steam, and the hurry of the train, struck me by -the contrast with the calm travel of the desert. - -At Sacramento, the newer name for New Helvetia--a capital mass of -shops and stores, groggeries and hotels--I cashed a draught, settled -old scores with Kennedy, who almost carried me off by force to his -location, shook hands with Thomas, and transferred myself from the -Golden Eagle on board the steamer Queen City. Eight hours down the -Sacramento River, past Benicia--the birthplace of the Boy--in the dark -to the head-waters of the glorious bay, placed me at the “El Dorada of -the West,” where a tolerable opera, a superior supper, and the society -of friends made the arrival exceptionably comfortable. - -I spent ten pleasant days at San Francisco. There remained some -traveler’s work to be done: the giant trees, the Yosemite or Yohamite -Falls--the highest cataracts yet known in the world--and the Almaden -cinnabar mines, with British Columbia, Vancouver’s Island, and Los -Angelos temptingly near. But, in sooth, I was aweary of the way; for -eight months I had lived on board steamers and railroad cars, coaches -and mules; my eyes were full of sight-seeing, my pockets empty, and -my brain stuffed with all manner of useful knowledge. It was far more -grateful to _flaner_ about the stirring streets, to admire the charming -faces, to enjoy the delicious climate, and to pay quiet visits like a -“ladies’ man,” than to front wind and rain, muddy roads, _arrieros_, -and rough teamsters, fit only for Rembrandt, and the solitude of -out-stations. The presidential election was also in progress, and I -wished to see with my eyes the working of a system which has been -facetiously called “universal suffering and vote by bullet.” Mr. Consul -Booker placed my name on the lists of the Union Club, which was a -superior institution to that of Leamington; Colonel Hooker, of Oregon, -and Mr. Tooney, showed me life in San Francisco; Mr. Gregory Yale, -whom I had met at Carson City, introduced me to a quiet picture of old -Spanish happiness, fast fading from California; Mr. Donald Davidson, an -old East Indian, talked East Indian with me; and Lieutenants Macpherson -and Brewer accompanied me over the forts and batteries which are -intended to make of San Francisco a New-World Cronstadt. Mr. Polonius -sensibly refused to cash for me a draught not authorized by my circular -letter from the Union Bank. Mr. Booker took a less prudential and -mercantile view of the question, and kindly helped me through with the -_necessaire_--£100. My return for all this kindness was, I regret to -say, a temperate but firm refusal to lecture upon the subject of Meccah -and El Medinah, Central Africa, Indian cotton, American politics, or -every thing in general. I nevertheless bade my adieux to San Francisco -and the hospitable San Franciscans with regret. - -On the 15th of November, the Golden Age, Commodore Watkins, steamed out -of the Golden Gates, bearing on board, among some 520 souls, the body -that now addresses the public. She was a model steamer, with engines -and engine-rooms clean as a club kitchen, and a cuisine whose terrapin -soup and deviled crabs à la Baltimore will long maintain their position -in my memory--not so long, however, as the kindness and courtesy of -the ancient mariner who commanded the Golden Age. On the 28th we spent -the best part of a night at Acapulco, the city of Cortez and of Doña -Marina, where any lurking project of passing through ill-conditioned -Mexico was finally dispelled. The route from Acapulco to Vera Cruz, -over a once well-worn highway, was simply and absolutely impassable. -Each sovereign and independent state in that miserable caricature of -the Anglo-American federal Union was at daggers drawn with all and -every of its next-door neighbors; the battles were paper battles, -but the plundering and the barbarities--cosas de Mejico!--were stern -realities. A rich man could not travel because of the banditti; a poor -man would have been enlisted almost outside the city gates; a man -with many servants would have seen half of them converted to soldiers -under his eyes, and have lost the other half by desertion, while a -man without servants would have been himself press-gang’d; a Liberal -would have been murdered by the Church, and a Churchman--even the frock -is no protection--would have been martyred by the Liberal party. For -this disappointment I found a philosophical consolation in various -experiments touching the influence of Mezcal brandy, the Mexican -national drink, upon the human mind and body. - -On the 15th of December we debarked at Panama; horridly wet, dull, -and dirty was the “place of fish,” and the “Aspinwall House” and -its Mivart reminded me of a Parsee hotel in the fort, Bombay. Yet I -managed to spend there three pleasant circlings of the sun. A visit -to the acting consul introduced me to M. Hurtado, the Intendente or -military governor, and to a charming countrywoman, whose fascinating -society made me regret that my stay there could not be protracted. -Though politics were running high, I became acquainted with most of the -officers of the United States squadron, and only saw the last of them -at Colon, alias Aspinwall. Messrs. Boyd and Power, of the “Weekly Star -and Herald,” introduced me to the officials of the Panama Railroad, -Messrs. Nelson, Center, and others, who, had I not expressed an -aversion to “dead-headism,” or gratis traveling, would have offered me -a free passage. Last, but not least, I must mention the venerable name -of Mrs. Seacole, of Jamaica and Balaklava. - -On the 8th of December I passed over the celebrated Panama Railway to -Aspinwall, where Mr. Center, the superintendent of the line, made -the evening highly agreeable with conversation aided by “Italia,” a -certain muscatel cognac that has yet to reach Great Britain. We steamed -the next morning, under charge of Captain Leeds, over the Caribbean -Sea or Spanish Main, bound for St. Thomas. A hard-hearted E.N.E. wind -protracted the voyage of the Solent for six days, and we reached the -Danish settlement in time, and only just in time, to save a week’s -delay upon that offensive scrap of negro liberty-land. On the 9th of -December we bade adieu with pleasure to the little dungeon-rock, and -turned the head of the good ship Seine, Captain Rivett, toward the -Western Islands. She played a pretty wheel till almost within sight -of Land’s End, where Britannia received us with her characteristic -welcome, a gale and a pea-soup fog, which kept us cruising about for -three days in the unpleasant Solent and the Southampton Water. - -[Illustration: IN THE SIERRA NEVADA.] - - - - -APPENDICES. - - -I. EMIGRANT’S ITINERARY, - - Showing the distances between camping-places, the several - mail-stations where mules are changed, the hours of travel, the - character of the roads, and the facilities for obtaining water, wood, - and grass on the route along the southern bank of the Platte River, - from St. Joseph, Mo., _viâ_ Great Salt Lake City, to Carson Valley. - From a Diary kept between the 7th of August and the 19th of October, - 1860. - - +-----+-----------------------------------+------+------+------+-----+ - | No. | | | | | | - | of | | | | Ar- | | - |Mail.| |Miles.|Start.|rival.|Date.| - +-----+-----------------------------------+------+------+------+-----+ - | 1. |Leave St. Joseph, Missouri, in N. | | | | | - | |lat. 39° 40′, and W. long. 94° 50′.| | | | | - | |Cross Missouri River by steam | | | | | - | |ferry. Five miles of bottom land, | | | | | - | |bend in river and settlements. Over| | | | | - | |rolling prairie 2000 feet above sea| | | | | - | |level. After 6 miles, Troy, capital| | | | | - | |of Doniphan Co., Kansas Territory, | | | | | - | |about a dozen shanties. Dine and | | | | | - | |change mules at Cold Spring--good | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |water and grass. |20-24 | 9 30 | 3 | 7 | - | |Road from Fort Leavenworth (N. lat.| | | | | - | |39° 21′ 14″, and W. long. 94° 44′) | | | | | - | |falls in at Cold Spring, distant 15| | | | | - | |miles. | | | | | - | |From St. Jo to Cold Spring there | | | | | - | |are two routes, one lying north of | | | | | - | |the other, the former 20, the | | | | | - | |latter 24 miles in length. | | | | | - | 2. |After 10 miles, Valley Home, a | | | | | - | |whitewashed shanty. At Small Branch| | | | | - | |on Wolf River, 12 miles from Cold | | | | | - | |Spring, is a fiumara on the north | | | | | - | |of the road, with water, wood, and | | | | | - | |grass. Here the road from Fort | | | | | - | |Atchinson falls in. Kennekuk | | | | | - | |Station, 44 miles from St. Joseph. | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |Sup and change mules. |22-23 | 4 | 8 | 7 | - | 3. |Two miles beyond Kennekuk is the | | | | | - | |first of the three Grasshopper | | | | | - | |Creeks, flowing after rain to the | | | | | - | |Kansas River. Road rough and stony;| | | | | - | |water, wood, and grass. Four miles | | | | | - | |beyond the First Grasshopper is | | | | | - | |Whitehead, a young settlement on | | | | | - | |Big Grasshopper; water in pools, | | | | | - | |wood, and grass. Five and a half | | | | | - | |miles beyond is Walnut Creek, in | | | | | - | |Kickapoo Co.: pass over corduroy | | | | | - | |bridge; roadside dotted with | | | | | - | |shanties. Thence to Locknan’s, or | | P.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |Big Muddy Station. | 25 | 9 | 1 | 7, 8| - | 4. |Seventeen miles beyond Walnut | | | | | - | |Creek, the Third Grasshopper, also | | | | | - | |falling into the Kansas River. Good| | | | | - | |camping-ground. Ten miles beyond | | | | | - | |lies Richland, deserted site. | | | | | - | |Thence to Seneca, capital of | | | | | - | |Nemehaw Co. A few shanties on the | | | | | - | |N. bank of Big Nemehaw Creek, a | | | | | - | |tributary of the Missouri River, | | | | | - | |which affords water, wood, and | | A.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |grass. | 18 | 3 | 6 | 8 | - | 5. |Cross Wildcat Creek and other | | | | | - | |nullahs. Seven miles beyond Seneca | | | | | - | |lies Ash Point, a few wooden huts, | | | | | - | |thence to “Uncle John’s Grocery,” | | | | | - | |where liquor and stores are | | | | | - | |procurable. Eleven miles from Big | | | | | - | |Nemehaw, water, wood, and grass are| | | | | - | |found at certain seasons near the | | | | | - | |head of a ravine. Thence to | | | | | - | |Vermilion Creek, which heads to the| | | | | - | |N.E., and enters the Big Blue 20 | | | | | - | |miles above its mouth. The ford is | | | | | - | |miry after rain, and the banks are | | | | | - | |thickly wooded. Water is found in | | | | | - | |wells 40-43 feet deep. Guittard’s | | A.M. | NOON.| Aug.| - | |Station. | 20 | 8 | 12 | 8 | - | 6. |Fourteen miles from Guittard’s, | | | | | - | |Marysville, capital of Washington | | | | | - | |Co., affords supplies and a | | | | | - | |blacksmith. Then ford the Big Blue,| | | | | - | |tributary to Kansas River, clear | | | | | - | |and swift stream. Twelve miles W. | | | | | - | |of Marysville is the frontier line | | | | | - | |between Kansas and Nebraska. Thence| | | | | - | |to Cotton-wood Creek, fields in | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |hollow near the stream. | 25 | 1 | 6 | 8 | - | 7. |Store at the crossing very dirty | | | | | - | |and disorderly. Good water in | | | | | - | |spring 400 yards N. of the road; | | | | | - | |wood and grass abundant. Seventeen | | | | | - | |and a half miles from the Big Blue | | | | | - | |is Walnut Creek, where emigrants | | | | | - | |encamp. Thence to West Turkey or | | | | | - | |Rock Creek in Nebraska Territory, a| | | | | - | |branch of the Big Blue: its | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |approximate altitude is 1485 feet. | 26 | 6 | 11 | 8 | - | 8. |After 19 miles of rough road and | | | | | - | |musquetoes, cross Little Sandy, 5 | | | | | - | |miles E. of Big Sandy; water and | | | | | - | |trees plentiful. There Big Sandy | | | | | - | |deep and heavy bed. Big Sandy | | P.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |Station. | 23 | 12 | 4 | 9 | - | 9. |Cross hills forming divide of | | | | | - | |Little Blue River, ascending valley| | | | | - | |60 miles long. Little Blue fine | | | | | - | |stream of clear water falling into | | | | | - | |Kansas River; every where good | | | | | - | |supplies and good camping-ground. | | A.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |Along the left bank to Kiowa. | 19 | 6 | 10 | 9 | - | 10. |Rough road of spurs and gullies | | | | | - | |runs up a valley 2 miles wide. Well| | | | | - | |wooded chiefly with cotton-wood, | | | | | - | |and grass abundant. Ranch at | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |Liberty Farm, on the Little Blue. | 25 | 11 | 3 | 9 | - | 11. |Cross divide between Little Blue | | | | | - | |and Platte River; rough road, | | | | | - | |musquetoes troublesome. Approximate| | | | | - | |altitude of dividing ridge 2025 | | | | | - | |feet. Station at Thirty-two-Mile | | | | | - | |Creek, a small wooded and winding | | | | | - | |stream flowing into the Little | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |Blue. | 24 | 4 | 9 | 9 | - | 12. |After 27 miles strike the Valley of| | | | | - | |the Platte, along the southern bank| | | | | - | |of the river, over level ground, | | | | | - | |good for camping, fodder abundant. | | | | | - | |After 7 miles Fort Kearney in N. | | | | | - | |lat. 40° 38′ 45″, and W. long. 98° | | | | | - | |58′ 11″: approximate altitude 2500 | | | | | - | |feet above sea level. Groceries, | | | | | - | |cloths, provisions, and supplies of| | | | | - | |all kinds are to be procured from | | | | | - | |the sutler’s store. Beyond Kearney | | | | | - | |a rough and bad road leads to | | P.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |“Seventeen-Mile Station”. | 34 |10 30 | 8 | 10 | - | 13. |Along the south bank of the Platte.| | | | | - | |Buffalo chips used for fuel. Sign | | | | | - | |of buffalo appears. Plum-Creek | | | | | - | |Station on a stream where there is | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |a bad crossing in wet weather. | 21 | 9 30 | 1 15 | 10 | - | 14. |Beyond Plum Creek, Willow-Island | | | | | - | |Ranch, where supplies are | | | | | - | |procurable. Road along the Platte, | | | | | - | |wood scarce, grass plentiful, | | | | | - | |buffalo abounds; after 20 miles | | | | | - | |“Cold-Water Ranch.” Halt and change| | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |at Midway Station. | 25 | 2 30 | 8 | 10 | - | 15. |Along the Valley of the Platte, | | | | | - | |road muddy after rain, fuel scarce,| | | | | - | |grass abundant, camp traces every | | | | | - | |where. Ranch at Cotton-wood | | | | | - | |Station, at this season the western| | P.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |limit of buffalo. | 27 | 9 | 1 45 | 11 | - | 16. |Up the Valley of the Platte. No | | | | | - | |wood; buffalo chips for fuel. Good | | | | | - | |camping-ground; grass on small | | | | | - | |branch of the Platte. To Junction- | | | | | - | |House Ranch, and thence to station | | A.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |at Frémont Springs. | 30 | 6 15 | 11 | 11 | - | 17. |Road passes O’Fallon’s Bluffs. | | | | | - | |“Half-way House,” a store and | | | | | - | |ranch, distant 120 miles from Fort | | | | | - | |Kearney, 400 from St. Joseph, 40 | | | | | - | |from the Lower Crossing, and 68 | | | | | - | |from the Upper Crossing of the | | | | | - | |South Fork (Platte River). The | | NOON.| P.M. | Aug.| - | |station is called Alkali Lake. | 25 | 12 | 5 | 11 | - | 18. |Road along river; no timber; grass,| | | | | - | |buffalo chips, and musquetoes. | | | | | - | |Station at Diamond Springs near | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |Lower Crossing. | 25 | 6 |10 15 | 11 | - | 19. |Road along river. Last 4 miles very| | | | | - | |heavy sand, avoided by Lower | | | | | - | |Crossing. Poor accommodation at | | | | | - | |Upper Ford or Crossing on the | | | | | - | |eastern bank, where the mail passes| | | | | - | |the stream en route to Great Salt | | | | | - | |Lake City, and the road branches to| | P.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |Denver City and Pike’s Peak. | 25 | 11 | 3 15 | 12 | - | 20. |Ford Platte 600 yards wide, 2·50 | | | | | - | |feet deep, bed gravelly and solid, | | | | | - | |easy ford in dry season. Cross | | | | | - | |divide between North and South | | | | | - | |Forks, along the bank of Lodge-Pole| | | | | - | |Creek. Land arid; wild sage for | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |fuel. Lodge-Pole Station. | 35 | 6 30 |12 45 | 12 | - | 21. |Up Lodge-Pole Creek over a spur of | | | | | - | |table-land; then, striking over the| | | | | - | |prairie, finishes the high divide | | | | | - | |between the Forks. Approximate | | | | | - | |altitude 3500 feet. On the right is| | | | | - | |Ash Hollow, where there is plenty | | | | | - | |of wood and a small spring. The | | | | | - | |station is Mud Springs, a poor | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |ranch. | 25 | 3 | 5 45 | 12 | - | 22. |Route lies over a rolling divide | | | | | - | |between the Forks, crossing Omaha, | | | | | - | |Lawrence, and other creeks, where | | | | | - | |water and grass are procurable. | | | | | - | |Cedar is still found in hill- | | | | | - | |gullies. About half a mile north of| | | | | - | |Chimney Rock is a ranch where the | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |cattle are changed. | 25 | 8 |12 30 | 13 | - | 23. | Road along the south bank of North| | | | | - | |Ford of Platte River. Wild sage the| | | | | - | |only fuel in the valley: small | | | | | - | |spring on top of first hill. Rugged| | | | | - | |labyrinth of paths abreast of | | | | | - | |Scott’s Bluffs, which lie 5 miles | | | | | - | |S. of river, in N. lat. 41° 48′ | | | | | - | |26″, and W. long. 103° 45′ 02″. | | | | | - | |Water found in first ravine of | | | | | - | |Scott’s Bluffs 200 yards below the | | | | | - | |road, cedars on heights. To | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |station. | 24 | 1 30 | 5 30 | 13 | - | 24. |Road along the river; crosses | | | | | - | |Little Kiowa Creek, a tributary to | | | | | - | |Horse Creek, which flows into the | | | | | - | |Platte. Ford Horse Creek, a clear | | | | | - | |shallow stream with a sandy bottom.| | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |No wood below the hills. | 16 | 6 30 | 8 30 | 13 | - | 25. |Route over sandy, and heavy river | | | | | - | |bottom and rolling ground, leaving | | | | | - | |the Platte on the right: cotton- | | | | | - | |wood and willows on the banks. | | | | | - | |Ranch at Laramie City kept by M. | | | | | - | |Badeau, a Canadian, who sells | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |spirits, Indian goods, and outfit. | 26 | 6 |10 20 | 14 | - | 26. |After 9 miles of rough road cross | | | | | - | |Laramie Fork and enter Fort | | | | | - | |Laramie, N. lat. 42° 12′ 38″, and | | | | | - | |W. long. 104° 31′ 26″. Altitude | | | | | - | |4519 feet. Military post, with | | | | | - | |post-office, sutler’s stores, and | | | | | - | |other conveniences. Thence To | | | | | - | |Ward’s Station on the Central Star,| | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |small ranch and store. | 18 |12 15 | 4 | 14 | - | 27. |Rough and bad road. After 14 miles | | | | | - | |cross Bitter Cotton-wood Creek; | | | | | - | |water rarely flows; after rain 10 | | | | | - | |feet wide and 6 inches deep; grass | | | | | - | |and fuel abundant. Pass Indian shop| | | | | - | |and store. At Bitter Creek branch | | | | | - | |of Cotton-wood the road to Salt | | | | | - | |Lake City forks. Emigrants follow | | | | | - | |the Upper or South road over spurs | | | | | - | |of the Black Hills, some way south | | | | | - | |of the river, to avoid kanyons and | | | | | - | |to find grass. The station is | | | | | - | |called Horseshoe Creek. Residence | | | | | - | |of road-agent, Mr. Slade, and one | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |of the worst places on the line. | 25 | 5 | 9 30 | 14 | - | 28. |Road forks; one line follows the | | | | | - | |Platte, the other turns to the | | | | | - | |left, over “cut-off;” highly | | | | | - | |undulating ridges, crooked and | | | | | - | |deeply dented with dry beds of | | | | | - | |rivers; land desolate and desert. | | | | | - | |No wood nor water till end of | | | | | - | |stage. La Bonté River and Station; | | | | | - | |unfinished ranch in valley; water | | A.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |and grass. | 25 |10 45 | 2 45 | 15 | - | 29. |Road runs 6 miles (wheels often | | | | | - | |locked) on rugged red land, crosses| | | | | - | |several dry beds of creeks, and | | | | | - | |springs with water after melting of| | | | | - | |snow and frosts in dry season, | | | | | - | |thence into the Valley of the | | | | | - | |Platte. After 17 miles it crosses | | | | | - | |the La Prêle (Rush River), a stream| | | | | - | |16 feet wide, where water and wood | | | | | - | |abound. At Box-Elder Creek Station | | | | | - | |good ranch and comfortable camping-| | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |ground. | 25 | 4 | 9 | 15 | - | 30. |Along the Platte River, now shrunk | | | | | - | |to 100 yards. After 10 miles, M. | | | | | - | |Bissonette; at Deer Creek, a post- | | | | | - | |office, blacksmith’s shop, and | | | | | - | |store near Indian Agency. Thence a | | | | | - | |waste of wild sage to Little Muddy,| | | | | - | |a creek with water. No | | | | | - | |accommodation nor provisions at | | A.M. | NOON.| Aug.| - | |station. | 20 | 8 30 | 12 | 16 | - | 31. |After 8 miles cross vile bridge | | | | | - | |over Snow Creek. Thence up the | | | | | - | |river valley along the S. bank of | | | | | - | |the Platte to the lower ferry. To | | | | | - | |Lower Bridge, old station of | | | | | - | |troops. To Upper Bridge, where the | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |ferry has now been done away with. | 18 | 1 15 | 4 15 | 16 | - | 32. |Road ascends a hill 7 miles long; | | | | | - | |land rough, barren, and sandy in | | | | | - | |dry season. After 10 miles, red | | | | | - | |spring near the Red Buttes, an old | | | | | - | |trading-place and post-office. Road| | | | | - | |then leaves the Platte River and | | | | | - | |strikes over high, rolling, and | | | | | - | |barren prairie. After 18 miles, | | | | | - | |“Devil’s Backbone” Station at | | | | | - | |Willow Springs; wood, water, and | | | | | - | |grass; good place for encampment, | | | | | - | |but no accommodation nor | | | | | - | |provisions. On this stage mineral | | | | | - | |and alkaline waters dangerous to | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |cattle abound. | 28 | 6 30 |12 50 | 17 | - | 33. |After 3 miles, Green Creek, not to | | | | | - | |be depended upon, and Prospect | | | | | - | |Hill, a good look-out. Then, at | | | | | - | |intervals of 3 miles, Harper’s, | | | | | - | |Woodworth’s, and Greasewood Creeks,| | | | | - | |followed by heavy sand. At 17 | | | | | - | |miles, “Saleratus Lake,” on the | | | | | - | |west of the road. Four miles beyond| | | | | - | |is “Independence Rock,” Ford | | | | | - | |Sweetwater, leaving the “Devil’s | | | | | - | |Gate” on the right. Pass a | | | | | - | |blacksmith’s shop. Sage the only | | | | | - | |fuel. Plante or Muddy Station; | | | | | - | |family of Canadians; no | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |conveniences. | 33 | 2 30 | 9 15 | 17 | - | 34. |Along the winding banks of the | | | | | - | |Sweetwater. After 4 miles, “Alkali | | | | | - | |Lake” S. of the road. Land dry and | | | | | - | |stony; stunted cedars in hills. | | | | | - | |After 12 miles, the “Devil’s Post- | | | | | - | |office,” a singular bluff on the | | | | | - | |left of the road, and opposite a | | | | | - | |ranch kept by a Canadian. Mail | | | | | - | |station “Three Crossings,” at Ford | | | | | - | |No. 3; excellent water, wood, | | A.M. | A.M. | Aug.| - | |grass, game, and wild currants. | 25 | 7 | 11 | 18 | - | 35. |Up a kanyon of the Sweetwater. Ford| | | | | - | |the river 5 times, making a total | | | | | - | |of 8. After 16 miles, “Ice Springs”| | | | | - | |in a swampy valley, and one quarter| | | | | - | |of a mile beyond “Warm Springs.” | | | | | - | |Then rough descent and waterless | | | | | - | |stretch. Descend by “Lander’s Cut- | | | | | - | |off” into fertile bottom. “Rocky | | | | | - | |Ridge Station;” at Muskrat Creek | | | | | - | |good cold spring, grass, and sage | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |fuel. | 35 | 5 45 |12 45 | 19 | - | 36. |Up the bed of the creek, and, | | | | | - | |ascending long hills, leave the | | | | | - | |Sweetwater. After 4 miles, 3 | | | | | - | |alkaline ponds S. of the road. | | | | | - | |Rough path. After 7 miles, | | | | | - | |“Strawberry Creek,” 6 feet wide; | | | | | - | |good camping-ground; willows and | | | | | - | |poplars. One mile beyond is | | | | | - | |Quaking-Asp Creek, often dry. Three| | | | | - | |miles beyond lies M‘Achran’s | | | | | - | |Branch, 33 × 2. Then “Willow | | | | | - | |Creek,” 10 × 2; good camping- | | | | | - | |ground. At Ford No. 9 is a Canadian| | | | | - | |ranch and store. A long table-land | | | | | - | |leads to “South Pass,” dividing | | | | | - | |trip between the Atlantic and | | | | | - | |Pacific, and thence 2 miles to the | | | | | - | |station at “Pacific Springs;” | | | | | - | |water, tolerable grass, sage fuel, | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |and musquetoes. | 35 | 7 45 | 3 | 20 | - | 37. |Cross Miry Creek. Road down Pacific| | | | | - | |Creek; water scarce for 20 miles. | | | | | - | |After 11 miles, “Dry Sandy Creek;” | | | | | - | |water scarce and too brackish to | | | | | - | |drink; grass little; sage and | | | | | - | |greasewood plentiful. After 16 | | | | | - | |miles, “Sublette’s Cut-off,” or the| | | | | - | |“Dry Drive,” turns N.W. to Soda | | | | | - | |Springs and Fort Hall: the left | | | | | - | |fork leads to Fort Bridger and | | | | | - | |Great Salt Lake City. Four miles | | | | | - | |beyond the junction is “Little | | | | | - | |Sandy Creek,” 20-25 × 2; grass, | | | | | - | |timber, and good camping-ground. | | | | | - | |Eight miles beyond is “Big Sandy | | | | | - | |Creek,” clear, swift, and with good| | | | | - | |crossing, 110 × 2. The southern | | | | | - | |route is the best; along the old | | | | | - | |road, no water for 49 miles. Big | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |Sandy Creek Station. | 33 | 8 |12 50 | 21 | - | 38. |Desolate road cuts off the bend of | | | | | - | |the river; no grass nor water. | | | | | - | |After 12 miles, “Simpson’s Hollow.”| | | | | - | |Fall into the Valley of Green | | | | | - | |River, half a mile wide, water 110 | | | | | - | |yards broad. After 20¹⁄₂ miles, | | | | | - | |Upper Ford; Lower Ford 7 miles | | | | | - | |below Upper. Good camping-ground on| | | | | - | |bottom; at the station in Green | | | | | - | |River, grocery, stores, and ferry- | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |boat when there is high water. | 32 | 1 45 | 6 30 | 21 | - | 39. |Diagonal ford over Green River; a | | | | | - | |good camping-ground in bottom. | | | | | - | |Follow the valley for 4 miles; | | | | | - | |grass and fuel. Michel Martin’s | | | | | - | |store and grocery. The road leaves | | | | | - | |the river and crosses a waterless | | | | | - | |divide to Black’s Fork, 100 × 2; | | | | | - | |grass and fuel. Wretched station at| | A.M. | NOON.| Aug.| - | |Ham’s Fork. | 24 | 8 | 12 | 22 | - | 40. |Ford Ham’s Fork. After 12 miles the| | | | | - | |road forks at the 2d striking of | | | | | - | |Ham’s Fork, both branches leading | | | | | - | |to Fort Bridger. Mail takes the | | | | | - | |left-hand path. Then Black’s Fork, | | | | | - | |20 × 2, clear and pretty valley, | | | | | - | |with grass and fuel, cotton-wood | | | | | - | |and yellow currants. Cross the | | | | | - | |stream 3 times. After 12 miles, | | | | | - | |“Church Butte.” Ford Smith’s Fork, | | | | | - | |30 feet wide and shallow, a | | | | | - | |tributary of Black’s Fork. Station | | | | | - | |at Millersville on Smith’s Fork; | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |large store and good accommodation.| 20 | 2 | 5 15 | 22 | - | 41. |Road runs up the valley of Black’s | | | | | - | |Fork. After 12 miles, Fort Bridger,| | | | | - | |in N. lat. 41° 18′ 12″, and W. | | | | | - | |long. 110° 32′ 23″, on Black’s Fork| | | | | - | |of Green River. Commands Indian | | | | | - | |trade, fuel, corn; little grass. | | | | | - | |Post-office, sutler’s store, | | | | | - | |grocery, and other conveniences. | | | | | - | |Thence rough and rolling ground to | | | | | - | |Muddy Creek Hill; steep and stony | | | | | - | |descent. Over a fertile bottom to | | | | | - | |Big Muddy and Little Muddy Creek, | | | | | - | |which empties into Black’s Fork | | | | | - | |below Fort Bridger. At Muddy Creek | | | | | - | |Station there is a Canadian, | | | | | - | |provisions, excellent milk; no | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |stores. | 25 | 8 30 |12 15 | 23 | - | 42. |Rough country. The road winds along| | | | | - | |the ridge to Quaking-Asp Hill, 7900| | | | | - | |(8400?) feet above sea level. Steep| | | | | - | |descent; rough and broken ground. | | | | | - | |After 18 miles, Sulphur Creek | | | | | - | |Valley; stagnant stream, flowing | | | | | - | |after rain; ford bad and muddy. | | | | | - | |Station in the fertile valley of | | | | | - | |Bear River, which turns northward | | | | | - | |and flows into the east side of the| | | | | - | |lake; wood, grass, and water. Poor | | | | | - | |accommodations at Bear River | | NOON.| P.M. | Aug.| - | |Station. | 20 | 12 | 5 30 | 23 | - | 43. |Road runs by Needle Rocks; falls | | | | | - | |into the Valley of Egan’s Creek. | | | | | - | |“Cache Cave” on the right hand. | | | | | - | |Three miles below the Cave is Red | | | | | - | |Fork in Echo Kanyon; unfinished | | | | | - | |station at the entrance. Rough | | | | | - | |road; steep ascents and descents | | | | | - | |along Red Creek Station on Weber | | | | | - | |River, which falls into Salt Lake | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |south of Bear River. | 36 | 8 15 | 2 30 | 24 | - | 44. |Road runs down the Valley of the | | | | | - | |Weber. Ford the river. After 5¹⁄₄ | | | | | - | |miles is a salt spring, where the | | | | | - | |road leaves the river to avoid a | | | | | - | |deep kanyon, and turns to the left | | | | | - | |into a valley with rough paths, | | | | | - | |trying to wheels. Then crosses a | | | | | - | |mountain, and, ascending a long | | | | | - | |hill, descends to Bauchmin’s Creek,| | | | | - | |tributary to Weber River. Creek 18 | | | | | - | |feet wide, swift, pebbly bed, good | | | | | - | |ford; grass and fuel abundant. The | | | | | - | |station is called Carson’s House; | | P.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |accommodations of the worst. | 22 | 4 30 | 7 45 | 24 | - | 45. |Ford Bauchmin’s Creek 13 times in 8| | | | | - | |miles. After 2 miles along a small | | | | | - | |water-course ascend Big Mountain, | | | | | - | |whence first view of Great Salt | | | | | - | |Lake City, 12 miles distant. After | | | | | - | |14 miles, Big Kanyon Creek. Six | | | | | - | |miles farther the road leaves Big | | | | | - | |Kanyon Creek, and after a steep | | | | | - | |ascent and descent makes Emigration| | | | | - | |Creek. Cross Little Mountain, 2 | | | | | - | |miles beyond Big Mountain; road | | | | | - | |rough and dangerous. Five miles | | | | | - | |from Emigration Kanyon to Great | | | | | - | |Salt Lake City. Road through “Big | | A.M. | P.M. | Aug.| - | |Field” 6 miles square. | 29 | 7 | 7 15 | 28 | - +-----+-----------------------------------+------+------+------+-----+ - - GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, N. lat. 40° 46′ 08″ - W. long. 112° 06′ 08″ (G.) - Altitude 4300 feet. - -The variation of compass at Temple Block in 1849 was 15° 47′ 23″, -and in 1860 it was 15° 54′, a slow progress toward the east. (In the -Wind-River Mountains, as laid down by Colonel Frémont in 1842, it was -E. 18°.) In Fillmore Valley it is now 18° 15′, and three years ago -was about 17° east; the rapid progression to the east is accompanied -with extreme irregularity, which the people attribute to the metallic -constituents of the soil. - - Total of days between St. Jo and Great Salt Lake City. 19 - Total stages. 45 - Distance in statute miles. 1136 - From Fort Leavenworth to Great Salt Lake City. 1168 - -ITINERARY OF THE MAIL-ROUTE FROM GREAT SALT LAKE CITY TO SAN FRANCISCO. - - +-----+-----------------------------------+------+------+------+-----+ - | No. | | | | | | - | of | | | | Ar- | | - |Mail.| |Miles.|Start.|rival.|Date.| - +-----+-----------------------------------+------+------+------+-----+ - | 1 |Road through the south of the city,| | | | | - | and |due south along the right bank of | | | | | - | 2. |the Jordan. Cross many creeks, | | | | | - | |viz., Kanyon Creek, 4¹⁄₄ miles; | | | | | - | |Mill Creek, 2¹⁄₂; First or Great | | | | | - | |Cotton-wood Creek, 2; Second | | | | | - | |ditto, 4; Fork of road, 1¹⁄₄; Dry | | | | | - | |Creek, 3¹⁄₂; Willow Creek, 2³⁄₄. | | | | | - | | | | | | | - | |After 22-23 miles, hot and cold | | | | | - | |springs, and half-way house, the | | | | | - | |brewery under the point of the | | | | | - | |mountain. Road across Ash-Hollow or| | | | | - | |Jordan Kanyon, 2 miles. Fords | | | | | - | |river, knee deep; ascends a rough | | | | | - | |divide between Utah Valley and | | | | | - | |Cedar Valley, 10 miles from camp, | | | | | - | |and finally reaches Cedar Creek and| | | |Sept.| - | |Camp Floyd. | 44 | 10 30| 9 30 | 20 | - | 3. |Leaves Camp Floyd; 7 miles to the | | | | | - | |divide of Cedar Valley. Crosses the| | | | | - | |divide into Rush Valley; after a | | | | | - | |total of 18·2 miles reaches Meadow | | | | | - | |Creek; good grass and water. Rush | | | | | - | |Valley mail station 1 mile beyond; | | | |Sept.| - | |food and accommodation. | 20 | 10 30| 9 30 | 27 | - | 4. |Crosses remains of Rush Valley 7 | | | | | - | |miles. Up a rough divide called | | | | | - | |General Johnston’s Pass. Spring, | | | | | - | |often dry, 200 yards on the right | | | | | - | |of the road. At Point Look-out | | | | | - | |leaves Simpson’s Road, which runs | | | | | - | |south. Cross Skull Valley; bad | | | | | - | |road. To the bench on the eastern | | | | | - | |flank of the desert. Station called| | | | | - | |Egan’s Springs, Simpson’s Springs, | | | | | - | |or Lost Springs, grass plentiful, | | A.M. | |Sept.| - | |water good. | 27 | 9 30 | 4 30 | 28 | - | 5. |New station; road forks to S.E., | | | | | - | |and leads, after 5 miles, to grass | | | | | - | |and water. After 8 miles, river | | | | | - | |bottom, 1 mile broad. Long line | | | | | - | |over desert to express station, | | | | | - | |called Dugway; no grass, and no | | | P.M. |Sept.| - | |water. | 20 | 12 | 5 30 | 29 | - | 6. |Steep road 2¹⁄₂ miles to the summit| | | | | - | |of Dugway Pass. Descend by a rough | | | | | - | |incline; 8 miles beyond the road | | | | | - | |forks to Devil’s Hole, 90 miles | | | | | - | |from Camp Floyd on Simpson’s route,| | | | | - | |and 6 miles S. of Fish Springs. | | | | | - | |Eight miles beyond the fork is | | | | | - | |Mountain Point; road winds S. and | | | | | - | |W., and then N. to avoid swamp, and| | | | | - | |crosses 3 sloughs. Beyond the last | | | | | - | |is Fish-Spring Station, on the | | | | | - | |bench--a poor place; water | | | | | - | |plentiful, but bad. Cattle here | | | | | - | |drink for the first time after Lost| | P.M. | A.M. |Sept.| - | |Springs, distant 48 miles. | 28 | 6 30 | 3 30 | 29 | - | 7. |Road passes many pools. Half way | | | | | - | |forks S. to Pleasant Valley | | | | | - | |(Simpson’s line). Road again rounds| | | | | - | |the swamp, crossing S. end of Salt | | | | | - | |Plain. After 21 miles, “Willow | | | | | - | |Creek;” water rather brackish. | | | | | - | |Station “Willow Springs” on the | | | | | - | |bench below the hills, at W. end of| | A.M. | |Sept.| - | |desert; grass and hay plentiful. | 22 | 10 | 3 30 | 30 | - | 8. |Road ascending the bench, turns N. | | | | | - | |to find the pass. After 6 miles, | | | | | - | |Mountain Springs; good water, | | | | | - | |grass, and fuel. Six miles beyond | | | | | - | |is Deep-Creek Kanyon, a dangerous | | | | | - | |ravine 9 miles long. Then descends | | | | | - | |into a fertile and well-watered | | | | | - | |valley, and after 7 miles enters | | | | | - | |Deep-Creek mail station. Indian | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |farm. | 28 | 8 | 4 | 1 | - | 9. |Along Willow Creek. After 8 miles, | | | | | - | |“Eight-Miles Springs;” water, | | | | | - | |grass, and sage fuel. Kanyon after | | | | | - | |2¹⁄₂ miles, 500 yards long and | | | | | - | |easy. Then 19 miles through | | | | | - | |Antelope Valley to the station of | | | | | - | |the same name, burnt in June, 1860,| | | | | - | |by Indians. Simpson’s route from | | | | | - | |Pleasant Valley, distant 12·5 | | | | | - | |miles, falls into the E. end of | | | | | - | |Antelope Valley, from Camp Floyd | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |151 miles. | 30 | 8 | 4 | 3, 4| - | 10. |Road over the valley for 2 miles to| | | | | - | |the mouth of Shell-Creek Kanyon, 6 | | | | | - | |miles long. Rough road; fuel | | | | | - | |plentiful. Descends into Spring | | | | | - | |Valley, and then passes over other | | | | | - | |divides into Shell Creek, where | | | | | - | |there is a mail station; water, | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |grass, and fuel abundant. | 18 | 6 | 11 | 5 | - | 11. |Descends a rough road. Crosses | | | | | - | |Steptoe Valley and bridged creek. | | | | | - | |Road heavy, sand or mud. After 16 | | | | | - | |miles, Egan’s Kanyon, dangerous for| | | | | - | |Indians. Station at the W. mouth | | P.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |burned by Indians in October, 1860.| 18 | 2 | 6 | 5 | - | 12. |Pass the divide, fall into Butte | | | | | - | |Valley, and cross its N. end. | | | | | - | |Bottom very cold. Mail station half| | | | | - | |way up a hill; a very small spring;| | | | | - | |grass on the N. side of the hill. | | P.M. | A.M. | Oct.| - | |Butte Station. | 18 | 8 | 3 | 6 | - | 13. |Ascend the long divide; 2 steep | | | | | - | |hills and falls. Cross the N. end | | | | | - | |of Long Valley, all barren. Ascend | | | | | - | |the divide, and descend into Ruby | | | | | - | |Valley; road excellent; water, | | | | | - | |grass, and bottom; fuel distant. | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |Good mail station. | 22 | 8 | 1 45 | 7 | - | 14. |Long divide; fuel plenty; no grass | | | | | - | |nor water. After 10 miles the road | | | | | - | |branches to the right hand to | | | | | - | |Gravelly Ford of Humboldt River. | | | | | - | |Cross a dry bottom. Cross Smith’s | | | | | - | |Fork of Humboldt River in | | | | | - | |Huntingdon Valley; a little stream;| | | | | - | |bunch-grass and sage fuel on the W.| | | | | - | |end. Ascend Chokop’s Pass, Dugway, | | | | | - | |and hard hill; descend into | | | | | - | |Moonshine Valley. Station at | | | | | - | |Diamond Springs; warm water, but | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |good. | 23 | 8 | 1 45 | 8, 9| - | 15. |Cross Moonshine Valley. After 7 | | | | | - | |miles a sulphurous spring and | | | | | - | |grass. Twelve miles beyond ascend | | | | | - | |the divide; no water; fuel and | | | | | - | |bunch-grass plentiful. Then a long | | | | | - | |divide. After 9 miles, the station | | | | | - | |on Roberts’ Creek, at the E. end of| | | | | - | |Sheawit, or Roberts’ Springs | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |Valley. | 28 | 8 | 1 45 | 10 | - | 16. |Down the valley to the west; good | | | | | - | |road; sage small; no fuel. After 12| | | | | - | |miles, willows and water-holes; 3 | | | | | - | |miles beyond there are alkaline | | | | | - | |wells. Station on the bench; water | | | | | - | |below in a dry creek; grass must be| | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |brought from 15 miles. | 35 | 6 30 |12 30 | 11 | - | 17. |Cross a long rough divide to Smoky | | | | | - | |Valley. At the northern end is a | | | | | - | |creek called “Wanahonop,” or | | | | | - | |“Netwood,” _i. e._, trap. Thence a | | | | | - | |long rough kanyon to Simpson’s | | | | | - | |Park; grass plentiful; water in | | | | | - | |wells 10 feet deep. Simpson’s Park | | | | | - | |in Shoshonee country, and, | | | | | - | |according to Simpson’s Itinerary, | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |348 miles from Camp Floyd. | 25 | 8 15 | 2 25 | 12 | - | 18. |Cross Simpson’s Park. Ascend | | | | | - | |Simpson’s Pass, a long kanyon, with| | | | | - | |sweet “Sage Springs” on the summit;| | | | | - | |bunch-grass plentiful. Descend to | | | | | - | |the fork of the road; right hand to| | | | | - | |the lower, left hand to the upper | | | | | - | |ford of Reese’s River. Water | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |perennial and good; food poor. | 15 | 10 | 2 | 13 | - | 19. |Through the remainder of Reese’s | | | | | - | |River Valley. After a long divide, | | | | | - | |the Valley of Smith’s Creek; | | | | | - | |saleratus; no water nor grass. At | | | | | - | |last, the station, near a kanyon, | | | | | - | |and hidden from view. The land | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |belongs to the Pa Yutas. | 28 | 7 20 | 2 45 | 14 | - | 20. |Ascend a rough kanyon, and descend | | | | | - | |to a barren and saleratus plain. | | | | | - | |Toward the south of the valley over| | | | | - | |bench-land, rough with rock and | | | | | - | |pitch-hole. “Cold Springs Station” | | | | | - | |half built, near stream; fuel | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |scarce. | 25 | 8 15 | 4 15 | 15 | - | 21. |At the west gate, 2 miles from the | | | | | - | |station, good grass. After 8 miles,| | | | | - | |water. Two miles beyond is the | | | | | - | |middle gate; water in fiumara, and | | | | | - | |grass near. Beyond the gate are 2 | | | | | - | |basins, long divides, winding road | | | | | - | |to “Sand Springs Valley;” bad | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |water; little grass. | 35 | 9 50 | 2 30 | 16 | - | 22. |Cross the valley, 10 miles to the | | | | | - | |summit, over slough inundations and| | | | | - | |bad road. Summit shifting sand. | | | | | - | |Descend 5 miles to Carson Lake; | | | | | - | |water tolerable; tule abundant. | | | | | - | |Round the S. side of the lake to | | | | | - | |the sink of Carson River Station; | | | | | - | |no provisions; pasture good; fuel | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |scarce. | 25 | 11 | 9 | 17 | - | 23. |Cross a long plain. Ascend a very | | | | | - | |steep divide, and sight Sierra 50 | | | | | - | |miles distant. Descend to Carson | | | | | - | |River. Fort Churchill newly built. | | A.M. | P.M. | Oct.| - | |Sutler’s stores, etc. | 25 | 9 30 | 7 15 | 18 | - | | | | | | Oct.| - | 24. | Carson City | 35 | 11 |10 30 | 19 | - | | | | | | | - | |Carson City lies on the eastern | | | | | - | |foot of the Sierra Nevada, distant | | | | | - | |552 statute miles, according to | | | | | - | |Captain Simpson, from Camp Floyd. | | | | | - | |The present itinerary reduces it to| | | | | - | |544, and, adding 44 miles, to a | | | | | - | |total of 588 from Great Salt Lake | | | | | - | |City. | | | | | - +-----+-----------------------------------+------+------+------+-----+ - - ITINERARY of Captain J. H. SIMPSON’S Wagon-road from Camp Floyd - to Genoa, Carson Valley, Utah Territory. Explored by direction of - General A. G. JOHNSTON, commanding the Department of Utah, between - the 2d of May and the 12th of June, 1859. - - +----------------------------------------+-------+------+------+-----+ - | | Inter-| From | Total| | - | |mediate| Camp | from | | - | | Dis- | to | Camp | No. | - | |tances.| Camp.|Floyd.| of | - | Places. | Miles.|Miles.|Miles.|Camp.| - +----------------------------------------+-------+------+------+-----+ - |Camp Floyd, wood and grass in vicinity. | | | | | - |Meadow Creek. | 18·2 | 18·2 | 18·2| 1 | - | | | | | | - |Cross Meadow Creek (Rush Valley), mail | | | | | - |station ¹⁄₄ mile. | 1 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Spring ¹⁄₄ mile to the right of General | | | | | - |Johnston’s Pass, just after passing the | | | | | - |summit. This spring furnishes but little| | | | | - |water, even in the spring, and in the | | | | | - |summer would be most probably dry. | 8·9 | 9·9 | 28·1| 2 | - | | | | | | - |Simpson’s Springs, mail station. | 16·2 | 16·2 | 44·3| 3 | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Summit, Short-cut Pass. | 21·6 | | | | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | - |1·6 miles below summit. | 1·6 | 23·2 | 67·5| 4 | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Tolerable grass skirting a low range of | | | | | - |rocks on the right of the road. | 7·8 | | | | - | | | | | | - |A little grass; sage in valley. | 4·8 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Devil’s Hole; water slightly brackish. | 6·7 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Fish Springs, mail station. | 5·4 | 24·7 | 92·2| 5 | - | | | | | | - |Warm Springs. | 3·4 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Grass in considerable quantity of good | | | | | - |character. | 26·4 | 29·7 | 121·9| 6 | - | | | | | | - |Alkaline spring to the right of the | | | | | - |road; water not drinkable. | 1· | | | | - | | | | | | - |Sulphur springs; water abundant and | | | | | - |palatable. | 1·5 | 2·5 | 125· | 7 | - | | | | | | - |Spring, Pleasant Valley, mail station. | 13·4 | 13·4 | 138·4| 8 | - | | | | | | - |East side of Antelope Valley. | | 12·5 | 150·9| 9 | - | | | | | | - |Spring Valley; good grass on the west | | | | | - |bench and slopes. | | 19· | 169·9| 10 | - | | | | | | - |Cross a marsh; road takes up a fine | | | | | - |stream; grass all along. | 3·5 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Leave Creek. | 3·5 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Spring, copious; grass fine. | 2·8 | | | | - | | | | | | - |East side of Steptoe Valley, mail | | | | | - |station. | 1·3 | 11·1 | 181·0| 11 | - | | | | | | - |Steptoe Creek; dry in summer. | 6·5 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Mouth of Egan Kanyon. | 6·8 | 13·3 | 194·3| 12 | - | | | | | | - |Spring; source of Egan Creek. | 1·8 | | | | - | | | | | | - |West side of Butte Valley. Mail station;| | | | | - |a very small spring, barely sufficient | | | | | - |for cooking purposes, near the top of | | | | | - |the hill; grass on the N. side of same | | | | | - |hill. | 16·2 | 18·1 | 212·4| 13 | - | | | | | | - |Spring 1 mile west side of summit of | | | | | - |range. | 12· | 12· | 224·4| 14 | - | | | | | | - |Ruby Valley, mail station. | 9·2 | 9·2 | 233·6| 15 | - | | | | | | - |Smith’s Fork, Humboldt River, | | | | | - |Huntingdon’s Creek. | 14·4 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Small mountain stream. | 3·3 | 17·6 | 251·2| 16 | - | | | | | | - |Spring left of the road. | 1·2 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Near west foot of Cho-kupe Pass. | 5·8 | 7·1 | 258·3| 17 | - | | | | | | - |Spring in Pah-hun-nupe Valley. | 7·8 | | | | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Do. west side of Pah-hun-nupe Valley. | 5·6 | 13·3 | 271·6| 18 | - | | | | | | - |She-a-wi-te (Willow) Creek. | 14·9 | 14·9 | 286·5| 19 | - | | | | | | - |Bed of Nash River; water in pools, | | | | | - |probably not constant. | 11·6 | | | | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Small spring; grass on mountain side, 2 | | | | | - |miles off. | 5·9 | 17·5 | 304· | 20 | - | | | | | | - |Wons-in-dam-me, or Antelope Creek. | 7· | 7· | 311· | 21 | - | | | | | | - |Creek. | 4·3 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Creek west side of valley. | 9·5 | 13·7 | 324·7| 22 | - | | | | | | - |Wan-a-ho-no-pe (Netwood trap) Creek. | 13·6 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Wan-a-ho-no-pe (Netwood trap) Creek. | 4·6 | 18·2 | 342·9| 23 | - | | | | | | - |Simpson’s Park, according to | | | | | - |topographer, Lieutenant Putnam, and | | | | | - |guide, Colonel Reese. | 4·9 | 4·9 | 347·8| 24 | - | | | | | | - |Small spring in Simpson’s Pass (same | | | | | - |authority). | 3· | | | | - | | | | | | - |Ford of Reese’s River. | 8·2 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Reese’s River. | 2·6 | 13·8 | 361·6| 25 | - | | | | | | - |Leave Reese’s River. | 3·4 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Small spring to the left of the road, | | | | | - |just before reaching the summit of the | | | | | - |Pass. | 10· | | | | - | | | | | | - |Lieutenant J. L. Kirby Smith’s Creek. | 7·8 | 21·2 | 382·8| 26 | - | | | | | | - |Engleman’s Creek. | 1·6 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Lieutenant Putnam’s Creek. | 8·6 | 10·2 | 393· | 27 | - | | | | | | - |Lieutenant Putnam’s South Fork. | 2·7 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Rock Creek. | 3· | | | | - | | | | | | - |Rock Creek. | 3·1 | 8·7 | 401·7| 28 | - | | | | | | - |Rock Creek Sinks. | 1·7 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Spring-water kegs should be filled for 2| | | | | - |days. Camp from this in alkaline flat. | 5·4 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Gibraltar Gate. | 0·6 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Creek joins Gibraltar Creek. | 4·2 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Middle-Gate Spring. | 3·2 | 14·7 | 416·4| 29 | - | | | | | | - |West Gate. | 3·5 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Dry wells; alkaline valley; very poor | | | | | - |camp; water and grass alkaline, and | | | | | - |little of either. Rabbit-bush fuel. | 21·0 | 24·5 | 440·9| 30 | - | | | | | | - |Creek connecting the two lakes of | | | | | - |Carson. Road can be shortened some eight| | | | | - |or ten miles by striking across the head| | | | | - |of Alkaline Valley after getting about | | | | | - |nine miles from Camp 30, and then | | | | | - |proceeding directly to the shore of | | | | | - |Carson Lake. It is not necessary to go | | | | | - |so far north as the connecting creek | | | | | - |referred to. | | 16·6 | 457·5| 31 | - | | | | | | - |Leave Carson Lake. | 9·7 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Walker’s River. | 21·5 | 31·2 | 488·7| 32 | - | | | | | | - |Walker’s River. | | 10· | 498·7| 33 | - | | | | | | - |Walker’s North Bend. | | 6·3 | 505· | 34 | - | | | | | | - |Small spring, not sufficient for a large| | | | | - |command; grass ¹⁄₂ mile south. | 14·1| | | | - | | | | | | - |Carson River. | 1·9 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Carson River. | 3·0 | 19·0 | 524· | 35 | - | | | | | | - |Pleasant Grove; cross Carson River and | | | | | - |get into Old Emigrant Road. Mail | | | | | - |station. | 9·0 | 9·0 | 533· | 36 | - | | | | | | - |China Town. Gold diggings. | 7·4 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Carson City. East foot of Sierra Nevada.| 11·6 | 19·0 | 552· | 37 | - | | | | | | - |Genoa. East foot of Sierra Nevada. | 12·9 | 12·9 | 564·9| 38 | - +----------------------------------------+-------+------+------+-----+ - - +----------------------------------------+-----+-----+------+------+ - | | | | | | - | | | | | | - | | No. | | | | - | | of | | | | - | Places. |Camp.|Wood.|Water.|Grass.| - +----------------------------------------+-----+-----+------+------+ - |Camp Floyd, wood and grass in vicinity. | | | W | | - |Meadow Creek. | 1 | | | | - | | | | | | - |Cross Meadow Creek (Rush Valley), mail | | | | | - |station ¹⁄₄ mile. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Spring ¹⁄₄ mile to the right of General | | | | | - |Johnston’s Pass, just after passing the | | | | | - |summit. This spring furnishes but little| | | | | - |water, even in the spring, and in the | | | | | - |summer would be most probably dry. | 2 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Simpson’s Springs, mail station. | 3 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - | | | Wil-| | | - |Summit, Short-cut Pass. | | low | | | - | | | | | | - | | | | | very | - |1·6 miles below summit. | 4 | Sage| |little| - | | | | | grass| - | | | | | | - |Tolerable grass skirting a low range of | | | | | - |rocks on the right of the road. | | | | G | - | | | | | | - |A little grass; sage in valley. | | S | | G | - | | | | | | - |Devil’s Hole; water slightly brackish. | | | W | | - | | | | | | - |Fish Springs, mail station. | 5 | Ctw | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Warm Springs. | | GW | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Grass in considerable quantity of good | | | | | - |character. | 6 | | | G | - | | | | | | - |Alkaline spring to the right of the | | | | | - |road; water not drinkable. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Sulphur springs; water abundant and | | | | | - |palatable. | 7 | W,S | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Spring, Pleasant Valley, mail station. | 8 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |East side of Antelope Valley. | 9 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Spring Valley; good grass on the west | | | | | - |bench and slopes. | 10 | GW | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Cross a marsh; road takes up a fine | | | | | - |stream; grass all along. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Leave Creek. | | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Spring, copious; grass fine. | | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |East side of Steptoe Valley, mail | | | | | - |station. | 11 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Steptoe Creek; dry in summer. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Mouth of Egan Kanyon. | 12 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Spring; source of Egan Creek. | | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |West side of Butte Valley. Mail station;| | | | | - |a very small spring, barely sufficient | | | | | - |for cooking purposes, near the top of | | | | | - |the hill; grass on the N. side of same | | | | | - |hill. | 13 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Spring 1 mile west side of summit of | | | | | - |range. | 14 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Ruby Valley, mail station. | 15 | GW | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Smith’s Fork, Humboldt River, | | | | | - |Huntingdon’s Creek. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Small mountain stream. | 16 | GW | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Spring left of the road. | | GW | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Near west foot of Cho-kupe Pass. | 17 | GW | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Spring in Pah-hun-nupe Valley. | | | | | - | | | | | | - | | | S,W | | | - |Do. west side of Pah-hun-nupe Valley. | 18 | GW | W | G | - | | | | | | - |She-a-wi-te (Willow) Creek. | 19 | S,W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Bed of Nash River; water in pools, | | | | | - |probably not constant. | | | | | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Small spring; grass on mountain side, 2 | | | | | - |miles off. | 20 | S,W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Wons-in-dam-me, or Antelope Creek. | 21 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Creek. | | S,W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Creek west side of valley. | 22 | S,W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Wan-a-ho-no-pe (Netwood trap) Creek. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Wan-a-ho-no-pe (Netwood trap) Creek. | 23 | S,W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Simpson’s Park, according to | | | | | - |topographer, Lieutenant Putnam, and | | | | | - |guide, Colonel Reese. | 24 | S,W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Small spring in Simpson’s Pass (same | | | | | - |authority). | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Ford of Reese’s River. | | | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Reese’s River. | 25 | | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Leave Reese’s River. | | | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Small spring to the left of the road, | | | | | - |just before reaching the summit of the | | | | | - |Pass. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Lieutenant J. L. Kirby Smith’s Creek. | 26 | GW | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Engleman’s Creek. | | | W | | - | | | | | | - |Lieutenant Putnam’s Creek. | 27 | S,W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Lieutenant Putnam’s South Fork. | | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Rock Creek. | | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Rock Creek. | 28 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Rock Creek Sinks. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Spring-water kegs should be filled for 2| | | | | - |days. Camp from this in alkaline flat. | | | W | | - | | | | | | - |Gibraltar Gate. | | | W | | - | | | | | | - |Creek joins Gibraltar Creek. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Middle-Gate Spring. | 29 | S,W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |West Gate. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Dry wells; alkaline valley; very poor | | | | | - |camp; water and grass alkaline, and | | Rab.| | | - |little of either. Rabbit-bush fuel. | 30 | bush| W | G | - | | | | | | - |Creek connecting the two lakes of | | | | | - |Carson. Road can be shortened some eight| | | | | - |or ten miles by striking across the head| | | | | - |of Alkaline Valley after getting about | | | | | - |nine miles from Camp 30, and then | | | | | - |proceeding directly to the shore of | | | | | - |Carson Lake. It is not necessary to go | | | | | - |so far north as the connecting creek | | Dry | | | - |referred to. | 31 | rush| W | R,G | - | | | | | | - |Leave Carson Lake. | | | W | R,G | - | | | | | | - |Walker’s River. | 32 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Walker’s River. | 33 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Walker’s North Bend. | 34 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Small spring, not sufficient for a large| | | | | - |command; grass ¹⁄₂ mile south. | | S,W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Carson River. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |Carson River. | 35 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Pleasant Grove; cross Carson River and | | | | | - |get into Old Emigrant Road. Mail | | | | | - |station. | 36 | W | W | G | - | | | | | | - |China Town. Gold diggings. | | | W | | - | | | | | | - |Carson City. East foot of Sierra Nevada.| 37 | | W | G | - | | | | | | - |Genoa. East foot of Sierra Nevada. | 38 | W | W | G | - +----------------------------------------+-----+-----+------+------+ - - (Signed), J. H. SIMPSON, Capt. Top. Engineers. - - To Brevet Major F. J. Porter, Assist. Adj. Gen., Dept. Utah, Camp - Floyd. - - -II. DESCRIPTION OF THE MORMON TEMPLE. - -[_Extracted from the Deserét News._] - -The following is a brief detail of the temple, taken from drawings in -my office in Great Salt Lake City. - -The Temple Block is 40 rods square, the lines running north and south, -east and west, and contains 10 acres. The centre of the temple is 156 -feet 6 inches due west from the centre of the east line of the block. -The length of said house east and west is 186¹⁄₂ feet, including -towers, and the width 99 feet. On the east end there are three towers, -as also on the west. Draw a line north and south 118¹⁄₂ feet through -the centre of the tower, and you have the north and south extent of -ground-plan, including pedestal. - -We depress into the earth at the east end to the depth of 16 feet, and -enlarge all around beyond the lines of wall 3 feet for a footing. The -north and south walls are 8 feet thick clear of pedestal; they stand -upon a footing of 16 feet wall on its bearing, which slopes 3 feet on -each side to the height of 7¹⁄₂ feet. The footing of the towers rise to -the same height as the side, and is one solid piece of masonry of rough -ashlars, laid in good lime mortar. - -The basement of the main building is divided into many rooms by walls, -all having footings. The line of the basement floor is 6 inches above -the top of the footing. From the towers on the east to the towers on -the west, the face of the earth slopes 6 feet; 4 inches above the -earth on the east line begins a promenade walk from 11 to 22 feet wide -around the entire building, and approached by stone steps as the earth -slopes and requires them. There are four towers on the four corners -of the building, each starting from their footing of 26 feet square; -these continue 16¹⁄₂ feet high, and come to the line of the base string -course, which is 8 feet above the promenade walk. At this point the -towers are reduced to 25 feet square; they then continue to the height -of 38 feet, or the height of the second string course. At this point -they are reduced to 23 feet square; they then continue 38 feet high to -the third string course. The string courses continue all around the -building, except when separated by buttresses. These string courses are -massive mouldings from solid blocks of stone. - -The two east towers then rise 25 feet to a string course or cornice. -The two west towers rise 19 feet, and come to their string course or -cornice. The four towers then rise 9 feet to the top of battlements. -These towers are cylindrical, having 17 feet diameter inside, within -which stairs ascend around a solid column 4 feet in diameter, allowing -landings at the various sections of the building. These towers have -each five ornamental windows on two sides above the basement. The -two centre towers occupy the centre of the east and west ends of the -building, starting from their footings 31 feet square, and break off -in sections in line with corner towers, to the height of the third -string course. The east centre tower then rises 40 feet to the top -of battlements; the west centre tower rises 34 feet to the top of -battlements. All these towers have spires; the east centre tower rises -200 feet, while the west centre tower rises 190 feet. All these towers -at their corners have octagon turrets, terminated by octagon pinnacles -5 feet diameter at base, 4 feet at first story, and three feet from -there up. There are also on each side of these towers two buttresses, -except where they come in contact with the body of the main building. -The top of these buttresses show forty-eight in number, and stand upon -pedestals. The space between the buttresses and turrets is 2 feet at -the first story. On the front of the two centre towers are two large -windows, each 32 feet high, one above the other, neatly prepared for -that place. - -On the two west corner towers, and on the west end a few feet below the -top of battlements, may be seen in alto-relievo and bold relief the -great dipper, or Ursa Major, with the pointers ranging nearly toward -the north star. (Moral: the lost may find themselves by the priesthood.) - -I will now glance at the main body of the house. I have before stated -that the basement was divided into many rooms. The central one is -arranged for a baptismal font, and is 59 feet long by 35 feet wide, -separated from the main wall by four rooms, two on each side, 19 feet -long by 12 feet wide. On the east and west sides of these rooms are -four passages 12 feet wide; these lead to and from by outside doors, -two on the north and two on the south. Farther east and west from these -passages are four more rooms, two at each end, 28 feet wide by 38¹⁄₂ -long. These two thin walls occupy the basement. All the walls start off -their footings, and rise 16¹⁄₂ feet, and there stop with groin ceiling. - -We are now up to the line of the base string course, 8 feet above the -promenade or steps rising to the temple, which terminates at the cope -of the pedestal, and to the first floor of said house. This room is -joined to the outer courts, these courts being the width between towers -16 feet by 9 in the clear. We ascend to the floors of these courts -(they being on a line with the first floor of the main house) by four -flights of stone steps 9¹⁄₂ feet wide, arranged in the basement work, -the first step ranging to the outer line of towers. From these courts -doors admit to any part of the building. - -The size of the first large room is 120 feet long by 80 feet wide; -the height reaches nearly to the second string course. The room is -arched over in the centre with an elliptical arch, which drops at its -flank 10 feet, and has 38 feet span. The side ceilings have one fourth -elliptical arches, which start from the side walls of the main building -16 feet high, and terminate at the capitals of the columns, or foot -of centre arch, at the height of 24 feet. The columns obtain their -bearings direct from the footings of the said house; these columns -extend up to support the floor above. The outside walls of this story -are 7 feet thick. The space, from the termination of the foot of the -centre arch to the outer wall, is divided into sixteen compartments, -eight in each side, making rooms 14 feet by 14, clear of partitions, -and 10 feet high, leaving a passage of 6 feet wide next to each flank -of the centre arch, which is approached from the ends. These rooms -are each lighted by an elliptical or oval window, whose major axis is -vertical. - -The second large room is one foot wider than the room below; this is in -consequence of the wall being but 6 feet thick, falling off 6 inches on -the inner and 6 on the outer side. The second string course provides -for this on the outer side. The rooms of this story are similar to -those below. The side walls have nine buttresses on a side, and have -eight tiers of windows, five in each tier. - -The foot of the basement windows are 8 inches above the promenade, -rise 3 feet perpendicular, and terminate in a semicircular head. -The first-story windows have 12 feet long of sash to the top of the -semicircular head. The oval windows have 6¹⁄₂ feet length of sash. The -windows of the second story are the same as those below. All these -frames have 4¹⁄₂ feet width of sash. The pedestals under all the -buttresses project at their base 2 feet; above their base, which is 15 -inches by 4¹⁄₂ feet wide, on each front is a figure of a globe 3 feet -11 inches across, whose axis corresponds with the axis of the earth. - -The base string course forms a cope for those pedestals. Above this -cope the buttresses are 3¹⁄₂ feet, and continue to the height of 100 -feet. Above the promenade, close under the second string course on each -of the buttresses, is the moon, represented in its different phases. -Close under the third string course or cornice is the face of the sun. -Immediately above is Saturn with his rings. The buttresses terminate -with a projected cope. - -The only difference between the tower buttresses and the one just -described is, instead of Saturn being on them, we have clouds and rays -of light descending. - -All of these symbols are to be chiseled in bas-relief on solid stone. -The side walls continue above the string course or cornice 8¹⁄₂ -feet, making the walls 96 feet high, and are formed in battlements -interspersed with stars. - -This roof is quite flat, rising only 8 feet, and is to be covered with -galvanized iron or some other metal. The building is to be otherwise -ornamented in many places. The whole structure is designed to symbolize -some of the great architectural work above. The basement windows recede -in from the face of the outer wall to the sash frame 23 inches, and are -relieved by a large cavetto, while on the inside they are approached by -stone steps. - -Those windows above the base recede from the face of the wall to -the sash frame 3 feet, and are surrounded by stone jambs formed in -mouldings, and surmounted by labels over each, which terminate at their -horizon, excepting the oval windows, whose labels terminate as columns, -which extend from an enriched string course at the foot of each window -to the centre of the major axis. My chief object in the last paragraph -is to show to the judgment of any who may be baffled how those windows -can be come at, etc., etc. All the windows in the towers are moulded, -and have stone jambs, each being crowned with label mouldings. The -whole house covers an area of 21,850 feet. - -For farther particulars, wait till the house is done, then come and see -it. - - (Signed), TRUMAN O. ANGELL, _Architect_. - - -III. THE MARTYRDOM OF JOSEPH SMITH. - -BY APOSTLE JOHN TAYLOR. - -Being requested by George A. Smith and Willford Woodruff, Church -historians, to write an account of events that transpired before and -took place at the time of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, in Carthage -jail, in Hancock County, State of Illinois, I write the following -principally from memory, not having access to any public documents -relative thereto farther than a few desultory items contained in Ford’s -“History of Illinois.” I must also acknowledge myself considerably -indebted to George A. Smith, who was with me when I wrote it, and -who, although not there at the time of the bloody transaction, yet -from conversing with several persons who were in the capacity of -Church historians, and aided by an excellent memory, has rendered me a -considerable service. These and the few items contained in the notes -at the end of this account is all the aid I have had. I would farther -add that the items contained in the letter, in relation to dates -especially, may be considered strictly correct. - -After having written the whole, I read it over to the Hon. J. M. -Bernhisel, who, with one or two slight alterations, pronounced it -strictly correct. Brother Bernhisel was present most of the time. I -am afraid that, from the length of time that has transpired since the -occurrence, and having to rely almost exclusively on my memory, there -may be some slight inaccuracies, but I believe that in the general -it is strictly correct; as I figured in those transactions from the -commencement to the end, they left no slight impression on my mind. - -In the year 1844, a very great excitement prevailed in some parts -of the counties of Hancock, Brown, and other neighboring counties, -in relation to the “Mormons,” and a spirit of vindictive hatred and -persecution was exhibited among the people, which was manifested in the -most bitter and acrimonious language, as well as by acts of hostility -and violence, frequently threatening the destruction of the citizens -of Nauvoo and vicinity, and utter annihilation of the “Mormons” and -“Mormonism,” and in some instances breaking out in the most violent -acts of ruffianly barbarity; persons were kidnapped, whipped, -prosecuted, and falsely accused of various crimes; their cattle and -houses injured, destroyed, or stolen; vexatious prosecutions were -instituted to vex, harass, and annoy. In some remote neighborhoods they -were expelled from their homes without redress, and in others violence -was threatened to their persons and property, while in others every -kind of insult and indignity was heaped upon them, to induce them to -abandon their homes, the county, or the state. - -These annoyances, prosecutions, and persecutions were instigated -through different agencies and by various classes of men, actuated by -different motives, but all uniting in the one object, prosecution, -persecution, and extermination of the Saints. - -There were a number of wicked and corrupt men living in Nauvoo and -its vicinity who had belonged to the Church, but whose conduct was -incompatible with the Gospel; they were accordingly dealt with by the -Church and severed from its communion; some of these had been prominent -members, and held official stations either in the city or Church. Among -these was John C. Bennett, formerly Mayor; William Law, Councilor to -Joseph Smith; Wilson Law, his natural brother, and general in the -Nauvoo Legion; Dr. R. D. Foster, a man of some property, but with a -very bad reputation; Francis and Chauncey Higbee, the latter a young -lawyer, and both sons of a respectable and honored man in the Church, -known as Judge Elias Higbee, who died about twelve months before. - -Besides these, there were a great many apostates, both in the city and -country, of less notoriety, who, for their delinquencies, had been -expelled from the Church. John C. Bennett and Francis and Chauncey -Higbee were cut off from the Church; the former was also cashiered from -his generalship for the most flagrant acts of seduction and adultery; -and such was the scandalous nature of the developments in their cases, -that the high council before whom they were tried had to sit with -closed doors. - -William Law, although councilor to Joseph, was found to be his most -bitter foe and maligner, and to hold intercourse, contrary to all -law, in his own house, with a young lady resident with him, and it -was afterward proved that he had conspired with some Missourians to -take Joseph Smith’s life, and was only saved by Josiah Arnold, who, -being on guard at his house, prevented the assassins from seeing him. -Yet, although having murder in his heart, his manners were generally -courteous and mild, and he was well calculated to deceive. - -General Wilson Law was cut off from the Church for seduction, -falsehood, and defamation; both the above were also court-martialed by -the Nauvoo Legion and expelled. Foster was also cut off, I believe, for -dishonesty, fraud, and falsehood. I know he was eminently guilty of -the whole, but whether these were the specific charges or not, I don’t -know, but I do know that he was a notoriously wicked and corrupt man. - -Besides the above characters and “Mormonic” apostates, there were -other three parties. The first of these may be called religionists, -the second politicians, and the third counterfeiters, blacklegs, -horse-thieves, and cut-throats. - -The religious party were chagrined and maddened because “Mormonism” -came in contact with their religion, and they could not oppose it -from the Scriptures; and thus, like the ancient Jews, when enraged -at the exhibition of their follies and hypocrisies by Jesus and his -apostles, so these were infuriated against the Mormons because of their -discomfiture by them; and instead of owning the truth and rejoicing -in it, they were ready to gnash upon them with their teeth, and to -persecute the believers in principles which they could not disprove. - -The political party were those who were of opposite politics to us. -There were always two parties, the Whigs and Democrats, and we could -not vote for one without offending the other; and it not unfrequently -happened that candidates for office would place the issue of their -election upon opposition to the “Mormons,” in order to gain political -influence from religious prejudice, in which case the “Mormons” were -compelled, in self-defense, to vote against them, which resulted almost -invariably against our opponents. This made them angry; and, although -it was of their own making, and the “Mormons” could not be expected -to do otherwise, yet they raged on account of their discomfiture, and -sought to wreak their fury on the “Mormons.” As an instance of the -above, when Joseph Duncan was candidate for the office of Governor of -Illinois, he pledged himself to his party that, if he could be elected, -he would exterminate or drive the “Mormons” from the state.[234] The -consequence was that Governor Ford was elected. The Whigs, seeing that -they had been outgeneraled by the Democrats in securing the “Mormon” -vote, became seriously alarmed, and sought to repair their disaster -by raising a kind of crusade against that people. The Whig newspapers -teemed with accounts of the wonders and enormities of Nauvoo, and of -the awful wickedness of a party which could consent to receive the -support of such miscreants. Governor Duncan, who was really a brave, -honest man, and who had nothing to do with getting the “Mormon” -charters passed through the Legislature, took the stump on this subject -in good earnest, and expected to be elected governor almost on this -question alone. The third party, composed of counterfeiters, blacklegs, -horse-thieves, and cut-throats, were a pack of scoundrels that infested -the whole of the Western country at that time. In some districts -their influence was so great as to control important state and county -offices. On this subject Governor Ford says the following: - - [234] See his remarks as contained in his History of Illinois, p. 269. - -“Then, again, the northern part of the state was not destitute -of its organized bands of rogues, engaged in murders, robberies, -horse-stealing, and in making and passing counterfeit money. These -rogues were scattered all over the north, but the most of them were -located in the counties of Ogle, Winnebago, Lee, and De Kalb. - -“In the county of Ogle they were so numerous, strong, and well -organized that they could not be convicted for their crimes. By getting -some of their numbers on the juries, by producing a host of witnesses -to sustain their defense by perjured evidence, and by changing the -venue of one county to another, by continuances from term to term, and -by the inability of witnesses to attend from time to time at distant -and foreign counties, they most generally managed to be acquitted.”[235] - - [235] Ford’s History of Illinois, p. 246. - -There was a combination of horse-thieves extending from Galena to -Alton. There were counterfeiters engaged in merchandising, trading, -and store-keeping in most of the cities and villages, and in some -districts, I have been credibly informed by men to whom they have -disclosed their secrets, the judges, sheriffs, constables, and jailers, -as well as professional men, were more or less associated with them. -These had in their employ the most reckless, abandoned wretches, who -stood ready to carry into effect the most desperate enterprises, -and were careless alike of human life and property. Their object in -persecuting the “Mormons” was in part to cover their own rascality, and -in part to prevent them from exposing and prosecuting them; but the -principal reason was plunder, believing that if they could be removed -or driven they would be made fat on Mormon spoils, besides having in -the deserted city a good asylum for the prosecution of their diabolical -pursuits. - -This conglomeration of apostate Mormons, religious bigots, political -fanatics, and combination of blacklegs, all united their forces against -the “Mormons,” and organized themselves into a party, denominated -“anti-Mormons.” Some of them, we have reason to believe, joined the -Church in order to cover their nefarious practices, and when they were -expelled for their unrighteousness only raged with greater violence. -They circulated every kind of falsehood that they could collect or -manufacture against the Mormons. They also had a paper to assist them -in their propagations called the “Warsaw Signal,” edited by a Mr. -Thomas Sharp, a violent and unprincipled man, who shrunk not from -any enormity. The anti-Mormons had public meetings, which were very -numerously attended, where they passed resolutions of the most violent -and inflammatory kind, threatening to drive, expel, and exterminate the -“Mormons” from the state, at the same time accusing them of all the -vocabulary of crime. - -They appointed their meetings in various parts of Hancock, M‘Donough, -and other counties, which soon resulted in the organization of -armed mobs, under the direction of officers who reported to their -head-quarters, and the reports of which were published in the -anti-Mormon paper, and circulated through the adjoining counties. We -also published in the “Times and Seasons” and the “Nauvoo Neighbor” -(two papers published and edited by me at that time) an account, not -only of their proceedings, but our own. But such was the hostile -feeling, so well arranged their plans, and so desperate and lawless -their measures, that it was with the greatest difficulty that we could -get our papers circulated; they were destroyed by postmasters and -others, and scarcely ever arrived at the place of their destination, -so that a great many of the people, who would have been otherwise -peaceable, were excited by their misrepresentations, and instigated to -join their hostile or predatory bands. - -Emboldened by the acts of those outside, the apostate “Mormons,” -associated with others, commenced the publication of a libelous paper -in Nauvoo, called the “Nauvoo Expositor.” This paper not only reprinted -from the others, but put in circulation the most libelous, false, and -infamous reports concerning the citizens of Nauvoo, and especially -the ladies. It was, however, no sooner put in circulation than the -indignation of the whole community was aroused; so much so, that they -threatened its annihilation; and I do not believe that in any other -city in the United States, if the same charge had been made against the -citizens, it would have been permitted to remain one day. As it was -among us, under these circumstances, it was thought best to convene the -City Council to take into consideration the adoption of some measures -for its removal, as it was deemed better that this should be done -legally than illegally. Joseph Smith, therefore, who was then mayor, -convened the City Council for that purpose; the paper was introduced -and read, and the subject examined. All, or nearly all present, -expressed their indignation at the course taken by the “Expositor,” -which was owned by some of the aforesaid apostates, associated with one -or two others: Wilson Law, Dr. Foster, Charles Ivins, and the Higbees -before referred to, some lawyers, store-keepers, and others in Nauvoo -who were not “Mormons,” together with the “anti-Mormons” outside of -the city, sustained it. The calculation was, by false statements, to -unsettle the minds of many in the city, and to form combinations there -similar to the anti-Mormon associations outside of the city. Various -attempts had therefore been made by the party to annoy and irritate -the citizens of Nauvoo; false accusations had been made, vexatious -lawsuits instituted, threats made, and various devices resorted to -to influence the public mind, and, if possible, to induce us to the -commission of some overt act that might make us amenable to the law. -With a perfect knowledge, therefore, of the designs of these infernal -scoundrels who were in our midst, as well as of those who surrounded -us, the City Council entered upon an investigation of the matter. -They felt that they were in a critical position, and that any move -made for the abating of that press would be looked upon, or at least -represented, as a direct attack upon the liberty of speech, and that, -so far from displeasing our enemies, it would be looked upon by them as -one of the best circumstances that could transpire to assist them in -their nefarious and bloody designs. Being a member of the City Council, -I well remember the feeling of responsibility that seemed to rest upon -all present; nor shall I soon forget the bold, manly, independent -expressions of Joseph Smith on that occasion in relation to this -matter. He exhibited in glowing colors the meanness, corruption, and -ultimate designs of the “anti-Mormons;” their despicable characters and -ungodly influences, especially of those who were in our midst; he told -of the responsibility that rested upon us, as guardians of the public -interest, to stand up in the defense of the injured and oppressed, to -stem the current of corruption, and, as men and saints, to put a stop -to this flagrant outrage upon this people’s rights. He stated that no -man was a stronger advocate for the liberty of speech and of the press -than himself; yet, when this noble gift is utterly prostituted and -abused, as in the present instance, it loses all claim to our respect, -and becomes as great an agent for evil as it can possibly be for good; -and notwithstanding the apparent advantage we should give our enemies -by this act, yet it behooved us, as men, to act independent of all -secondary influences, to perform the part of men of enlarged minds, -and boldly and fearlessly to discharge the duties devolving upon us -by declaring as a nuisance, and removing this filthy, libelous, and -seditious sheet from our midst. - -The subject was discussed in various forms, and after the remarks made -by the mayor, every one seemed to be waiting for some one else to -speak. After a considerable pause, I arose and expressed my feelings -frankly, as Joseph had done, and numbers of others followed in the same -strain; and I think, but am not certain, that I made a motion for the -removal of that press as a nuisance. This motion was finally put, and -carried by all but one; and he conceded that the measure was just, but -abstained through fear. - -Several members of the City Council were not in the Church. The -following is the bill referred to: - - _Bill for Removing of the Press of the “Nauvoo Expositor.”_[236] - - “Resolved by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, that the - printing-office from whence issues the ‘Nauvoo Expositor’ is a public - nuisance; and also all of said ‘Nauvoo Expositors’ which may be or - exist in said establishment; and the mayor is instructed to cause - said establishment and papers to be removed without delay, in such - manner as he shall direct. - - “Passed June 10th, 1844. - - GEO. W. HARRIS, President _pro tem._ - “W. RICHARDS, Recorder.” - - [236] Des. News, No. 29, Sept. 23, 1857, p. 226. - -After the passage of the bill, the marshal, John P. Green, was ordered -to abate or remove, which he forthwith proceeded to do by summoning a -posse of men for that purpose. The press was removed or broken, I don’t -remember which, by the marshal, and the types scattered in the street. - -This seemed to be one of those extreme cases that require extreme -measures, as the press was still proceeding in its inflammatory course. -It was feared that, as it was almost universally execrated, should it -continue longer, an indignant people might commit some overt act which -might lead to serious consequences, and that it was better to use legal -than illegal means. - -This, as was foreseen, was the very course our enemies wished us to -pursue, as it afforded them an opportunity of circulating a very -plausible story about the “Mormons” being opposed to the liberty of the -press and of free speech, which they were not slow to avail themselves -of. Stories were fabricated, and facts perverted; false statements -were made, and this act brought in as an example to sustain the whole -of their fabrications; and, as if inspired by Satan, they labored -with an energy and zeal worthy of a better cause. They had runners -to circulate their reports, not only through Hancock Co., but in all -the surrounding counties; these reports were communicated to their -“anti-Mormon” societies, and these societies circulated them in their -several districts. The “anti-Mormon” paper, the “Warsaw Signal,” was -filled with inflammatory articles and misrepresentations in relation -to us, and especially to this act of destroying the press. We were -represented as a horde of lawless ruffians and brigands, anti-American -and anti-republican, steeped in crime and iniquity, opposed to freedom -of speech and of the press, and all the rights and immunities of a free -and enlightened people; that neither persons nor property were secure; -that we had designs upon the citizens of Illinois and of the United -States, and the people were called upon to rise _en masse_, and put us -down, drive us away, or exterminate us as a pest to society, and alike -dangerous to our neighbors, the state, and commonwealth. - -These statements were extensively copied and circulated throughout the -United States. A true statement of the facts in question was published -by us both in the “Times and Seasons” and the “Nauvoo Neighbor,” but it -was found impossible to circulate them in the immediate counties, as -they were destroyed at the post-offices or otherwise by the agents of -the anti-Mormons, and, in order to get the mail to go abroad, I had to -send the papers a distance of thirty or forty miles from Nauvoo, and -sometimes to St. Louis (upward of two hundred miles), to insure its -proceeding on its route, and then one half or two thirds of the papers -never reached the place of destination, being intercepted or destroyed -by our enemies. - -These false reports stirred up the community around, of whom many, on -account of religious prejudice, were easily instigated to join the -“anti-Mormons,” and embark in any crusade that might be undertaken -against the “Mormons;” hence their ranks swelled in numbers, and new -organizations were formed, meetings were held, resolutions passed, and -men and means volunteered for the extirpation of the “Mormons.” - -These also were the active men in blowing up the fury of the people, -in hopes that a popular movement might be set on foot, which would -result in the expulsion or extermination of the “Mormon” voters. For -this purpose public meetings had been called, inflammatory speeches -had been made, exaggerated reports had been extensively circulated, -committees had been appointed, who rode night and day to spread the -reports and solicit the aid of neighboring counties, and at a public -meeting at Warsaw resolutions were passed to expel or exterminate -the “Mormon” population. This was not, however, a movement which was -unanimously concurred in. The county contained a goodly number of -inhabitants in favor of peace, or who at least desired to be neutral in -such a contest. These were stigmatized by the name of “Jack Mormons,” -and there were not a few of the more furious exciters of the people -who openly expressed their intention to involve them in the common -expulsion or extermination. - -A system of excitement and agitation was artfully planned and executed -with tact. It consisted in spreading reports and rumors of the most -fearful character. As examples: On the morning before my arrival at -Carthage I was awakened at an early hour by the frightful report, which -was asserted with confidence and apparent consternation, that the -“Mormons” had already commenced the work of burning, destruction, and -murder, and that every man capable of bearing arms was instantly wanted -at Carthage for the protection of the county. - -We lost no time in starting; but when we arrived at Carthage we could -hear no more concerning this story. Again, during the few days that -the militia were encamped at Carthage, frequent applications were made -to me to send a force here, and a force there, and a force all about -the country, to prevent murders, robberies, and larcenies which, it -was said, were threatened by the “Mormons.” No such forces were sent, -nor were any such offenses committed at that time, except the stealing -of some provisions, and there was never the least proof that this was -done by a “Mormon.” Again, on my late visit to Hancock County, I was -informed by some of their violent enemies that the larcenies of the -“Mormons” had become unusually numerous and insufferable. They admitted -that but little had been done in this way in their immediate vicinity, -but they insisted that sixteen horses had been stolen by the “Mormons” -in one night near Lima, and, upon inquiry, was told that no horses -had been stolen in that neighborhood, but that sixteen horses had -been stolen in one night in Hancock County. This last informant being -told of the Hancock story, again changed the venue to another distant -settlement in the northern edge of Adams.[237] - - [237] Ford’s History of Illinois, p. 330, 331. - -In the mean time legal proceedings were instituted against the members -of the City Council of Nauvoo. A writ, here subjoined, was issued upon -the affidavit of the Laws, Foster, Higbees, and Ivins, by Mr. Morrison, -a justice of the peace in Carthage, the county seat of Hancock, and put -into the hands of one David Bettesworth, a constable of the same place. - - _Writ issued upon affidavit by Thomas Morrison, J. P., State of - Illinois, Hancock County, ss._ - - “The people of the State of Illinois, to all constables, sheriffs, - and coroners of said state, greeting: - - “Whereas complaint hath been made before me, one of the justices - of the peace in and for the County of Hancock aforesaid, upon the - oath of Francis M. Higbee, of said county, that Joseph Smith, Samuel - Bennett, John Taylor, William W. Phelps, Hyrum Smith, John P. Green, - Stephen Perry, Dimick B. Huntington, Jonathan Dunham, Stephen - Markham, William Edwards, Jonathan Holmes, Jesse P. Harmon, John - Lytle, Joseph W. Coolidge, Harvey D. Redfield, Porter Rockwell, and - Levi Richards, of said county, did, on the 10th day of June instant, - commit a riot at and within the county aforesaid, wherein they with - force and violence broke into the printing-office of the ‘Nauvoo - Expositor,’ and unlawfully and with force burned and destroyed the - printing-press, type, and fixtures of the same, being the property of - William Law, Wilson Law, Charles Ivins, Francis M. Higbee, Chauncey - L. Higbee, Robert D. Foster, and Charles A. Foster. - - “These are therefore to command you forthwith to apprehend the said - Joseph Smith, Samuel Bennett, John Taylor, William W. Phelps, Hyrum - Smith, John P. Green, Stephen Perry, Dimick B. Huntington, Jonathan - Dunham, Stephen Markham, William Edwards, Jonathan Holmes, Jesse P. - Harmon, John Lytle, Joseph W. Coolidge, Harvey D. Redfield, Porter - Rockwell, and Levi Richards, and bring them before me, or some other - justice of the peace, to answer the premises, and farther to be dealt - with according to law. - - “Given under my hand and seal at Carthage, in the county aforesaid, - this 11th day of June, A.D. 1844. - - THOMAS MORRISON, J. P.” (Seal.)[238] - - [238] Des. News, No. 30, Sept. 30, 1857, p. 233. - -The council refused not to attend to the legal proceedings in the -case, but, as the law of Illinois made it the privilege of the persons -accused to go “or appear before the issuer of the writ, or any -other justice of peace,” they requested to be taken before another -magistrate, either in the city of Nauvoo or at any reasonable distance -out of it. - -This the constable, who was a mobocrat, refused to do; and as this -was our legal privilege, we refused to be dragged, contrary to law, -a distance of eighteen miles, when at the same time we had reason to -believe that an organized band of mobocrats were assembled for the -purpose of extermination or murder, and among whom it would not be safe -to go without a superior force of armed men. A writ of habeas corpus -was called for, and issued by the municipal court of Nauvoo, taking us -out of the hands of Bettesworth, and placing us in the charge of the -city marshal. We went before the municipal court, and were dismissed. -Our refusal to obey this illegal proceeding was by them construed into -a refusal to submit to law, and circulated as such, and the people -either did believe, or professed to believe, that we were in open -rebellion against the laws and the authorities of the state. Hence mobs -began to assemble, among which all through the country inflammatory -speeches were made, exciting them to mobocracy and violence. Soon they -commenced their prosecutions of our outside settlements, kidnapping -some, and whipping and otherwise abusing others. - -The persons thus abused fled to Nauvoo as soon as practicable, and -related their injuries to Joseph Smith, then mayor of the city, -and lieutenant general of the Nauvoo Legion; they also went before -magistrates, and made affidavits of what they had suffered, seen, -and heard. These affidavits, in connection with a copy of all our -proceedings, were forwarded by Joseph Smith to Mr. Ford, then Governor -of Illinois, with an expression of our desire to abide law, and a -request that the governor would instruct him how to proceed in the case -of the arrival of an armed mob against the city. The governor sent back -instructions to Joseph Smith that, as he was lieutenant general of the -Nauvoo Legion, it was his duty to protect the city and surrounding -country, and issued orders to that effect. Upon the reception of these -orders Joseph Smith assembled the people of the city, and laid before -them the governor’s instructions; he also convened the officers of the -Nauvoo Legion for the purpose of conferring in relation to the best -mode of defense. He also issued orders to the men to hold themselves in -readiness in case of being called upon. On the following day General -Joseph Smith, with his staff, the leading officers of the Legion, and -some prominent strangers who were in our midst, made a survey of the -outside boundaries of the city, which was very extensive, being about -five miles up and down the river, and about two and a half back in the -centre, for the purpose of ascertaining the position of the ground, and -the feasibility of defense, and to make all necessary arrangements in -case of an attack. - -It may be well here to remark that numbers of gentlemen, who were to -us strangers, either came on purpose or were passing through Nauvoo, -who, upon learning the position of things, expressed their indignation -against our enemies, and avowed their readiness to assist us by -their council or otherwise; it was some of these who assisted us in -reconnoitering the city, and finding out its adaptability for defense, -and the best mode of protection against an armed force. The Legion was -called together and drilled, and every means made use of for defense; -at the call of the officers both old and young men came forward, both -denizens from the city and from the outside regions, and I believe at -one time they mustered to the number of about five thousand. - -In the mean time our enemies were not idle in mustering their forces -and committing depredations, nor had they been; it was, in fact, their -gathering that called ours into existence; their forces continued to -accumulate; they assumed a threatening attitude, and assembled in large -bodies, armed and equipped for war, and threatened the destruction -and extermination of the “Mormons.” An account of their outrages and -assemblages was forwarded to Governor Ford almost daily, accompanied -by affidavits furnished by eyewitnesses of their proceedings. Persons -were also sent out to the counties around with pacific intentions, to -give them an account of the true state of affairs, and to notify them -of the feelings and dispositions of the people of Nauvoo, and thus, if -possible, quell the excitement. In some of the more distant counties -these men were very successful, and produced a salutary influence upon -the minds of many intelligent and well-disposed men. In neighboring -counties, however, where “anti-Mormon” influence prevailed, they -produced little effect. At the same time, guards were stationed around -Nauvoo, and picket-guards in the distance. At length opposing forces -gathered so near that more active measures were taken; reconnoitering -parties were sent out, and the city proclaimed under martial law. -Things now assumed a belligerent attitude, and persons passing through -the city were questioned as to what they knew of the enemy, while -passes were in some instances given to avoid difficulty with the -guards. Joseph Smith continued to send on messengers to the governor -(Philip B. Lewis and other messengers were sent). Samuel James, then -residing at La Harpe, carried a message and dispatches to him, and in -a day or two after Bishop Edward Hunter and others went again with -fresh dispatches, representations, affidavits, and instructions; -but as the weather was excessively wet, the rivers swollen, and the -bridges washed away in many places, it was with great difficulty -that they proceeded on their journeys. As the mobocracy had at last -attracted the governor’s attention, he started in company with some -others from Springfield to the scene of trouble, and missed, I believe, -both Brothers James and Hunter on the road, and of course did not see -their documents. He came to Carthage, and made that place, which was a -regular mobocratic den, his head-quarters; as it was the county-seat, -however, of Hancock County, that circumstance might, in a measure, -justify his staying there. - -To avoid the appearance of all hostility on our part, and to fulfill -the law in every particular, at the suggestion of Judge Thomas, judge -of that judicial district, who had come to Nauvoo at the time, and who -stated that we had fulfilled the law, but, in order to satisfy all, he -would counsel us to go before Esquire Wells,[239] who was not in our -Church, and have a hearing. We did so, and after a full hearing we were -again dismissed. - - [239] Now a member of the First Presidency.--Ed. - -The governor on the road collected forces, some of whom were -respectable; but on his arrival in the neighborhood of the difficulties -he received as militia all the companies of the mob forces who united -with him. After his arrival at Carthage he sent two gentlemen from -there to Nauvoo as a committee to wait upon General Joseph Smith, -informing him of the arrival of his excellency, with a request that -General Smith would send out a committee to wait upon the governor and -represent to him the state of affairs in relation to the difficulties -that then existed in the county. We met this committee while we were -reconnoitering the city, to find out the best mode of defense as -aforesaid. Dr. J. M. Bernhisel and myself were appointed as a committee -by General Smith to wait upon the governor. Previous to going, however, -we were furnished with affidavits and documents in relation both to our -proceedings and those of the mob; in addition to the general history of -the transaction, we took with us a duplicate of those documents which -had been forwarded by Bishop Hunter, Brother James, and others. We -started from Carthage in company with the aforesaid gentleman at about -7 o’clock on the evening of the 21st of June, and arrived at Carthage -at about 11 P.M. We put up at the same hotel with the governor, kept by -a Mr. Hamilton; on our arrival we found the governor in bed, but not so -with the other inhabitants. The town was filled with a perfect set of -rabble and rowdies, who, under the influence of Bacchus, seemed to be -holding a grand saturnalia, whooping, yelling, and vociferating as if -Bedlam had broken loose. - -On our arrival at the hotel, and while supper was preparing, a man came -to me, dressed as a soldier, and told me that a man named David Carn -had just been taken prisoner, and was about to be committed to jail, -and wanted me to go bail for him. Believing this to be a ruse to get me -out alone, and that some violence was intended, after consulting with -Dr. Bernhisel, I told the men that I was well acquainted with Mr. Carn, -that I knew him to be a gentleman, and did not believe that he had -transgressed law, and, moreover, that I considered it a very singular -time to be holding courts and calling for security, particularly as the -town was full of rowdyism. - -I informed him that both Dr. Bernhisel and myself would, if necessary, -go bail for him in the morning, but that we did not feel ourselves safe -among such a set at that late hour of the night. - -After supper, on retiring to our room, we had to pass through another, -which was separated from ours only by a board partition, the beds in -each room being placed side by side, with the exception of this fragile -partition. On the bed that was in the room which we passed through I -discovered a man by the name of Jackson, a desperate character, and -a reputed, notorious cut-throat and murderer. I hinted to the doctor -that things looked rather suspicious, and looked to see that my arms -were in order. The doctor and I both occupied one bed. We had scarcely -laid down when a knock at the door, accompanied by a voice, announced -the approach of Chauncey Higbee, the young lawyer and apostate before -referred to. - -He addressed himself to the doctor, and stated that the object of -his visit was to obtain the release of Daniel Carn; that Carn he -believed to be an honest man; that if he had done any thing wrong, it -was through improper counsel, and that it was a pity that he should -be incarcerated, particularly when he could be so easily released; -he urged the doctor, as a friend, not to leave so good a man in such -an unpleasant situation; he finally prevailed upon the doctor to go -and give bail, assuring him that on his giving bail Carn would be -immediately dismissed. - -During this conversation I did not say a word. Higbee left the doctor -to dress, with the intention of returning and taking him to the court. -As soon as Higbee had left, I told the doctor that he had better not -go; that I believed this affair was all a ruse to get us separated; -that they knew we had documents with us from General Smith to show -to the governor; that I believed their object was to get possession -of those papers, and, perhaps, when they had separated us, to murder -one or both. The doctor, who was actuated by the best of motives in -yielding to the assumed solicitude of Higbee, coincided with my views; -he then went to Higbee, and told him that he had concluded not to go -that night, but that he and I would both wait upon the justice and Mr. -Carn in the morning. - -That night I lay awake with my pistols under my pillow, waiting for any -emergency. Nothing more occurred during the night. In the morning we -arose early, and after breakfast sought an interview with the governor, -and were told that we could have an audience, I think, at 10 o’clock. -In the mean time we called upon Mr. Smith, a Justice of the Peace, who -had Mr. Carn in charge. We represented that we had been called upon -the night before by two different parties to go bail for a Mr. Daniel -Carn, whom we were informed he had in custody, and that, believing Mr. -Carn to be an honest man, we had come now for that purpose, and were -prepared to enter into recognizances for his appearance, whereupon Mr. -Smith, the magistrate, remarked “that, under the present excited state -of affairs, he did not think he would be justified in receiving bail -from Nauvoo, as it was a matter of doubt whether property would not be -rendered valueless there in a few days.” - -Knowing the party we had to deal with, we were not much surprised at -this singular proceeding; we then remarked that both of us possessed -property in farms out of Nauvoo in the country, and referred him to -the county records. He then stated that such was the nature of the -charge against Mr. Carn that he believed he would not be justified in -receiving any bail. We were thus confirmed in our opinion that the -night’s proceedings before, in relation to their desire to have us give -bail, was a mere ruse to separate us. We were not permitted to speak -with Carn, the real charge against whom was that he was traveling in -Carthage or its neighborhood; what the fictitious one was, if I then -knew, I have since forgotten, as things of this kind were of daily -occurrence. - -After waiting the governor’s pleasure for some time we had an audience; -but such an audience! He was surrounded by some of the vilest and -most unprincipled men in creation; some of them had an appearance of -respectability, and many of them lacked even that. Wilson, and, I -believe, William Law, were there, Foster, Frank and Chauncey Higbee, -Mr. Mar, a lawyer from Nauvoo, a mobocratic merchant from Warsaw, the -aforesaid Jackson, a number of his associates, among whom was the -governor’s secretary, in all some fifteen or twenty persons, most of -whom were recreant to virtue, honor, integrity, and every thing that -is considered honorable among men. I can well remember the feelings -of disgust that I had in seeing the governor surrounded by such an -infamous group, and on being introduced to men of so questionable a -character; and had I been on private business, I should have turned to -depart, and told the governor that if he thought proper to associate -with such questionable characters, I should beg leave to be excused; -but coming as we did on public business, we could not, of course, -consult our private feelings. - -We then stated to the governor that, in accordance with his request, -General Smith had, in response to his call, sent us to him as a -committee of conference; that we were acquainted with most of the -circumstances that had transpired in and about Nauvoo lately, and were -prepared to give him all information; that, moreover, we had in our -possession testimony and affidavits confirmatory of what we should -say, which had been forwarded to him by General Joseph Smith; that -communications had been forwarded to his excellency by Mr. Hunter, -James, and others, some of which had not reached their destination, -but of which we had duplicates with us. We then, in brief, related an -outline of the difficulties, and the course we had pursued from the -commencement of the troubles up to the present, and handing him the -documents, respectfully submitted the whole. During our conversation -and explanations with the governor we were frequently rudely and -impudently contradicted by the fellows he had around him, and of whom -he seemed to take no notice. - -He opened and read a number of the documents himself, and as he -proceeded he was frequently interrupted by “that’s a lie,” “that’s a -God damned lie,” “that’s an infernal falsehood,” “that’s a blasted -lie,” etc. - -These men evidently winced at an exposure of their acts, and thus -vulgarly, impudently, and falsely repudiated them. One of their -number, Mr. Mar, addressed himself several times to me while in -conversation with the governor. I did not notice him until after a -frequent repetition of his insolence, when I informed him “that my -business at that time was with Governor Ford,” whereupon I continued my -conversation with his excellency. During the conversation the governor -expressed a desire that Joseph Smith, and all parties concerned in -passing or executing the city law in relation to the press, had better -come to Carthage; that, however repugnant it might be to our feelings, -he thought it would have a tendency to allay public excitement, and -prove to the people what we professed, that we wished to be governed -by law. We represented to him the course he had taken in relation to -this matter, and our willingness to go before another magistrate other -than the Municipal Court; the illegal refusal of our request by the -constable; our dismissal by the Municipal Court, a legally constituted -tribunal; our subsequent trial before Squire Wells at the instance of -Judge Thomas (the circuit judge), and our dismissal by him; that we had -fulfilled the law in every particular; that it was our enemies who were -breaking the law, and, having murderous designs, were only making use -of this as a pretext to get us into their power. The governor stated -that the people viewed it differently, and that, notwithstanding our -opinions, he would recommend that the people should be satisfied. We -then remarked to him that, should Joseph Smith comply with his request, -it would be extremely unsafe, in the present excited state of the -country, to come without an armed force; that we had a sufficiency -of men, and were competent to defend ourselves, but that there might -be danger of collision should our forces and that of our enemies be -brought into such close proximity. He strenuously advised us not to -bring any arms, and _pledged his faith as governor, and the faith of -the state, that we should be protected, and that he would guarantee our -perfect safety_. - -We had at that time about five thousand men under arms, one thousand of -which would have been amply sufficient for our protection. - -At the termination of our interview, and previous to our withdrawal, -after a long conversation and the perusal of the documents which we -had brought, the governor informed us that he would prepare a written -communication for General Joseph Smith, which he desired us to wait -for. We were kept waiting for this instrument some five or six hours. - -About 5 o’clock in the afternoon we took our departure with not the -most pleasant feelings. The associations of the governor, the spirit -that he manifested to compromise with these scoundrels, the length of -time that he had kept us waiting, and his general deportment, together -with the infernal spirit that we saw exhibited by those whom he had -admitted to his councils, made the prospect any thing but promising. - -We returned on horseback, and arrived at Nauvoo, I think, at about 8 -or 9 o’clock at night, accompanied by Captain Yates in command of a -company of mounted men, who came for the purpose of escorting Joseph -Smith and the accused in case of their complying with the governor’s -request, and going to Carthage. We went directly to Brother Joseph’s, -when Captain Yates delivered to him the governor’s communication. A -council was called consisting of Joseph’s brother Hyrum, Dr. Richards, -Dr. Bernhisel, myself, and one or two others, when the following letter -was read from the governor: - - _Governor Ford’s Letter to the Mayor and Common Council of Nauvoo._ - - “Head Quarters, Carthage, June 21st, 1844. - - “To the Hon. the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Nauvoo: - - “GENTLEMEN,--Having heard of the excitement in this part of the - country, and judging that my presence here might be necessary to - preserve the peace and enforce the laws, I arrived at this place - this morning. Both before and since my arrival, complaints of a - grave character have been made to me of certain proceedings of your - honorable body. As chief magistrate, it is my duty to see that - impartial justice shall be done, uninfluenced by the excitement here - or in your city. - - “I think, before any decisive measure shall be adopted, that I ought - to hear the allegations and defenses of all parties. By adopting this - course I have some hope that the evils of war may be averted; and, at - any rate, I will be enabled by it to understand the true merits of - the present difficulties, and shape my course with reference to law - and justice. - - “For these reasons, I have to request that you will send out to me, - at this place, one or more well-informed and discreet persons, who - will be capable of laying before me your version of the matter, and - of receiving from me such explanations and resolutions as may be - determined on. - - “Colonel Elam S. Freeman will present you this note in the character - of a herald from the governor. You will respect his character as - such, and permit him to pass and repass free from molestation. - - “Your messengers are assured of protection in person and property, - and will be returned to you in safety. - - “I am, gentlemen, with high considerations, most respectfully your - obedient servant, - - THOMAS FORD, Governor and Commander-in-Chief.”[240] - - [240] Des. News, No. 33, Oct. 21, 1857, p. 257. - -We then gave a detail of our interview with the governor. Brother -Joseph was very much dissatisfied with the governor’s letter and with -his general deportment, and so were the council, and it became a -serious question as to the course we should pursue. Various projects -were discussed, but nothing definitely decided upon for some time. In -the interim two gentlemen arrived; one of them, if not both, sons of -John C. Calhoun. They had come to Nauvoo, and were very anxious for -an interview with Brother Joseph. These gentlemen detained him for -some time; and as our council was held in Dr. Bernhisel’s room in the -Mansion House, the doctor lay down; and as it was now between 2 and 3 -o’clock in the morning, and I had had no rest on the previous night, I -was fatigued, and thinking that Brother Joseph might not return, I left -for home and rest. - -Being very much fatigued, I slept soundly, and was somewhat surprised -in the morning by Mrs. Thompson entering my room about 7 o’clock, and -exclaiming in surprise, “What, you here! the brethren have crossed the -river some time since.” “What brethren?” I asked. “Brother Joseph, and -Hyrum, and Brother Richards.” I immediately arose upon learning that -they had crossed the river, and did not intend to go to Carthage. I -called together a number of persons in whom I had confidence, and had -the type, stereotype plates, and most of the valuable things removed -from the printing-office, believing that, should the governor and his -force come to Nauvoo, the first thing they would do would be to burn -the printing-office, for I knew that they would be exasperated if -Brother Joseph went away. We had talked over these matters the night -before, but nothing was decided upon. It was Brother Joseph’s opinion -that, should we leave for a time, public excitement, which was then -so intense, would be allayed; that it would throw on the governor -the responsibility of keeping the peace; that, in the event of any -outrage, the onus would rest upon the governor, who was amply prepared -with troops, and could command all the forces of the state to preserve -order; and that the acts of his own men would be an overwhelming proof -of their seditious designs, not only to the governor, but to the -world. He moreover thought that, in the East, where he intended to go, -public opinion would be set right in relation to these matters, and -its expression would partially influence the West, and that, after the -first ebullition, things would assume a shape that would justify his -return. I made arrangements for crossing the river, and Brother Elias -Smith and Joseph Cain, who were both employed in the printing-office -with me, assisted all that lay in their power, together with Brother -Brower and several hands in the printing-office. As we could not find -out the exact whereabouts of Joseph and the brethren, I crossed the -river in a boat furnished by Brothers Cyrus H. Wheelock and Alfred -Bell; and after the removal of the things of the printing-office, -Joseph Cain brought the account-books to me, that we might make -arrangements for their adjustment; and Brother Elias Smith, cousin -to Brother Joseph, went to obtain money for the journey, and also to -find out and report to me the location of the brethren. As Cyrus H. -Wheelock was an active, enterprising man, and in the event of not -finding Brother Joseph I calculated to go to Upper Canada for the time -being, and should need a companion, I said to Brother Wheelock, “Can -you go with me ten or fifteen hundred miles?” He answered “Yes.” “Can -you start in half an hour?” “Yes.” However, I told him that he had -better see his family, who lived over the river, and prepare a couple -of horses and the necessary equipage for the journey, and that, if we -did not find Brother Joseph before, we would start at nightfall. A -laughable incident occurred on the eve of my departure. After making -all the preparations I could previous to leaving Nauvoo, and having -bid adieu to my family, I went to a house adjoining the river owned by -Brother Eddy. There I disguised myself so as not to be known, and so -effectually was the transformation that those who had come after me -with a boat did not know me. I went down to the boat and sat in it. -Brother Bell, thinking it was a stranger, watched my moves for some -time very impatiently, and then said to Brother Wheelock, “I wish that -old gentleman would go away; he has been pottering around the boat -for some time, and I am afraid Elder Taylor will be coming.” When he -discovered his mistake, he was not a little amused. I was conducted by -Brother Bell to a house that was surrounded by timber on the opposite -side of the river. There I spent several hours in a chamber with -Brother Joseph Cain, adjusting my accounts; and I made arrangements -for the stereotype plates of the “Book of Mormon,” and “Doctrine and -Covenants,” to be forwarded East, thinking to supply the company with -subsistence money through the sale of these books in the East. - -My horses were reported ready by Brother Wheelock, and funds on hand -by Brother Elias Smith. In about half an hour I should have started, -when Brother Elias Smith came to me with word that he had found the -brethren; that they had concluded to go to Carthage, and wished me to -return to Nauvoo and accompany them. I must confess that I felt a good -deal disappointed at this news, but I immediately made preparations -to go. Escorted by Brother Elias Smith, I and my party went to the -neighborhood of Montrose, where we met Brother Joseph, Hyrum, Brother -Richards, and others. Dr. Bernhisel thinks that W. W. Phelps was not -with Joseph and Hyrum in the morning, but that he met him, myself, -Joseph, and Hyrum, W. Richards, and Brother Calhoun, in the afternoon, -near Montrose, returning to Nauvoo. On meeting the brethren I learned -that it was not Brother Joseph’s desire to return, but that he came -back by request of some of the brethren, and that it coincided more -with Brother Hyrum’s feelings than with those of Brother Joseph. In -fact, after his return, Brother Hyrum expressed himself as perfectly -satisfied with the course taken, and said that he felt much more at -ease in his mind than he did before. On our return the calculation was -to throw ourselves under the immediate protection of the governor, and -to trust to his word and faith for our preservation. - -A message was, I believe, sent to the governor that night, stating that -we should come to Carthage in the morning, the party that came along -with us to escort us back, in case we returned to Carthage, having -returned. It would seem from the following remarks of General Ford that -there was a design on foot, which was, that if we refused to go to -Carthage at the governor’s request, there should be an increased force -called for by the governor, and that we should be destroyed by them. In -accordance with this project, Captain Yates returned with his posse, -accompanied by the constable who held the writ. The following is the -governor’s remark in relation to this affair: “The constable and his -escort returned. The constable made no effort to arrest any of them, -nor would he or the guard delay their departure one minute beyond the -time, to see whether an arrest could be made. Upon their return they -reported that they had been informed that the accused had fled, and -could not be found. I immediately proposed to a council of officers -to march into Nauvoo with the small force then under my command, but -the officers were of opinion that it was too small, and many of them -insisted upon a farther call of the militia. Upon reflection I was of -opinion that the officers were right in the estimate of our force, and -the project for immediate action was abandoned. I was soon informed, -however, of the conduct of constable and guard, and then I was -perfectly satisfied that a most base fraud had been attempted; that, -in fact, it was feared that the ‘Mormons’ would submit, and thereby -entitle themselves to the protection of the law. It was very apparent -that many of the bustling, active spirits were afraid that there would -be no occasion for calling out an overwhelming militia force, for -marching it into Nauvoo, for probable mutiny when there, and for the -extermination of the ‘Mormon’ race. It appeared that the constable -and the escort were fully in the secret, and acted well their part to -promote the conspiracy.”[241] - - [241] Ford’s History of Illinois, page 333. - -In the morning Brother Joseph had an interview with the officers of -the Legion, with the leading members of the City Council, and with -the principal men of the city. The officers were instructed to dismiss -their men, but to have them in a state of readiness to be called upon -in any emergency that might occur. - -About half past 6 o’clock the members of the City Council, the -marshal, Brothers Joseph and Hyrum, and a number of others, started -for Carthage, all on horseback. We were instructed by Brother Joseph -Smith not to take any arms, and we consequently left them behind. -We called at the house of Brother Fellows on our way out. Brother -Fellows lived about four miles from Carthage. While at Brother Fellows’ -house, Captain Dunn, accompanied by Mr. Coolie, one of the governor’s -aid-de-camps, came up from Carthage _en route_ for Nauvoo with a -requisition from the governor for the state arms. We all returned to -Nauvoo with them; the governor’s request was complied with, and, after -taking some refreshments, we all returned to proceed to Carthage. We -arrived there late in the night. A great deal of excitement prevailed -on and after our arrival. The governor had received into his company -all of the companies that had been in the mob; these fellows were -riotous and disorderly, hallooing, yelling, and whooping about the -streets like Indians, many of them intoxicated; the whole presented a -scene of rowdyism and low-bred ruffianism only found among mobocrats -and desperadoes, and entirely revolting to the best feelings of -humanity. The governor made a speech to them to the effect that he -would show Joseph and Hyrum Smith to them in the morning. About here -the companies with the governor were drawn up into line, and General -Demming, I think, took Joseph by the arm and Hyrum (Arnold says that -Joseph took the governor’s arm), and as he passed through between the -ranks, the governor leading in front, very politely introduced them as -General Joseph Smith and General Hyrum Smith.[242] All were orderly -and courteous except one company of mobocrats--the Carthage Grays--who -seemed to find fault on account of too much honor being paid to the -Mormons. There was afterward a row between the companies, and they came -pretty near having a fight; the more orderly not feeling disposed to -endorse or submit to the rowdyism of the mobocrats. The result was that -General Demming, who was very much of a gentleman, ordered the Carthage -Grays, a company under the command of Captain Smith, a magistrate in -Carthage, and a most violent mobocrat, under arrest. This matter, -however, was shortly afterward adjusted, and the difficulty settled -between them. The mayor, aldermen, councilors, as well as the marshal -of the city of Nauvoo, together with some persons who had assisted -the marshal in removing the press in Nauvoo, appeared before Justice -Smith, the aforesaid captain and mobocrat, to again answer the charge -of destroying the press; but as there was so much excitement, and as -the man was an unprincipled villain before whom we were to have our -hearing, we thought it most prudent to give bail, and consequently -became security for each other in $500 bonds each, to appear before the -County Court at its next session. We had engaged as counsel a lawyer by -the name of Wood, of Burlington, Iowa; and Reed, I think, of Madison, -Iowa. After some little discussion the bonds were signed, and we were -all dismissed. - - [242] The “Deserét News” gives the following account of Joseph and - Hyrum Smith’s passing through the troops in Carthage: - - “Carthage, June 25th, 1844. - - “Quarter past 9. The governor came and invited Joseph to walk with - him through the troops. Joseph solicited a few moment’s private - conversation with him, which the governor refused. - - “While refusing, the governor looked down at his shoes, as though - he was ashamed. They then walked through the crowd, with Brigadier - General Miner, R. Demming, and Dr. Richards, to General Demming’s - quarters. The people appeared quiet until a company of Carthage - Grays flocked round the doors of General Demming in an uproarious - manner, of which notice was sent to the governor. In the mean time - the governor had ordered the M‘Donough troops to be drawn up in line, - for Joseph and Hyrum to pass in front of them, they having requested - that they might have a clear view of the General Smiths. _Joseph had - a conversation with the governor for about ten minutes, when he again - pledged the faith of the state that he and his friends should be - protected from violence._ - - “Robinson, the post-master, said, on report of martial law being - proclaimed in Nauvoo, he had stopped the mail, and notified the - post-master general of the state of things in Hancock County. - - “From the general’s quarters Joseph and Hyrum went in front of the - lines, in a hollow square of a company of Carthage Grays; at seven - minutes before 10 they arrived in front of the lines, and passed - before the whole, Joseph being on the right of General Demming and - Hyrum on his left, Elders Richards, Taylor, and Phelps following. - Joseph and Hyrum were introduced by Governor Ford about twenty times - along the line as General Joseph Smith and General Hyrum Smith, the - governor walking in front on the left. The Carthage Grays refused to - receive them by that introduction, and some of the officers threw - up their hats, drew their swords, and said they would introduce - themselves to the damned Mormons in a different style. The governor - mildly entreated them not to act so rudely, but their excitement - increased; the governor, however, succeeded in pacifying them by - making a speech, and promising them that they should have ‘full - satisfaction.’ General Smith and party returned to their lodgings at - five minutes past 10.”--_Des. News_, No. 35, Nov. 4, 1857, page 274. - -Almost immediately after our dismissal, two men--Augustine Spencer and -Norton--two worthless fellows, whose words would not have been taken -for five cents, and the first of whom had a short time previously -been before the mayor in Nauvoo for maltreating a lame brother, made -affidavits that Joseph and Hyrum Smith were guilty of treason; and -a writ was accordingly issued for their arrest, and the constable -Bettesworth, a rough, unprincipled man, wished immediately to hurry -them away to prison without any hearing. His rude, uncouth manner in -the administration of what he considered the duties of his office made -him exceedingly repulsive to us all. But, independent of these acts, -the proceedings in this case were altogether illegal. Providing the -court was sincere, which it was not, and providing these men’s oaths -were true, and that Joseph and Hyrum were guilty of treason, still the -whole course was illegal. - -The magistrate made out a mittimus, and committed them to prison -without a hearing, which he had no right legally to do. The statute of -Illinois expressly provides that “all men shall have a hearing before -a magistrate before they shall be committed to prison;” and Mr. Robert -H. Smith, the magistrate, had made out a mittimus committing them to -prison contrary to law without such hearing. As I was informed of this -illegal proceeding, I went immediately to the governor and informed him -of it. Whether he was apprised of it before or not, I do not know; but -my opinion is that he was. - -I represented to him the characters of the parties who had made oath, -the outrageous nature of the charge, the indignity offered to men -in the position which they occupied, and declared to him that he -knew very well it was a vexatious proceeding, and that the accused -were not guilty of any such crime. The governor replied, “He was -very sorry that the thing had occurred; that he did not believe the -charges, but that he thought the best thing to be done was to let the -law take its course.” I then reminded him that we had come out there -at his instance, not to satisfy the law, which we had done before, -but the prejudices of the people, in relation to the affair of the -press; that at his instance we had given bonds, which we could not by -law be required to do to satisfy the people, and that it was asking -too much to require gentlemen in their position in life to suffer -the degradation of being immured in a jail at the instance of such -worthless scoundrels as those who had made this affidavit. The governor -replied “that it was an unpleasant affair, and looked hard; but that -it was a matter over which he had no control, as it belonged to the -judiciary; that he, as the executive, could not interfere with their -proceedings, and that he had no doubt but that they would immediately -be dismissed.” I told him “that we had looked to him for protection -from such insults, and that I thought we had a right to do so from -the solemn promises which he had made to me and to Dr. Bernhisel in -relation to our coming without guard or arms; that we had relied upon -his faith, and had a right to expect him to fulfill his engagements -after we had placed ourselves implicitly under his care, and complied -with all his requests, although extra-judicial.” - -He replied “that he would detail a guard, if we required it, and see -us protected, but that he could not interfere with the judiciary.” I -expressed my dissatisfaction at the course taken, and told him “that, -if we were to be subject to mob rule, and to be dragged, contrary to -law, into prison at the instance of every infernal scoundrel whose -oaths could be bought for a dram of whisky, his protection availed very -little, and we had miscalculated his promises.” - -Seeing there was no prospect of redress from the governor, I returned -to the room, and found the constable Bettesworth very urgent to -hurry Brothers Joseph and Hyrum to prison, while the brethren were -remonstrating with him. At the same time a great rabble was gathered in -the streets and around the door, and from the rowdyism manifested I was -afraid there was a design to murder the prisoners on the way to jail. - -Without conferring with any person, my next feeling was to procure a -guard, and, seeing a man habited as a soldier in the room, I went to -him and said, “I am afraid there is a design against the lives of the -Messrs. Smith; will you go immediately and bring your captain; and, if -not convenient, any other captain of a company, and I will pay you well -for your trouble?” He said he would, and departed forthwith, and soon -returned with his captain, whose name I have forgotten, and introduced -him to me. I told him of my fears, and requested him immediately to -fetch his company; he departed forthwith, and arrived at the door with -them just at the time when the constable was hurrying the brethren -down stairs. A number of the brethren went along, together with one or -two strangers; and all of us, safely lodged in prison, remained there -during the night. - -At the request of Joseph Smith for an interview with the governor, he -came the next morning, Thursday, June 26th, at half past 9 o’clock, -accompanied by Colonel Geddes, when a lengthy conversation was -entered into in relation to the existing difficulties; and after -some preliminary remarks, at the governor’s request, Brother Joseph -gave him a general outline of the state of affairs in relation to -our difficulties, the excited state of the country, the tumultuous -mobocratic movements of our enemies, the precautionary measures used by -himself (Joseph Smith), the acts of the city council, the destruction -of the press, and the moves of the mob and ourselves up to that time. - -The following report is, I believe, substantially correct: - -_Governor._ “General Smith, I believe you have given me a general -outline of the difficulties that have existed in the country in -the documents forwarded to me by Dr. Bernhisel and Mr. Taylor; -but, unfortunately, there seems to be a great discrepancy between -your statements and those of your enemies. It is true that you are -substantiated by evidence and affidavit, but for such an extraordinary -excitement as that which is now in the country there must be some -cause, and I attribute the last outbreak to the destruction of the -‘Expositor,’ and to your refusal to comply with the writ issued by -Esquire Morrison. The press in the United States is looked upon as the -great bulwark of American freedom, and its destruction in Nauvoo was -represented and looked upon as a high-handed measure, and manifests -to the people a disposition on your part to suppress the liberty of -speech and of the press. This, with your refusal to comply with the -requisitions of a writ, I conceive to be the principal cause of this -difficulty; and you are moreover represented to me as turbulent, and -defiant of the laws and institutions of your country.” - -_General Smith._ “Governor Ford, you, sir, as governor of this state, -are aware of the persecutions that I have endured. You know well that -our course has been peaceable and law-abiding, for I have furnished -this state ever since our settlement here with sufficient evidence -of my pacific intentions, and those of the people with whom I am -associated, by the endurance of every conceivable indignity and lawless -outrage perpetrated upon me and upon this people since our settlement -here; and you yourself know that I have kept you well posted in -relation to all matters associated with the late difficulties. If you -have not got some of my communications, it has not been my fault. - -“Agreeably to your orders, I assembled the Nauvoo Legion for the -protection of Nauvoo and the surrounding country against an armed band -of marauders; and ever since they have been mustered I have almost -daily communicated with you in regard to all the leading events that -have transpired; and whether in the capacity of mayor of the city, or -lieutenant general of the Nauvoo Legion, I have striven, according -to the best of my judgment, to preserve the peace and to administer -even-handed justice; but my motives are impugned, my acts are -misconstrued, and I am grossly and wickedly misrepresented. I suppose -I am indebted for my incarceration to the oath of a worthless man, -who was arraigned before me and fined for abusing and maltreating his -lame, helpless brother. That I should be charged by you, sir, who know -better, of acting contrary to law, is to me a matter of surprise. Was -it the Mormons or our enemies who first commenced these difficulties? -You know well it was not us; and when this turbulent, outrageous people -commenced their insurrectionary movements, I made you acquainted with -them officially, and asked your advice, and have followed strictly your -counsel in every particular. Who ordered out the Nauvoo Legion? I did, -under your direction. For what purpose? To suppress the insurrectionary -movements. It was at your instance, sir, that I issued a proclamation -calling upon the Nauvoo Legion to be in readiness at a moment’s warning -to guard against the incursions of mobs, and gave an order to Jonathan -Dunham, acting major general, to that effect. - -“Am I, then, to be charged for the acts of others? and because -lawlessness and mobocracy abound, am I, when carrying out your -instructions, to be charged with not abiding law? Why is it that I -must be made accountable for other men’s acts? If there is trouble in -the country, neither I nor my people made it; and all that we have -ever done, after much endurance on our part, is to maintain and uphold -the Constitution and institutions of our country, and to protect an -injured, innocent, and persecuted people against misrule and mob -violence. - -“Concerning the destruction of the press to which you refer, men may -differ somewhat in their opinions about it; but can it be supposed that -after all the indignities to which they have been subjected outside, -that people could suffer a set of worthless vagabonds to come into -their city, and, right under their own eyes and protection, vilify and -calumniate not only themselves, but the character of their wives and -daughters, as was impudently and unblushingly done in that infamous and -filthy sheet? - -“There is not a city in the United States that would have suffered such -an indignity for twenty-four hours. Our whole people were indignant, -and loudly called upon our city authorities for a redress of their -grievances, which, if not attended to, they themselves would have -taken into their own hands, and have summarily punished the audacious -wretches as they deserved. The principles of equal rights that have -been instilled into our bosoms from our cradles as American citizens -forbid us submitting to every foul indignity, and succumbing and -pandering to wretches so infamous as these. But, independent of this, -the course that we pursued we considered to be strictly legal; for, -notwithstanding the result, we were anxious to be governed strictly by -law, and therefore we convened the city council; and being desirous -in our deliberations to abide by law, we summoned legal counsel to be -present on the occasion. Upon investigating the matter, we found that -our city charter gave us power to remove all nuisances. Furthermore, -after consulting Blackstone upon what might be considered a nuisance, -it appeared that that distinguished lawyer, who is considered -authority, I believe, in all our courts, states among other things that -‘a libelous and filthy press may be considered a nuisance, and abated -as such.’ Here, then, one of the most eminent English barristers, whose -works are considered standard with us, declares that a libelous and -filthy press may be considered a nuisance; and our own charter, given -us by the Legislature of this state, gives us the power to remove -nuisances; and by ordering that press to be abated as a nuisance, we -conceived that we were acting strictly in accordance with law. We made -that order in our corporate capacity, and the city marshal carried it -out. It is possible there may have been some better way, but I must -confess that I could not see it. - -“In relation to the writ served upon us, we were willing to abide -the consequences of our own acts, but were unwilling, in answering -a writ of that kind, to submit to illegal exactions, sought to be -imposed upon us under the pretense of law, when we knew they were in -open violation of it. When that document was presented to me by Mr. -Bettesworth, I offered, in the presence of more than twenty persons, -to go to any other magistrate, either in our city, in Appanoose, or -in any other place where we should be safe, but we all refused to -put ourselves into the power of a mob. What right had that constable -to refuse our request? He had none according to law; for you know, -Governor Ford, that the statute law in Illinois is, that the parties -served with the writ ‘shall go before him who issued it, or some other -justice of the peace.’ Why, then, should we be dragged to Carthage, -where the law does not compel us to go? Does not this look like many -others of our persecutions with which you are acquainted? and have we -not a right to expect foul play? This very act was a breach of law -on his part, an assumption of power that did not belong to him, and -an attempt, at least, to deprive us of our legal and constitutional -rights and privileges. What could we do, under the circumstances, -different from what we did do? We sued for, and obtained a writ of -habeas corpus from the Municipal Court, by which we were delivered from -the hands of Constable Bettesworth, and brought before and acquitted -by the Municipal Court. After our acquittal, in a conversation with -Judge Thomas, although he considered the acts of the party illegal, he -advised that, to satisfy the people, we had better go before another -magistrate who was not in our Church. In accordance with his advice, -we went before Esquire Wells, with whom you are well acquainted; both -parties were present, witnesses were called on both sides, the case -was fully investigated, and we were again dismissed. And what is this -pretended desire to enforce law, and wherefore are these lying, base -rumors put into circulation but to seek through mob influence, under -pretense of law, to make us submit to requisitions which are contrary -to law and subversive of every principle of justice? And when you, sir, -required us to come out here, we came, not because it was legal, but -because you required it of us, and we were desirous of showing to you, -and to all men, that we shrunk not from the most rigid investigation of -our acts. We certainly did expect other treatment than to be immured in -a jail at the instance of these men, and I think, from your plighted -faith, we had a right so to expect, after disbanding our own forces, -and putting ourselves entirely in your hands. And now, after having -fulfilled my part, sir, as a man and an American citizen, I call upon -you, Governor Ford, to deliver us from this place, and rescue us -from this outrage that is sought to be practiced upon us by a set of -infamous scoundrels.” - -_Governor Ford._ “But you have placed men under arrest, detained men as -prisoners, and given passes to others, some of which I have seen.” - -_John P. Green, City Marshal._ “Perhaps I can explain. Since these -difficulties have commenced, you are aware that we have been placed -under very peculiar circumstances; our city has been placed under a -very rigid police guard; in addition to this, frequent guards have -been placed outside the city to prevent any sudden surprise, and those -guards have questioned suspected or suspicious persons as to their -business. To strangers, in some instances, passes have been given to -prevent difficulty in passing those guards; it is some of these passes -that you have seen. No person, sir, has been imprisoned without a legal -cause in our city.” - -_Governor._ “Why did you not give a more speedy answer to the posse -that I sent out?” - -_General Smith._ “We had matters of importance to consult upon; your -letter showed any thing but an amiable spirit. We have suffered -immensely in Missouri from mobs, in loss of property, imprisonment, -and otherwise. It took some time for us to weigh duly these matters; -we could not decide upon matters of such importance immediately, and -your posse were too hasty in returning; we were consulting for a large -people, and vast interests were at stake. We had been outrageously -imposed upon, and knew not how far we could trust any one; besides, a -question necessarily arose, How shall we come? Your request was that we -should come unarmed. It became a matter of serious importance to decide -how far promises could be trusted, and how far we were safe from mob -violence.” - -_Colonel Geddes._ “It certainly did look, from all I have heard, from -the general spirit of violence and mobocracy that here prevails, that -it was not safe for you to come unprotected.” - -_Governor Ford._ “I think that sufficient time was not allowed by the -posse for you to consult and get ready. They were too hasty; but I -suppose they found themselves bound by their orders. I think, too, -there is a great deal of truth in what you say, and your reasoning -is plausible, but I must beg leave to differ from you in relation to -the acts of the city council. That council, in my opinion, had no -right to act in a legislative capacity and in that of the judiciary. -They should have passed a law in relation to the matter, and then the -Municipal Court, upon complaint, could have removed it; but for the -city council to take upon themselves the law-making and the execution -of the law is in my opinion wrong; besides, these men ought to have had -a hearing before their property was destroyed; to destroy it without -was an infringement on their rights; besides, it is so contrary to -the feelings of American people to interfere with the press. And, -furthermore, I can not but think that it would have been more judicious -for you to have gone with Mr. Bettesworth to Carthage, notwithstanding -the law did not require it. Concerning your being in jail, I am sorry -for that; I wish it had been otherwise. I hope you will soon be -released, but I can not interfere.” - -_Joseph Smith._ “Governor Ford, allow me, sir, to bring one thing to -your mind that you seem to have overlooked. You state that you think it -would have been better for us to have submitted to the requisition of -Constable Bettesworth, and to have gone to Carthage. Do you not know, -sir, that that writ was served at the instance of an ‘anti-Mormon’ mob, -who had passed resolutions, and published them, to the effect that they -would exterminate the ‘Mormon’ leaders? and are you not informed that -Captain Anderson was not only threatened when coming to Nauvoo, but -had a gun fired at his boat by this said mob in Warsaw when coming up -to Nauvoo, and that this very thing was made use of as a means to get -us into their hands; and we could not, without taking an armed force -with us, go there without, according to their published declarations, -going into the jaws of death? To have taken a force would only have -fanned the excitement, and they would have stated that we wanted to -use intimidation; therefore we thought it the most judicious to avail -ourselves of the protection of law.” - -_Governor Ford._ “I see, I see.” - -_Joseph Smith._ “Furthermore, in relation to the press, you say that -you differ from me in opinion. Be it so; the thing, after all, is only -a legal difficulty, and the courts, I should judge, are competent to -decide on that matter. If our act was illegal, we are willing to meet -it; and although I can not see the distinction that you draw about -the acts of the city council, and what difference it could have made -in point of fact, law, or justice between the city councils acting -together or separate, or how much more legal it would have been for the -Municipal Court, who were a part of the city council, to act separate -instead of with the councilors, yet, if it is deemed that we did a -wrong in destroying that press, we refuse not to pay for it; we are -desirous to fulfill the law in every particular, and are responsible -for our acts. You say that the parties ought to have had a hearing. -Had it been a civil suit, this, of course, would have been proper; but -there was a flagrant violation of every principle of right--a nuisance; -and it was abated on the same principle that any nuisance, stench, or -putrefied carcass would have been removed. Our first step, therefore, -was to stop the foul, noisome, filthy sheet, and then the next in our -opinion would have been to have prosecuted the man for a breach of -public decency. And furthermore, again let me say, Governor Ford, I -shall look to you for our protection. I believe you are talking of -going to Nauvoo; if you go, sir, I wish to go along. I refuse not to -answer any law, but I do not consider myself safe here.” - -_Governor._ “I am in hopes that you will be acquitted, and if I go I -will certainly take you along. I do not, however, apprehend danger. I -think you are perfectly safe either here or any where else. I can not, -however, interfere with the law. I am placed in peculiar circumstances, -and seem to be blamed by all parties.” - -_Joseph Smith._ “Governor Ford, I ask nothing but what is legal; I -have a right to expect protection, at least from you; for, independent -of law, you have pledged your faith and that of the state for my -protection, and I wish to go to Nauvoo.” - -Governor. “And you shall have protection, General Smith. I did not make -this promise without consulting my officers, who all pledged their -honor to its fulfillment. I do not know that I shall go to-morrow to -Nauvoo, but if I do I will take you along.” - -At a quarter past ten o’clock the governor left. - -At about half past twelve o’clock, Mr. Reed, one of Joseph’s counsel, -came in, apparently much elated; he stated that, “upon an examination -of the law, he found that the magistrate had transcended his -jurisdiction, and that, having committed them without an examination, -his jurisdiction ended; that he had him upon a pin-hook; that he ought -to have examined them before he committed them, and that, having -violated the law in this particular, he had no farther power over them; -for, once committed, they were out of his jurisdiction, as the power -of the magistrate extended no farther than their committal, and that -now they could not be brought out except at the regular session of the -Circuit Court, or by a writ of habeas corpus; but that if Justice Smith -would consent to go to Nauvoo for trial, he would compromise matters -with him, and overlook this matter.” - -Mr. Reed farther stated that “the ‘anti-Mormons,’ or mob, had concocted -a scheme to get out a writ from Missouri, with a demand upon Governor -Ford for the arrest of Joseph Smith and his conveyance to Missouri, and -that a man by the name of Wilson had returned from Missouri the night -before the burning of the press for this purpose.” - -At half past two o’clock Constable Bettesworth came to the jail with -a man named Simpson, professing to have some order, but he would not -send up his name, and the guard would not let him pass. Dr. Bernhisel -and Brother Wasson went to inform the governor and council of this. At -about twenty minutes to three Dr. Bernhisel returned, and stated that -he thought the governor was doing all he could. At about ten minutes to -three Hyrum Kimball appeared with news from Nauvoo. - -Soon after Constable Bettesworth came with an order from Esquire Smith -to convey the prisoners to the court-house for trial. He was informed -that the process was illegal, that they had been placed there contrary -to law, and that they refused to come unless by legal process. I was -informed that Justice Smith (who was also Captain of the Carthage -Grays) went to the governor and informed him of the matter, and that -the governor replied, “You have your forces, and of course can use -them.” The constable certainly did return, accompanied by a guard of -armed men, and by force, and under protest, hurried the prisoners to -the court. - -About four o’clock the case was called by Captain Robert F. Smith, J. -P. The counsel of the prisoners called for subpœnas to bring witnesses. -At twenty-five minutes past four he took a copy of the order to bring -the prisoners from jail to trial, and afterward he took names of -witnesses. - -Counsel present for the state: Higbee, Skinner, Sharpe, Emmons, and -Morrison. Twenty-five minutes to five the writ was returned as served, -June 25th. - -Many remarks were made at the court that I paid but little attention -to, as I considered the whole thing illegal and a complete burlesque. -Wood objected to the proceedings in toto, in consequence of its -illegality, showing that the prisoners were not only illegally -committed, but that, being once committed, the magistrate had no -farther power over them; but as it was the same magistrate before whom -he was pleading who imprisoned them contrary to law, and the same who, -as captain, forced them from jail, his arguments availed but little. -He then urged that the prisoners be remanded until witnesses could be -had, and applied for a continuance for that purpose. Skinner suggested -until twelve o’clock next day. Wood again demanded until witnesses -could be obtained; that the court meet at a specified time, and that, -if witnesses were not present, again adjourn, without calling the -prisoners. After various remarks from Reed, Skinner, and others, the -court stated that the writ was served yesterday, and that it will give -until to-morrow at twelve M. to get witnesses. - -We then returned to jail. Immediately after our return Dr. Bernhisel -went to the governor, and obtained from him an order for us to occupy -a large open room containing a bedstead. I rather think that the same -room had been appropriated to the use of debtors; at any rate, there -was free access to the jailer’s house, and no bars or locks except -such as might be on the outside door of the jail. The jailer, Mr. -George W. Steghall, and his wife, manifested a disposition to make us -as comfortable as they could; we ate at their table, which was well -provided, and of course paid for it. - -I do not remember the names of all who were with us that night and the -next morning in jail, for several went and came; among those that we -considered stationary were Stephen Markham, John S. Fulmer, Captain -Dan Jones, Dr. Williard Richards, and myself. Dr. Bernhisel says that -he was there from Wednesday in the afternoon until eleven o’clock next -day. We were, however, visited by numerous friends, among whom were -Uncle John Smith, Hyrum Kimball, Cyrus H. Wheelock, besides lawyers, -as counsel. There was also a great variety of conversation, which was -rather desultory than otherwise, and referred to circumstances that had -transpired; our former and present grievances; the spirit of the troops -around us, and the disposition of the governor; the devising for legal -and other plans for deliverance; the nature of testimony required; the -gathering of proper witnesses; and a variety of other topics, including -our religious hopes, etc. - -During one of these conversations Dr. Richards remarked: “Brother -Joseph, it is necessary that you die in this matter, and if they will -take me in your stead, I will suffer for you.” At another time, when -conversing about deliverance, I said, “Brother Joseph, if you will -permit it, and say the word, I will have you out of this prison in -five hours, if the jail has to come down to do it.” My idea was to go -to Nauvoo, and collect a force sufficient, as I considered the whole -affair a legal farce, and a flagrant outrage upon our liberty and -rights. Brother Joseph refused. - -Elder Cyrus Wheelock came in to see us, and when he was about leaving -drew a small pistol, a six-shooter, from his pocket, remarking -at the same time, “Would any of you like to have this?” Brother -Joseph immediately replied, “Yes, give it to me;” whereupon he took -the pistol, and put it in his pantaloons pocket. The pistol was a -six-shooting revolver, of Allen’s patent; it belonged to me, and was -one that I furnished to Brother Wheelock when he talked of going with -me to the East, previous to our coming to Carthage. I have it now in -my possession. Brother Wheelock went out on some errand, and was not -suffered to return. The report of the governor having gone to Nauvoo -without taking the prisoners along with him caused very unpleasant -feelings, as we were apprised that we were left to the tender mercies -of the Carthage Grays, a company strictly mobocratic, and whom we knew -to be our most deadly enemies, and their captain, Esquire Smith, was a -most unprincipled villain. Besides this, all the mob forces, comprising -the governor’s troops, were dismissed, with the exception of one or two -companies, which the governor took with him to Nauvoo. The great part -of the mob was liberated, the remainder was our guard. - -We looked upon it not only as a breach of faith on the part of -the governor, but also as an indication of a desire to insult us, -if nothing more, by leaving us in the proximity of such men. The -prevention of Wheelock’s return was among the first of their hostile -movements. - -Colonel Markham then went out, and he was also prevented from -returning. He was very angry at this, but the mob paid no attention -to him; they drove him out of town at the point of the bayonet, and -threatened to shoot him if he returned; he went, I am informed, to -Nauvoo for the purpose of raising a company of men for our protection. -Brother Fulmer went to Nauvoo after witnesses: it is my opinion that -Brother Wheelock did also. - -Some time after dinner we sent for some wine. It has been reported by -some that this was taken as a sacrament. It was no such thing; our -spirits were generally dull and heavy, and it was sent for to revive -us. I think it was Captain Jones who went after it, but they would not -suffer him to return. I believe we all drank of the wine, and gave some -to one or two of the prison guards. We all of us felt unusually dull -and languid, with a remarkable depression of spirits. In consonance -with those feelings I sang the following song, that had lately been -introduced into Nauvoo, entitled, “A poor wayfaring man of grief,” etc. - - 1. A poor wayfaring man of grief - Hath often cross’d me on my way, - Who sued so humbly for relief - That I could never answer Nay. - - 2. I had not power to ask his name, - Whither he went, or whence he came; - Yet there was something in his eye - That won my love, I know not why. - - 3. Once, when my scanty meal was spread, - He enter’d--not a word he spake! - Just perishing for want of bread; - I gave him all: he bless’d it, brake, - - 4. And ate, but gave me part again; - Mine was an angel’s portion then, - For while I fed with eager haste, - The crust was manna to my taste. - - 5. I spied him where a fountain burst - Clear from the rock--his strength was gone-- - The heedless water mock’d his thirst; - He heard it, saw it hurrying on. - - 6. I ran and raised the suff’rer up; - Thrice from the stream he drain’d my cup, - Dipp’d, and return’d it running o’er; - I drank, and never thirsted more. - - 7. ’Twas night; the floods were out; it blew - A winter hurricane aloof; - I heard his voice abroad, and flew - To bid him welcome to my roof. - - 8. I warm’d, I clothed, I cheer’d my guest, - I laid him on my couch to rest; - Then made the earth my bed, and seem’d - In Eden’s garden while I dream’d. - - 9. Stripp’d, wounded, beaten nigh to death, - I found him by the highway side; - I roused his pulse, brought back his breath, - Revived his spirit, and supplied - - 10. Wine, oil, refreshment: he was heal’d; - I had myself a wound conceal’d, - But from that hour forgot the smart, - And peace bound up my broken heart. - - 11. In prison I saw him next, condemn’d - To meet a traitor’s doom at morn; - The tide of lying tongues I stemm’d, - And honor’d him ’mid shame and scorn. - - 12. My friendship’s utmost zeal to try, - He asked if I for him would die; - The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill; - But the free spirit cried “I will.” - - 13. Then in a moment to my view - The stranger started from disguise; - The tokens in his hands I knew; - The Savior stood before mine eyes. - - 14. He spake--and my poor name he named-- - “Of me thou hast not been ashamed; - These deeds shall thy memorial be; - Fear not; thou didst them unto me.” - -The song is pathetic, and the tune quite plaintive, and was very much -in accordance with our feelings at the time, for our spirits were all -depressed, dull, and gloomy, and surcharged with indefinite ominous -forebodings. After a lapse of some time, Brother Hyrum requested me -again to sing that song. I replied, “Brother Hyrum, I do not feel like -singing;” when he remarked, “Oh! never mind; commence singing, and you -will get the spirit of it.” At his request I did so. Soon afterward -I was sitting at one of the front windows of the jail, when I saw a -number of men, with painted faces, coming round the corner of the -jail, and aiming toward the stairs. The other brethren had seen the -same, for, as I went to the door, I found Brother Hyrum Smith and Dr. -Richards already leaning against it; they both pressed against the door -with their shoulders to prevent its being opened, as the lock and latch -were comparatively useless. While in this position, the mob, who had -come up stairs, and strove to open the door, probably thought it was -locked, and fired a ball through the keyhole; at this Dr. Richards and -Brother Hyrum leaped back from the door, with their faces toward it; -almost instantly another ball passed through the panel of the door, and -struck Brother Hyrum on the left side of the nose, entering his face -and head; simultaneously, at the same instant, another ball from the -outside entered his back, passing through his body and striking his -watch. The ball came from the back, through the jail window, opposite -the door, and must, from its range, have been fired from the Carthage -Grays, as the balls of fire-arms, shot close by the jail, would have -entered the ceiling, we being in the second story, and there never -was a time after that Hyrum could have received the latter wound. -Immediately, when the balls struck him, he fell flat on his back, -crying as he fell, “I am a dead man!” He never moved afterward. - -I shall never forget the feeling of deep sympathy and regard manifested -in the countenance of Brother Joseph as he drew nigh to Hyrum, and, -leaning over him, exclaimed, “Oh! my poor, dear brother Hyrum.” He, -however, instantly arose, and with a firm, quick step, and a determined -expression of countenance, approached the door, and pulling the -six-shooter left by Brother Wheelock from his pocket, opened the door -slightly, and snapped the pistol six successive times; only three of -the barrels, however, were discharged. I afterward understood that two -or three were wounded by these discharges, two of whom, I am informed, -died. I had in my hands a large, strong hickory stick, brought there -by Brother Markham, and left by him, which I had seized as soon as I -saw the mob approach; and while Brother Joseph was firing the pistol, -I stood close behind him. As soon as he had discharged it he stepped -back, and I immediately took his place next the door, while he occupied -the one I had done while he was shooting. Brother Richards, at this -time, had a knotty walking-stick in his hands belonging to me, and -stood next to Brother Joseph, a little farther from the door, in an -oblique direction, apparently to avoid the rake of the fire from the -door. The firing of Brother Joseph made our assailants pause for a -moment; very soon after, however, they pushed the door some distance -open, and protruded and discharged their guns into the room, when I -parried them off with my stick, giving another direction to the balls. - -It certainly was a terrible scene: streams of fire as thick as my arm -passed by me as these men fired, and, unarmed as we were, it looked -like certain death. I remember feeling as though my time had come, -but I do not know when, in any critical position, I was more calm, -unruffled, and energetic, and acted with more promptness and decision. -It certainly was far from pleasant to be so near the muzzles of those -fire-arms as they belched forth their liquid flame and deadly balls. -While I was engaged in parrying the guns, Brother Joseph said, “That’s -right, Brother Taylor; parry them off as well as you can.” These were -the last words I ever heard him speak on earth. - -Every moment the crowd at the door became more dense, as they were -unquestionably pressed on by those in the rear ascending the stairs, -until the whole entrance at the door was literally crowded with -muskets and rifles, which, with the swearing, shouting, and demoniacal -expressions of those outside the door and on the stairs, and the firing -of guns, mingled with their horrid oaths and execrations, made it look -like Pandemonium let loose, and was, indeed, a fit representation of -the horrid deed in which they were engaged. - -After parrying the guns for some time, which now protruded thicker -and farther into the room, and seeing no hope of escape or protection -there, as we were now unarmed, it occurred to me that we might have -some friends outside, and that there might there be some chance of -escape, but here there seemed to be none. As I expected them every -moment to rush into the room--nothing but extreme cowardice having thus -far kept them out--as the tumult and pressure increased, without any -other hope, I made a spring for the window, which was right in front -of the jail door, where the mob was standing, and also exposed to the -fire of the Carthage Grays, who were stationed some ten or twelve rods -off. The weather was hot, we all of us had our coats off, and the -window was raised to admit air; as I reached the window, and was on -the point of leaping out, I was struck by a ball from the door about -midway of my thigh, which struck the bone, and flattened out almost -to the size of a quarter of a dollar, and then passed on through the -fleshy part to within about half an inch of the outside. I think some -prominent nerve must have been severed or injured, for as soon as the -ball struck me I fell like a bird when shot, or an ox struck by a -butcher, and lost entirely and instantaneously all power of action or -locomotion. I fell on to the window-sill, and cried out, “I am shot!” -Not possessing any power to move, I felt myself falling outside of the -window, but immediately I fell inside, from some, at that time, unknown -cause; when I struck the floor my animation seemed restored, as I have -seen sometimes squirrels and birds after being shot. As soon as I felt -the power of motion I crawled under the bed, which was in a corner of -the room, not far from the window where I received my wound. While on -my way and under the bed I was wounded in three other places; one ball -entered a little below the left knee, and never was extracted; another -entered the forepart of my left arm, a little above the wrist, and, -passing down by the joint, lodged in the fleshy part of my hand, about -midway, a little above the upper joint of my little finger; another -struck me on the fleshy part of my left hip, and tore away the flesh -as large as my hand, dashing the mangled fragments of flesh and blood -against the wall. - -My wounds were painful, and the sensation produced was as though a ball -had passed through and down the whole length of my leg. I very well -remember my reflections at the time. I had a very painful idea of -becoming lame and decrepit, and being an object of pity, and I felt as -though I had rather die than be placed in such circumstances. - -It would seem that immediately after my attempt to leap out of the -window, Joseph also did the same thing, of which circumstance I have -no knowledge only from information. The first thing that I noticed -was a cry that he had leaped out of the window. A cessation of firing -followed, the mob rushed down stairs, and Dr. Richards went to the -window. Immediately afterward I saw the doctor going toward the jail -door, and as there was an iron door at the head of the stairs adjoining -our door which led into the cells for criminals, it struck me that the -doctor was going in there, and I said to him, “Stop, doctor, and take -me along.” He proceeded to the door and opened it, and then returned -and dragged me along to a small cell prepared for criminals. - -Brother Richards was very much troubled, and exclaimed, “Oh! Brother -Taylor, is it possible that they have killed both Brother Hyrum and -Joseph? it can not surely be, and yet I saw them shoot him;” and, -elevating his hands two or three times, he exclaimed, “Oh Lord, my God, -spare thy servants!” He then said, “Brother Taylor, this is a terrible -event;” and he dragged me farther into the cell, saying, “I am sorry -I can not do better for you;” and, taking an old, filthy mattress, he -covered me with it, and said, “That may hide you, and you may yet live -to tell the tale, but I expect they will kill me in a few moments.” -While lying in this position I suffered the most excruciating pain. - -Soon afterward Dr. Richards came to me, informing me that the mob had -precipitately fled, and at the same time confirming my worst fears that -Joseph was assuredly dead. I felt a dull, lonely, sickening sensation -at the news. When I reflected that our noble chieftain, the prophet of -the living God, had fallen, and that I had seen his brother in the cold -embrace of death, it seemed as though there was an open void or vacuum -in the great field of human existence to me, and a dark, gloomy chasm -in the kingdom, and that we were left alone. Oh, how lonely was that -feeling! how cold, barren, and desolate! In the midst of difficulties -he was always the first in motion; in critical position his counsel -was always sought. As our prophet he approached our God, and obtained -for us his will; but now our prophet, our counselor, our general, our -leader was gone, and, amid the fiery ordeal that we then had to pass -through, we were left alone without his aid, and as our future guide -for things spiritual or temporal, and for all things pertaining to this -world or the next, he had spoken for the last time on earth. - -These reflections and a thousand others flashed upon my mind. I -thought, Why must the good perish, and the virtuous be destroyed? -Why must God’s nobility, the salt of the earth, the most exalted of -the human family, and the most perfect types of all excellence, fall -victims to the cruel, fiendish hate of incarnate devils? - -The poignancy of my grief, I presume, however, was somewhat allayed by -the extreme suffering that I endured from my wounds. - -Soon afterward I was taken to the head of the stairs and laid there, -where I had a full view of our beloved and now murdered brother Hyrum. -There he lay as I had left him; he had not moved a limb; he lay placid -and calm, a monument of greatness even in death; but his noble spirit -had left its tenement, and was gone to dwell in regions more congenial -to its exalted nature. Poor Hyrum! he was a great and a good man, and -my soul was cemented to his. If ever there was an exemplary, honest, -and virtuous man, an embodiment of all that is noble in the human form, -Hyrum Smith was its representative. - -While I lay there a number of persons came around, among whom was a -physician. The doctor, on seeing a ball lodged in my left hand, took -a penknife from his pocket and made an incision in it for the purpose -of extracting the ball therefrom, and having obtained a pair of -carpenter’s compasses, made use of them to draw or pry out the ball, -alternately using the penknife and compasses. After sawing for some -time with a dull penknife, and prying and pulling with the compasses, -he ultimately succeeded in extracting the ball, which was about a half -ounce one. Some time afterward he remarked to a friend of mine that “I -had nerves like the devil to stand what I did in its extraction.” I -really thought I had need of nerves to stand such surgical butchery, -and that, whatever my nerves may be, his practice was devilish. - -This company wished to remove me to Mr. Hamilton’s hotel, the place -where we had staid previous to our incarceration in jail. I told them, -however, that I did not wish to go; I did not consider it safe. They -protested that it was, and that I was safe with them; that it was a -perfect outrage for men to be used as we had been; that they were my -friends; that it was for my good they were counseling me, and that I -could be better taken care of there than here. - -I replied, “I don’t know you. Who am I among? I am surrounded by -assassins and murderers; witness your deeds! Don’t talk to me of -kindness or comfort; look at your murdered victims. Look at me! I want -none of your counsel nor comfort. There may be some safety here; I can -be assured of none any where,” etc. - -They “God damned their souls to hell,” made the most solemn -asseverations, and swore by God and the devil, and every thing else -that they could think of, that they would stand by me to death and -protect me. In half an hour every one of them had fled to the town. - -Soon after a coroner’s jury were assembled in the room over the body -of Hyrum. Among the jurors was Captain Smith, of the “Carthage Grays,” -who had assisted in the murder, and the same justice before whom we -had been tried. I heard the name of Francis Higbee as being in the -neighborhood; on hearing his name mentioned, I immediately rose and -said, “Captain Smith, you are a justice of the peace; I have heard his -name mentioned; I want to swear my life against him.” I was informed -that word was immediately sent to him to leave the place, which he did. - -Brother Richards was busy during this time attending to the coroner’s -inquest, and to the removal of the bodies, and making arrangements for -their removal from Carthage to Nauvoo. - -When we had a little leisure, he again came to me, and at his -suggestion I was removed to Hamilton’s tavern; I felt that he was the -only friend, the only person, that I could rely upon in that town. It -was with difficulty that sufficient persons could be found to carry -me to the tavern; for immediately after the murder a great fear fell -upon all the people, and men, women, and children fled with great -precipitation, leaving nothing nor any body in the town but two or -three women and children, and one or two sick persons. - -It was with great difficulty that Brother Richards prevailed upon -Mr. Hamilton, hotel-keeper, and his family, to stay; they would not -until Brother Richards had given a solemn promise that he would see -them protected, and hence I was looked upon as a hostage. Under these -circumstances, notwithstanding, I believe they were hostile to the -“Mormons,” and were glad that the murder had taken place, yet they -did not actually participate in it; and, feeling that I should be a -protection to them, they staid. - -The whole community knew that a dreadful outrage had been perpetrated -by those villains, and fearing lest the citizens of Nauvoo, as they -possessed the power, might have a disposition to visit them with a -terrible vengeance, they fled in the wildest confusion. And, indeed, -it was with very great difficulty that the citizens of Nauvoo could -be restrained; a horrid, barbarous murder had been committed, the -most solemn pledge violated, and that, too, while the victims were, -contrary to the requirements of the law, putting themselves into the -hands of the governor to pacify a popular excitement. This outrage -was enhanced by the reflection that we were able to protect ourselves -against not only all the mob, but against three times their number and -that of the governor’s troops put together. These were exasperated -by the speech of the governor in town. The whole events were so -faithless, so dastardly, so mean, cowardly, and contemptible, without -one extenuating circumstance, that it would not have been surprising -if the citizens of Nauvoo had arisen _en masse_, and blotted the -wretches out of existence. The citizens of Carthage knew they would -have done so under such circumstances, and, judging us by themselves, -they were all panic-stricken and fled. Colonel Markham, too, after his -expulsion from Carthage, had gone home, related the circumstances of -his ejectment, and was using his influence to get a company to go out. -Fearing that when the people heard that their prophet and patriarch -had been murdered under the above circumstances they might act rashly, -and knowing that, if they once got roused, like a mighty avalanche -they would lay the country waste before them and take a terrible -vengeance--as none of the twelve were in Nauvoo, and no one, perhaps, -with sufficient influence to control the people, Dr. Richards, after -consulting me, wrote the following note, fearing that my family might -be seriously affected by the news. I told him to insert that I was -slightly wounded. - -_William Richards’s Note from Carthage Jail to Nauvoo._[243] - - “Carthage Jail, 8 o’clock 5 min. P.M., June 27th, 1844. - - “Joseph and Hyrum are dead. Taylor wounded, not very badly. I am - well. Our guard was forced, as we believe, by a band of Missourians - from 100 to 200. The job was done in an instant, and the party fled - toward Nauvoo instantly. This is as I believe it. The citizens here - are afraid of the Mormons attacking them; I promise them no. - - W. RICHARDS. - - “N.B.--The citizens promise us protection; alarm guns have been fired. - - “JOHN TAYLOR.” - - [243] “Des. News,” No. 38, Nov. 25, 1857, p. 297. - -I remember signing my name as quickly as possible, lest the tremor of -my hand should be noticed, and their fears too excited. - -A messenger was dispatched immediately with that note, but he was -intercepted by the governor, who, on hearing a cannon fired at -Carthage, which was to be the signal for the murder, immediately -fled with his company, and fearing that the citizens of Nauvoo, when -apprised of the horrible outrage, would immediately rise and pursue, he -turned back the messenger, who was George D. Grant. A second one was -sent, who was treated similarly; and not until a third attempt could -news be got to Nauvoo. - -Samuel H. Smith, brother to Joseph and Hyrum, was the first brother -that I saw after the outrage; I am not sure whether he took the news -or not; he lived at the time at Plymouth, Hancock County, and was on -his way to Carthage to see his brothers, when he was met by some of the -troops, or rather mob, that had been dismissed by the governor, and who -were on their way home. On learning that he was Joseph Smith’s brother -they sought to kill him, but he escaped, and fled into the woods, where -he was chased for a length of time by them; but, after severe fatigue, -and much danger and excitement, he succeeded in escaping, and came -to Carthage. He was on horseback when he arrived, and was not only -very much tired with the fatigue and excitement of the chase, but was -also very much distressed in feelings on account of the death of his -brother. These things produced a fever, which laid the foundation for -his death, which took place on the 30th of July. Thus another of the -brothers fell a victim, although not directly, but indirectly to this -infernal mob. - -I lay from about five o’clock until two next morning without having my -wounds dressed, as there was scarcely any help of any kind in Carthage, -and Brother Richards was busy with the dead bodies, preparing them for -removal. My wife Leonora started early the next day, having had some -little trouble in getting a company or a physician to come with her; -after considerable difficulty she succeeded in getting an escort, and -Dr. Samuel Bennet came along with her. Soon after my father and mother -arrived from Quakie, near which place they had a farm at that time, and -hearing of the trouble, hastened along. - -General Demming, Brigadier General of the Hancock County Militia, was -very much of a gentleman, and showed me every courtesy, and Colonel -Jones also was very solicitous about my welfare. - -I was called upon by several gentlemen of Quincy and other places, -among whom was Judge Ralston, as well as by our own people, and a -medical man extracted a ball from my left thigh that was giving me much -pain: it lay about half an inch deep, and my thigh was considerably -swollen. The doctor asked me if I would be tied during the operation; -I told him no; that I could endure the cutting associated with the -operation as well without, and I did so; indeed, so great was the pain -I endured that the cutting was rather a relief than otherwise. - -A very laughable incident occurred at the time: my wife Leonora went -into an adjoining room to pray for me, that I might be sustained during -the operation. While on her knees at prayer, a Mrs. Bedell, an old lady -of the Methodist association, entered, and, patting Mrs. Taylor on her -back with her hand, said, “There’s a good lady, pray for God to forgive -your sins; pray that you may be converted, and the Lord may have mercy -on your soul.” - -The scene was so ludicrous that Mrs. Taylor knew not whether to laugh -or be angry. Mrs. Taylor informed me that Mr. Hamilton, the father of -the Hamilton who kept the house, rejoiced at the murder, and said in -company “that it was done up in the best possible style, and showed -good generalship;” and she farther believed that the other branches of -the family sanctioned it. These were the associates of the old lady -referred to, and yet she could talk of conversion and saving souls in -the midst of blood and murder: such is man and such consistency. - -The ball being extracted was the one that first struck me, which I -before referred to; it entered on the outside of my left thigh, about -five inches from my knee, and, passing rather obliquely toward my body, -had, it would seem, struck the bone, for it was flattened out nearly as -thin and large as a quarter of a dollar. - -The governor passed on, staying at Carthage only a few minutes, and -he did not stop until he got fifty miles from Nauvoo. There had been -various opinions about the complicity of the governor in the murder, -some supposing that he knew all about it, and assisted or winked at its -execution. It is somewhat difficult to form a correct opinion; from -the facts presented it is very certain that things looked more than -suspicious against him. - -In the first place, he positively knew that we had broken no law. - -Secondly. He knew that the mob had not only passed inflammatory -resolutions, threatening extermination to the “Mormons,” but that they -had actually assembled armed mobs and commenced hostilities against us. - -Thirdly. He took those very mobs that had been arrayed against us, and -enrolled them as his troops, thus legalizing their acts. - -Fourthly. He disbanded the Nauvoo Legion, which had never violated law, -and disarmed them, and had about his person in the shape of militia -known mobocrats and violators of the law. - -Fifthly. He requested us to come to Carthage without arms, promising -protection, and then refused to interfere in delivering us from prison, -although Joseph and Hyrum were put there contrary to law. - -Sixthly. Although he refused to interfere in our behalf, yet, when -Captain Smith went to him and informed him that the persons refused to -come out, he told him that “he had a command and knew what to do,” thus -sanctioning the use of force in the violation of law when opposed to -us, whereas he would not for us interpose his executive authority to -free us from being incarcerated contrary to law, although he was fully -informed of all the facts of the case, as we kept him posted in the -affairs all the time. - -Seventhly. He left the prisoners in Carthage jail contrary to his -plighted faith. - -Eighthly. Before he went he dismissed all the troops that could be -relied upon, as well as many of the mob, and left us in charge of the -“Carthage Grays,” a company that he knew were mobocratic, our most -bitter enemies, and who had passed resolutions to exterminate us, and -who had been placed under guard by General Demming only the day before. - -Ninthly. He was informed of the intended murder, both before he left -and while on the road, by several different parties. - -Tenthly. When the cannon was fired in Carthage, signifying that the -deed was done, he immediately took up his line of march and fled. How -did he know that this signal portended their death if he was not in the -secret? It may be said some of the party told him. How could he believe -what the party said about the gun-signal if he could not believe the -testimony of several individuals who told him in positive terms about -the contemplated murder? - -He has, I believe, stated that he left the “Carthage Grays” there -because he considered that, as their town was contiguous to ours, and -as the responsibility of our safety rested solely upon them, they would -not dare suffer any indignity to befall us. This very admission shows -that he did really expect danger; and then he knew that these people -had published to the world that they would exterminate us, and his -leaving us in their hands and talking of their responsibilities was -like leaving a lamb in charge of a wolf, and trusting to its humanity -and honor for its safe-keeping. - -It is said, again, that he would not have gone to Nauvoo, and thus -placed himself in the hands of the “Mormons,” if he had anticipated any -such event, as he would be exposed to their wrath. To this it may be -answered that the “Mormons” did not know their signals, while he did; -and they were also known in Warsaw, as well as in other places; and as -soon as the gun was fired, a merchant of Warsaw jumped upon his horse -and rode directly to Quincy, and reported “Joseph and Hyrum killed, and -those who were with them in jail.” He reported farther “that they were -attempting to break jail, and were all killed by the guard.” This was -their story; it was anticipated to kill all, and the gun was to be the -signal that the deed was accomplished. This was known in Warsaw. The -governor also knew it and fled; and he could really be in no danger in -Nauvoo, for the Mormons did not know it, and he had plenty of time to -escape, which he did. - -It is said that he made all his officers promise solemnly that they -would help him to protect the Smiths; this may or may not be. At any -rate, some of these same officers helped to murder them. - -The strongest argument in the governor’s favor, and one that would bear -more weight with us than all the rest put together, would be that he -could not believe them capable of such atrocity; and, thinking that -their talk and threatenings were a mere ebullition of feeling, a kind -of braggadocio, and that there was enough of good moral feeling to -control the more violent passions, he trusted to their faith. There -is, indeed, a degree of plausibility about this, but when we put it in -juxtaposition to the amount of evidence that he was in possession of -it weighs very little. He had nothing to inspire confidence in them, -and every thing to make him mistrust them. Besides, why his broken -faith? why his disregard of what was told him by several parties? -Again, if he knew not the plan, how did he understand the signal? Why -so oblivious to every thing pertaining to the “Mormon” interest, and so -alive and interested about the mobocrats? At any rate, be this as it -may, he stands responsible for their blood, and it is dripping on his -garments. If it had not been for his promises of protection, they would -have protected themselves; it was plighted faith that led them to the -slaughter; and, to make the best of it, it was a breach of that faith -and a non-fulfillment of that promise, after repeated warnings, that -led to their death. - -Having said so much, I must leave the governor with my readers and -with his God. Justice, I conceive, demanded this much, and truth could -not be told with less; as I have said before, my opinion is that the -governor would not have planned this murder, but he had not sufficient -energy to resist popular opinion, even if that opinion led to blood and -death. - -It was rumored that a strong political party, numbering in its ranks -many of the prominent men of the nation, were engaged in a plot for the -overthrow of Joseph Smith, and that the governor was of this party, -and Sharp, Williams, Captain Smith, and others, were his accomplices, -but whether this was the case or not I don’t know. It is very certain -that a strong political feeling existed against Joseph Smith, and I -have reason to believe that his letters to Henry Clay were made use of -by political parties opposed to Mr. Clay, and were the means of that -statesman’s defeat. Yet, if such a combination as the one referred to -existed, I am not apprised of it. - -While I lay at Carthage, previous to Mrs. Taylor’s arrival, a pretty -good sort of a man, who was lame of a leg, waited upon me, and sat up -at night with me; after Mrs. Taylor, my mother and others waited upon -me. - -Many friends called upon me, among whom were Richard Ballantyne, -Elizabeth Taylor, several of the Perkins family, and a number of the -brethren from Macedonia and La Harpe. Besides these, many strangers -from Quincy, some of whom expressed indignant feelings against the -mob and sympathy for myself. Brother Alexander Williams called upon -me, who suspected that they had some designs in keeping me there, and -stated “that he had at a given point in some woods fifty men, and that -if I would say the word he would raise other fifty, and fetch me out -of there.” I thanked him, but told him I thought there was no need. -However, it would seem that I was in some danger; for Colonel Jones, -before referred to, when absent from me, left two loaded pistols on -the table in case of an attack, and some time afterward, when I had -recovered and was publishing the affair, a lawyer, Mr. Backman, stated -that he had prevented a man by the name of Jackson, before referred to, -from ascending the stairs, who was coming with a design to murder me, -and that now he was sorry he had not let him do the deed. - -There were others, also, of whom I heard that said I ought to be -killed, and they would do it, but that it was too damned cowardly to -shoot a wounded man; and thus, by the chivalry of murderers, I was -prevented from being a second time mutilated or killed. Many of the -mob, too, came around and treated me with apparent respect, and the -officers and people generally looked upon me as a hostage, and feared -that my removal would be the signal for the rising of the Mormons. - -I do not remember the time that I staid there, but I think three -or four days after the murder, when Brother Marks with a carriage, -Brother James Aldred with a wagon, Dr. Ells, and a number of others on -horseback, came for the purpose of taking me to Nauvoo. I was very weak -at the time, occasioned by the loss of blood and the great discharge -of my wounds, so that when Mrs. Taylor asked me if I could talk I -could barely whisper no. Quite a discussion arose as to the propriety -of my removal, the physicians and people of Carthage protesting that -it would be my death, while my friends were anxious for my removal if -possible. - -I suppose the former were actuated by the above-named desire to keep -me. Colonel Jones was, I believe, sincere; he has acted as a friend -all the time, and he told Mrs. Taylor she ought to persuade me not to -go, for he did not believe I had strength enough to reach Nauvoo. It -was finally agreed, however, that I should go; but as it was thought -that I could not stand riding in a wagon or carriage, they prepared a -litter for me; I was carried down stairs and put upon it. A number of -men assisted to carry me, some of whom had been engaged in the mob. As -soon as I got down stairs, I felt much better and strengthened, so that -I could talk; I suppose the effect of the fresh air. - -When we had got near the outside of the town I remembered some woods -that we had to go through, and telling a person near to call for Dr. -Ells, who was riding a very good horse, I said, “Doctor, I perceive -that the people are getting fatigued with carrying me; a number of -Mormons live about two or three miles from here, near our route; will -you ride to their settlement as quietly as possible, and have them come -and meet us?” He started off on a gallop immediately. My object in this -was to obtain protection in case of an attack, rather than to obtain -help to carry me. - -Very soon after the men from Carthage made one excuse after another, -until they had all left, and I felt glad to get rid of them. I found -that the tramping of those carrying me produced violent pain, and a -sleigh was produced and attached to the hind end of Brother James -Aldred’s wagon, a bed placed upon it, and I propped up on the bed. Mrs. -Taylor rode with me, applying ice and ice-water to my wounds. As the -sleigh was dragged over the grass on the prairie, which was quite tall, -it moved very easily and gave me very little pain. - -When I got within five or six miles of Nauvoo the brethren commenced to -meet me from the city, and they increased in number as we drew nearer, -until there was a very large company of people of all ages and both -sexes, principally, however, men. - -For some time there had been almost incessant rain, so that in many -low places in the prairie it was from one to three feet deep in water, -and at such places the brethren whom we met took hold of the sleigh, -lifted it, and carried it over the water; and when we arrived in the -neighborhood of the city, where the roads were excessively muddy and -bad, the brethren tore down the fences, and we passed through the -fields. - -Never shall I forget the difference of feeling that I experienced -between the place that I had left and the one that I had now arrived -at. I had left a lot of reckless, bloodthirsty murderers, and had -come to the City of the Saints, the people of the living God; friends -of truth and righteousness, thousands of whom stood there with warm, -true hearts to offer their friendship and services, and to welcome -my return. It is true it was a painful scene, and brought sorrowful -remembrances to mind, but to me it caused a thrill of joy to find -myself once more in the bosom of my friends, and to meet with the -cordial welcome of true, honest hearts. What was very remarkable, I -found myself very much better after my arrival at Nauvoo than I was -when I started on my journey, although I had traveled eighteen miles. - -The next day, as some change was wanting, I told Mrs. Taylor that if -she could send to Dr. Richards, he had my purse and watch, and they -would find money in my purse. - -Previous to the doctor leaving Carthage, I told him that he had better -take my purse and watch, for I was afraid the people would steal them. -The doctor had taken my pantaloons’ pocket, and put the watch in it -with the purse, cut off the pocket, and tied a string round the top; it -was in this position when brought home. My family, however, were not a -little startled to find that my watch had been struck with a ball. I -sent for my vest, and, upon examination, it was found that there was -a cut, as if with a knife, in the vest pocket which had contained my -watch. In the pocket the fragments of the glass were found literally -ground to powder. It then occurred to me that a ball had struck me at -the time I felt myself falling out of the window, and that it was this -force that threw me inside. I had often remarked to Mrs. Taylor the -singular fact of finding myself inside the room, when I felt a moment -before, after being shot, that I was falling out, and I never could -account for it until then; but here the thing was fully elucidated, -and was rendered plain to my mind. I was indeed falling out, when some -villain aimed at my heart. The ball struck my watch, and forced me -back; if I had fallen out I should assuredly have been killed, if not -by the fall, by those around, and this ball, intended to dispatch me, -was turned by an overruling Providence into a messenger of mercy, and -saved my life. I shall never forget the feelings of gratitude that I -then experienced toward my heavenly Father; the whole scene was vividly -portrayed before me, and my heart melted before the Lord. I felt that -the Lord had preserved me by a special act of mercy; that my time had -not yet come, and that I had still a work to perform upon the earth. - - (Signed), JOHN TAYLOR. - -NOTES. - -In addition to the above I give the following: - -Dr. Bernhisel informed me that Joseph, looking him full in the -face, and as solemn as eternity, said, “I am going as a lamb to the -slaughter, but I am as calm as a summer’s morning. I have a conscience -void of offense toward God and man.” I heard him state, in reply to -an interrogatory, made either by myself or some one in my hearing, in -relation to the best course to pursue, “I am not now acting according -to my judgment; others must counsel, and not me, for the present,” or -in words to the same effect. - -The governor’s remarks about the press may be partially correct, so far -as the legal technicality was concerned, and the order of administering -law. The proper way would perhaps have been for the City Council to -have passed a law in regard to the removal of nuisances, and then for -the Municipal Court to have ordered it to be abated on complaint. Be -this as it may, it was only a variation in form, not in fact, for the -Municipal Court formed part of the City Council, and all voted; and, -furthermore, some time after the murder, Governor Ford told me that the -press ought to have been removed, but that it was bad policy to remove -it as we did; that if we had only let a mob do it, instead of using -the law, we could have done it without difficulty, and no one would -have been implicated. Thus the governor, who would have winked at the -proceedings of a mob, lent his aid to, or winked at, the proceedings -of mob violence in the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, for -removing a nuisance according to law, because of an alleged informality -in the legal proceedings or a legal technicality. - -I must here state that I do not believe Governor Ford would have -planned the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith; but, being a man that -courted popular opinion, he had not the firmness to withstand the mob, -even when that mob were seeking to imbrue their hands in the blood of -innocence; he lent himself to their designs, and thus became a partaker -of their evil deeds. - -I will illustrate this vexed question with the following official -paper, which appeared in the “Deserét News,” No. 30: - -“Two of the brethren arrived this evening (June 13th, 1844), from -Carthage, and said that about 300 mobbers were assembled there, with -the avowed intention of coming against Nauvoo. Also that Hamilton was -paying a dollar per bushel for corn to feed their animals.” - -The following was published in the Warsaw Signal Office; I insert it as -a specimen of the unparalleled corruption and diabolical falsehood of -which the human race has become capable in this generation: - -“At a mass meeting of the citizens of Hancock County, convened at -Carthage on the 11th day of June, 1844, Mr. Knox was appointed -President, John Doty and Lewis F. Evans, Vice-Presidents, and William -Y. Head, Secretary. - -“Henry Stephens, Esq., presented the following resolutions, passed at -a meeting of the citizens of Warsaw, and urged the adoption of them as -the sense of this meeting: - -“PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS. - -“Whereas information has reached us, about which there can be no -question, that the authorities of Nauvoo did recently pass an ordinance -declaring a printing-press and newspaper published by the opponents -of the Prophet a nuisance, and in pursuance thereof did direct the -marshal of the city and his adherents to enter by force the building -from whence the paper was issued, and violently (if necessary) to take -possession of the press and printing materials, and thereafter to burn -and destroy the same; and whereas, in pursuance of said ordinance, the -marshal and his adherents, together with a mob of Mormons, did, after -sunset on the evening of the 10th inst., violently enter said building -in a tumultuous manner, burn and destroy the press and other materials -found on the premises; - -“And whereas Hyrum Smith did, in presence of the City Council and -the citizens of Nauvoo, offer a reward for the destruction of the -printing-press and materials of the ‘Warsaw Signal,’ a newspaper also -opposed to his interest; - -“And whereas the liberty of the press is one of the cardinal principles -of our government, firmly guaranteed by the several Constitutions of -the states as well as the United States; - -“And whereas Hyrum Smith has within the last week publicly threatened -the life of one of our valued citizens, Thos. C. Sharp, the editor of -the ‘Signal:’ - -“Therefore be it solemnly _Resolved_ by the citizens of Warsaw in -public meeting assembled, - -“That we view the recent ordinance of the city of Nauvoo, and the -proceedings thereunder, as an outrage of an alarming character, -revolutionary and tyrannical in its tendency, and, being under color of -law, as calculated to subvert and destroy in the minds of the community -all reliance on the law. - -“_Resolved_, That as a community we feel anxious, when possible, to -redress our grievances by legal remedies; but the time has now arrived -when the law has ceased to be a protection to our lives and property; -a mob at Nauvoo, under a city ordinance, has violated the highest -privilege in our government, and to seek redress in the ordinary mode -would be utterly ineffectual. - -“_Resolved_, That the public threat made in the council of the city not -only to destroy our printing-press, but to take the life of its editor, -is sufficient, in connection with the recent outrage, to command the -efforts and the services of every good citizen to put an immediate stop -to the career of the mad Prophet and his demoniac coadjutors. We must -not only defend ourselves from danger, but we must resolutely carry -the war into the enemy’s camp. We do therefore declare that we will -sustain our press and the editor at all hazards. That we will take full -vengeance--terrible vengeance, should the lives of any of our citizens -be lost in the effort. That we hold ourselves at all times in readiness -to co-operate with our fellow-citizens in this state, Missouri, and -Iowa, _to exterminate_--UTTERLY EXTERMINATE, the wicked and abominable -Mormon leaders, the authors of our troubles. - -“_Resolved_, That a committee of five be appointed forthwith to notify -all persons in our township _suspected_ of being the tools of the -Prophet to leave immediately on pain of INSTANT VENGEANCE. And we do -recommend the inhabitants of the adjacent townships to do the same, -hereby pledging ourselves to render all the assistance they may require. - -“_Resolved_, That the time, in our opinion, has arrived when the -adherents of Smith, as a body, should be driven from the surrounding -settlements into Nauvoo; that the Prophet and his miscreant adherents -should then be demanded at their hands, and if not surrendered, A -WAR OF EXTERMINATION SHOULD BE WAGED, to the entire destruction, if -necessary for our protection, of his adherents. And we do hereby -recommend this resolution to the consideration of the several -townships, to the Mass Convention to be held at Carthage, hereby -pledging ourselves to aid to the utmost the complete consummation of -the object in view, that we may thereby be utterly relieved of the -alarm, anxiety, and trouble to which we are now subjected. - -“_Resolved_, That every citizen arm himself, to be prepared to sustain -the resolutions herein contained. - -“Mr. Roosevelt rose and made a brief but eloquent speech, and called -upon the citizens throughout the country to render efficient aid -in carrying out the spirit of the resolutions. Mr. Roosevelt then -moved that a committee of seven be appointed by the chair to draft -resolutions expressive of our action in future. - -“Mr. Catlin moved to amend the motion of Mr. Roosevelt so that the -committee should consist of one from each precinct; which motion, as -amended, was adopted. - -“The chair then appointed the following as said committee: Colonel Levi -Williams, Rocky Run Precinct; Joel Catlin, Augusta; Samuel Williams, -Carthage; Elisha Worrell, Chili; Captain Maddison, St. Mary’s; John -M. Ferris, Fountain Green; James Rice, Pilot Grove; John Carns, Bear -Creek; C. L. Higbee, Nauvoo; George Robinson, La Harpe; and George -Rockwell, Warsaw. - -“On motion of Mr. Sympson, Walter Bagby, Esq., was requested to -address the meeting during the absence of the committee. He spoke long -and eloquently upon the cause of our grievances, and expressed his -belief that the time was now at hand when we were individually and -collectively called upon to repel the innovations upon our liberties, -and suggested that points be designated as places of encampment at -which to rendezvous our forces, that we may be ready, when called upon, -for efficient action. - -“Dr. Barns, one of the persons who went with the officers to Nauvoo -for the purpose of arresting the rioters, having just arrived, came -into the meeting, and reported the result of their proceedings, which -was, that the persons charged in the writs were duly arrested, but -taken from the officer’s hands on a writ of _habeas corpus_ from the -Municipal Court, and discharged, and the following potent words entered -upon the records--HONORABLY DISCHARGED. - -“On motion of O. C. Skinner, Esq., a vote of thanks was tendered to Dr. -Barns for volunteering his services in executing said writs. - -“Francis M. Higbee was now loudly called for. He stated his personal -knowledge of the Mormons from their earliest history, throughout their -hellish career in Missouri and this state, which had been characterized -by the darkest and most diabolical deeds which had ever disgraced -humanity. - -“The committee appointed to draft resolutions brought in the following -report, which, after some considerable discussion, was unanimously -adopted: - -“‘Whereas the officer charged with the execution of a writ against -Joseph Smith and others, for riot in the County of Hancock, which said -writ said officer has served upon said Smith and others; and whereas -said Smith and others refuse to obey the mandate of said writ; and -whereas, in the opinion of this meeting, it is impossible for the said -officer to raise a posse of sufficient strength to execute said writ; -and whereas it is the opinion of this meeting that the riot is still -progressing, and that violence is meditated and determined on, it is -the opinion of this meeting that the circumstances of the case require -the interposition of executive power: Therefore, - -“‘_Resolved_, That a deputation of two discreet men be sent to -Springfield to solicit such interposition. - -“‘2d. _Resolved_, That said deputation be furnished with a certified -copy of the resolution, and be authorized to obtain evidence by -affidavit and otherwise in regard to the violence which has already -been committed and is still farther meditated.’ - -“Dr. Evans here rose and expressed his wish that the above resolutions -would not retard our operations, but that we would each one arm and -equip ourselves forthwith. - -“The resolutions passed at Warsaw were again read by Dr. Barns, and -passed by acclamation. - -“On motion of A. Sympson, Esq., the suggestion of Mr. Bagby, appointing -places of encampment, was adopted, to wit: Warsaw, Carthage, Green -Plains, Spilman’s Landing, Chili, and La Harpe. - -“On motion, O. C. Skinner and Walter Bagby, Esqrs., were appointed -a committee to bear the resolutions adopted by this meeting to his -excellency the governor, requiring his executive interposition. - -“On motion of J. H. Sherman, a Central Corresponding Committee was -appointed. - -“Ordered, That J. H. Sherman, H. T. Wilson, Chauncy Robinson, Wm. S. -Freeman, Thomas Morrison, F. M. Higbee, Lyman Prentiss, and Stephen H. -Tyler be said committee. - -“On motion of George Rockwell, - -“_Resolved_, That constables in the different precincts hold themselves -in readiness to obey the officer in possession of the writs, whenever -called upon, in summoning the posse. - -“On motion, the meeting adjourned. - - “JOHN KNOX, President. - “JOHN DOTY, } Vice-Presidents. - “LEWIS F. EVANS, } - -“W. Y. HEAD, Secretary.” - -The following will conclude the “Expositor Question:” - - “Nauvoo, June 14th, 1844. - - “SIR,--I write you this morning briefly to inform you of the facts - relative to the removal of the press and fixtures of the ‘Nauvoo - Expositor’ as a nuisance. - - “The 8th and 10th instant were spent by the City Council of Nauvoo in - receiving testimony concerning the character of the ‘Expositor,’ and - the character and designs of the proprietors. - - “In the investigation it appeared evident to the Council that - the proprietors were a set of unprincipled, lawless debauchees, - counterfeiters, bogus-makers, gamblers, peace-disturbers, and - that the grand object of said proprietors was to destroy our - constitutional rights and chartered privileges; to overthrow all - good and wholesome regulations in society; to strengthen themselves - against the municipality; to fortify themselves against the Church - of which I am a member, and destroy all our religious rights and - privileges by libels, slanders, falsehoods, perjury, etc., and - sticking at no corruption to accomplish their hellish purposes; and - that said paper of itself was libelous of the deepest dye, and very - injurious as a vehicle of defamation, tending to corrupt the morals, - and disturb the peace, tranquillity, and happiness of the whole - community, and especially that of Nauvoo. - - “After a long and patient investigation of the character of the - ‘Expositor,’ and the characters and designs of its proprietors, the - Constitution, the Charter (see Addenda to Nauvoo Charter from the - Springfield Charter, sec. 7), and all the best authorities on the - subject (see Blackstone, iii., 5, and n., etc., etc.), the City - Council decided that it was necessary for the ‘peace, benefit, good - order, and regulations’ of said city, ‘and for the protection of - property,’ and for ‘the happiness and prosperity of the citizens - of Nauvoo,’ that said ‘Expositor’ should be removed; and declaring - said ‘Expositor’ a nuisance, ordered the mayor to cause them to be - removed without delay, which order was committed to the marshal by - due process, and by him executed the same day, by removing the paper, - press, and fixtures into the streets, and burning the same; all which - was done without riot, noise, tumult, or confusion, as has already - been proved before the municipality of the city; and the particulars - of the whole transaction may be expected in our next ‘Nauvoo - Neighbor.’ - - “I send you this hasty sketch that your excellency may be aware of - the lying reports that are now being circulated by our enemies, that - there has been a ‘_mob_ at _Nauvoo_,’ and ‘_blood and thunder_,’ - and ‘_swearing that two men were killed_,’ etc., etc., as we hear - from abroad, are false--false as Satan himself could invent, and - that nothing has been transacted here but what has been in perfect - accordance with the strictest principles of law and good order on - the part of the authorities of this city; and if your excellency is - not satisfied, and shall not be satisfied, after reading the whole - proceedings, which will be forthcoming soon, and shall demand an - investigation of our municipality before Judge Pope, or any legal - tribunal at the Capitol, you have only to write your wishes, and we - will be forthcoming; we will not trouble you to file a writ or send - an officer for us. - - “I remain, as ever, a friend to truth, good order, and your - excellency’s humble servant, - - (Signed), JOSEPH SMITH. - - “His Excellency Thomas Ford.” - - -IV. - -I think that the unpalatable assertion in the text will be proved by -the following contrasted extracts from the London “Times” and the -“Deserét News.” - - THE BLACK COUNTRY.--The reports of the assistant commissioners - engaged in the recent education inquiry contain some very painful - notices of the state of morals in some parts of the kingdom. In - collier villages in Durham, where the men earn high wages, which - they know no way of spending but in the gratification of animal - appetites, the condition of the people in respect to morals and - manners, it is said, may not be described. Adultery is made a matter - of mere jest, and incest also is frightfully common, and seems to - excite no disgust. In some of those parts girls mingle with boys - at school till 13, 14, or 15 years of age, and that in schools not - superintended by women; it is impossible to state the coarseness - of manners that prevails in these schools. Coming south, into - Staffordshire, we are told that in the union of Dudley, where boys - and girls can earn high wages, their independence of their parents’ - aid to maintain them leads to a remarkable independence of conduct, - and, in fact, no restraint is put upon their inclinations either - by their parents or the opinion of the neighborhood. It is held - rather a shame to an unmarried woman not to have had a child; and - the assistant commissioner, Mr. Coode, says that the details given - to him by the most respectable and trustworthy witnesses would, if - they could be reported, be discredited by most men of the world only - acquainted with the ordinary profligacy of the poor; but he adds - that, notwithstanding all this, the behavior and manners in other - respects of girls and women is not in public less decent than that - in places of better repute, and it is generally asserted that this - early corruption of females does not hinder them from being very - good neighbors, and excellent, hard-working, and affectionate wives - and mothers. Education in this district is not much prized; it is - a common saying, “The father went to the pit and he made a fortune, - the son went to school and he lost it.” But so much has been done by - the upper classes in providing schools for the lower that education - is gradually making its way, and many who can not read are ashamed of - their deficiency, and desirous to have their children taught. In a - village where an energetic clergyman, who has adopted a rough, strong - style of preaching, has succeeded in filling his church, Mr. Coode - noticed during the service that all the people affected to find the - place in the books furnished to them, but full half the books were - held upside down, and within his observation not one was open at the - right place, except where some young person taught to read in the - school was by to find it. - - _An Ordinance relating to Houses of Ill-fame and Prostitution._ - - Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of Great Salt Lake City, - that any person or persons who shall be found guilty of keeping, - or shall be an inmate of any house of ill-fame, or place for - the practice of fornication or adultery, or knowingly own or be - interested as proprietor or landlord of any such house, or any person - or persons harboring or keeping about his, her, or their private - premises any whore-master, strumpet, or whore, knowing them to be - guilty of following a lewd course of life, shall be liable to a fine - for each offense not exceeding one hundred dollars, or imprisonment - not exceeding six months, or both fine and imprisonment, at the - discretion of the court having jurisdiction. In a prosecution under - this section, the person having charge of any house or place shall be - deemed the keeper thereof. - - Sec. 2. It shall be lawful, on the trial of any person before said - court charged with either of the offenses named in the preceding - section, for the city to introduce in support of such charge - testimony of the general character and reputation of the person or - place touching the offense or charge set forth in the complaint, and - the defendant may likewise resort to testimony of a like nature for - the purpose of disproving such charge. - - Sec. 3. No person shall be incapacitated or excused from testifying - touching any offense committed by another against any of the - provisions set forth in the first section of this ordinance by reason - of his or her having participated in such crime, but the evidence - which may be given by such person shall in no case be used against - the person so testifying. - - Sec. 4. The word adultery, as made use of in this ordinance, shall be - construed to mean the unlawfully cohabiting together of two persons - when either one or both of such persons are married; and the word - fornication shall be construed to mean the cohabiting together of two - unmarried persons. - - Passed December 30th, 1860. - - A. O. SMOOT, Mayor. - - ROBERT CAMPBELL, City Recorder. - - -V. CHRONOLOGICAL ABSTRACT OF MORMON HISTORY. - - 1801. June 1. Birth of Mr. Brigham Young, at Wittingham, Vermont, U. - S. In this year Mr. Heber C. Kimball also was born (June 14th). - - 1805. Dec. 23. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., son of Mr. Joseph Smith, sen., - generally called “Old Father Smith,” and Lucy Mack, known as “Mother - Smith,” born at Sharon, Windsor Co., Vermont. - - 1812. A book called the “Manuscript Found” was presented to Mr. - Patterson, a bookseller at Pittsburgh, Penn., by Mr. Solomon Spalding - or Spaulding, of Crawford, Penn.; born in Ashford Co., and a graduate - of Dartmouth College. The author died, the bookseller followed him - in 1826, and the book fell into the hands of a printer’s compositor, - Sidney Rigdon, one of the earliest Mormon converts. Anti-Mormons - identify parts of the “Book of Mormon” with the “Manuscript Found.” - The Saints deny the existence of a Patterson, and assert that Mr. - Spaulding’s book was a mere historical and idolatrous romance - concerning the Ten Lost Tribes, altogether different from their - Biblion. They trace the calumny to a certain Doctor (so called - because a seventh son) Philastus Hurlbert or Hurlbut, an apostate - excommunicated for gross immorality, and bound over in $500 to keep - the peace, after threatening to murder Mr. Joseph Smith, jun.; and - they observe that in those early days their Prophet was too unlearned - a man to adapt or to alter a manuscript. - - 1814. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., powerfully awakened by the preaching of - Mr. Lane, an earnest Methodist minister. - - 1815. Mr. and Mrs. Smith removed with their family--Alvin, Hyrum, - Sophronia, Joseph, Samuel, Ephraim, William, and Catharine, from - Vermont to New York. They first lived at Palmyra, Wayne Co., for ten - years, and then passed on to Manchester, Ontario Co., the site of the - Hill Cumorah, where they tarried eleven or twelve years. - - 1820. Many religious revivals in Western New York. Mr. Joseph Smith - becomes partial to Methodism (J. Hyde, chap. viii.). Early in the - spring of the year occurred Mr. Joseph Smith, jun.’s first or - preparatory vision announcing his ministry. - - 1823. Sept. 20. Second vision; the Angel of the Lord revealed in - rather a solemn way to Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., the existence of the - Gold Plates, which, according to anti-Mormons, he and his brother - Hyrum had been employed in forging and fabricating for some years. On - the next day (22d) Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., opened the place where the - Plates were deposited and saw them. - - 1825. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., was employed by a person called Stroude - to dig for him, near Hartwich, Oswego City, N. Y. Money-diggers were - then common in that part of the state, seeking the buried treasures - of Captain Kidd, the buccaneer. Near Hartwich, between the years - 1818-1832, lived Mrs. Spaulding, and Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., stole - the “Manuscript Found” from a trunk full of papers (J. H). - - 1827. Jan. 18. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., married Miss Emma Hale, - daughter of Isaac Hale, of South Bainbridge, Chenango Co., N. Y. This - person afterward became the Cyria Electa, or Elect Lady, and ended by - apostatizing and marrying a Gentile. - - Sept. 22. The Golden Plates which the angel announced were taken up - from the Hill Cumorah with a mighty display of celestial machinery, - and the Breastplate and the Urim and Thummim were found. According to - Gentiles, the latter was a “peep-stone stolen from Willard Chase.” - - 1828. February. Martin Harris, a farmer from whom Mr. Joseph Smith, - jun., had borrowed $50 to defray expenses of printing the “Book of - Mormon,” submitted a transcript of the characters to Professor Anthon - and Dr. Mitchell of New York. The former pronounced them to be a - “singular scroll,” and “evidently copied after the Mexican Calendar - given by Humboldt.” - - July. Translation of the “Book of Mormon” suspended in consequence - of Martin Harris stealing (116-118?) pages of the manuscript, which - were never replaced. For this reason he was not enrolled among the - glorious first six converts to Mormonism. - - 1829. April 16. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., saw O. Cowdery the first - time. Translation of the “Book of Mormon” resumed, O. Cowdery acting - as secretary. - - May 15. John the Baptist ordained into the Aaronic priesthood Mr. - Joseph Smith, jun., and O. Cowdery, his amanuensis, who forthwith - baptized each other. - - June or July. The Plates of the “Book of Mormon” were shown by the - Angel of God to the three earthly witnesses--Oliver Cowdery, David - Whitmer, and Martin Harris. - - 1830. The “Book of Mormon” was translated and published, and this - year is No. 1 of the Mormon Æra. - - April 6. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was - organized at Manchester, N. Y. It began with six members or elders - being ordained, viz., Mr. Joseph Smith, sen., Mr. Hyrum Smith, Mr. - Joseph Smith, jun., Mr. Samuel Smith, Mr. Oliver Cowdery, and Mr. - Joseph Knight. The Sacrament was administered, and hands were laid on - for the gift of the Holy Ghost on this first occasion in the Church. - - April 11. Oliver Cowdery preached the first public discourse on this - dispensation, and the principles of the Gospel as revealed to Mr. - Joseph Smith, jun. During this month the first miracle was performed - by the power of God in Colesville, Broome Co., N. Y. - - June 1. First Conference of the Church at Fayette, Seneca Co., N. - Y. During this month Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., was twice arrested on - false pretenses, tried, and acquitted; while his wife, by special - revelation, was entitled “Elect Lady” and “Daughter of God.” - - August. Parley P. Pratt and Sidney Rigdon were converted. - - Sept. 19. O. Pratt baptized. - - October. The first missionaries to the Lamanites were appointed. - - December. Sidney Rigdon visited the Prophet. - - 1831. January. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., set out for Kirtland, the - birthplace of Sidney Rigdon. - - Feb. 1. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., arrived at Kirtland, Ohio, the first - of his many Hegiras. - - Feb. 9. God commanded the elders to go forth in pairs and preach. - - March 8. John Whitmer was appointed Church recorder and historian by - revelation. - - June 6. The Melchizedek, or Superior Priesthood, was first conferred - upon the elders. - - June 10-19. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and sundry Saints transferred - themselves from Kirtland, Ohio, to Jackson County, Missouri, where - they arrived in the middle of July. The Land of Zion was dedicated - and consecrated for the gathering of the Saints, and the first log - was laid in Kaw township, twelve miles west of Independence, Missouri. - - Aug. 2-3. Site for the temple of New Zion dedicated, a little west of - Independence. - - Aug. 4. First Conference of the Church in the land of Zion held. - - Aug. 9. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., returned from Independence to - Kirtland, and, arriving about the end of the month (27th?), - established the fatal “Kirtland Safety Society Bank.” - - 1832. March 25. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and Sidney Rigdon were tarred - and feathered by a mob for attempting to establish communism and - dishonorable dealing, forgery, and swindling (J. H.). - - March 26. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., acknowledged the President of the - High Priesthood at a General Council of the Church; visited his flock - in Missouri. - - April 2. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., left Ohio for Missouri, and arrived - at Independence on the 24th. - - April 14. Mr. Brigham Young, converted by Elder Samuel Smith, and - baptized by Eleazar Millard, in this year went to Kirtland, Ohio, and - became a devoted follower of the Prophet. - - May 1. At an Œcumenical Council held at Independence, Mo., it was - decided to print the “Book of Doctrines and Covenants.” - - May 6. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., left Missouri for Kirtland, where he - arrived in June. - - June. The first Mormon periodical, the “Evening and Morning Star,” - was published by the Church, under the superintendence of Mr. W. W. - Phelps, at Independence, Mo., where the Saints numbered 1200 souls. - - Nov. 6. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun.’s, son Joseph born at Kirtland, Ohio. - - In this year Mr. Heber C. Kimball was baptized. - - 1833. Jan. 22. Gift of tongues conferred. - - Feb. 2. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., finished his inspired retranslation - of the New Testament. - - March 18. The Quorum of Three High Priests, viz., Mr. Joseph Smith, - jun., Sidney Rigdon, a Campbellite or reformed Baptist preacher, - and Frederick G. Williams, an early convert, was organized as a - Presidency of the Church in Kirtland, and forthwith proceeded to have - visions of the Savior, of concourses of angels, etc., etc. - - July 2. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., finished the translation of the Bible. - - July 20. A mob of Missourians in Jackson City tore down the new - newspaper office, tarred, feathered, and whipped the Saints. - Thereupon, three days afterward, the Saints agreed with their - persecutors to leave Jackson Co., and laid the corner-stone of the - Lord’s House in Kirtland. - - Sept. 11. A printing-press was established at Kirtland for the - publication of the “Latter-Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate,” - Bishop Partridge being at the head of the Church in Zion. - - Oct. 8. Elders W. W. Phelps and O. Hyde presented to the governors - of Missouri a petition from the Saints of Jackson City praying for - redress. - - Oct. 31. Ten Mormon houses destroyed by the populace in Jackson Co. - - Two of a mob were killed by the Saints. “This was the first - blood shed, and the Mormons shed it” (J. H.). Until Nov. 4, the - persecutions continued till the Saints evacuated Jackson Co., and - fled to Clay Co. - - December. Persecutions raged against the Saints in Van Buren Co., Mo. - - Dec. 18. Mr. Joseph Smith, sen., was ordained Patriarch. - - Dec. 27. The mob permitted Messrs. Davis and Kelley to carry the - establishment of the “Evening and Morning Star” to Liberty, Clay Co., - Mo., where they began to publish the “Missouri Enquirer.” - - 1834. Feb. 17. A First Presidency of Three and a High Council of - Twelve were first organized. - - Feb. 20. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., began to raise a small army for - carrying out his dreams of physical conquest and temporal sovereignty - (J. H.); also to defend himself against the Missourian mob. - - May 3. At a Conference of Elders in Kirtland, the body ecclesiastic - was first named “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.” - The body of Zelph, the Lamanite, was dug up by Mr. Joseph Smith, - jun., in Illinois. - - May 5. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., marched on Missouri with 150 - Mormons(?). In other words, left Kirtland for Missouri with a company - for the redemption of Zion. - - June 19. The cholera broke out in “Zion’s camp” soon after its - arrival in Missouri, and a terrible storm scattered the mob. - - June 23. The camp, after suffering from cholera, arrived at Liberty, - Clay Co., Missouri. - - June 29 (or Nov. 29?). Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and Oliver Cowdery - first make a “Conditional Covenant with the Lord” that they would pay - tithing. This was its first introduction among the Latter-Day Saints. - - July 9. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., left Clay Co. and returned to - Kirtland, where he arrived about the end of the month. - - 1835. Feb. 14. A Quorum of Twelve Apostles was organized, among - whom were Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball. The former, being - then thirty-four years old, was appointed the head of the Apostolic - College, and, receiving the gift of tongues, was sent on a missionary - tour toward the east. - - Feb. 21. First meeting of the Twelve Apostles. - - Feb. 28. The organization of the Quorum of Seventies began. - - May 3. The Twelve left Kirtland on their first mission. - - July. The rolls of Egyptian papyrus, which contained the writings of - Abraham and Joseph in Egypt,[244] were obtained in the early part of - this month. - - [244] “Nemo mortalium omnibus horis sapit” is well proved by the - Mormon attempts to decipher hieroglyphics. M. Remy has given, with - the assistance of M. Théodule Devéria, a terrible blow to the Book of - Abraham in the seventeenth note at the end of his second volume. - -Aug. 17. At a General Assembly at Kirtland, the “Book of Doctrines and -Covenants” was accepted as a rule of faith and practice, including the -“Lectures on Faith” delivered by Sidney Rigdon. - -1836. Jan. 4. A Hebrew professorship established at Kirtland. - -Jan. 21. The authorities of the Church in Kirtland met in the Temple -school-room, and anointed and blessed one another, when visions of -heaven were opened to many. - -March 24-27. The House of the Lord in Kirtland, costing $40,000, was -dedicated. - -April 3. In the House of the Lord, the Savior, Moses, Elias, and Elijah -appeared to Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and O. Cowdery, and delivered the -keys of the several priesthoods, and unlimited power in things temporal -and spiritual. - -May. The Mormons were requested by the citizens to remove from Clay -Co., Mo., to Carroll, Davies, and Caldwell Counties, and founded the -city of “Far West” in Caldwell Co. - -1837. June 12. Messrs. H. C. Kimball and O. Hyde, and on the 13th W. -Richards, set out to convert England (returned in July, 1838). This was -the first organized foreign mission. - -July 20. Elders H. C. Kimball, O. Hyde, W. Richards, J. Goodson, T. -Russell, and Priest J. Fielding, leaving Kirtland on June 13, sailed -from New York in the ship “Garrick” (July 1), and landed at Liverpool. -Three days afterward Preston had the honor of first hearing the -preaching of the Gospel as revealed to Mr. Joseph Smith, jun. The first -baptism by divine authority was performed by immersion in the River -Ribble (July 30), and the first confirmation of members took place at -Walkerford Chaidgey (Aug. 4). - -July 27. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., was prosecuted with a vexatious -lawsuit at Painesville, Ohio. - -Sept. 27. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., left Kirtland to establish -gathering-places and visit the Saints in Missouri, and arrived in Far -West about the last of October or the first of November. - -Dec. 10. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., arrived in Kirtland from Missouri. - -Dec. 25. The first Conference of Mormons in England was held in the -Cock-pit, Preston. An extensive apostasy befell during this month in -Kirtland, Ohio; and the “Safety Society Bank” failed, to the great -scandal of Mormondom. - -1838. Jan. 12. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and Sidney Rigdon fled from -Kirtland to escape mob violence, and arrived at Far West on March 14. - -April 12 and 13. Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer, the -three witnesses to the “Book of Mormon” (others say O. Cowdery, D. -Whitmer, and L. E. Johnson), charged with lying, theft, counterfeiting, -and defaming the Prophet’s character, were cut off from the Church (J. -H.). Orson Hyde, Thos. B. Marsh, W. W. Phelps, and others apostatized, -accused the Prophet of being accessory to several thefts and murders, -and of meditating a tyranny over that part of Missouri, and eventually -over the whole republic (J. H.). - -April 20. Elders H. C. Kimball and O. Hyde sailed from Liverpool on -their return home. - -July 4. Sidney Rigdon, in an anniversary discourse called “Sidney’s -Last Sermon,” threatened Gentiles and apostates with violence; the -“Danite Band,” according to anti-Mormons, was at once organized. - -July 6. The Saints were again persecuted; 565 Saints left Kirtland for -Missouri, and Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., was carried before Judge King. - -Aug. 6. Troubles in Gallatin Co. occasioned by elections. The Mormons -say that persecutions of the Saints commenced in Davies Co., Mo. - -Aug. and Sept. Emeutes between the mob and the Mormons: the latter -seized sixty to eighty stand of arms at Richmond, and fired on the -militia, mistaking them for the mob. The militia, after losing several -of their number, returned the fire, killing Mr. D. W. Patten (J. H.). - -Sept. 7. Mr. Joseph Smith, jr., was tried before Judge King, of Davies -Co. - -Sept. 25. The Saints, attempting political rule in Davies Co., were -attacked by the citizen mob, who murmured at being placed under Mormon -rule (J. H.), and forced the intruders to vacate. Mr. Brigham Young -fled for his life to Quincy, Ill. - -Oct. 1. After a battle in Carroll Co., Mo., the Saints agreed to -evacuate the town of De Witt, Carroll Co. (Oct. 11). - -Oct. 25. At the battle of Crooked River, D. W. Patten, alias Captain -Fearnot, the head of the Danites, was killed (Mormon Calendar). - -Oct. 27. General Lilburn W. Boggs, of Missouri, issued his -“extermination order” to General J. B. Clark. - -Oct. 30. The militia (mob), to revenge the death of their comrades, -slaughtered sixteen Mormons and two boys at Haun’s Mills. - -Oct. 31. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and others, were betrayed by J. M. -Hinckle. - -Nov. 1. General J. B. Clark, with a military force, surrounded Far -West, and took prisoners (by stratagem) Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., Mr. -Hyrum Smith, and forty others, who were placed in jail, tried by -court-martial, and sentenced to be shot--a catastrophe prevented by -General Doniphan. The Saints gave up their arms, and Far West was -plundered by the mob. - -Nov. 2. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and his fellow-prisoners left Far West -for Independence. - -Nov. 4. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and his fellow-prisoners were kindly -received at Independence. - -Nov. 12. Mr. Joseph Smith and 52 others were tried at Richmond, Ray -Co., Mo., and, after a narrow escape from being shot by the militia, -were handed to the civil authorities, placed in close confinement in -Liberty jail, and released. - -December. The Saints withdrew into Illinois. - -1839. Feb. 14 and March 26. Mr. Brigham Young and others fled from Far -West to Illinois, and attempted to relay the foundations of the Temple -at the New Jerusalem, twelve miles west of Independence, Jackson Co., -Missouri. - -April 6. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and his fellow-prisoners were removed -for trial from Richmond to Gallatin, Davies Co. - -April 9. The trial of the prisoners commenced before Judge King. - -April 15. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and his companions left Davies for -Boone Co., and on the way escaped from their jailor-guards. - -April 18-22. The Saints evacuated Far West, and arrived with Mr. Joseph -Smith, jun., at Quincy, Illinois. - -April 26. Mr. Brigham Young privily laid the foundation of a Temple at -Independence (M. Remy). A Conference was held at the Temple Lot, in Far -West, in fulfillment of a revelation given July 8th, 1838. (Appendix to -“Compendium of Faith and Doctrines,” etc.) - -May 9. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., visited Commerce, Hancock Co., Illinois, -at the invitation of Dr. Isaac Galland, of whom he obtained, gratis, a -large tract of land to induce the Mormons to immigrate, and upon the -receipt of revelation called his people around him, and sold them the -town lots (J. H.). - -June 11. The first house was built by the Saints at Commerce, a new -“State of Zion,” afterward called Nauvoo--the beautiful site--which -presently contained 15,000 souls. - -June 27. Orson Hyde, the Apostle, returned to the Church. - -July 4. P. P. Pratt and Morris Phelps escaped from the jail in -Columbia, Boone Co., Missouri. - -Aug. 29. Elders P. P. Pratt and O. Pratt set out on their first mission -to England, followed on Sept. 18 by Elders Brigham Young and H. C. -Kimball, and on Sept. 20, 21, by Elders G. A. Smith, R. Hedlock, and -T. Turley: O. Hyde, though previously appointed by revelation, did not -accompany them (J. H.). The result was a body of 769 converts. - -Oct. 29. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., S. Rigdon, E. Higbee, and O. P. -Rockwell, the chief of the Danites, set out from Nauvoo as delegates -from the Church to the general government, and arrived on. the 28th of -November at Washington, D. C., seeking to obtain redress from Congress -for their losses in Missouri. - -1840. March 4. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., returned from Washington to -Nauvoo. - -March 9. Elders Young, Kimball, P. P. Pratt, O. Pratt, Smith, and -Hedlock sailed from New York for England. - -April 6. The English mission from New York landed at Liverpool. - -April 15. Elder O. Hyde set out from Nauvoo on a mission to Jerusalem. - -April 21. Commerce was finally named Nauvoo. - -May 27. The first number of the “Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star” -was published at Manchester. - -June 6. The first company of emigrating Saints sailed from Liverpool, -and reached New York in July 20. About the 1st of June appeared the -first English edition of the “Latter-Day Saints’ Hymn Book.” - -Aug. 7. The first regular company of 200 emigrants, conducted by Elders -Theodore Turley, a returning missionary, and William Clayton, an early -English convert, sailed from Liverpool to New York. - -Sept. 14. Mr. Joseph Smith, sen., died at Nauvoo. - -Oct. 3. The Mormons began to build their Temple, and petitioned the -Legislature of Illinois for the incorporation of Nauvoo. - -Dec. 16. The municipal charter of the city of Nauvoo became law. - -1841. January. The first English edition of the “Book of Mormon” was -published. - -Feb. 4. The Nauvoo Corporation Act, passed in the preceding winter, -began to be in force. The Nauvoo Legion was organized by Mr. Joseph -Smith, who made himself its lieutenant general. - -April 6. The corner-stone of the House of the Lord in Nauvoo was laid. -A second mission, composed of Elders B. Young, H. C. Kimball, O. -Pratt, W. Woodruff, J. Taylor, G. A. Smith, and W. Richards left New -York on April 2d, and landed at Liverpool on May 20. - -June 5. Mr. Joseph Smith was arrested under a requisition from the -Governor of the State of Missouri, was tried at Monmouth, Illinois, on -the 9th, and was acquitted on the next day. - -July 1. Messrs. Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball returned from -England. - -Nov. 8. The baptismal font in Nauvoo Temple was dedicated. - -1842. March 1. “Book of Abraham” translated and published in “Times and -Seasons.” - -May 6. Attempt to assassinate Lieutenant Governor Boggs, attributed to -O. P. Rockwell. - -May 19. Mr. Joseph Smith made Mayor of Nauvoo. - -Aug. 6. Mr. Joseph Smith prophesied that the Saints would be driven to -the Rocky Mountains. - -Aug. 8. Mr. Joseph Smith arrested a second time under circumstances -similar to those of the first. - -Dec. 7. Mr. O. Hyde returned from his mission to Palestine. - -Dec. 26. Mr. Joseph Smith, charged with assassination, was arrested -a third time under a requisition from the Governor of the State of -Missouri. - -In this year polygamy began to be whispered about Nauvoo (J. H.). - -1843. Jan. 5. Mr. Joseph Smith acquitted at Springville. - -Jan. 20. Mr. O. Pratt received back into the Church. - -May 6. Lieutenant Governor L. W. Boggs (under Governor D. Dunklin), -of Missouri (who had offended the Mormons by driving them from the -state in 1838), was shot in the mouth through an open window--an act -generally attributed to O. P. Rockwell, Chief of the Danites, “with the -connivance and under the instructions of Joseph Smith” (J. H.). In this -year Mr. Joseph Smith became Mayor of Nauvoo, _vice_ J. C. Bennett, -“cut off for imitating Smith in his spiritual wifedom” (J. H.). -Anti-Mormons declare that in 1843 polygamy was enjoined a second time, -but not practiced till 1852. - -June 23. Mr. Joseph Smith again arrested, and released on July 2. - -July 12. Revelation enjoining polygamy received. - -Aug. 30. General J. A. Bennett baptized. - -Nov. 4. Mr. Joseph Smith sent his letters to the candidates for the -Presidency of the United States. - -Nov. 28. Mr. Joseph Smith addresses a memorial to Congress respecting -the transactions at Missouri. - -1844. Feb. 7. Mr. Joseph Smith issued his address as candidate for the -Presidency of the United States. - -May 17. Mr. Joseph Smith was carried in triumph through the streets of -Nauvoo. - -May 4. Francis M. Higbee, expelled for disobedience from the Church, -prosecuted Mr. Joseph Smith for slander, and arrested him under -a capias: the defendant then sued out a habeas corpus before the -Municipal Court of Nauvoo, of which he was mayor. - -May 6. Dr. R. D. Foster and Mr. William Law, having libeled, in the -“Expositor” paper, Mr. Joseph Smith, accusing him of having taken to -spiritual wife Mrs. Foster, were punished by the marshal and municipal -officers, who, with a posse, broke the press as a nuisance, and burned -the types. The libelers fled, and took out a warrant against Mr. Joseph -Smith and others, who resisted and repelled the officer in charge, -whereupon the militia was ordered out. - -June 13. The Gentiles armed against the Mormons. - -June 17. Mr. Joseph Smith arrested and released. - -June 24. Governor Ford, of Illinois, persuaded the Smiths, under the -pledge of his word, and the faith and honor of the state, to yield -up their arms, and sent them prisoners under the charge of sixty -militia-men, the Carthage Grays, a highly hostile body, commanded by -Captain Smith, to Carthage, the capital of Hancock Co., eighteen to -twenty miles from Nauvoo, where 5000 Mormons were in arms. - -June 25. The prisoners were arrested by the constable on a charge of -treason. - -June 26. The governor again pledged himself for the personal safety of -his prisoners. - -June 27 (Thursday). A body of 200 armed Missourians, with their -faces painted and blackened, broke into Carthage jail, and at 5 P.M. -murdered, in a most cowardly and brutal manner, Mr. Joseph Smith and -his brother Hyrum, and desperately wounded Mr. John Taylor; Dr. Willard -Richards alone escaping. - -Aug. 15. The Twelve Apostles, with Mr. Brigham Young at the head, -assumed the Presidency of the Church, and addressed an Encyclical to -“all the Saints in the world.” - -Oct. 7. Mr. Brigham Young, the President of the Twelve Apostles, came -from Boston, and succeeded to the Presidency of the Church, defeating -Sidney Rigdon, who was forthwith cut off, and delivered over to the -buffetings of Satan. - -Nov. 17. Mr. David Smith, son of the Prophet, born at the Nauvoo -Mansion. - -1845. The Mormon leaders determined to abandon Nauvoo. - -May. The capstone of the Mormon Temple was laid, and endowments began. - -Sept. 11. Twenty-nine Mormon houses burnt by the Gentiles. - -Sept. 24. The charter of Nauvoo was repealed by the State Legislature. -The authorities of the Church made a treaty with the mob to evacuate -the “Beautiful City” on the following spring. Several places were -proposed: Vancouver’s Island by Mr. John Taylor, Texas by Mr. Lyman -Wight, California by others; at last they chose some valley in the -Rocky Mountains (J. H.). - -1846. January. Baptism for the dead was administered in the Mississippi -River; on the 20th a band of Mormon pioneers left Nauvoo, and “located” -at Council Bluffs, Iowa. - -February. The first Mormon exodus began with this month; 2000 souls -crossed the frozen Mississippi _en route_ for Council Bluffs. - -April 24. The exiled Saints arrived at Garden Grove, Iowa Territory. - -May 1. Dedication of the Temple at Nauvoo. - -May 16. The pioneer camp of the Saints arrived at Mount Pisgah, Iowa -Territory. - -June-July. The Mormon battalion (500 men), on being called for by the -general government, set out for the Mexican campaign. “Mr. Brigham -Young sells a company of his brethren for $20,000” (J. H.). “You shall -have your battalion at once, if it has to be a class of our elders,” -said Mr. Brigham Young (Captain H. Stansbury). - -Sept. 10-13. After three days of fighting the few surviving Saints were -expelled from Nauvoo in a “cruel, cowardly, and brutal manner.” - -Sept. 16. The trustees of the Church in Nauvoo made a treaty with the -mob for the surrender of their city, and its immediate evacuation -by the remnant of the Saints. Toward the end of this year and the -beginning of the next, the Quorum of Three was reorganized at a special -conference, held at Council Bluffs, Iowa, Mr. Brigham Young nominating -his coadjutors. The “Twelve” delivered themselves of an epistle to the -Saints, urging them to recommence the gathering. - -1847. April 14. The pioneer band, 143 men, headed by Mr. Brigham Young, -and driving seventy wagons, left winter quarters, Omaha Nation, on the -west bank of the Missouri River, and followed Colonel Frémont’s trail -over the Rocky Mountains. - -July 23. Messrs. O. Pratt, W. Woodruff, and a few others arrived at the -valley of the Great Salt Lake. - -July 24. Mr. Brigham Young and the main body entered the valley on -this day, which became a solemn anniversary in the Church. The Mormons -proceeded to lay the foundations of the city. - -Oct. 31. Mr. Brigham Young returned to Council Bluffs. - -1848. Feb. 20. The emigration from England reopened after a suspension -of two years. - -May. Mr. Brigham Young (whose appointment had been confirmed by a -General Conference held at Kanesville, Iowa) left winter quarters the -second time, and, followed by Mr. H. C. Kimball and the mass of the -Saints, reached the Promised Land in September. - -September. Some Mormons who had started from New York for San -Francisco, expecting to find the Church in California or Vancouver’s -Island, arrived in Great Salt Lake City from the West. - -Nov. 10. The Temple in Nauvoo burnt. - -1849. March 5. At a convention held in Great Salt Lake City the -Constitution of the State of Deserét was drafted, and the Legislature -was elected under its provisions. - -July 2. Delegates sent to Washington petitioned for admission into the -Union as a free, sovereign, and independent state. - -August. Captain Stansbury and Lieutenant Gunnison, Topographical -Engineers, by order of the federal government, surveyed Great Salt Lake -Valley. - -Sept. 9. A bill organizing Utah Territory was signed by President -Fillmore. The Perpetual Emigration Fund was organized. Five Yutas were -killed in battle by Captain John Scott and his Mormons. - -1850. April 5. The Assembly met, and Utah Territory was duly organized. - -May 27. The walls of the Temple at Nauvoo were blown down by a -hurricane. - -June 14. The first missionaries to Scandinavia landed in Copenhagen, -Denmark. - -June 15. The first number of the “Deserét News” appeared under the -editorship of Dr. Willard Richards. - -Aug. 12. The first baptisms in Denmark by legal authority in this -Dispensation took place. - -Sept. 9. The “Act” for organizing the Territory of Utah became a law. -Mr. Brigham Young was appointed Governor and Superintendent of Indian -Affairs in Utah Territory by President Fillmore, who signed the act. -The judges, Brocchus, Day, and Brandeburg, and Mr. Secretary Harris, -arrived at Great Salt Lake City. - -Sept. 22. Judge Brocchus insulted the people, and, accompanied by the -other federal officers, fled from the Territory. - -Oct. 13. The first company of Perpetual Emigration Fund emigrants -arrived in Great Salt Lake City from the United States. - -Dec. 7. The first branch of the Church in France was organized at Paris. - -In 1850 was the Indian War. Mr. Higbee was the first white settler -slain, and many of the Yutas were killed. - -1851. Jan. 9. Great Salt Lake City was incorporated. - -Feb. 3. Mr. Brigham Young sworn in as Governor of Utah. - -April 5. Legislature of Provisional State of Deserét dissolved. The -Legislative Assembly was elected under the Territorial Bill. A memorial -signed by 13,000 names was forwarded to her Britannic majesty’s -government, proposing for a relief by emigration of a portion of the -poorer subjects to colonize Oregon or Vancouver’s Island, the latter -being about the dimensions of England. - -April 7. The Tabernacle was built, and at a General Conference in Great -Salt Lake City it was voted to build a Temple. - -Sept. 22. Opening of the Legislature of Utah Territory. Great trouble -with the government of the United States fomented by the federal -officials’ march. The Legislature forbade by ordinances the sale of -arms, ammunition, and spirituous liquors to the Indians. - -Dec. 13. Parovan City, on Centre Creek, Iron Co., Utah Territory, -founded. - -1852. June. Fifteen Frenchmen baptized in Paris. - -Aug. 29. The revelation on the celestial law of marriage, alias -polygamy (bearing date 1843), was published by Mr. Brigham Young. - -Sept. 3. The first company of Perpetual Emigration Fund converts from -Europe reached Great Salt Lake City. - -Dec. 13. The Legislative Assembly of Utah Territory met for the first -time. The judges and the Secretary of State appointed by President -Pierce came to hand. - -1853. Jan. 17. The Deserét Iron Company was chartered by the -Legislature of Utah Territory. - -Jan. 25. The missionary elders O. Spencer and J. Houtz arrived in -Berlin, Prussia, and were banished on the 2d of February. - -Feb. 14. Temple Block was consecrated, ground was broken for the -foundation of the Temple, and the excavations began. - -March 7. The first missionaries to Gibraltar arrived there. - -April 6. Corner-stone of the new Temple laid with religious rites. - -In the summer (July) and autumn of this year were serious Indian -troubles. At 6 A.M., Oct. 26th, Lieutenant J. W. Gunnison and eight men -of his party, including the botanist, M. Creutzfeldt, were massacred on -the border of Sevier River, twenty miles north of Lake Sevier. - -Nov. 1. The first number of the “Journal of Discourses” was published -in England. This year Keokuk was made the outfitting place for -emigrants. - -1854. January. New alphabet adopted by the University of Deserét. - -April 7. Mr. J. M. Grant was appointed to the First Presidency, _vice_ -W. Richards, deceased on March 11th. - -May 23. The patriarch John Smith died, and was succeeded by another -John Smith, son of Hyrum Smith, and nephew of the Prophet. - -June 28. John Smith, son of Hyrum Smith, was appointed Patriarch over -the Church. - -August. Colonel Steptoe, commanding about 1000 federal troops, arrived -at Great Salt Lake City. - -Sept. 9. At the instance of Colonel Steptoe, who refused to resign his -military commission, Mr. Brigham Young was reappointed governor, and -held the office until 1857. Even the Gentiles memorialized in his favor. - -1855. Jan. 29. Walchor, alias Wakara, alias Walker, chief of the Yuta -Indians, died (was secretly put to death and buried by Jordan, Mr. -Chandless). - -May 5. Endowment House in Great Salt Lake City consecrated. - -May 11. Treaty of peace concluded with the Yuta Indians. - -May. Colonel Steptoe, after a stay of six months, marched with the -United States cavalry to California. - -August (July?). Judge Drummond, Surveyor General Burr, and other United -States officials, arrived at Great Salt Lake City. - -In the fall of this year one third of the crops was destroyed by -drought and grasshoppers. - -October. A branch of the Church was organized in Dresden (15th); -Elder O. Spencer died on the 29th. The First Presidency of the Church -proposed in a general epistle that Saints emigrating by the Perpetual -Emigration Fund should cross the Prairies and Rocky Mountains with -hand-carts. - -Dec. 10. The local Legislature met for the first time at Fillmore, -the Territorial capital, and passed a bill authorizing an election of -delegates to a Territorial Convention for the purpose of forming a -State Constitution, and to petition Congress for the admission of Utah -into the Union. They also passed a bill authorizing a census. - -Most of the Mormons became polygamists (J. H.). - -1856. March 17. A convention of delegates met in Great Salt Lake -City, and adopted a State Constitution, sending Messrs. John Taylor -and George A. Smith, apostles, both as delegates to Washington, with -a view to obtaining admission into the Union as a state. No answer -was returned. During the very severe winter and spring half the stock -perished by frost, and grain became very scarce. - -May. Judge W. W. Drummond left Great Salt Lake City, after having -forwarded false charges of rebellion, burning the library, and -destroying the archives: these reports caused all the troubles with the -United States. - -The practice of tithe-paying was introduced among the Saints in Europe. -Iowa City was made the outfit point for the Plains. - -June. Lucy Mack, the Prophet’s mother, died. - -Sept. 26. The first hand-cart train crossed the Plains, and arrived at -Great Salt Lake City. - -1857. (The winter of Mormon discontent.) March. Judge Drummond reported -calumnies against the Mormons. - -April. Surveyor General Burr and other United States officials left -Utah Territory and returned to the United States. - -The Territorial Legislature petitioned Congress to send better -officers, or to permit the Mormons to appoint _bonâ fide_ citizens and -residents. - -Mail communication with the States--the “Y Express” established by Mr. -Brigham Young--was cut off, to keep the Mormons ignorant of the steps -taken against them, and this continued for nearly a year. The Press in -the United States generally opined that the Mormons were to be “wiped -out.” - -May 14. Apostle Parley P. Pratt killed by Hector M‘Lean in Kansas. - -June 29. Brigadier General W. S. Harney, commanding Fort Leavenworth, -was ordered to take charge of the army of Utah. He was removed after -declaring that he would “hang Brigham first and try him afterward,” -and was succeeded first by Colonel Alexander, and afterward by General -Johnston. - -Sept. 3, 4. Indians aided by white men massacred 115 to 120 emigrants -at Mountain Meadow. - -In this month 1400 men, artillery and liners of the 5th and 10th -regiments, appeared upon the Sweetwater, followed by 1000 more, making -the whole force amount to 2400 men, a kind of _posse comitatus_ to -enforce obedience to the federal laws. - -Sept. 15. Mr. Brigham Young issued the remarkable document -subjoined.[245] General Wells was ordered to occupy the passes in the -Wasach Mountains, and 2016 Mormons prepared to defend their hearths -and homes against the violence of the United States. Captain Van Vliet -arrived at Great Salt Lake City. - - [245] _Proclamation by the Governor, proclaiming Martial Law in the - Territory of Utah._ - - “CITIZENS OF UTAH,--We are invaded by a hostile force, who are - evidently assailing us to accomplish our overthrow and destruction. - - “For the last twenty-five years we have trusted officials of the - government, from constables and justices to judges, governors, and - presidents, only to be scorned, held in derision, insulted, and - betrayed. Our houses have been plundered and then burned, our fields - laid waste, our principal men butchered while under the pledged - faith of the government for their safety, and our families driven - from their homes to find that shelter in the barren wilderness, and - that protection among hostile savages, which were denied them in the - boasted abodes of Christianity and civilization. - - “The Constitution of our common country guarantees unto us all that - we do now or have ever claimed. - - “If the constitutional rights which pertain unto us as American - citizens were extended to Utah, according to the spirit and meaning - thereof, and fairly and impartially administered, it is all that we - could ask--all that we have ever asked. - - “Our opponents have availed themselves of prejudice existing against - us because of our religious faith to send out a formidable host to - accomplish our destruction. We have had no privilege, no opportunity - of defending ourselves from the false, foul, and unjust aspersions - against us before the nation. The government has not condescended - to cause an investigating committee or other person to be sent to - inquire into and ascertain the truth, as is customary in such cases. - - “We know those aspersions to be false, but that avails us nothing. - We are condemned unheard, and forced to an issue with an armed - mercenary mob, which has been sent against us at the instigation - of anonymous letter-writers ashamed to father the base, slanderous - falsehoods which they have given to the public; of corrupt officials, - who have brought false accusations against us to screen themselves in - their own infamy; and of hireling priests and howling editors, who - prostitute the truth for filthy lucre’s sake. - - “The issue which has been thus forced upon us compels us to resort - to the great first law of self-preservation, and stand in our own - defense--a right guaranteed unto us by the genius of the institutions - of our country, and upon which the government is based. - - “Our duty to ourselves, to our families, requires us not to tamely - submit to be driven and slain without an attempt to preserve - ourselves. Our duty to our country, our holy religion, our God, - to freedom and liberty, requires that we should not quietly stand - still and see those fetters forging around which are calculated to - enslave and bring us in subjection to an unlawful military despotism, - such as can only emanate [in a country of constitutional law] from - usurpation, tyranny, and oppression. - - “Therefore I, Brigham Young, Governor and Superintendent of Indian - Affairs for the Territory of Utah, in the name of the people of the - United States in the Territory of Utah, - - “1st. Forbid all armed forces, of every description, from coming into - this Territory under any pretense whatever. - - “2d. That all the forces in said Territory hold themselves in - readiness to march at a moment’s notice, to repel any and all such - invasion. - - “3d. Martial law is hereby declared to exist in this Territory from - and after the publication of this proclamation; and no person shall - be allowed to pass or repass into, or through, or from this Territory - without a permit from the proper officer. - - (L.S.) - - “Given under my hand and seal at Great Salt Lake City, Territory of - Utah, this fifteenth day of September, A.D. eighteen hundred and - fifty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America - the eighty-second. - - BRIGHAM YOUNG.” - -Oct. 5-6. The Mormons, who were “spoiling for a fight,” burned, without -the orders of their governor, two provision trains, one of fifty-one -and the other of twenty-three wagons, causing great want and violent -exasperation in the army of Utah. - -November. Army of Utah encamped near Green River. - -Nov. 21. Proclamation of Mr. Cumming, the new governor. - -Dec. 15. Mr. Brigham Young’s message to the Legislature of Utah. - -1858. Jan. 16. Address of citizens of Great Salt Lake City sent to -President Buchanan. - -February. Colonel Kane reached Great Salt Lake City. - -April 5. Governor A. Cumming appointed to Utah Territory after the -thankless offer had been refused by sixteen or seventeen political -persons; left Camp Scott, near Fort Bridger, and on the 12th of April -entered Great Salt Lake City. The “rebellion in Utah” found to be a -pure invention. - -Mr. Brigham Young, followed by 25,000 souls, marched to Provo, with -their stock, flocks, and chattels, even their furniture. - -April 15. Governor Cumming officially reported a respectful reception, -and the illumination of Echo Kanyon; also that the records of the -United States Courts, then in charge of a Mormon, Mr. W. H. Hooper, -Secretary _pro tem._, the Territorial Library, in charge of Mr. W. C. -Staines, and other public property, were all unimpaired, the contrary -report having constituted the _causa belli_. - -April 24. Governor Cumming issued a proclamation that he would assume -effective protection of all persons illegally restrained of their -liberty in Utah. Few availed themselves of his offer. The Indian agent, -Dr. T. Garland Hurt, was accused of having incited the Uinta Indians to -acts of hostility against the Mormons--a standing charge and counter -charge in the United States. - -May 21. The governor made a requisition that “no hinderance may be -hereafter presented to the commercial, postal, or social communications -throughout the Territory.” - -May 29. The “Peace Commissioners” from Washington, ex-Governor -Lazarus W. Powell, of Kentucky, and Major Ben M‘Culloch, of Texas, -the celebrated Indian fighter, arrived at Great Salt Lake City (where -they staid till June 2), and after proclaiming a general amnesty and -free pardon, obtained permission for the army of Utah to enter the -Territory, and to encamp at a place not nearer than forty miles from -New Zion. - -June 12. Mr. Brigham Young treated with the Peace Commissioners. - -June 14. The President’s pardon “for all treasons and seditions” was -proclaimed by the governor, and accepted by the citizens. - -June 26. The federal troops, having left Camp Scott, passed through the -deserted City of the Saints, led by Lieutenant Colonel Cooke, who rode, -according to Mormon report, with head uncovered; they remained for two -days encamped on the Jordan, outside the settlement, and then moved -twelve to fifteen miles westward for wood and grass. - -1859. The Legislature sat at Great Salt Lake City. - -Judge Charles S. Sinclair attempted to break faith by misinterpreting -the amnesty, and nearly caused collision between the federal troops and -the Mormons. - -The Hon. John Cradlebaugh, ex-officio judge of the Second Judicial -District Court, Utah Territory, quartered a company of 110 men in -the court-house and public buildings of Provo, thereby causing -disturbances; Governor Cumming protested against the proceeding. - -The Deserét currency plates were seized at Mr. Brigham Young’s house. - -Jan. 2. Religious service, interrupted by the war, again performed in -the Tabernacle. - -Feb. 28. Troubles between the citizens at Rush Valley and the federal -troops under General A. J. Johnston, commanding the Department of Utah. - -March 25. Mr. Howard Spencer, nephew of Mr. Daniel Spencer, was -severely wounded by First Sergeant Ralph Pike, Company I of the 10th -Regiment. - -Aug. 10. Sergeant Pike, summoned for trial to Great Salt Lake City, was -shot in the street, it is supposed by Mr. H. Spencer. - -In this month the citizens of Carson Valley declared themselves -independent of Utah Territory. - -1860. Mr. Forney, Indian Superintendent, Utah Territory, and highly -hostile to the Mormons, was removed. - -Troubles with the troops. Mr. Heneage, a Mormon citizen, was flogged at -a cart’s tail by two federal officers under a little mistake. - -June 20. Major Ormsby (militia) and his force destroyed by the Indians -near Honey Lake. - -1861. The federal troops evacuated the Land of the Saints. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Aborigines, American. _See_ Indians. - Absinthe. _See_ Sage, wild. - Academy of the 7th Ward of Great Salt Lake City, 360. - Adobe manufactory near Great Salt Lake City, 344-5. - Adobe of the Western World, 197. - Adobe, origin of the name, 197, _note_. - Adoption among the North American Indians, 117. - Adoption, Mormon principle of, 269. - Adultery, Mormon punishment for, 426. - Agricultural Society of Deserét, 316. - Agriculture, list of premiums awarded at the annual show, 285-287, - _note_. - Agriculture, present state of, in Great Salt Lake Valley, 285. - Alamo. _See_ Cotton-wood-tree. - Albino, rarity of an, among the Indians, 104. - Albinos among buffaloes, 51. - Alcohol distilled in Great Salt Lake City, 320. - Alexander, Colonel B., his hospitality, 90. - Algæ in Great Salt Lake, 326. - Algarobia grandulosa, or mezquite-tree, 7. - Alkali Lake, 153. - Alkali Lake Station on the Platte River, 54. - Almanac, the, published in Utah, 253. - America, shape of the continent of, 6. - American Fork, 447. - “Americanisms, Dictionary of,” Bartlett’s, quoted, 17, _note_. - Animal life, absence of, on the Grand Prairie, 18. - Animal life, in the American Sahara, 64. - Animal worship of the American Indians, 108. - Animals and vegetables, confusing trivial names for, in America, 142, - _note_. - Animals, Indian signs for, 126. - Animals of the Uinta Hills, 178. - Animals, small quantity of food required to fatten, in the Rocky - Mountains and in Somaliland, 140. - Animals, wild, at Rocky Bridge, 159. - Animals, wild, in the wooded heights of the Wind-River Mountains, 165. - Animals, wild, of the Black Hills, 142. - Animals, wild, of the Rattlesnake Hills, 153. - Animals, wild, of Utah Territory, 279. - Antelope at Rocky Ridge, 159. - Antelope, its habitat, 67. - Antelope, its meat, 67. - Antelope or Church Island, 194, 323, 327. - Antelope Springs, 464, 465. - Antelope, the (Antelocapra Americana), 67. - Ant-hills, 196. - Apadomey female warriors, 113. - Arapaho, or Dirty-Nose Indians, 142, 143. - Arapaho, loose conduct of, 117. - Arapaho, sign of the tribe of, 123, 124. - Arapaho, their lodges, 86. - Arapaho, their personal appearance, 143, 144. - Arapaho, visit of some, from a neighboring camp, 142. - Archery, Sioux skill in, 120. - Arickaree, or Ree Indians, 37. - Arms of the North American Indians, 57, 119. - Arms, ignorance of the lower grades of English of the use of, 174. - Army of the United States, remarks on the, 336. - Army, grievances of the, 445. - Arroyo, fiumara or nullah, an, 70. - Arrow-poison of the Indians, 482. - Arrows of the North American Indian, 119, 120. - Arrow-wood (Viburnum dentatum), 119. - Art in America, remarks on, 186, 187. - Artemisia. _See_ Sage, wild. - Asclepias tuberosa, common in Utah Territory, 167. - Ash Hollow, 70. - Ash Hollow, General Harney’s defeat of the Brûlé Sioux at, 70, 89. - Ash-Hollow Creek, 70. - Assiniboin Indians, 97. - Assiniboin Indians, their present habitat, 100. - Assiniboin River, 100. - Aurora borealis, a splendid, in the prairies, 61. - Avena fatua of the Pacific Water-shed, 139. - - Badeau’s Ranch, or Laramie City, 88. - Badgers at Rocky-Bridge Station, 161. - Bartlett’s “Dictionary of Americanisms” quoted, 17, _note_. - Basswood, 17. - “Basswood Mormons,” 17, _note_. - Bath, the hot air and water, of the North American Indian, 119. - Bathing and its dangers, 156. - Battle Creek, 447. - Bauchmin’s Creek, 189, 190. - Bauchmin’s Creek, valley of, 189. - Bauchmin’s Fork, 189. - Bauchmin’s Fork, station at, 189. - “Bear’s Rib,” Mato Chigukesa, made chief of the Brûlé Sioux, 89. - Bear Bay, 182. - Bear, flesh of the, as food, 231. - Bear, in Cotton-wood Kanyon, 347. - Bear, of the Black Hills, 142. - Bear River, 182, 183, 325. - Bear River, coal found on the banks of, 182. - Bear River Mountains, 174. - Bear Springs, in Utah Territory, 274. - Bear, the grizzly, 192. - Bear traps, 347. - Beavers in the torrent-bed of Echo Kanyon, 187. - Beavers, tails of, as food, 231. - Bedstead, populousness of, 202. - Bee, a, on the topmost summit of the Rocky Mountains, 165. - Bee House in Great Salt Lake City, 246. - Beer, or Soda Springs, 179. - Beer of Great Salt Lake City, 320. - Beet-root grown in Great Salt Lake Valley, 287. - Bell, Governor, of Great Salt Lake City, 215. - Bench-land of the Great Salt Lake Valley, 195. - Bennett, J. C., his work on the Mormons, 205, _note_. - Big Field, near Great Salt Lake City, 198. - Bighorn, or American moufflon, 153, 155. - Big Kanyon, 192. - Big Mountain, 190. - Big Mountain, pass of the, 190, 191. - Bill of fare at a supper in Great Salt lake City, 232. - Birds near Fort Kearney, 48. - Birds of Utah Territory, 280. - Birds, wild, of the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, 165. - Bishops, the Mormon, 400. - Bison Americanus. _See_ Buffalo. - Bissonette, M., the Creole, 139. - Blackfeet, or Sisahapa Indians, 98. - Blackfeet, sign of the tribe of, 124. - Blackfeet, their friendliness to whites, 165. - Blackfeet, their lodges, 86. - Black Hills, the, 91. - Black Hills, the, animals to which they afford shelter, 142. - Black Hills, geography of the, 134. - Black Rock, near Great Salt Lake, 324. - Black Rock, view from the, 330. - Black’s Fork River, 174, 176. - Black’s Fork, vegetation of, 177, 178. - Bloomer dress, 91, 92. - Blue River, Big, 29. - Blue River, Little, 38. - Blue River, Little, fish of the, 38. - Blue-Earth River, Indians west of, 96. - Bluffs on the prairies, 29. - Bogus, origin of the term, 417, _note_. - Bonhomme Island, sand-banks at, 15. - “Book of Mormon,” the. _See_ “Mormon, Book of.” - Books necessary to the Western traveler, 10. - Books on Mormonism, list of, 203, _note_. - Botany of Utah Territory, 280. - Boulders, huge natural pile of, Brigham’s Peak, 136. - Boulders, in Great Cotton-wood Kanyon, 346. - Bow and arrow of the North American Indian, 119. - Bowery, the, in Great Salt Lake City, 220. - Bowery, visit to the, 258. - Box-Elder Creek, 136. - Boys, Indian, 59. - “Brass, City of,” of the Arabs, 78. - Braves, Indian, 57. - Bread made in the prairies, 84. - Bread-root of the Western hunters, 182, _note_. - Breakfast in the prairies, 84. - Brewery, Utah, 332. - Brick-making at Great Salt Lake City, 344, 345. - Bridger, Colonel James, the celebrated trapper, 178. - Bridger, Fort, 178. - Bridger, Range of the Uinta Hills, 176. - Bridle and bit used on the prairies, 27. - Brigham’s Kanyon, 194, 235. - Brigham’s Peak, 136. - Brigham’s Peak, the driver’s story of, 136. - “British-English” Mormons on the road to Great Salt Lake City, 137. - Brûlé Sioux Indians, their habitat, 98. _See_ Sioux. - Brutisch, Giovanni, the Venetian, 485. - Bugs, bed, 160, _note_. - Bugs, other, 160, _note_. - Buffalo, absence of the, on the Grand Prairie, 18. - Buffalo, annual destruction of, 50. - Buffalo, berry, the, cultivated in Great Salt Lake City, 170, _note_. - Buffalo, Britishers and buffalo shooting, 73. - Buffalo, extinct westward of the Rocky Mountains, 50. - Buffalo, former and present number of, 50. - Buffalo, grass, 51. - Buffalo, herds of, 48. - Buffalo, Indian mode of hunting it, 51, 52. - Buffalo, Indian mode of preparing the skins of, 52. - Buffalo, its habits, 51. - Buffalo, number of robes purchased by the several companies, 49, - _note_. - Buffalo, three great families of, 50. - Buffalo, uses to which it is put, 51, 52. - Buffalo, wild, as compared with tame meat, 49. - Bullock, W. T., the Mormon, 419. - Bunch-grass, 139. - Bunch-grass, its geographical limits, 139. - Bunch-grass, proposed acclimatization of, 140. - Bundling among the North American Indians, 116. - Bundling, antiquity of the practice, 116, _note_. - “Bunk,” the, at Lodge-Pole Station, 66. - Burnt-Thigh Indians, their habitat, 98. - Butte Station, 468. - Buttes, Red, trading-post of, 146. - Buttes, meaning of the word, 146, _note_. - Butterfield, or American Express, route of the, 3. - Butterfield, or American Express, its receipts from government, 4. - - Cache Cave, 184. - Cache Valley, 335. - Cacti of the American wilderness, 64. - Cactus, intoxicating, 64, _note_. - Calidarium, the Indian, 119. - California, establishment of the mail-coach route from Missouri to, 4. - California, roads from Great Salt Lake City to, 452. - California, slope and surface of the land of, 8. - California, time for setting out for, 138. - Calumet, the, regarded as a sacred instrument, 112. - Camel corps, proposal for establishing a, for American outpost duty, - 46. - Camp Floyd, description of, 334. - Camp Floyd, hatred of the Mormons expressed at, 339. - Camp Floyd, position of the camp, 446. - Camp Floyd, second visit to, 444. - Camp Floyd, the sick certificate, 342. - Camp Floyd, trip to, 331. - Camp Scott, near Fort Bridger, 179. - Canadians, French, settled in the Far West, 152. - Canis latrans, the, 64. - Cannibals, how far the North American Indians are, 117. - Cannon River, Indians west of, 96. - Card-playing among the North American Indians, 117. - Carrington, Albert O., the Mormon, 242. - Carrington Island, 327. - Carson City, 494, 496. - Carson City, lawless violence of, 288. - Carson House Station, 189. - Carson Kit, the celebrated guide and Indian interpreter, 178. - Carson Lake, 274, 491. - Carson River, 493. - Carter, Judge, and his store, 179. - Caswall, Rev. Henry, his works on Mormonism, 205, _note_. - Cattle starved in some regions, 138. - Cattle, numbers of skeletons seen, 138. - Cedar Creek, 334. - Cedar, effect of climate upon the growth of the, 41. - Cedar, gradually diminishing, 53. - Cedar Island, the first, in the Missouri, 41. - Cedar, the name, as used in the United States, 70, _note_. - Ceremony and manners, Indian want of, 118. - Chamizo, or greasewood, 158. - Chandless, William, his work on Mormonism, 204, _note_. - Cherokees, their present condition, 35. - Cherokees, their lodges, 86. - Cheyenne Indians, the, 99. - Cheyenne Indians, sign of their tribe, 124. - Cheyenne Indians, their chastity, 117. - Cheyenne Indians, their lodges, 86. - Chieftainship among the Indians, 117. - Children, Indian fondness for, 103. - Children, Indian, 59. - Children, of the Mormons, 422-3. - Children, of the Prophet, 249. - Chimney Rock, the, 74. - China-town, Carson River, 496. - Chinche, or bug, the, 160, _note_. - “Chip” fires in the prairies, 48. - Chipmonk, or Chipmuk, the, 159, _note_. - Chippewas. _See_ Ojibwa Indians. - Choctaw Indians, their lodges, 86. - Chokop’s Pass, 480. - Chronology of the most important events recorded in the Book of - Mormon, 411. - Chugwater, the, 90. - Church Butte, geological formation of, 176. - Churchill, Fort, 493. - Cities, formation of, in Utah Territory, 291. - City-Creek Kanyon, 195. - Climate of Platte Bridge, 137. - Climate of the country near Fort Bridger, 179, 180. - Climate of Utah Territory, 275. - Clothing necessary to the Prairie traveler, 10. - Coaches, mail, from Missouri to California and Oregon, 4. - Coaches, materials of which they are made, 12. - Coaches, slow rate of traveling, 5. - Coaches, the “Concord coach,” 12. - Coal found on the banks of the Bear and Weber Rivers, and at Silver - Creek, 182. - Coal in Nebraska, 141. - Coal in Utah Territory, 281. - Coal near Sulphur Creek, 182. - Coal on the banks of the Platte River, 141. - Cold Springs, in Kansas, 18. - Cold Springs, squatter life at, 19. - Cold Springs Station, 487. - Cold-Water Ranch, 49. - Colorado, Rio, fountain-head of the, 162. - Columbia River, fountain-head of the, 162. - Comanche Indians, the, 60, _note_. - Comanche Indians, their lodges, 86. - Compass, the prairie, 48. - “Concord coach,” description of the, 12. - Conference, description of a Mormon, 302-9. - Constitution of the State of Deserét, 289, _note_. - Cookery, dirty, of Indian squaws, 80. - Cookery bill, in the prairies, 84. - Coon’s Kanyon, 194 - Copperas Springs, 181. - Corporation of Great Salt Lake City, 315. - Corrals, mode of forming, 76. - Corrill, John, his work on Mormonism, 205, _note_. - Cotton grown in Great Salt Lake Valley, 287. - Cotton-weed, the, 64. - Cotton-wood Creek, 30. - Cotton-wood Kanyon, Great, 343. - Cotton-wood Kanyon, Great, celebration of Mormon Independence Day at, - 349, _note_. - Cotton-wood Kanyon, Great, timber of, 284, 285. - Cotton-wood Kanyon, Great, visit to, 346. - Cotton-wood Lake, Great, 347. - Cotton-wood Station, in Nebraska, 30, 49. - Cotton-wood tree, the, or Alamo, 32. - Cotton-wood tree, its uses, 32. - Cougar, the, or mountain lion, 153, and _note_. - Council Bluffs, the natural crossing of the Missouri, 71, _note_. - Council Hall of the Seventies in Great Salt Lake City, 229. - Council, the High, of the Mormons, 401. - Counties, list of, of Utah Territory, 291-3. - Coureurs des bois, or unlicensed peddlers, 81. - Court-house Ridge, the, 72. - Court-house, description of it, 72. - Court-house, in Great Salt Lake City, 417. - Court-house, interesting case tried in the, 417. - Cox, Daniel, his idea of a water communication between the Missouri - and the Columbia Rivers, 162, 163, _note_. - Coyotes, or jackals of the Western World, 64. - Coyotes, at Rocky-Bridge Station, 160, 161. - Coyotes, in Echo Kanyon, 188. - Coyotes, near Black’s Fork, 176. - Cree Indians, their habitat, 100. - Creek, Ash-Hollow, 70. - Creek, Battle, 447. - Creek, Bauchmin’s, 189, 190. - Creek, Box-Elder, 136. - Creek, Cedar, 334. - Creek, Cotton-wood, 30. - Creek, Deer, 138. - Creek, Dry, 483. - Creek, Egan’s, 183. - Creek, Grasshopper, 21. - Creek, Horse, 79. - Creek, Horseshoe, 165. - Creek, Kanyon, Big, 191. - Creek, Kanyon, East, 189. - Creek, Kiowa, Little, 79. - Creek, La Bonté, 135. - Creek, Meadow, 451. - Creek, Mill, 195. - Creek, Muddy, Little, 140. - Creek, Nemehaw, Big, 21. - Creek, Omaha, or Little Punkin, 71. - Creek, Pacific, 166. - Creek, Plum, 48. - Creek, Quaking Asp, 161. - Creek, Sandy, 71. - Creek, Sandy, Big, 167. - Creek, Sandy, Little, 167. - Creek, Sheawit, 482. - Creek, Shell, 465, 466. - Creek, Silver, 182. - Creek, Smith’s, 486. - Creek, Snow, 140. - Creek, Strawberry, 161. - Creek, Sulphur, 181. - Creek, Thirty-two-mile, 38. - Creek, Turkey, 30. - Creek, Vermilion, 27. - Creek, Walnut, 21. - Creek, Willow, 161, 461. - Creek, Yellow, 183. - Creeks, or “criks” in America, 21. - Crickets (Anabrus simplex?), scourge of, in Utah Territory, 284. - Crops in Great Salt Lake Valley, 201. - Crosby, Judge, 450. - Cumming, Hon. A., governor of Great Salt Lake City, 215. - Cumming, Hon. A., his impartial discharge of his duties, 216. - Curriculum of the Prairie Indians, 107. - Cursing and swearing in America, 14. - Cynomys Ludovicianus, or prairie-dog, 66. - - Davies, Elder John, his Mormon works, 214, _note_. - Dakotahs. _See_ Sioux. - Dakotahs, meaning of the name, 95. - Dana, Lieutenant, _compagnon de voyage_, 8. - Dancing, Mormon fondness for, 230. - Danite band, account of the, 359. - Dark Valley, 60. - Davis, Hon. Jefferson, his estimate of the cost of a railway from the - Mississippi to the Pacific, 3, _note_. - Dayton, Lysander, the Mormon Bishop, and his wives, 448. - Dead, Indian mode of burial of the, 122. - Deep-Creek Kanyon, 462. - Deep-Creek Station, 463. - Deep-Creek Valley, 463. - Deer Creek, 138. - Deer Creek, establishment at, 139. - Deer, kinds of, found in the regions east of the Rocky Mountains, 68. - Delaware Indians, account of the, 37. - Delaware Indians, their lodges, 86. - Denmark Ward in Great Salt Lake City, 198. - Denver City, lawless violence of, 288. - Deserét, agricultural society of, 285. - Deserét, alphabet, the, 420. - Deserét Store, in Great Salt Lake City, 249. - Deserét, the land of the honey-bee, 169. - “Deserét News,” account of the, 255. - Desert, fertility of its eastern and western frontiers, 7. - Desert, from Fort Kearney to the base of the Rocky Mountains, 6. - Desert mostly uninhabited, 7. - Desert, the First, 167. - Desert, the Great, of Utah Territory, 455, 458. - Des Moines River, Indians west of the, 96. - Devil’s Backbone, the, 147. - Devil’s darning-needle, or dragon fly, 60. - Devil’s Gate, the celebrated kanyon of the, 151. - Devil’s Hole, the, 458, 459. - Devil’s Lake, Indians of, 97. - Devil’s Post-office, the, 154. - Diamond Springs, 60, 480. - Diamond Springs, tragedy at, 60. - Diseases of Utah Territory, 278. - Diseases to which the Indians are liable, 278. - “Divide,” the, between the Green River and Black’s Fork, 174. - “Divide,” the, between the Little Blue and Platte Rivers, 38. - “Divide,” the, between the Platte and Sweet-water Rivers, its - sterility, 146. - Divorce among the Mormons, 427. - Dogs, Indian, 58, 472. - Dog-Teutons in the prairies, 62. - Dolphin Island, 327. - Doxology, Mormon, remarks on the fourteen articles of, 387, _et seq._ - Dragon-fly, or devil’s darning-needle, 60. - Dress, Indian, 57, 59. - Dress, of the Mormon fair sex, 227. - Drivers of mail-coaches, their immorality, 5. - Drivers or “rippers,” the, of the wagon-train, 23. - Drought, trials of, on the counterslope of the Rocky Mountains, 167. - Dry Creek, 483. - Dubail, Constant, the woodman, 466. - Dug-out, Joe, and his station, 334, 444. - Dust-storms in the Valley of the Platte, 75. - Dust-storms of Utah, 276, 450, 451. - Dust-storms on the counterslope of the Rocky Mountains, 168. - - East Kanyon Creek, 189. - Eau qui court, or Niobrara River, 40, 72. - Echo Kanyon, 184. - Echo Kanyon, beavers in the torrent-bed of, 187. - Echo Kanyon Station, 187. - Echo Kanyon, the Mormons’ breastworks in, 187. - Echo Kanyon, vegetation of, 187. - Education in Deserét and England compared, 545. - Education in Great Salt Lake City, 422, 423, 425. - Egan, Major Howard, 453. - Egan’s Creek, 183. - Egan’s Springs, 454, 455. - Egan’s Station, 467. - Eggs and bacon, a constant dish in the West, 38. - Eight-mile-Spring Kanyon, 465. - Eight-mile Springs, 465. - Elder, rank of, in the Mormon hierarchy, 402. - Elk, the (Cervus Canadensis), habitat of, 68. - Emigrants, diseases to which they are liable, 279. - Emigrants, Mormon, arrival of, at Great Salt Lake City, 225-6. - “Emigration Road” in Kansas, 16. - Emigration Kanyon, 193. - Emigration, Mormon system of, 295. - Emigration, statistics of, 297. - Endowment House in Great Salt Lake City, 220. - Endowment House, mysteries of the, 220. - Ensign Peak, spirit of Joseph Smith on, 196. - Evening in the prairies, 38. - Explorers, list of the principal, of the United States, who have - published works on the subject, 171, 172, _note_. - Eye of the Indian, 105. - “Eye-opener,” an, 52. - - Faces, Indian, 105, 106. - Faith, articles of the Mormon, 387, _et seq._ - Farms, Indian, 477. - Farriery of the Indians, 119. - Febrile affections in Great Salt Lake City, 279. - Feet of the Indians, 104. - Fences, “snake,” of the West, 188. - Feramorz, Colonel, 343. - Ferris, B. J., his work on Mormonism, 206, _note_. - Ferris, Mrs., her work on “The Mormons at Home,” 206, 207, _note_. - Ferry, the Lower, over the Platte, 140. - Fête at Great Salt Lake City, account of a, 230-2. - Fetichism of the North American Indians, 107. - “Fever, the Prairie,” 22. - Fingers considered as a trophy by the Indians, 142, _note_. - Fireflies, or lightning-bugs, 60. - Fires, prairie, 29. - Fires, prairie, mode of stopping, 29. - Fir-trees of Great Cotton-wood Kanyon, 346. - Fish of the streams flowing from the Black Hills, 134. - Fish of the Sweetwater, 152. - Fish of the Wasach Lakes, 348. - Fish of Utah Lake, 334. - Fish Springs, 460. - Fish, water of Great Salt Lake fatal to, 326. - Fiumara. _See_ Arroyo. - Floods of the Missouri, 16. - Flowers on the banks of La Grande Platte River, 41, 48, 53. - Folles Avoines Indians, 96, _note_. - Food prejudices, 65. - Foot of Ridge Station, near the Sweetwater, 159. - Fort Bridger, 178. - Fort Churchill, 493, 494. - Forts, frontier, a camel corps proposed for, 46. - Forts, frontier, of the United States described, 41, 42. - Forts, frontier, remarks on the army system of outposts in the United - States, 43, 44. - Fox-River Indians, their tents, 86. - Fox-River, the, or Rivière des Puantes, 19. - Foxes in Echo Kanyon, 187. - Frémont, Colonel, his exploration of the Rocky Mountains, 164. - Frémont, Colonel, his traveling proprieties, 149. - FrémontIsland, 328. - Frémont Peak, in the Rocky Mountains, 153, 161. - Frémont Peak, its height above sea-level, 164. - Frémont Slough, 53. - Frémont Springs, station at, 53. - Frémont Springs, the model veranda at, 53. - Frogtown, or Fairfield, 335. - Fruit in the gardens of the Prophet, 269. - Fruit, wild, of Utah Territory, 283. - Funeral ceremonies of the Sioux Indians, 122. - Fustigator, the mammoth, of the American wagoners, 24. - - Gambling, fondness of the North American Indian for, 117. - Game, abundance of, in the Wind-River Mountains, 68, 165. - Gamma, or gramma, grass of the slopes west of Fort Laramie, 7. - Gardens of the Prophet, in Great Salt Lake City, 269. - General Johnston’s Pass, 454. - Geological formation at Fort Laramie, 90. - Geological formation of Church Butte, 176. - Geological formation of Echo Kanyon, 184. - Geological formation of the banks of the Platte at Snow Creek, 141. - Geological formation of the Black Hills, 134. - Geological formation of the gold diggings, 484. - Geological formation of the Mauvaises Terres, or Bad Lands, 72. - Geological formation of the Rattlesnake Hills, 153. - Geological formation of the valley of the Green River, 169. - Geological formation of Utah Territory, 194. - Geological formation westward of the fort, 91. - Germans in the prairies, their behavior, 62. - Gibraltar Gate, 488. - “Gift, an Indian,” the proverb, 103. - Gilston, Jim, of Illinois, 456. - Girls, Indian, 59. - Gold found in the Wind-River Mountains, 165. - Gold found in Utah Territory, 281. - Gold mines near the Great Salt Lake City, 270, 271. - Golden Pass of Emigration Kanyon, 193. - Gospel, grotesque accounts of the manner in which the Indians of old - received the, 109. - Government of the Mormons, 301. - Grain, quantity produced in the Valley of Great Salt Lake, 284. - Grand Island, in the Platte River, 39. - Grand River, Neosho, or White Water, the Osages settled on the, 34. - Granite Mountain, 454. - Granite Rock, 462. - Grape, the Californian, 345. - Grass, bunch, 7. - Grass, salt, 148. - Grasses of the slopes west of Fort Laramie, 7. - Grasshopper Creek, 21. - Grasshoppers (Œdipoda corallipes), clouds of, in the prairies, 69. - Grasshoppers, ravages of, 69, 70. - Grasshoppers, scourge of, in Utah Territory, 284. - Grattan, Lieutenant, his fatal fight with the Sioux, 88. - Graves of the Mormon emigration route, 174. - Grazing-grounds in Utah Territory, 284. - Grazing-grounds of the West, their fertility and freedom from - sickness, 7. - Greasewood at Black’s Fork, 176. - Greasewood the (Obione or Atriplex canescens), 158. - Great Salt Lake, account of an excursion to, 322. - Great Salt Lake, air on the shores of, 328. - Great Salt Lake bathing-place on, 329. - Great Salt Lake, buoyancy of, 329. - Great Salt Lake, history and geography of, 324. - Great Salt Lake, islands of, 327-8. - Great Salt Lake, lands immediately about, 330. - Great Salt Lake, quantity of salt in, 325. - Great Salt Lake City, Academy of the 7th Ward in, 360. - Great Salt Lake City, admirable site of, 196. - Great Salt Lake City, Agricultural Society of Deserét, 316. - Great Salt Lake City, arrival of caravan of emigrants at, 225-6. - Great Salt Lake City, cheapness of the necessaries of life at, 320. - Great Salt Lake City, coinage of, 356. - Great Salt Lake City, conduct of federal officials at, 421. - Great Salt Lake City, corporation of, 315. - Great Salt Lake City, Council Hall of the Seventies at, 229. - Great Salt Lake City, course of life in, 418-19. - Great Salt Lake City, Court-house of, 417. - Great Salt Lake City, crops in the valley of, 201. - Great Salt Lake City, Denmark Ward in, 198. - Great Salt Lake City, departure from, 441-3. - Great Salt Lake City, eastern wall of Great Salt Lake Valley, 195. - Great Salt Lake City, education in, 422, 423, 425. - Great Salt Lake City, Endowment House at, 220. - Great Salt Lake City, excursions in, 322. - Great Salt Lake City, first view of, 193. - Great Salt Lake City, foundation of the, 288. - Great Salt Lake City, gold mines in Utah, 271. - Great Salt Lake City, Governor Cumming, 215. - Great Salt Lake City, hand-labor, articles of, in, 320. - Great Salt Lake City, Historian and Recorder’s Office in, 419, 426. - Great Salt Lake City, houses of, 197, 198. - Great Salt Lake City, industry in, 316. - Great Salt Lake City, Lion House at, 246. - Great Salt Lake City, list of articles of industry at, 317-20, _note_. - Great Salt Lake City, militia of, 354-5. - Great Salt Lake City, murders committed in and near, 339. - Great Salt Lake City, newspapers published in, 255. - Great Salt Lake City, no market-place in, 201. - Great Salt Lake City, prices, 320-1. - Great Salt Lake City, principal schools in, 425. - Great Salt Lake City, promulgation of the Constitution at, 289, - _note_. - Great Salt Lake City, public opinion in, 197. - Great Salt Lake City, roads from, to California, 452. - Great Salt Lake City, safety of, 224. - Great Salt Lake City, Salt Lake House Hotel, 201. - Great Salt Lake City, schools in, 345. - Great Salt Lake City, shops in, 217. - Great Salt Lake City, Social Hall and fêtes at, 230. - Great Salt Lake City, streets of, 216, 217. - Great Salt Lake City, supply of water in, 216, 217. - Great Salt Lake City, the Tabernacle at, 219, 220. - Great Salt Lake City, taxes of, 315. - Great Salt Lake City, Temple Block at, 217-23. - Great Salt Lake City, the Bee House at, 246. - Great Salt Lake City, the Bowery at, 220, 258. - Great Salt Lake City, the bulwarks of Zion at, 197. - Great Salt Lake City, the Penitentiary at, 271. - Great Salt Lake City, the Prophet’s house at, 234, 245-6. - Great Salt Lake City, the public and private offices of the Prophet - at, 246. - Great Salt Lake City, the public library at, 235. - Great Salt Lake City, the River New Jordan, 233. - Great Salt Lake City, view of, from the Wasach Mountains, 359. - Great Salt Lake City, visit to the Prophet at, 237-8. - Green River, formation of the valley of the, 169. - Green River, fountain-head of the, 162. - Green River, its breadth and depth, 171. - Green River, its length, volume, and direction, 171. - Green River, its tributaries, 167. - Green River, Macarthy’s station on the, 170. - Green River, Mountains, the, 153. - Green River, salmon trout of the, 170. - Green River, Spanish and Indian names of the, 171. - Green-River Station, 170, 172. - Green-River, wool-producing country in the basin of the, 284. - Grounds, Bad, or _mauvaises terres_ of the United States, 6. - Grouse, pinnated, 142. - Guenot, Louis, his bridge over the Platte, 141. - Guess, George, the Cherokee chief, 35. - Guittard’s Station, 27. - Guittard’s Station, the host at, 27. - Gunnison, Lieutenant, his work on Mormonism, 203, 204, _note_. - Gunnison, Lieutenant, his _resumé_ of Mormonism, 398. - Gunnison, Lieutenant, murder of, 339. - Gunnison’s Island, 327. - - Hair, Indian mode of dressing the, 56. - Half-breeds, English and French, compared, 80. - Half-breeds, women, 80. - Half-way House, halt at the, 53. - Half-way House, the store at the, 53. - Ham’s Fork, 174. - Ham’s Fork, the wretched station at, 174, 175. - Hand-labor, articles of, in Great Salt Lake City, 320. - Hands of the Indians, 104. - Hanks, the redoubtable Mr. Ephe, the Danite, 191. - Hanks, stories of, 193. - Hapsaroke Indians, or Les Corbeaux, 124. - Hapsaroke Indians, sign of the tribe, 124. - Harney, General, his defeat of the Brûlé Sioux at Ash Hollow, 70, 89. - Harrowgate Springs in the Wasach Mountains, 360. - Hat Island, 327. - Hawkins’s rifles, 9. - Hayden, Dr. F. V., his opinion on coal in Nebraska, 141. - Heat of the sun beyond Ham’s Fork, 176. - Heath-hen, the, 142. - Hickman, Bill, the Danite, 191, 344. - Hierarchy of the Mormons, 399, 403. - High Mountain, 458. - Historian and Recorder’s Office in Great Salt Lake City, 419, 426. - Holmes, the ungenial man, 177. - Horse Creek, 79. - Horse Creek, breakfast at, 84. - Horse Creek, inmates of the station at, 80, 81. - Horse-fly, a green-headed, 168. - Horseshoe Creek, gold found at, 165. - Horseshoe Station, 91. - Horses, Indian, 56, 57-8. - Horses, of the Dakotah Indians, 99. - Horse-stealing, punishment for, in the Western States, 90, 360. - Hotels in Great Salt Lake City, 201. - Hotels in the Far West, 201, _note_. - Hot springs near Great Salt Lake City, 236. - Hot springs, analysis of the water of, 236, _note_. - Houses, materials of, in Great Salt Lake City, 197, 198. - Howard, Mr., 457. - Humboldt River, 480. - Hunkpapa Indians, 98. - Hunkpatidan Indians, 97. - Hunter, President Bishop, 226. - Huntingdon Valley, 480. - Hurricanes of Scott’s Bluffs, 78. - Hyde, John, his work on Mormonism, 208, _note_. - - Ice springs, 158. - Ihanktonwan Indians, their habitat and present condition, 97. - Immorality of the mail-coach drivers, 5. - Independence Day, New, of the Mormons, 251, 349. - Independence Day, New, celebration of, 349, _note_. - India, remarks on the army system of outposts in, 43, 45. - Indian arms, 57, 119. - Indian arts, 118-19. - Indian boys and girls, 59, 107. - Indian camp, an, 472. - Indian character, 102-3. - Indian creed, few rites and ceremonies of the, 115. - Indian curriculum of the Prairie, 107. - Indian dancing, 110. - Indian departments of the United States, management of the, 132. - Indian dress, 57, 59. - Indian farms, 477. - Indian fighting, 43. - Indian half-breeds, 80. - Indian “home,” the, 32. - Indian horses, 56, 57-8. - Indian kleptomania, 60, 102, 103. - Indian marriages, 116. - Indian mode of hunting the buffalo and preparing the skins, 51, 52. - Indian mode of stampeding animals, 76-7. - Indian mode of wearing the hair, 56. - Indian names, 115. - Indian population in the middle of the last and present centuries, 99, - _note_. - Indian prejudice against speaking, 80. - Indian religion of the, 107. - Indian reservation, distribution of the, 32. - Indian scalping, 112. - Indian skull, form and dimensions of the, 105. - Indian smoking, 110, 111-12. - Indian summer, the, 79, 483. - Indian, the name, a misnomer for American aborigines, 55. - Indian village, description of the remove of an, 56. - Indian villages and tents, 85. - Indian women, 106. - Indians, account of the Pawnees, 36. - Indians, best scheme for preserving the race of, 35. - Indians, causes which rapidly thin the tribesmen, 34. - Indians, difficulties attending the scheme of civilization of the, 36. - Indians, effects of alcohol among the various tribes of, 82. - Indians, ferocity of, and whites, 60. - Indians, grotesque accounts of the manner in which they formerly - received the Gospel, 109. - Indians, how treated by the United States, 32. - Indians, kindness of the Mormons to the, 245. - Indians, languages of the northeastern tribes of, 96, _note_. - Indians, Lieutenant Weed’s defeat of the Gosh Yutas, 467, 470. - Indians, mistaken public opinion of the, and of their ancestors, 55. - Indians, proposals for raising native regiments of, 47. - Indians, the American philanthropist’s mode of civilizing the, 35. - Indians, the Comanches, 61, _note_. - Indians, the dignity of chief, 117. - Indians, their arrow-poison, 482. - Indians, their course of life, 117. - Indians, their future considered, 101. - Indians, their “home,” 32. - Indians, their murder of Loscier and Applegate, 484. - Indians, their opinion of their own strength, 101. - Indians, their progress toward extinction, 102. - Indians, their Turanian origin, 55. - Indians, the, of Utah Territory, 473. - Indians, the squaws, 59. - Indians, the Yutas, 474-6. - Indians, total number of, on the prairies and the Rocky Mountains, 33. - Indians, tribes and sub-tribes of the Sioux, 96. - Industry in Great Salt Lake City, 316. - Industry, list of articles of, 317-320, _note_. - Intoxicating drink, a new, 24, _note_. - Intoxicating drink, mode of manufacturing “Indian liquor,” 81-2. - Intoxicating drink, one made from a cactus, 64, _note_. - Irish women in the West, 175. - Iron County, coal and iron found in, 282. - Iron found in Utah Territory, 281. - Island, Antelope, or Church, 194, 323, 327. - Island, Bonhomme, 15. - Island, Carrington, 327. - Island, Cedar, the first, in the Missouri, 41. - Island, Dolphin, 327. - Island, Frémont, 328. - Island, Grande, in the Platte River, 39. - Island, Gunnison’s, 327. - Island, Hat, 327. - Island, Stansbury, 327. - Islets of La Grande Platte River, 40. - Itazipko, Sans Arc, or No-Bow Indians, their habitat, 98. - Itinerary, the emigrant’s, 505. - Itinerary of the mail route from Great Salt Lake City to San - Francisco, 511. - - Jack, the Arapaho Indian, and his squaw, 146, 147. - Jackal, the, of the Western world, 64. _See_ Coyote. - Jacques, Elder John, his Mormon works, 212, _note_. - James River, Indians of, 97. - Jesuitism as a means of civilization of the Indians, 35. - Jimsen weed, 111. - Jo, St., city of, 12, 15. - Johnston’s Settlement, 451. - Jones, Elder Dan, his Mormon works, 213, _note_. - Jordan, New, its course in the Wasach Mountains, 332. - Jordan, New, the river in Great Salt Lake City, 233, 325. - “Jornada,” or day’s march, 167. - Junction-House Ranch, 53. - - Kamas Prairie, 182, and _note_. - Kane, Colonel T. L., account of him, 204, _note_. - Kane, Colonel T. L., his work on the Mormons, 204, _note_. - Kansas, a specimen of squatter life in, 19. - Kansas, “bleeding,” 16. - Kansas, “gales,” 21. - Kansas, prairies of, 17. - Kansas, rainy season in, 16. - Kansas, shanties in, 18. - “Kansas-Nebraska Act,” passing of the, 33. - Kanyon Creek, Big, 191. - Kanyon Creek, Big, station at, 191. - Kanyon near Great Salt Lake City, purity of the water of the, 332. - Kanyon, the Devil’s Gate, 151. - Kanyons, stupendous, of Northern Mexico, 139, _note_. - Kanyons, the, of America, 139, _note_. - Kearney, Fort, 41. - Kearney, Fort, longitude of, 6. - Kelly, W., Esq., J. P., his chapters on Mormonism, 204, _note_. - “Keening” the dead practiced among the Indians, 122. - Kennedy, the Ras Kafilah, 455. - Kennedy’s Hole, 460. - Kennekuk, in Kansas, halt at, 19. - Kickapoo Indians, description of the, 20. - Kickapoo Indians, mode of building the tents of the, 85. - Kickapoo Indians, strength of the tribe of, 20. - Kickapoo Indians, the, 19. - Kimball, Heber C., his address in the Bowery, 262. - Kimball, Heber C., the president, account of, 241. - Kinnikinik smoked by the American Indian, 111. - Kinnikinik, the, 31. - Kiowa Creek, Little, 79. - Kiowa Indians, lodges of the, 86. - Kiowa Indians, or Prairie-men, sign of the tribe of the, 124. - Kisiskadjiwan River, Indians on the, 100. - Kit, the traveler’s, 9. - Kiyuksa, or breakers of law, Indians, 97. - Kleptomania of the Indians, 60. - Kleptomania of the Sioux, 102, 103. - - La Bonté Creek, 135. - “Ladies” in the Prairies, 91, 92. - Lake Alkali, 153. - Lake Carson, 274, 491. - Lake Cotton-wood, Great, 347. - Lake Devil’s, 97. - Lake Great Salt, 194, 322, 323. - Lake Little Salt, 274. - Lake Miniswakan, 100. - Lake Mono, 274. - Lake Mud, 274. - Lake Nicollet, 274. - Lake of the Hot Springs, 195. - Lake of the Wasach Mountains, 347. - Lake of the Woods, 100. - Lake Pyramid, 274. - Lake qui Parle, 96. - Lake Saleratus, 147. - Lake Stone, 96. - Lake Traverse, 96. - Lake Utah, or Sweet-water Reservoir, 274, 332, 446. - Lake, Walker’s, 274. - Lake Winnipeg, 100. - Lakes, Three, 161. - Lance, the, of the North American Indian, 119. - Land-tenure of the Mormons, 290. - Lander’s Cut-off, 158. - Language, its peculiarities, 121. - Language, men’s first and progressive steps in, 121. - Language, the, of the Sioux, 120. - Language, the pantomime of the Indians, or sign-system of, 123. - Languages of the Northeastern Indians, 96, _note_. - Laramie City, 88. - Laramie City, prices of skins at, 88. - Laramie, Fort, climate and soil at, 90. - Laramie, Fort, formerly Fort John, 90. - Laramie, Fort, longitude of, 6. - Laramie, Fort, vegetation of the slopes west of, 7. - Laramie Hills, geography of the, 134. - Laramie Peak, 79. - Laramie’s Fork, 90. - Lasso, the, 68. - Last-Timber Station, 71, _note_. - Lawrence Fork, 71. - Lawrence Fork, origin of the name, 72. - Leadplant (Amorphe canescens), the, of the American wilderness, 64. - Leaf-shooter Indians, 96. - Leather manufactured at Great Salt Lake City, 344. - Leeches, American, 466-7. - Legislative Assembly of Utah Territory, 310. - Lehi City, 447. - Liberty-poles in the United States, 251. - Library, public, of Great Salt Lake City, 235. - Lightning-bug, or fire-fly, 60. - Lignite in Nebraska, 141. - Lion House in Great Salt Lake City, 246. - Lion, the mountain, or cougar, 153, and _note_. - Litters, Indian, 58. - Little Mountain, 192. - Little Mr., his tannery, 344. - Locknan’s Station, 21. - Locknan’s Station, vegetation of, 21. - Lodge-Pole Creek, or Fork, 64. - Lodge-Pole Station, 66. - Lodge-Pole Station, squalor and wretchedness of, 66. - London, Mormon meeting-houses in and about, 301, _note_. - Long-chin, the Indian murderer, 85. - Long Valley, 471. - Look-out Fort, 97. - Louis, St., altitude and temperature of, 159. - Loup Fork, ferry across, 71, _note_. - Lynch, Lieutenant W. F., his proprieties of travel, 150. - Lynn, Catharine Lewis, her work on Mormonism, 206, _note_. - - Macarthy, Mr., his establishment, 170, 172. - Macarthy, Mr., his rough-and-tumble, 183. - Macarthy, Mr., of Green-River Station, 170. - Mail-coach route from Missouri to California and Oregon, 4. - Mail-coach, slow rate of traveling, 5. - Main, or Whisky Street, in Great Salt Lake City, 217. - Maize, question as to its being indigenous to America, 110, _note_. - Majors, Mr. Alexander, his efforts to reform the morals of his mail - drivers, 5. - Mankizitah, or White-Earth River, 72. - Manna in Great Salt Lake Valley, 287. - Manufacturers in Utah Territory, 317-20. - Marcy, Major, 73. - Marcy, Major, his “Prairie Traveler” quoted, 4. - Market-place, absence of a, in Great Salt Lake City, 201. - Marriage among the Mormons, 427, 432. - Marriage among the North American Indians, 116. - Marshall, James W., his discovery of Californian gold, 356. - Martin, Michael, his store, 173. - Marysville, or old Palmetto City, trade of, 29. - Materialism, Mormon, 384. - Matriya, the “Scattering Bear,” death of, 89. - Mauvaises Terres, or Bad Lands, extent of the, 72. - Mdewakantonwan Indians, civilization of the, 100. - Mdewakantonwan Indians, habitat of the, 96. - Meadow Creek, 451, 452. - Medical men in Great Salt Lake City, 278. - Medicine-man of the Indians, 108. - Medicine, the Indians’ knowledge of, 118, 119. - Medicines necessary to the Western traveler, 9, 10. - Menomene Indians, habitat of the, 96. - Menomene Indians, tents of the, 86. - Meteorology of Utah Territory, 275. - Methodism, foundation of, 365. - Mexico, Northern, stupendous kanyons of, 139, _note_. - Mezquite, or muskeet-tree (Algarobia glandulosa), 7. - Midway Station, 49. - Military departments into which the United States are divided, 42, 43, - _note_. - Militia force of Great Salt Lake City, 354-5. - Militia force of the United States, general abstract of the, 336, 337. - Milk River, Indians of, 100. - Milk weed (Asclepias tuberosa) common in Utah Territory, 167. - Milk-sickness of the Western States, 284. - Mill Creek, 195. - Miller, Captain, of Millersville, 215. - Miller’s Station, 495. - Millersville, on Smith’s Fork, 177. - Mills, saw, a night passed in one of the, 348. - Mills, saw, in the kanyons, 347. - Miniswakan Lake, 100. - Minnesota Indians, 96, 97. - Minnikanye-wozhipu Indians, habitat of the, 98. - Mirage, a curious, 47, 48. - Mirage, on the counterslope of the Rocky Mountains, 164. - Missionaries, certificates supplied to, 353, 354, _note_. - Missionaries, from Great Salt Lake City, 353, 354. - Missionaries, number of, in Great Britain, 301. - Mississippi, the, 15. - Mississippi, Indians of the, 96. - “Missouri Compromise,” the, 33. - “Missouri Compromise,” the, origin of the trouble which gave rise to - the, 33, 34, _note_. - Missouri, establishment of the mail-coach route from, to California - and Oregon, 4. - Missouri, rainy season in, 16. - Missouri River, navigation of the, 15. - Missouri River, sand-banks of the, 15. - Missouri River, sawyers and snags of the, 15. - Missouri River, the Great, 15. - Missouri River, the Little, Indians of the, 15. - Missouri River, winter season on the, 16. - Moccasins, Indian mode of making, 57. - Moccasins, use of, to the prairie traveler, 11. - Modesty, Mormon, instance of, 268. - Mollusks of Utah Territory, 280. - Mono Lake, 274. - Montagnes Rocheuses, Les, 153, 162. - Moonshine Valley, 480. - Moore, “Miss,” and her ranche, 154. - Moore, “Miss,” her history, 155. - Moose deer (Cervus Alces), habitat of the, 68. - Moravianism regarded as a means of civilization of the Indians, 35. - Mormon agglomeration of all that is good in all sects, 397, 398. - Mormon balls and suppers at Social Hall, 230-2. - Mormon Bible, 367. - Mormon Bible, contents of the, 368, _note_. - “Mormon, Book of,” 367, _note_. - “Mormon, Book of,” chronology of the most important events recorded in - the, 411. - Mormon Conference, description of a, 302-309. - Mormon dispensation of Mr. Joseph Smith, 183. - Mormon doctrines and covenants, 371. - Mormon doxology, remarks on the fourteen articles of the, 387, _et - seq._ - Mormon emigrants, 137, 176, 180, 181, 182, 225. - Mormon emigrants, miseries of one of the, 174, 175. - Mormon emigration, system of, 295. - Mormon emigration, the regular track of, 174. - Mormon estimate of outfit for the Utah route, 138, _note_. - Mormon feat at Simpson’s Hollow, 168. - Mormon feat near Green River, 173. - Mormon fugitives on the road, 456. - Mormon gift of tongues, 268. - Mormon government, upon what it is based, 301. - Mormon hierarchy, the, 399. - Mormon History, chronological abstract of, 548. - Mormon lad, a, in the South Pass, 166. - Mormon lectures on faith, 371. - Mormon materialism, 384. - Mormon meaning of the word, 361-2. - Mormon meeting-rooms in London and its vicinity, list of, 301, _note_. - Mormon modesty, 268. - Mormon names, 227. - Mormon neophytes, behavior of the, 228-9. - Mormon polygamy, 373, 426, 428, 431, 432. - Mormon Prophet, visit to the, 237, _et seq._ - Mormon Saints, dress of the fair, 227. - Mormon Scriptures, list of the, 209, _note_. - Mormon shanty, Dawvid Lewis and his dirty, 174, 175. - Mormon tolerance, 351. - Mormon wagons, trains of, on the road, 137, 176, 180, 181. - Mormonism, deep root which it has taken in Great Britain, 301. - Mormonism, final remarks on, 441. - Mormonism, Lieutenant Gunnison’s _resumé_ of, 398. - Mormonism, list of works published upon the subject of, 203, _note_. - Mormonism, objections to, 404. - Mormonism, sketch of, 361, _et seq._ - Mormonism, what it is not, 403. - Mormonland, account of, 272. - Mormons, children of the, 423. - Mormons, description of their Temple, 514. - Mormons, fondness of the, for sleighing, private theatricals, and - dancing, 229-31. - Mormons, foundation of their city, 288. - Mormons, how they regard the United States, 250. - Mormons, kindness of the, to the Indians, 245. - Mormons, period for, leaving the Mississippi, 138. - Mormons, political prospects of the, 352. - Mormons, promulgation of their Constitution, 289, _note_. - Mormons, remarks upon the articles of their doxology, 387, _et seq._ - Mormons, sketch of the religion of the, 361. - Mormons, tenure by which they hold their lands, 290. - Mormons, their belief as to marriages between a Saint and a Gentile, - 170, _note_. - Mormons, their complaints against Congress, 289, 290. - Mormons, their Emigration Road, 71. - Mormons, their hierarchy, 399. - Mormons, their materialism, 384. - Mormons, their Nauvoo Legion, 354-5. - Mormons, their new Independence-day, 251. - Mormons, their newspapers, 255. - Mormons, their politics, 251. - Mormons, their polygamy, 373. - Mormons, their punishment for adultery, 252. - Mormons, their quasi-military organization on the march, 138. - Mormons, their sermons in the Bowery, 260, 264. - Mormons, their tithes, 249-50. - Morning on the prairies, 131. - Motherhood, how regarded in the Western States, 432. - Moufflon, the American, 153, 155. - Mountain, Big, 190. - Mountain, Ensign, 196. - Mountain, Little, 192. - Mountain Meadow Massacre, 339. - Mountain Point, 195, 459. - Mountain, Quaking-Asp, 181. - Mountain, Rim-Base, 181. - Mountain Springs, 462. - “Mountaineer,” Mormon newspaper, 257. - Mountaineers of the West, 81. - Mountains, Bear-River, 174. - Mountains, Black, 133, 142. - Mountains, Granite, 454. - Mountains, Green-River, or Sweet-water Hills, 153. - Mountains, High, 458. - Mountains, Laramie, 91, 134. - Mountains, Laramie Peak, 79, 85. - Mountains of Utah Territory, singular formation of the, 275. - Mountains, Oquirrh, 191, 194, 322. - Mountains, Rocky, 153, _et seq._ - Mountains, Traverse, 332. - Mountains, Uinta, 176, 178. - Mountains, Wasach, 189, 195, 322, 330. - Mountains, White, 450. - Mountains, Wind-River, 68, 162, 163, 164, 166. - Mud Lake, 274. - Mud Spring station, 71. - Muddy Creek, Big, 180. - Muddy Creek, Little, 140, 180. - Muddy Creek, Little, the Canadian station-master at, 180. - Muddy Creek, Little, wretched station at, 140. - Muddy Fork, 174. - Mules in the West, 135. - Mules, obstinacy of, 14. - Mules, of Central America, 13, 14. - Mules, rate of progress of, 14. - Mules, recalcitrancies of, 157, 167. - Murder, Mormon punishment for, 426. - Murders in and near Great Salt Lake City, 225, 339. - Murders in Carson City, 225. - Murphy, Captain, his loyalty, 181. - Muskrat Station, 159. - Muskrat the, 159, _note_. - Mustang of the Black Hills, 142. - Mustang the, or prairie pony, 68, _note_. - Myers, Mr., the Mormon of Bear-River Valley, 182. - Mysteries of Endowment House in Great Salt Lake City, 220. - - Names, Indian, 115. - Names, of the Mormons, 227. - Nauvoo Legion, account of the, 354-5. - Nauvoo Legion, story of two warriors of the, 187. - Nebraska, meaning of the word, 40. - Nebraska River. _See_ Platte, La Grande. - Nebraska, Southern, rainy season in, 16. - Needle Rocks, 183. - Nemehaw Creek, Big, 21. - Neophytes, Mormon, behavior of the, 228-9. - Newspapers in Great Salt Lake City, 255. - Nicollet Lake, 274. - Niobrara, or Eau qui court River, 40, 72. - Nullah. _See_ Arroyo. - - Oats, wild (Avena fatua), of the Pacific water-shed, 139. - “Obelisks, the,” 188. - O’Fallon’s Bluffs, 48, 53. - Officials, federal, behavior in Great Salt Lake City of the, 421. - Ojibwa Indians, habitat of the, 100, 101. - Ojibwa, the name, 100, _note_. - Ogalala, or Okandanda Indians, habitat of the, 98. - Ogalala, village of the, 85. - Omaha Creek, or Little Punkin, 71. - Onions, wild, of the valley of the Little Blue River, 31. - Oohenonpa Indians, habitat and numbers of the, 98. - Ophthalmia in Utah Territory, 278. - Opinion, public, in Great Salt Lake City, 197. - Oquirrh Mountains, 191, 194, 322. - Oregon, boundary-stone between it and Utah, 169. - Oregon, establishment of the mail-coach route from Missouri to, 4. - Oregon, origin of the name, 169, _note_. - Ormsby, Mayor, his death, 479. - Osages, account of the tribe of the, 34. - Osages, cession of the territory of the, 34. - Osages, mode of building the lodges of the, 85. - Ottagamies, the Indian tribe of, 20, _note_. - Outfit, the traveler’s, 9. - Outposts, remarks on the United States army system of, 43, 44. - Owl, the burrowing (Strix cunicularia), 66. - Oxen shod at Great Salt Lake City, 270. - Ox-riding, 24, _note_. - - Pabakse, or Cut-Head Indians, 97. - Pacific Creek, 167. - Pacific Railroad, difficulties of a, 277. - Pacific Railroad, routes proposed for a, 3. - Pacific Springs, 163. - Pacific Springs, station at, 163, 166. - Padouca River, 60, 63. - Pantomime, Indian, or speaking with the fingers, 123. - Pantomime, preliminary signs for the traveler, 124. - Pantomime, signs of some of the Indian tribes, 123. - Pantomime, various other signs, 124-30. - Panama, 501. - Parley’s Kanyon, 195, 344. - Patriarch, rank of, in the Mormon hierarchy, 400. - Pawnee Indians, account of the, 36. - Pawnee Indians, principal sub-tribes of the, 37. - Pawnee Indians, readiness of the, to cut off a single traveler, 138. - Pawnee Indians, sign of the tribe of the, 123. - Peddlers, licensed and unlicensed, 81. - Penitentiary, the, of Great Salt Lake City, 271. - Phelps, Judge and Apostle, his “Sermon on the Mount,” 196, _note_. - Phelps, Judge and Apostle, visit to, 253. - Pigeons a constant dish in Italy, 38. - “Pike’s Peakers” on the road, 60. - Pine-tree Stream, 174. - Pine Valley, 480. - Piñon-tree, fruit of the, 466. - Piñon-tree (P. monophyllus) of the West, 285. - Pipes of the Côteau des Prairies, 88. - “Pitch-holes or chuck-holes” of the prairies, 18. - Placerville City, 499. - Platte Bridge, delicious climate of, 137. - Platte, Fort, 90. - Platte River, a dust storm in the valley of the, 75. - Platte River, appearance of the, at Platte Bridge, 136. - Platte River, beauty of the banks of the, 39. - Platte River, character of the soil beyond the immediate banks of the, - 41. - Platte River, coal found on the banks of the, 141. - Platte River, division of the, into the northern and southern streams, - 60. - Platte River, farewell to the, 146. - Platte River, fording the, 63. - Platte River, La Grande, or Nebraska, 39. - Platte River, Lower Ferry over the, 140. - Platte River, noxious exhalations from the, 48. - Platte River, shallowness of the, 40. - Platte River, tender adieux at the upper crossing of the, 62. - Platte River, timber on the banks of the, 40, 41. - Platte River, wild garden on the shores of the, 41. - Pleasant Valley, 461. - Plum Creek, 48. - Plum Creek Ranche, soil about, 48. - Poetry of the Sioux Indians, 122. - Point Look-out, 454. - Poison Springs, 461. - Poisons, animal and vegetable, of the Prairie Indians, 120. - Polar plant, the, 48. - Police, private, of Mormon life, 224. - Police, public, of Great Salt Lake City, 224. - Polygamy among the Mormons, 373, 426. - Polygamy, justification of, 384. - Polygamy, Mrs. Pratt’s letter on, 433, _et seq._ - Polygamy, results of, 428. - Polygamy, revelation to Joseph Smith on, 373. - Polygamy, views of women respecting, 431. - Pony Express, the, 28, _note_. - Pony Express, the, on the road, 169. - Pony Express, postage by the, 29. - Pony Express, riders of the, 29. - Population of Utah Territory, 294. - Population of Utah Territory, excess of females, 301. - Populus tremuloides, the, 180. - Postal system of the United States, evils of the contract system, 172, - 173, _note_. - Powder River, Indians of the, 97. - Prairie, absence of animal life on the, 18. - Prairie, an evening in the, 38. - Prairie compass, the, 48. - Prairie dog, the (Cynomys Ludovicianus), 66. - Prairie dog, his associates, reptiles, birds, and beasts, 66. - Prairie-dog village, 65. - Prairie fever, cause of the, 22. - Prairie, fires, the, 29. - Prairie, fires, effects of, on the temperature of the air, 79. - Prairie hen, heath hen, or pinnated grouse, 142. - Prairie, land of the United States, 6. - Prairie, monotony of the, 18. - Prairie, monotony of the rolling, 69. - Prairie, or “perrairey,” the Western, peculiarities of the, 17. - Prairie, pitch-holes or “chuck-holes” of the, 18. - Prairie pony, or mustang, 68, _note_. - Prairie saddle, the, 24, 25. - Prairie, skeleton of the earth at the bluffs, 29. - Prairie squirrel, the (Spermophilus tredecimlineatus), 159, _note_. - Prairie storm, a, 21. - Prairie the grand, 17. - “Prairie Traveler,” the, of Captain R. B. Marcy, quoted, 4. - Prairie trees, progressive decay of the, 69. - Prairie turnip, the, 182, _note_. - Prairie “weed,” 48. - Prairie wolf, or coyote, 64. - Prairie, wolf, the, 30. - Prairies, alternate puffs of hot and cold winds in the, 79. - Prairies, blanched bones on the, 48. - Prairies, clouds of grasshoppers in the, 69. - Prairies, names of different kinds of, 48. - Prairies, the buffalo the “monarch of the,” 50. - Pratt, Mrs. Belinda M., letter of, on polygamy, 433, _et seq._ - Pratt, Orson, account of, 353. - Pratt, Orson, “the Gauge of Philosophy,” Mormon works of, 212, _note_. - Pratt, Parley P., Mormon works of, 211, 212, _note_. - Pratt, Parley P., murder of, 340, and _note_. - Prêle River, the, 136. - President, rank of, in the Mormon hierarchy, 399. - Prices in Great Salt Lake City, 321. - Priests, high, rank of, in the Mormon hierarchy, 399. - Prophecies of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, 356, _note_. - Protestantism, origin of, 364. - Provo City, 189, 219, 333, _note_. - Provo River, 333. - Puma, the, 153, _note_. - Punishments, Indian, 103. - Punkin Creek, Little, 71. - Pyramid Lake, 274. - - Quaking-Asp Creek, 161. - Quaking-Asp Hill, 181. - Quaking-Asp (Populus tremuloides), 180. - - Rabbit-bush, the, 158. - Race-course Bluff, 179. - Railroad Kanyon, 480. - Railroad, Pacific, Mr. Jefferson Davis’s estimate of the cost of the, - 3, _note_. - Rain-storms at Weber-River Station, 188. - Rainy season in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Southern Nebraska, 16. - “Ranch,” the, at Turkey Creek, 30. - Rancho, the, in Mexico and California, 5, _note_. - Rattlesnake bites and their remedies, 156. - Rattlesnake Hills, the, 151, 153. - Rattlesnakes, 156. - Red Butte, 195. - Red region, the, 136. - Reese’s River, 486. - Regshaw, Mr., his bridge over the Platte, 140. - Reid, Captain Mayne, remarks on his “Wild Huntress,” 209, _note_. - Religion of the Indians generally, 107. - Religion of the Mormons, sketch of the, 361, _et seq._ - Religion of the Sioux, 103. - Religions of the United States, list of, 363, _note_. - Remy, Jules, and Mr. Brenchley, their work on the Mormons, 204, - _note_. - Revenge, Indian, 103. - Revolvers, value of, 9. - Reynal, M., of Horse-Creek Station, 80. - Reynal, M., sketch of, and his career, 81. - Rice, the wild (Zizania aquatica), 96, _note_. - Richland town extinct, 21. - Rifles, Hawkins’s, 9. - Riggs’s, Rev. S. R., dictionary of the Sioux language, 120, 121. - River, Assiniboin, 100. - River Bank and Stream camping-ground on the Sweetwater, 158. - River, Bear, 182, 325. - River, Black’s Fork, 174, 176, 177. - River, Blue, Big, 29. - River, Blue Earth, 96. - River, Blue, Little, 31, 38. - River, Cannon, 96. - River, Carson, 493. - River, Colorado, 162. - River, Columbia, 162. - River, Des Moines, 96. - River, Fox, 19. - River, Frémont’s Peak, 153, 161, 164. - River, Grand, Neosho, or White-Water, 34. - River, Green, 162, 166, 170, 284. - River, Ham’s Fork, 174. - River, Humboldt, 480. - River, James, 97. - River, Kisiskadjiwan, 100. - River, Milk, 100. - River, Mississippi, 15, 97. - River, Missouri, 15, 97. - River, Missouri, Little, 97. - River, Muddy Fork, 174. - River, New Jordan, 233, 325. - River, Niobrara, or Eau qui court, 40, 72. - River, Padouca, 60, 63. - River, Platte, La Grande, or Nebraska, 39, 60. - River, Platte, 162. - River, Powder, 97. - River, Prêle, 136. - River, Reese’s, 485, 486. - River, Sandy, Big, 30, 169. - River, Sandy, Little, 30. - River, Sioux, Big, 97. - River, Smith’s Fork, 176. - River, Snake, 162. - River, Snowy-Peak, 164. - River, Sweetwater, or Pina Pa, 150, 158, 161, 162. - River, Timpanogos, 182, 333. - River, Weber, 182, 188, 189, 325. - River, White-Earth, or Mankizitah, 72. - River, Wind, 162. - River, Yellow-Stone, 162. - Road from Fort Kearney, 47. - Road from the Black Hills, 134. - Roads from Great Salt Lake City to California, 452. - Roads, junction of the Great Salt Lake City and Fort Hall, 167. - Robber’s Roost Station, 468. - Robidoux, Antoine, notice of, 75, _note_. - Robidoux, Fort, 75. - Robinson (“Uncle Jack”), 177. - Rock, Independence, 148. - Rock, Independence, names inscribed on, 149. - Rock or Turkey Creek, 30. - Rock or Turkey Creek, the “ranch” at, 30. - “Rocks” of the West, 19. - Rockwell, Orrin Porter, account of, 448-9. - Rockwell, Orrin Porter, excellent advice of, 449. - Rockwell, Orrin Porter, the Danite, 191. - Rocky Mountains, a humble-bee on the topmost summit of the, 165. - Rocky Mountains, first view of the, 153. - Rocky Mountains, heights of the, 7, 153, _et seq._ - Rocky Mountains, surface of the land on the western slopes of the, 8. - Rocky Mountains, temperature on the counterslope of the South Pass of - the, 168. - Rogers, Colonel, or “Uncle Billy,” 471. - Rose, the apostate Jew and Mormon, 456. - Routes proposed for a Pacific Railroad, 3. - Routes proposed for a Pacific Railroad, difficulties of, 277. - Ruby Valley, 471. - Russell, Mr. W. H., and the Pony Express, 28, and _note_. - Russell, Mr. W. H., and the Pony Express, slowness of the transport - by, 136. - Rush Valley, 451, 453. - - Sac Indians, tents of the, 86. - Sac Indians, the, 19. - Saddle, the native Indian, 25. - Saddle, the prairie, 24, 25. - Sage at Rocky-Bridge Station, 161. - Sage hen or prairie-hen, 142. - Sage Springs, 486. - Sage, wild (artemisia or absinthe), description of, 53, 54. - Saleratus Lake, 147, 148. - Saleratus Lake, startling appearance of, 148. - Salmon trout of the Green River, 170. - Salt grass, 148. - Salt Lake City, Great. _See_ Great Salt Lake City. - Salt Lake, Great. _See_ Great Salt Lake. - Salt Lake House Hotel, 201. - Salt Lake, Little, 274. - Salt, quantity of, in the water of Great Salt Lake, 325-6. - Saltpetre not found in Utah Territory, 282. - San Francisco, 500. - Sand-banks of the Missouri, 15. - Sand hills, the tract called the, 70, _note_. - Sand Springs Station, 491. - Sandstone at Grasshopper Creek, 21. - Sandy Creek, 71. - Sandy Creek, Big, or Wágáhongopá, 167. - Sandy Creek, Little, 167. - Sandy River, Big, 30, 169. - Sandy River, Little, 30, 169. - Sans Arc Sioux Indians, habitat of the, 98. - Sault Ste. Marie, Indians at, 100. - Saurians of Utah Territory, 280. - Sawyers and snags of the Missouri, 15. - Scalping, origin of the custom of, 112. - Scalping, considered as a religious rite, 113. - Schools in Great Salt Lake City, 345. - Schools, principal, 425. - Scott’s Bluffs, 77. - Scott’s Bluffs, hurricanes of, 78. - Scott’s Bluffs, origin of the name, 78. - Scythians, scalping rites of the, 112. - Seasons, the, in Utah Territory, 277. - Seneca City, in Kansas, 21. - Seventeen-mile Station, 48. - Seventies, the, in the Mormon hierarchy, 400. - Sevier, Mr., the Mormon, 463. - Shanties, 18. - Shanties, of Seneca City, 21, 22. - Shanties, origin of the word, 18, _note_. - Shanty, a, in Kansas, 19. - Shanty, the, at Pacific Springs, 166. - Shanty, the dirty, of Ham’s Fork, 174, 175. - Shawnees, their lodges, 86. - Sheawit Creek, 482. - Shell Creek, 465, 466. - Shops in Great Salt Lake City, 217. - Shoshonee Indians, 473-4. - Shoshonee Indians, their friendliness to whites, 165. - Sibley, Major, his improved tent, 87. - Sichangu, Brûlé, or Burnt-Thigh Indians, habitat of the, 98. - Sierra Nevada, the, 493. - Sign-system of language among the Indians, 123. - Silva, Luis, and his wife, 154. - Silver found in Utah Territory, 281. - Silver, virgin, found in the White Mountains, 450, _note_. - Simpson’s Hollow, 168. - Simpson’s Hollow, feat of the Mormons at, 168. - Simpson’s Park, 485. - Simpson’s Pass, 486. - Simpson’s Road, 481. - Sioux Indian, a “buck,” 89. - Sioux Indian, meaning of the name “Sioux,” 95, 96. - Sioux Indians, books printed in their tongue, 120, 121. - Sioux Indians, character of the, 102. - Sioux Indians, constitution of the, 104. - Sioux Indians, dependence of the, on the buffalo for subsistence, 51. - Sioux Indians, destruction of Lieutenant Grattan and his party by the, - 88. - Sioux Indians, funeral ceremonies of the, 122. - Sioux Indians, future of the, 100, 101. - Sioux Indians, habits of the, in former times and at present, 102. - Sioux Indians, language of the, 120. - Sioux Indians, lodges of the, 86. - Sioux Indians, manners and customs of the, 99. - Sioux Indians, murder of M. Montalan by the, 91. - Sioux Indians, poetry and songs of the, 122. - Sioux Indians, present habitat of the, 95. - Sioux Indians, principal bands into which the race is divided, 95-98. - Sioux Indians, religion of the, 103. - Sioux Indians, revenge of the, 103. - Sioux Indians, sacred language of the, 122. - Sioux Indians, sign of the tribe of, 124. - Sioux Indians, skill in archery of the, 120. - Sioux Indians, the Brûlé, their defeat at Ash Hollow, 70. - Sioux Indians, women of the, 103. - Sioux River, Big, 97. - Sisahapa, or Blackfeet Indians, 98. - Sisitonwan Indians, habitat of the, 96. - Skins, prices of, at Laramie City, 88. - Skull of the Indian, its form and dimensions, 105. - Skull Valley, 454. - Skunk, the, 189. - Slade, the redoubtable, 92, 173. - Slavery legalized in Utah, 243. - Sleighing in Great Salt Lake City, 229. - Smith, Captain John, the Mormon patriarch, 180. - Smith, George A., the Mormon apostle, account of, 241. - Smith, Joseph, account of the martyrdom of, 517. - Smith, Joseph, his works, 209, 210, _note_. - Smith, Joseph, his second son David, 241. - Smith, Joseph, his son Joseph, of Nauvoo, 240. - Smith, Joseph, vindicated, 405-6. - Smith, Mrs. M. E. V., her works on Mormonism, 207, 208, _note_. - Smith’s Creek, 486. - Smith’s Fork, 176. - Smoking among the American Indians, 110. - Smoking material of the Wild Man of the North, 31. - Smoky Valley, 484. - Smoot, Bishop Abraham O., his address in the Bowery, 260. - “Smudge,” a, before sleep, 165. - Snags and sawyers of the Missouri, 15. - Snake Indians at Ham’s Fork, 174. - Snake Indians, lodges of the, 86. - Snake River, fountain-head of the, 162. - Snake River, Indian name for, 167, _note_. - Snakeroots, 156, 157, _note_. - Snow Creek, 140. - Snow Creek, country about, 141, 142. - Snow, Lorenzo, his Mormon works, 212, _note_. - Snowy Peak, 164. - Social Hall in Great Salt Lake City, 229. - Social Hall, fêtes at, 230, 231. - Soda, carbonate of, in Saleratus Lake, 147, and _note_. - Soda, or Beer Springs, 179. - Soil at Fort Laramie, 90. - Soil beyond the immediate banks of La Grande Platte River, 41. - Soil near Plum Ranche, on the Platte River, 48. - Soil of Big Sandy River, 169. - Soil of the bench-land of Great Salt Lake Valley, 195. - Soil of the country beyond the Warm Springs, 158. - Soil of the Valley of the Black Hills, 134. - Soil of Utah Territory, 283. - Soldiers, army grievances of, 445. - Soldiers, at Camp Floyd, 444. - Soldiers, discharged, on the road home, 154. - Soldiers, disliked in the United States, 336. - Soldiers manners and customs of the, of former times, 444-5. - Soldiers, United States, dress of, 446. - Songs of the Sioux Indians, 122. - South-Pass City, in the Rocky Mountains, 161. - South-Pass of the Rocky Mountains, 161. - South-Pass its extent and height above sea level, 162. - South Pass the fountain-head of some of the great rivers of America, - 161. - Spencer, Elder Orson, his works on Mormonism, 212, _note_. - Spring Valley, 466. - Spur, the prairie, 27. - Squatter life in Kansas, a specimen of, 19. - Squatter life, difficulties and dangers of, 101. - Squaws, Indian, 59. - Squaws, Indian, dirty cookery of the, 80. - Squaws, of the Sioux Indians, 103. - Squirrel, the chipmonk or chipmuk, 159, _note_. - Squirrel, the ground, 159. - Squirrel, the spotted prairie, 159, _note_. - Staines, Mr. W. C., the Mormon, 269. - Stalking the antelope on the prairies, 67. - Stambaugh, Colonel, 233. - Stampede, the great dread of the prairie traveler, 76. - Stansbury, Captain, his scruples as to the observance of Sunday on the - march, 149. - Stansbury, Captain, his work on Mormonism, 203, _note_. - Stansbury Island, 327. - Stenhouse, Elder T. B. H., and his wife, 223. - Stirrup, the prairie, 26. - Store, a, in the Valley of the Platte, 53. - Storm, prairie, at Walnut Creek, 21. - Storm of dust in the Valley of the Platte, 75. - Stone Lake, Big, Indian tribes at, 96. - Stone used for the Mormon temple, 195. - Strawberries, wild, 161. - Strawberry Creek, 161. - Streets of Great Salt Lake City, 216, 217. - Sturgis, Captain, his chastisement of the Indians, 43. - Suckers, the fish so called, 152. - Sugar House in Great Salt Lake City, 271. - Sulphur Creek, 181. - Sulphurous pools in Great Salt Lake Valley, 274. - Sumach, the, 31. - Summer, the Indian, 79, 483. - Sumner, Brigadier General, his chastisement of the Indians, 43. - Sunflower, the, in the Valley of the Little Blue River, 31. - Sunflower, value of its seeds, 31. - Superstition of the Indian, 107, 108. - Sweetwater Hills, or Green-River Mountains, the, 153. - Sweetwater River, influents of the, 161. - Sweetwater River, its beauty, 153, 154. - Sweetwater River, its water, 150. - Sweetwater River, M‘Achran’s Branch of, 161. - Sweetwater River, or Pina Pa, 150, 158. - Syracuse, in Kansas, 18. - - Tabernacle, the, of Great Salt Lake City, 219, 220. - Table Mountain, 162. - Tangle-leg, a new intoxicating liquor, 24, _note_. - Tannery of Mr. Little at Great Salt Lake City, 344. - Tar Springs, 182. - Taxes of Great Salt Lake City, 315. - Taylor, John, the Mormon apostle, 270. - Teachers and deacons in the Mormon hierarchy, 403. - Teeth of the Indian, 106. - Temperature at Fort Laramie, 90. - Temperature at the Foot of Ridge Station, 159. - Temperature of St. Louis, 159. - Temperature on the counterslope of the Rocky Mountains, 168. - Temple Block in Great Salt Lake City, 217. - Temple description of the, 515. - Tent, Major Sibley’s, 87. - Tents of the Prairie Indians, 85, 86. - Tetrao pratensis, 142. - Tetrao urophasianus, 142. - Thermal Springs near Great Salt Lake City, 236. - Thermal Springs near Great Salt Lake City, analysis of the waters of, - 236, _note_. - Thirty-two-mile Creek, 38. - Thirty-two-mile Creek, the station at, 38. - Three Lakes, 161. - “Thunder, Little,” chief of the Brûlé Sioux, defeated and deposed, 89. - “Thunder, Little,” description of, 132. - “Thunder, Little,” visit from, 132. - Thunder-storms in Utah, 276. - Timber of Grasshopper Creek, 21. - Timber of Great Cotton-wood Kanyon, 346. - Timber of La Grande Platte River, 40, 41, 53. - Timber of Locknan’s Station, 21. - Timber of the Black Hills, 134. - Timber of the Mississippi, 15. - Timber progressive decay of prairie, 69. - Timber the Western man’s instinctive dislike of, 170. - Timber, want of, in Utah Territory, 284. - Time, the Indian’s notion of, 118. - Timpanogos Kanyon, visit to, 446. - Timpanogos or Provo River, 333. - Timpanogos Water, 182. - Tithes paid by the Mormons, 249. - Tithing House in Great Salt Lake City, 249. - Titonwan Indians, habitat and present condition of the, 97. - Titonwan Indians, sub-tribes of the, 98. - Tobacco, the traveler’s outfit of, 10. - Tobacco, use of, among the American Indians, 110. - Toilet of the prairie traveler, 10. - Tolerance of the Mormons, 351. - Tongues, gift of, 268. - Tonkowas, tents of the, 85. - Tophet, 454. - Totem, the, of the Indian, 108. - Towakamies, tents of the, 85. - Townsend, Mr., the Mormon hotel-keeper, 202. - Traders, licensed and unlicensed, 81. - Trafalgar Square, barbarous incongruity of, 185. - Trapper, the, of sixty years ago, 83. - Travel, proprieties of, 149. - Travelers, mismanagement of inexperienced, 229. - Traveling, slow rate of, of the mail-coaches from Missouri to - California and Oregon, 5. - Traverse, Lake, Indians at, 96. - Traverse Mountain, 332. - Trona formation of Alkali Lake, 153. - Trona formation of Saleratus Lake, 147, _note_. - Troy, in Kansas, 18. - Turkey Creek, or Rock, 30. - Turkey Creek, the “ranch” at, 30. - Turnip, the prairie, 182, _note_. - “Twelve, the,” in the Mormon hierarchy, 400. - “Twin Peaks” of the Wasach Mountains, 195. - Twiss, Major, 138. - - Uinta Hills, 176, 178. - Uncle John’s Grocery, 27. - Uncle John’s Grocery, Indians at, 27. - United States, eastern and western divisions of the, 6. - United States, extent of the, 6. - United States, military departments into which they are divided, 42, - 43, _note_. - United States, “Prairie land” of the, 6. - United States, present policy of the, toward the Indian, 101. - United States, proposal for establishing a camel corps in the, 46. - United States, remarks on the army system of outposts in the, 43, 44. - Utah Indians, lodges of the, 86. - Utah Lake, or Sweetwater Reservoir, 274, 332, 444, 446. - Utah Territory, bad effects of conflicting judiciaries in, 312. - Utah Territory, boundaries of, 273. - Utah Territory, cities and counties of, 291-3. - Utah Territory, climate of, 275. - Utah Territory, configuration of the country, 273. - Utah Territory, diseases in, 278. - Utah Territory, geography of, 273. - Utah Territory, geology of, 281. - Utah Territory, grazing in, 284. - Utah Territory, Indians of, 473. - Utah Territory, lakes of, 274. - Utah Territory, Legislative Assembly of, 310. - Utah Territory, minerals of, 281. - Utah Territory, Mormon government in, 301. - Utah Territory, origin of the name, 272. - Utah Territory, population of, 294. - Utah Territory, present state of agriculture in, 285. - Utah Territory, principal value of, 287. - Utah Territory, proposed route to, 3. - Utah Territory, rights of the citizens of, 311. - Utah Territory, scourges of crickets and grasshoppers in, 284. - Utah Territory, singular formation of the mountains of, 275. - Utah Territory, soil of, 283. - Utah Territory, springs of, 274. - Utah Territory, the Great Desert of, 455. - Utah Territory, the Indian bureau of, 476. - Utah Territory, the past of Mormonland, 288. - Utah Territory, United States officials in, 309-10. - Utah Territory, want of timber in, 284-5. - Utah Territory, wild animals of, 279. - - Valley Home, in Kansas, 19. - “Valley Tan,” origin of the name, 170, and _note_. - Vegetables grown in Great Salt Lake Valley, 287. - Vegetation at Black Fork, 176, 177-8. - Vegetation at Quaking-Asp Hill, 181. - Vegetation of Big Kanyon, 192, 193. - Vegetation of Big Mountain, 190. - Vegetation of Big Sandy Creek, 167, 169. - Vegetation of Great Cotton-wood Kanyon, 346. - Vegetation of Kansas, 17. - Vegetation of Little Blue River, 31. - Vegetation of the banks of La Grande Platte River, 41, 48, 52, 53. - Vegetation of the valleys of the Black Hills, 134. - Vegetation of the Wind-River Mountains, 163. - Veranda, a model, 53. - Vermilion Creek, 27. - Viburnum dentatum, 119. - Villages, Indian, 86. - Violin, Mormon fondness for the, 177. - - Waddington, Mr., the Mormon, 463. - Wágáhongopá, or Glistening Gravel Water, 167. - Wagon trains of the Great American Sahara, 22. - Wagons, various uses of the, of the prairies, 71. - Wagons, price of the, called ambulances, 73 _note_. - Wahpekute Indians, habitat of the, 96. - Wahpetonwan Indians, habitat of the, 96. - Wakoes, tents of the, 85. - Walker’s Lake, 274. - Wallace, Mr., at the Bowery, 260. - Walls, the great, of Great Salt Lake City, 197. - Walnut Creek, 21. - Walnut Creek, prairie storm at, 21. - War-parties among the Indians, 143. - War-party, return home of a, 144. - Ward, Mrs. Maria, her work on Mormonism, 206, _note_. - Ward, W.,the Mormon sculptor and apostate, 246. - Wards into which Great Salt Lake City is divided, 217. - Ward’s Station, or the “Central Star,” 91. - Warm Springs, 158. - Warm Springs, barren country beyond, 158. - Warren, Lieutenant Gouverneur K., report of, on Nebraska quoted, 7. - Warriors, Indian, 57. - Wasach Mountains, 189, 195. - Wasach Mountains, eternal snow of the, 323. - Washiki, the Shoshonee chief, 165. - Washington County, Utah Territory, description of, 292, _note_. - Water communication, idea of, between the Missouri and the Columbia - Rivers, 162, 163, _note_. - Water, none in the First Desert, 167. - Water, scarcity of, on the counterslope of the Rocky Mountains, 166. - Water, supply of, in Great Salt Lake City, 216. - Wazikute Indians, 97. - Weapons necessary to the Western traveler, 9. - Weapons of the North American Indians, 57, 119, 120. - Weber River, 182. - Weber River, head and course of the, 188, 325. - Weber River, rain-storms and cold winds of, 188. - Weber River, Station, 188. - Weber River, tributaries of the, 189. - Weber River, valley of the, 188. - Weed-prairie, the, 48. - Wells, General, the Mormon president, account of, 241, 354. - Western man’s home, description of a, 468-9. - Whisky a favorite with the wagon drivers, 24. - Whisky “Valley Tan,” 170. - White-Earth River, or Mankizitah, 72. - White Knife Indians, 481-2. - White Mountains, 450. - “White Savages” of the West, 173, and _note_. - Wichiyela, or First-Nation Indians, 97. - Wigwams, huts, or cabins of the Eastern American Indians, 86, _note_. - Wilderness, the American, 63. - Wilderness, the American, animal life in, 64. - Willow Creek, 161. - Willow Creek, a little war at, 461. - Willow Creek, Canadian settlers at, 161. - Willow Creek, station at, 461. - Willow Island Ranch, 49. - Willow Springs Station, 147. - Willow, the red, the bark of, smoked, 111. - Wind, alternate hot and cold puffs of, in the prairies, 79. - Wind River, fountain-head of the, 162. - Wind River, Mountains, 162, 163, 164. - Wind River, Mountains, evening view of the, 164. - Wind River, Mountains, game in the, 68. - Wind River, Mountains, gold found in the, 165. - Wind River, Mountains, morning in the, 166. - Wind River, Mountains, wild animals of the wooded heights, 165. - Winds, cold, of Weber-River Station, 188. - Wind-storms of the South Pass, 165. - Wind, west, almost invariable at the South Pass, 163. - Winnebagoes, Winnipegs, or Ochangras, Indian tribe of the, 20, _note_. - Winnebagoes, their tents, 86. - Winnipeg Lake, Indians on, 100. - Witchetaws, tents of the, 85. - Wright, Mose, 472-3, 481-2. - Wolves at Rocky Bridge Station, 160, 161. - Wolves, near Black’s Fork, 176. - Wolves, the prairie, 30. - Women, excess of the female over the male population in Utah - Territory, 301. - Women, house of the wives of the Prophet in Great Salt Lake City, 246. - Women, Indian, 59, 106. - Women, Indian names of, 115. - Women, marriage among the North American Indians, 116. - Women, Mormon marriage, 427, 432. - Women, Mormon, their polygamy, 431. - Women, motherhood, how regarded in the Western States, 432. - Women of the Mormons, 228, 430. - Women of the Sioux Indians, 103. - Women, the half-breed, 80. - Women, their separation from the men at meals, 117. - Woodruff, Willford, the Mormon apostle, 242. - Woodruff, Willford, his garden, 360. - Woods, Lake of the, Indians of the, 100. - Woodson, Colonel S. H., his establishment of the mail-coach route - from Missouri to California and Oregon, 4. - Wool-producing country in the basin of the Green River, 284. - - Yellow Creek, 183. - Yellow Creek, Hill, 184. - Yellow Stone River, fountain-head of the, 162. - Yoke, the, of the great American Sahara, 23. - Yosemite, or Yohamite Falls, 500. - Young, Brigham, President, extract from one of his sermons, 17, - _note_. - Young, Brigham, address of, at the Conference, 305-6. - Young, Brigham, address of, in the Bowery, 261. - Young, Brigham, alleged personal fear of, 226. - Young, Brigham, character of, 239-245. - Young, Brigham, gardens of, 269. - Young, Brigham, his opinion of woman’s counsel, 207, _note_. - Young, Brigham, house of, 234. - Young, Brigham, mode of life of, 240, 242. - Young, Brigham, nephew of the Prophet, 137. - Young, Brigham, personal appearance of, 238-9. - Young, Brigham, remarks of, on the “Indian Wars,” 243. - Young, Brigham, visit to, 237-8. - Young, Brigham, wealth of, 242. - Young, Brigham, wives and children of, 249. - Yuta Indians, “they who live on mountains,” sign of their tribe, 124, - 477. - Yuta Indians, a little war with the, 461. - Yuta Indians, kindness of the Mormons to the, 245. - Yuta Indians, graves of the, 122. - - Zizania aquatica, 96, _note_. - - -THE END. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - - The spelling of the source document (including inconsistent and - unusual spelling, capitalisation, hyphenation, (deliberate) - misspellings, phonetically written speech, etc.) have been retained, - also in proper and geographical names and in literature references, - except as mentioned below. The spelling (including the use of accents - and other diacriticals) of non-English words has not been corrected, - and missing words have not been inserted, except as mentioned below. - Tabulated data and the results of calculations (even when they - obviously contain errors) have been transcribed as printed, except as - listed under Changes. - - Depending on the hard- and software used to read this text, and - their settings, not all elements may display as intended; due to - very limited font support the deserét alphabet in particular may - not render properly. Some of the larger elements (such as tables - and illustrations) may be best viewed in a wide window or on a wide - screen. - - Page 356, Captain Suter: probably John Augustus Sutter Sr. - - Page 362, “We say from the Saxon ...: there is no closing quote mark - in the source document. - - Page 413, “his brother Pacumeni was appointed by his successor”: - probably an error for “... as his successor”. - - Page 525: Closing quote mark inserted after ... rendered valueless - there in a few days. - - Page 561 ff. (Index): some entries are not in alphabetical order; - this has not been corrected. - - Page 568, “Mormon, Book of,” 367, _note_: the book has no footnote on - page 367. - - - Changes: - - Footnotes, illustrations, tables, etc. have been moved out of text - paragraphs. Some of the larger tables have been split or otherwise - re-arranged. - - Some minor obvious typographical and punctuation errors have been - corrected silently. Some minor inconsistencies in the lay-out of the - tables have been standardised silently. - - Where relevant, page headers in the source document have been moved to - the start of the paragraph to which they belong, and are given there - [between square brackets]. Where they announce or refer to separate - subjects, such headers have been split. - - Some ditto marks („) and abbreviations (do.) have been replaced with - the dittoed text. - - Deseret and Deserét have been standardised to Deserét. - - Page xv: Illustration numbers have been added to the List of - Illustrations. - - Page 215, Footnote 219: “Chestand” changed to “Ehestand”. - - Page 228: “ζψον φιλοκοσμον” changed to “ζωον φιλοκοσμον”. - - Page 253: הכבז changed to הננו. - - Page 368, Footnote 204: “Kisheumen” changed to “Kishkumen”; - “Femnarihah” changed to “Zemnarihah”. - - Page 391: “VI.” (second occurrence) changed to “VII.”. - - Page 430, Footnote 221: “cinque femmes où d’avantage” changed to - “cinque femmes ou d’avantage”. - - Page 458: “anti-Columbian immigration” changed to “ante-Columbian - immigration”. - - Page 484: “at our instance” changed to “at our insistence” - - Page 486: “mummified us as in the Eastern prairies” changed to - “mummified as in the Eastern prairies”. - - Page 514, table row Grass in considerable quantity of good character: - “12·19” changed to “121·9”. - - Index: some spelling and hyphenation have been adjusted to conform to - those used in the text. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CITY OF THE SAINTS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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