HAROLD B. LEE LIBRARY
BRJQHA!^ YOUNG UWfVERSJTV
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
Brigham Young University
http://www.archive.org/details/historyofutah15400byuban
a^^ y^'^^^^^;£
WjMl» W|*^ W^l^r W^ W!F
iK I A A A ii#.. -A. A .^ A^ -i
By
^''%zJ^mc^on,
1890
A^->^^A A- A, A
PROVO. UTAH
HISTOEY OF UTAH
r
HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT
1540-1887
SAN FRANCISCO
THE HISTORY COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
1890
^\
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1889, by
HUBERT H. BANCROFT,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washingtoiu
All Rights Reserved.
HAFIOLO B. "LEE UBTlAW
BRIQHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
PROVO, UTAH
PREFACE.
In the history of Utah we come upon a new series
of social phenomena, whose multiformity and uncon-
ventionality awaken the liveliest interest. We find
ourselves at once outside the beaten track of conquest
for gold and glory; of wholesale robberies and human
slaughters for the love of Christ; of encomiendas, re-
partimientos, serfdoms, or other species of civilized
imposition; of missionary "invasion resulting in cer-
tain death to the aborigines, but in broad acres and
well filled storehouses for the men of practical piety;
of emigration for rich and cheap lands, or for coloni-
zation and empire alone; nor have we here a hurried
scramble for wealth, or a corporation for the manage-
ment of a game |)reserve. There is the charm of
novelty about the present subject, if no other; for in
our analyses of human progress we never tire of watch-
ing the behavior of various elements under various
conditions.
There is only one example in the annals of Amer-
ica of the organization of a commonwealth upon prin-
ciples of pure theocracy. There is here one example
only where the founding of a state grew out of the
founding of a new religion. Other instances there
have been of the occupation of wild tracts on this con-
tinent by people flying before persecution, or desirous
(▼)
yi PREFACE.
of greater religious liberty; there were the quakers,
the huguenots, and the pilgrim fathers, though their
spiritual interests were so soon subordinated to politi-
cal necessities; religion has often played a conspicu-
ous part in the settlement of the New World, and
there has at times been present in some degree the
theocratic, if not indeed the hierarchal, idea; but it
has been long since the world, the old continent or the
new, has witnessed anything like a new religion suc-
cessfully established and set in prosperous running or-
der upon the fullest and combined principles of theoc-
racy, hierarchy, and patriarchy.
With this new series of phenomena, a new series
of difficulties arises in attempting their elucidation:
not alone the perplexities always attending unexplored
fields, but formidable embarrassments which render
the task at once delicate and dangerous.
If the writer is fortunate enough to escape the
many pitfalls of fallacy and illusion which beset his
wa}^; if he is wise and successful enough to find and
follow the exact line of equity which should be drawn
between the hotly contending factions ; in a word, if he
is honest and capable, and speaks honestly and openly
in the treatment of such a subject, he is pretty sure
to offend, and bring upon himself condemnation from
all parties. But where there are palpable faults on
both sides of a case, the judge who unites equity with
due discrimination may be sure he is not in the main
far from right if he succeeds in offending both sides.
Therefore, amidst the multiformity of conflicting ideas
and evidence, having abandoned all hope of satisfying
others, I fall back upon the next most reasonable prop-
osition left — that of satisfying myself.
I
PREFACE. yu
In regard to the quality of evidence I here encoun-
ter, I will say that never before has it been my lot to
meet with such a mass of mendacity. The attempts
of almost all who have written upon the subject seem
to have been to make out a case rather than to state
the facts. Of course, by any religious sect dealing
largely in the supernatural, fancying itself under the
direct guidance of God, its daily doings a standing
miracle, commingling in all the ordinary affairs of life
prophecies, special interpositions, and revelations with
agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, we must ex-
pect to find much written which none but that sect
can accept as true.
And in relation to opposing evidence, almost every
book that has been put forth respecting the people
of Utah by one not a Mormon is full of calumny,
each author apparently endeavoring to surpass his
predecessor in the libertinism of abuse. Most of
these are written in a sensational style, and for the
purpose of deriving profit by pandering to a vitiated
public taste, and are wholly unreliable as to facts.
Some few, more especially among those first appear-
ing, whose data were gathered by men upon the
spot, and for the purpose of destroying what they
regarded as a sacrilegious and pernicious fanaticism,
though as vehement in their opposition as any, make
some pretensions to honesty and sincerity, and are
more worthy of credit. There is much in govern-
ment reports, and in the writings of the later resi-
dents in Utah, dictated by honest patriotism, and to
which the historian should give careful attention.
In using my authorities, I distinguish between these
classes, as it is not profitable either to pass by any-
thing illustrating principles or affecting progress, or
viii PREFACE.
to print pages of pure invention, palpable lies, even
for the purpose of proving them such. Every work
upon the subject, however, receives proper bibliograph-
ical notice.
The materials for Mormon church history are
exceptionally full. Early in his career the first presi-
dent appointed a historiographer, whose office has
been continuous ever since. To his people he himself
gave their early history, both the inner and intangi-
ble and the outer and material portions of it. Then
missionaries to different posts were instructed to make
a record of all pertinent doings, and lodge the same
in the church archives. A sacred obligation seems to
have been implied in this respect from the beginning,
the Book of Mormon itself being largely descriptive of
such migrations and actions as usually constitute the
history of a people. And save in the matters of spir-
itual manifestations, which the merely secular histo-
rian cannot follow, and in speaking of their enemies,
whose treatment we must admit in too many instances
has been severe, the church records are truthful and
reliable. In addition to this, concerning the settle-
ment of the country, I have here, as in other sections
of my historical field, visited the people in person, and
gathered from them no inconsiderable stores of orig-
inal and interesting information.
Upon due consideration, and with the problem
fairly before me, three methods of treatment pre-
sented themselves from which to choose: first, to
follow the beaten track of calumny and vituperation,
heaping upon the Mormons every species of abuse,
from the lofty sarcasm employed by some to the vul-
gar scurrility applied by others; second, to espouse
»
PREFACE.
the cause of the Mormons as the weaker party, and
defend them from the seeming injustice to which from
the first they have been subjected; third, in a spirit of j^
equity to present both sides, leaving the reader to
draw his own conclusions. The first course, however
popular, would be beyond my power to follow; the
second method, likewise, is not to be considered; I
therefore adopt the third course, and while giving
the new sect a full and respectful hearing, withhold
nothing that their most violent opposers have to say
against them.
Anything written at the present day which may
properly be called a history of Utah must be largely
a history of the Mormons, these being the first white
people to settle in the country, and at present largely
occupying it. As others with opposing interests and
influences appear, they and the great principles thereby
brouofht to an issue receive the most careful considera-
tion. And I have deemed it but fair, in presenting the
early history of the church, to give respectful consid-
eration to and a sober recital of Mormon faith and
experiences, common and miraculous. The story of
Mormonism, therefore, beginning with chapter iii., as
told in the text, is from the Mormon standpoint, and ^'^
based entirely on Mormon authorities; while in the
notes, and running side by side with the subject-
matter in the text, I give in full all anti-Mormon
arguments and counter-statements, thus enabling the
reader to carry along both sides at once, instead of
having to consider first all that is to be said on one
side, and then all that is to be said on the other.
In following this plan, I only apply to the history
of Utah the same principles employed in all my his-
torical efforts, namely, to give all the facts on every
X PREFACE.
side pertinent to the subject. In giving the history
of the invasion and occupation of the several sections
of the Pacific States from Panama to Alaska, I have
been obliged to treat of the idiosyncrasies, motives,
and actions of Poman catholics, methodists, presby-
terians, episcopalians, and members of the Greek
church: not of the nature or validity of their re-
spective creeds, but of their doings, praising or blam-
ing as praise or blame were due, judged purely from
a standpoint of morals and humanity according to
the hiofhest standards of the foremost civilization of
the world. It was not necessary — it was wholly
outside the province of the historian, and contrary to
my method as practised elsewhere — to discuss the
truth or falsity of their convictions, any more than
when writing the history of Mexico, California, or
Oregon to advance my opinions regarding the in-
spiration of the scriptures, the divinity of Christ,
prophecies, miracles, or the immaculate conception.
On all these questions, as on the doctrines of the
Mormons and of other sects, I have of course my
opinions, which it were not only out of place but
odious to be constantly thrusting upon the attention
of the reader, who is seeking for facts only.
In one respect only I deem it necessary to go a little
further here : inasmuch as doctrines and beliefs enter
more influentially than elsewhere into the origin and
evolution of this society, I give the history of the rise
and progress of those doctrines. Theirs was not an
old faith, the tenets of which have been fought for
and discussed for centuries, but professedly a new reve-
lation, whose principles are for the most part unknown
to the outside world, where their purity is severely
questioned. The settlement of this section sprung
PREFACE. Sd
primarily from the evolution of a new religion, with
all its attendant trials and persecutions. To give
their actions without their motives would leave the
work obviously imperfect; to give their motives with-
out the origin and nature of their belief would be
impossible.
In conclusion, I will say that those who desire a
knowledge of people and events impartially viewed,
a statement of facts fairly and dispassionately pre-
sented, I am confident will find them here as else-
where in my writings.
lilST OP iLiLUSTI^AnTIONS.
Pagb.
"Brigham Young .... Steel Engraving. Frontispiece.
Illustrated title page .
Discovery of Salt Lake by Bridger . . Colored Engraving 20
Josepti's Vision Photo Engraving 72
Missionaries received by the Chief of the Delaw^ares . Col. Eng. 79
Laying the Corner Stone .... Colored Engraving 119
Assassination of Joseph Smith . . . Photo Engraving 182
Joseph Smith Steel Engraving 185
Migration from Nauvoo Photo Engraving 218
Enrollment of the Mormon Battalion . . Photo Engraving 241
Corral of "Wagons 255
Approaching the New Zion .... Colored Engraving 257
Brigham Young's First View of Salt Lake Valley Photo Engraving 262
Fort, Great Salt Lake City, 1848 . . . . . . . 277
Salt Lake City in 1850 ..... Colored Engraving 328
Tithing House, Salt Lake City . . . . . . . 351
Hand Cart Migration ..... Colored Engraving 425
Wilford Woodruff .... . , Steel Engraving 435
Territorial Seal . . , . 460
Intercourse with Mormons and Indians . Photo Engraving ill
Johnston's Army in Utah .... Photo Engraving 515
Temple, Salt Lake City ..... Photo Engraving 582
Home of Brigham Young, Salt Lake City ..... 683
The Three Wife House, Salt Lake City 687
-Geo. Q. Cannon . . , . . . Steel Engraving 606
The Funeral Services of Brigham Young . Colored Engraving 670
-John Taylor . Steel Engraving 682
Eagle Gate, Salt Lake City, 1889 694
Great Salt Lake .... . . Photo Engraving 695
Ogden and Weber River .... Photo Engraving 700
Salt Lake City from Arsenal Hill . . . Photo Engraving 762
liiST OP (Daps
Page
Probable route of Cardenas ........ 5
Map from Magin, 1611, 6
Map by John Harris, 1705 7
Escalante's route from Sante Fe to Utah Lake .... 10
Timpanogos Valley 13
Map of Utah, 1826 19
Green River Country 24
Bonneville's Map, 1837 2G
Utah and Nevada, 1795 27
Rector's map, 1818 27
Finley's map, 1826 28
The war in Missouri 121
Settlements in Illinois 136
Between the Mississippi and Missouri 222
About the Missouri 237
Route of the Mormons 254
Settlements at the end of 1852 306
Site of the Gunnison Massacre 469
The Utah Campaign 513
Mountain Meadows 650,
Salt Lake City in 1860 680
Princinal settlements in 1862 694
<^2^^1^(^^:^^:^^
COKTEI^rTS OF THIS YOLUME.
CHAPTEE I.
DISCOVEEIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
1540-1777.
PACK
Francisco Vazquez de Coroiiado at Cibola — Expedition of Pedro de Tobar
and Father Juan de Padilla — They Hear of a Large River — Garcia
Lopez de Cardenas Sent in Search of It — The First Europeans to
Approach Utah — Route of Cardenas — Mythical Maps — Part of the
Northern Mystery — Journey of Dominguez and Escalante — The
Course They Followed — The Rivers They Crossed — The Comanchea
— Region of the Great Lakes — Rivers Timpanogos, San Buenaven-
tura, and Others — The Country of the Yutas — Route from Santa F6
to Monterey — The Friars Talk of the Lake Country — Return of the
Spaniards to Zuui and March to Santa F^ 1
CHAPTER II.
ADVENT OF TRAPPEKS AND TKAVELLEE3.
1778-1846.
Invasion by Fur-hunters — Baron la Hontan and his Fables — The Popu-
lar Geographic Idea — Discovery of the Great Salt Lake — James
Bridger Deciding a Bet — He Determines the Course of Bear River,
and Comes upon the Great Lake — Henry, Ashley, Green, and Beck-
•wourth on the Ground — Fort Built at Utah Lake — Peter Skeen Og-
den — Journey of Jedediah S. Smith — A Strange Country — Pegleg
Smith — Wolfskin, Yount, and Burton Traverse the Country —
Walker's Visit to California — Some Old Maps — The Bartleson Com-
pany — Statements of Bidwell and Belden Compared — Whitman
and Lovejoy — Fremont — Pacific Coast Immigrations of 1845 and
1846— Origin of the Name Utah 18
CHAPTER m.
THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
1820-1830.
A Glance Eastward — The Middle States Sixty Years Ago — Birth and
Parentage of Joseph Smith — Spiritual Manifestations — Joseph Tells
(xlii)
jtiv CONTENTS.
PAOK
his Vision — And is Reviled — Moroni Appears — Persecutions — Copy-
ing the Plates — Martin Harris — Oliver Cowdery — Translation — The
Book of Mormon — Aaronic Priesthood Conferred — Conversions — The
Whitmer Family — The Witnesses — Spaulding Theory — Printing of
the Book — Melchisedec Priesthood Conferred — Duties of Elders and
Others — Church of Latter- day Saints Organized — First Miracle —
First Conference — Oliver Cowdery Ordered to the West 36
CHAPTEE rV.
THE STOKT OF MORMON ISM.
1830-1835.
Parley Pratt's Conversion — Mission to the Lamanites — The Missionaries
at Kirtland — Conversion of Sidney Rigdon — Mormon Success at Kirt-
land — The Missionaries in Missouri — Rigdon Visits Smith — Edward
Partridge — The Melchisedec Priesthood Given — Smith and Rigdon
Journey to Missouri — Bible Translation — Smith's Second Visit to
Missouri — Unexampled Prosperity — Causes of Persecutions — Mob-
ocracy — The Saints are Driven from Jackson County — Treachery of
Boggs — Military Organization at Kirtland — The Name Latter-day
Saints — March to Missouri 71
CHAPTER V.
THE STOET OF MORMONISM.
1835-1840.
President Smith at Kirtland — First Quorum of Twelve Apostles — The
Kirtland Temple Completed — Kirtland Safety Society Bank — In
Zion Again — The Saints in Missouri — Apostasy — Zeal and Indis-
cretion — Military Organization — The War Opens — Depredations on
Both Sides — Movements of Atchison, Parks, and Doniphan — Atti-
tude of Boggs — Wight and Gilliam — Death of Patten — Danite Or-
ganization — Order Lodge — Haun Mill Tragedy — Mobs and Militia —
The Tables Turned — Boggs' Exterminating Order — Lucas and Clark
at Far West — Surrender of the Mormons — Prisoners — Petitions and
Memorials — ^Expulsion — Gathering at Quincy — Opinions Ill
CHAPTER VI.
THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
1840-1844.
The City of Nauvoo — Its Temple and University — The Nauvoo Legion —
The Mormons in Illinois — Evil Reports — Revelation on Polygamy-
Its Reception and Practice — The Prophet a Candidate for the Presi-
dency — The Nauvoo Expositor — Joseph Arrested — Governor Ford
and his Measures — Joseph and Hyrum Proceed to Carthage — Their
Imprisonment — The Governor's Pledge — Assassination of the Prophet
d
CONTENTS. x»
PAGE
and his Brother — Character of Joseph Smith — A Panic at Carthage —
Addresses of Richards and Taylor — Peaceful Attitude of the Mor-
mons 143
CHAPTER VII.
BRIGHAM YOITNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
1844-1845.
rhe Question of Succession— Biography of Brigham Young — His Early
Life — Conversion — Missionary Work — Made President of the Twelve
— His Devotion to the Prophet — Sidney Rigdon and Bi'igham Young
Rival Aspirants for the Presidency — Rigdon's Claims — Public Meet-
ings — Brigham Elected President of the Church — His Character —
Temple-building — Fresh Disasters— Jhe Affair at Morley — The Men
of Quincy and the Men of CafjEage — The Mormons Cons«;nt to
Abandon their City , 193
CHAPTER VIII. '
EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO.
1845-1846.
k. Busy City — Meeting in the Temple — Sacrifice of Property — Detach-
ments Move Forward — A Singular Exodus — The First Encampmeuli
— Cool Proposal from Brother Brannan — The Journey — Courage and
Good Cheer — Swelling of their Numbers — The Remnant of the Saints
in Nauvoo — ^Attitmle of the Gentiles — The Mormons Attacked —
Continued Hostilities — The Final Departures — The Poor Camp — A
Deserted City 214
CHAPTER IX.
AT THE MISSOURI.
1846-1847.
N'ative Races of the Missouri — The Pottawattamies and the Omahas —
The Mormons Welcomed as Brethren — War with Mexico — California
Territory — Mexican Boundaries— Application to the United States
Government for Aid — An Offer to Serve as Soldiers Accepted — Or-
ganization of the Mormon Battalion — Departure of the Battalion —
Bounty Money — ^larch across the Continent — The Battalion in Cal-
ifornia — Matters on the Missouri 236
CHAPTER X.
MIGRATION TO UTAH.
1847.
Camp Near the Missouri — Preparations at Winter Quarters — Departure
of the Pioneer Band— Elkhorn Rendezvous — Route and Routine —
Incidents of Journey — Approach to Zion — In the Canon — Hosannal
CONTENTS.
FAOa
Hallelujah! — Entry into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake — Plough-
ing and Planting — Praying and Praising — Site for a City Chosen —
Temple Block Selected — Return of Companies to Winter Quarters —
Their Meeting with the Westward-bound — General Epistle of the
Twelve 252
;?-<
CHAPTER XI.
IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
1848.
Food and Raiment — Houses — Home Manufactures— The Fort — Wild
Beasts — Cannon from Sutter's Fort — Indian Children for Sale —
Measles — Population — Mills and Farming Machinery — The Plague
of Crickets — They are Destroyed by Gulls — Scarcity of Provisions —
The Harvest Feast — Immigration — Five Thousand Saints Gathered
in the Valley — Fencing and Farming — Distribution of Lots — Organ-
ization of County Government — Association for the Extermination
of Wild Beasts 275
CHAPTER XII.
IN THE VALLEY OF THE GEEAT SALT LAKE.
1849.
Food Supply and Shelter — Building Lots — Currency Issue — Bank Notes
and Coinage — Private and Public Buildings — W^ide Area of the City
— Second Anniversary of tlie Pioneers — Festivals and Amusements
— Labor a Duty among the Saints — Effect of the California Gold Dis-
covery — Immigration — Carrying Company — Calil'ornia-bound Emi-
grants — Their Traffic with the Mormons — Products and Prices —
Gold-hunting Frowned upon by the Church 28f
CHAPTER XIII.
SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPATION OF THE COrTNTRY.
1847-1852.
Founding of Centreville — Bountiful — Ogden — Lynne — Easton — Marriots-
ville — San Pete — Provo — Indian War — Walled Cities — Evansviile —
Lehi — Battle Creek — Pleasant Grove — American Fork — Payson —
Nephi — Manti — Chief Walker — Fillmore — Site Chosen for the Capi-
tal — Tooele — Grantsville— Kaysville — Little Salt Lake — Parowan —
Cedar City — Paragoonah — Forts Walker and Harmony — Box Elder
Creek — Brigham City — Willard City — San Bernardino in California . 30j
CHAPTER XIV.
EDUCATION, MANUFACTURES, COMMERCE, AGRICULTURE, SOCIETY,
1850-1852.
Boundaries and Extent of Utah — Configuration and Physical Features of
the Country — Its Lands and Waters — Flora and Fauna — State Uni-
CONTENTS. xvii
PACK
versity — Curriculnm — Educational Ideas — Library — Periodicals —
Tabernacle and Temple — New Fort — Progress of the Useful Arts-
Mills, Factories, and Manufactures — Farm Products — Traffic — Popu-
lation — Revenue — Mortality — Healthful Airs and Medicinal Springs. . 321
CHAPTER XV. ^
MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
What is Mormonism? — Tenets of the Church — Sacred Books and Person-
ages — Organization— Priesthood — First Presidency — The Twelve
Apostles— Patriarchs — Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers, and Dea-
cons — The Seventies — Stakes and Wards — Marriage — Temple-build-
ing — Tabernacle — Political Aspect — Polygamy as a Church Tenet —
Celestial Marriage — Attitude and Arguments of Ci%'ilization — Polyg-
amy's Reply — Ethics and Law — The Charge of Disloyalty — Proposed
Remedies 333
CHAPTER XVI.
MISSIONS AND IMMIGRATION.
1830-1SS3.
Mormon Missionaries — Parley Pratt and his Colleagues — Missionary i
Labor in Canada — In Great Britain— Missionaries in Europe — And in /^ /
Other Parts of the World — The Perpetual Emigration Fuud — A Gen-
eral Epistle of the Twelve — From Liverpool to Salt Lake City for
Fifty Dollars — Emigrant Ships — Report of a Liverpool Manager —
The Passage to New Orleans — Overland Travel — Classes of Emi-
grants — George A. Smith's Companies at South Pass — The Hand-
cart Emigration — Biographical 397
CHAPTER XVII.
UTAH AS A TEURITORY.
1849-1 8 J8.
STeed of Civil Government — T he State of Des erfit Org^^i^pd. — Memorials yC^
for Admission into the Union — Proposed Consolidation with Califor-
nia — Administration of Justice — Proceedings of the Legislature —
Babbit's Reception at Washington — The State of Deseret before
Congress — Act to Establish a Territorial Government — Appointment
jf Officials — 111 Feeling between Them and the Mormons — The Offi-
jials Depart for Washington — Measures of the Legislative Assembly
— Stansbury's Survey — The Gunnison Massacre — Indian Outbreaks —
The Walker War — Mexican Slave-traders 439
CHAPTER XVin.
THE GOVERNMENT IN ARMS.
1853-1857.
trigham as Dictator — Uta h Seeks Admission as a St ate — Dissatisfaction
among the Saints — Conflicting Judiciaries — The New Federal Offi-
HiST. Utah, h
X
xviii CONTENTS.
VAOB
cials — Disputes with Judge Drummond — Colonel Steptoe — An Expe-
dition Ordered to Utah — Official Blunders — The Troops Assemble at
Fort Leavenworth — Hockaday and Magraw's Mail Contract — The
Brighani Young Express — Celebration of the Pioneer Anniversary —
News (if the Coming Invasion — Its Effect on the Mormons — Arrival
of Major Van Vliet — The Nauvoo Legion — Mormon Tactics 481
CHAPTER XIX.
THE UTAH WAR.
1857-1858.
Opening of the Cnmpaign — Burning of Supply Trains — Strategic Move-
ment of Colonel Alexander — His Ketreat — Arrival of Albert Sidney
Johnston — The March to Fort Bridger — Winter at Camp Scott —
Mission of Colonel Kane — Governor Cumming at Salt Lake City —
Pardon Proclaimed — The Peace Commissioners — The Army of Utah
Advances on Zion — The City Deserted — The Mormons Return to
Their Homes — The Troops Cantoned at Camp Floyd — Conduct of
the Soldiery and Camp Followers — Judges Sinclair and Cradlebaugh.
— The Reformation in Utali 512
CHAPTER XX.
THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE.
1857.
An Arkansas Emigrant Party Arrives at Salt Lake City — Assassination
of Parley P. Pratt — III Feeling against the Emigrants — Alleged Out-
rages — Their Arrival at Mountain Meadows — They are Attacked by
Indians— A Flag of Trucei — Plan of the Massacre — Surrender of the
Emigrants— The Butchery — Burial of the Slain — The Survivors —
Judge Cradlebaugh's Investigation — The Aiken Massacre — John D.
Lee on Trial— Tlje Jury Disagree — The Second Trial — Lee Convicted,
and Sentenced — His Confession and Execution 54i
CHAPTER XXI.
POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND INSTITUTIONAL.
1859-1862.
Brigham Threatened with Arrest — The Federal Judges Reproved — De-
parture of Governor Cumming — And of the Army of Utah — Popu-
lation of the Tenitoi-y — Mortality — Wealth — Industries — Prices —
^Vages— Trade— Salt Lake City in I860— The Temple Block— Social
Gatherings — Theatricals — Scientific and Other Institutions — Cliar-
acter of the Population — Carson Valley — San Bernardino — Summit
County and Its Settlements— Purchase of Fort Bridger — Wasatch
County — Morgan County— Cache Valley- Settlements in Southern "
Utah 67
I
CONTENTS. J^^
CHAPTER XXn.
PROGRESS OF EVENTS.
1861-1869.
PAGK
Gorenior Dawson's (xallantry ^Utah Refused Ad mi ssion as a State — M
Passage of a Bill against Polygamy — Measures of the Legislature —
Arrival of Governor Harding — Disputes between Brigham and the
Federal Officials — Arrival of the California Volunteers — A False
Alarm — The Morrisite Troubles — Governors Doty and Durkee^The
Limits of Utah Curtailed — Celebration of Lincoln's Second Inaugu-
ration — The Brassfield and Robinson Murders — Indian Outbreaks
— The Battle of Bear River — Disturbances in Southern Utah — Trea-
ties with Indian Tr.ibes— The Uintah Valley Reservation — Biblio-
graphical 604
CHAPTER XXIII
SCHISMS AND APOSTASIES.
1844-1869.
The Strangites — The Gatherers — Brannan's Followers — The Gladdenites
— The Reorganized Church of Latter-day Saints — Alexander and
David Hyrum Smith— The Utah Magazine — Trial of Godbe and Har-
rison — Success of the Godbeite Movement — The Strugf;;le for Commer-
cial Control — Persecution of Gentile Merchants — Zion's Cooperative
I Mercantile Institution — Extent of its Operations — Disastrous Effect
:—— "'
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE LAST DAYS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG.
1869-1877.
Visit of Schuyler Colfax — Godbe's Interview with President Grant —
Governor Shaffer — Military Riot at Provo — Governor Woods — Judge
McKean — Burlesque of Justice — Arrest of . Brigham Young and
Others — G«orge Q. Cannon Chosen Delegate — Axtell's Administra-
tion—Governor Emery — Death of Brigham — His Obsequies — His
Charaxiter — His Will 656
CHAPTER XXV.
I
CHURCH AND STATE.
1877-1885.
Conference of the Church — Reorganization of the First Presidency —
John Taylor Appointed President — His Appearance and Mien — The
Edmunds Bill — Its Penalties — An Ex Post Facto Law — Polygamists
Disfranchised — Utah agaia Refused Admission aa a State — Opera- A(^
tions of the Utah Commission — Governor Murray's Message — His
Administration 677
XX CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XXVI. j
SETTLEMENT, SOCIETY, AND EDUCATION. |
] 862-1886. I
FAOa ^
Population and Statistics — Salt Lake City — The Temple — The New Tab- j
ernacle — The Museum — Condition of the Inhabitants — Distinctive j
Features — Salt Lake County — Davis County — Ogden — Cache County :
— Rich County — Summit County — Brigham City — Nephi — Provo — >
Uintah, Emery, San Juan, Garfield, and Piute Counties— Sanpete |
and Sevier Coujities — Iron, Kane, and Washington Counties — •,,
Schools — The University of Deseret — The Deseret Alphabet — Libra- j
ries — Journals and Journalism 691 j'
CHAPTER XXVII.
AGRICULTURE, STOCK-RAISING, MANUFACTURES, AND MINING.
1852-1886.
Agricultural Products and Yield per Acre — Irrigation — Character of the
Soil— Fruit Culture — Viticulture — Sericulture — Timber and Timber-
lands — Bunch-grass — Cattle-raising — Dairy Products — Horses —
Sheep — Woollen Manufactures — Leather — Other Manufactures —
Iron-mining — Coal-mining — Copper — Sulphur — Gypsum and Mica —
Other Minerals — Building Stone — Gold and Silver — The West
Mountain District — The Rush Valley District — The Cottonwood
District — The American Fork District — The Tintic District — The
Ontario Mine — Other Mining Districts — Mining Products — Milling,
Smelting, and Reduction-works 720
CHAPTER XXVIII.
COMMERCE AND COMMUNICATION.
1852-1885.
Common Roadways — Railroads — The Union and Central Pacific — The
Utah Central— The Utah Southern— The Utah and Northern— The
Utah Eastern— The Salt Lake and Western — The Utah and Nevada
— The Denver and Rio Grande Western — Imports and Exports-
Commerce and Trade — Banking — Insurance — Taxation and Revenue
— Mails and Mail Services — The First Telegraphic Message — The
Deseret Telegraph Company 751
Index. ♦^. .h..«...^_ .....^ . ..^« , ...^... 786
AUTHOEITIES COE-SULTED
HISTORY OF UTAH.
Adams (G, J.), A Few Plain Facts, etc. Bedford (Eng.), 1841; Letter to
President John Tj'ler. New York, 1844.
Address by a Minister of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to
the People of the United States. Printed while the Mormons were at
Nauvoo. Philadelphia, n.d.
A Friendly Warning to the Latter-day Saints. London, 1860.
Albany (Or.), Journal.
Aldrich (Hazen), The Olive Branch, monthly. Kirtland (0.), 1851-2.
Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, i. 233-8.
Alexander (W. C), Princ. Mag., xxiv. 687.
Alta (Utah), Times.
Amberley, in Fortnightly Rev., xii. 511.
American Almanac. Boston and New York, 1830 et seq.
American Geog. and Statis. Soc. Mag. New York, 1850 et seq.
American Quarterly Register and Magazine. Philadelphia, 1848 et seq.
Ameiican Whig Review. New York, 1845-51. 13 vols.
Among the Mormons, in All the Year Round, x. 1863.
Among the Mormons, in Gent. Mag., new ser., vii.
Amp6re (J. J.), Promenade en Am^rique, etc. Paris, 1855. 2 vols. Paris,
1860. 2 vols.
Ancient American Records, n.d.
Ancient and Modem Michilimackinac. (History of James J. Strang's Move-
ment.) n.d.
Anderson (R. R.), Salt Lake City Street- Railroad, MS.
Andouard, Far West.
Andree (Karl), Die Mormonen und ihr Land. Dresden, 1859,
An Exposure of Mormonism. Dunstable (Eng.), n.d.
Anti-MoiTnon Almanac. New York, 1842.
Antionh (Cal.), Ledger.
A Plan to Solve the Utah Problem. Salt Lake City, 1880.
Apples of Sodom. Cleveland (0.), 1883.
App'eton (D. & Co.), Amer. Cycloped., N. Y., 1873, 1875; Journal, N. Y.
Appleton's Illustrated Hand-book of Amer. TraveL New York, 1856 et seq.
Arch. Cal., Prov. Rec. MS., i. 47-8, vi. 59.
Arcliives du Christianisme (1852-3).
Ashland (Or.), Tidings.
Astoria (Or.), Astorian.
Athrawiaeth a Chyfammodau (Wales), n.d.
Atlantic Monthly. Boston, 1858 et seq. ..
(xxi)
xxu AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Austin (Nev. ), Reese River Reveille.
Authentic History of Remarkable Persons, etc. New York, 1849.
A Visit to the Mormons, in Westra. Rev., Ixxvi. 1S61.
A Voice from the Mountains. Salt Lake City, 1881.
Balch (W. R.), Mines of the U. S. Philadelphia, 1882.
Ballantyne (Richard), Proclamation of the Gospel. Madras (Hind.), 1853;
Only Way to be Saved. Madras (Hind.), 1853; Replies to Rev. J. Rich-
ards. Madras (Hind.), 1853; Millennial Star. Madras (Hind.), 1854.
Bancroft (H. II.), History of California; History of Nevada; History of
New Mex. ; History of North Mex. States; History of Northwest Coast;
Native Races, etc.
Barber (F. C), in De Bow, Comml. Rev., xvi. 368.
Barber (J. W. ), History of the Western States, etc. Cincinnati, 1867.
Barclay (Jas W.), Mormonism Exposed. London, 1884.
Barfoot (J. L.), Brief History of the Deseret Museum. MS.; Hand-book
Guide to the Salt Lake Museum. Salt Lake City, 1880.
Bameby (W. H. ), Life and Labor in the Far, Far West. London, Paris, and
New York, 1884.
Barnes (D.), From the Atlantic to the Pacific, Overland. New York, 1866.
Barr, Treatise on the Atonement, etc.
Bates (Geo. C), Argument on Jurisdiction of Probate Courts, etc. Salt Lake
City, n.d.
Battle of Bear River, 1863.
Bays (Joseph), The Blood of Christ. Chatteris (Eng.), 1849.
Beadle (J. H.), Bill Hickman, Brigham's Destroying Angel. New York,
1872; Life in Utah. Philadelphia, 1870; Undevel. West. Philadelphia,
1873; Western Wilds. Cincinnati, 1879; in Harper's Mag., HiL 641; Pop.
Sci. Monthly, ix. 479; Scribner's Monthly, xiv. 397.
Beatie (A. S.), The First in Nevada. MS.
Beaumont, Hist. Mich. MS., 407-22, etc.
Beaver City (Utah) Chronicle; Enterprise.
Beckwith (E. G.), Report on Route, etc. Washington, 1855; Washington,
1856.
Belden (J.), Statement. MS.
Bell (J. F.), Reply to John Theobald. Liverpool, n.d.
Belmont (Nev.), Courier.
Bennett (J. C), History of the Saints, or Mormonism Exposed. Boston, 1842. '
Benton (Thos H.), Speech in U. S. Senate, 1861.
Benzoni, Hist. Mundo Nuevo, 107.
Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 235.
Bertrand (L. A.), Autorit6 Divine, ou R^ponse, etc. Paris, 1853; M6moire8
d'un Mormon, Paris, 1862.
Bidwell, Cal., 1S4-8. MS.
Bigamy and Polygamy, Review of the Opinion of the Supreme Court of the
U. S., Oct. 1878.
Bigler (Henry W.), Diary of a Mormon. MS., passim.
Bill to Establish a Territorial Grovemment for Utah. Liverpool, 1852.
Bingham (Utah), Pioneer.
Bird (Isabella L.), Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains. New York, 1881.
Bishop (Gladden), Address to the Sons and Daughters of Zion, etc. Kirtland,
(0.), 1851.
Black (Judge), Argument on Federal Jurisdiction in the Territories. Salt
Lake City, 1883.
Bliss (C. H. ), Is Baptism Essential ? Baptism for the Remission of Sins. Salt
Lake City, n.d.
Blodget (L.), Meteorological Report. Washington, 1855.
Boadicea, The Mormon Wife. New York, etc., 1855.
Bois6 (Idaho), News; Statesman.
Boiler (H. A.), Among the Indians. Philadelphia, 1868.
AUf HOMTIES CONSULTED. Ssiii
Bonanza City (Idaho), Yankee Fork Herald.
Bonner (T. D. ), Life and Advent, of James P. Beckwourth, 71-3.
Bon wick (J.), The Mormons and the Silver Mines. London, 1872.
Book of Commandments. Independence, Missouri, 1833.
Book of Mormon. Kirtland, 1837; Liverpool, 1841, 1852, 1854, 1883; New-
York, n.d. Salt Lake City (First Utah ed.), 1871; Salt Lake City^
1879, and many others.
Book of Mormon Examined, etc. (Anon.) n.d.
Book of Mormon; Littell's Museum of For. Lit., xlii.
Boston Christ. Exam., 5th ser. ii., 1858.
Boston Journal.
Bowes (John), in Christian Magazine, nos. 13-18; Mormonism. London, Man-
chester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, 1848; Mormonism Exposed, 1851.
Bowles (S.), Across the Continent. Springfield (Mass.), 1866; Our New
West. Hartford, 1869.
Bowne, Jr. (A. G.), in Atlantic Monthly, iii., 361, 474, 570.
Boyer (Lanson), From Orient to Occident. New York, 1878.
Brackett (A. G.), History of the U. S. Cavalry. New York, 1865.
Bradford (W. J. A.), Origia and Fate of Mormonism, in Christ. Exam., liii.
201.
Brewster (James C), Address to the Church of Latter-day Saints. Spring-
field (111.), 1848; Very Important to the Mormon Money-diggers,
Springfield (111.), 1843.
Briggs (E. C), and Attwood (R. M.), Address to the Saints in Utah and Cali-
fornia. Piano (111.), 1869.
Brigham (C. H.), in No. Amer. Rev., xcv. 189; Old and New, i. 628, ii. 320.
Brigham (Wm J. ), The Church of Latter-day Saints, in Old and New. Sept.
and Oct. 1870.
Brigham Young Academy — Circulars.
Brigham Young and his Women, in Galaxy, Dec. 1866.
Brigham Young's Will.
Brighamism; Its Promises and Failure. Piano (111.)
British and American Commercial Joint-stock Company, Deed of SettlemenL
Liverpool, 1846.
Brit. Quat. Rev., xxxv. 175.
Bromfield (Edward T.), Picturesque Journeys, etc. New York, 1883.
Brother Bertrand's Conversion, in All the Year Round, ix. 68.
Brotherton (Edward), Mormonism, etc. Manchester (Eng.), n.d.
Brown (Albert G.), The Utah Expedition, in Atlantic Monthly, March, April,
and May, 1859.
Brown (Benjamin), Testimonies for the Truth, etc. Liverpool, 1853.
Brown (Joseph E. ), Speech in U. S. Senate. Washington, 1884.
Brown (Mrs M.), Letter. MS.
Brown's Statement. MS.
Brown (Thos D.), Utah! Its Silver Mines, etc.
Browne (Charles F.), Artemus Ward's Lecture. London, 1882.
Browne (J. R. ), Report upon the Mineral Resources of the States and Terri-
tories west of the Rocky Mountains. Washington, 1867, 1868. San
Francisco, 1868; Resources of the Pacific Slope. San Francisco, 1869.
Budge (Wm), Views of the Latter-day Saints on Marriage. Liverpool, 1879;
The Gospel Message. Liverpool, 1879; The Only True Gospel. Liver-
pool, 1878.
Bulfinch (S. 6.), The Mormons, in Christ. Exam., Lxiv. 421.
Burchard (H. C.), Director, Report upon the Statistics of the Production
of the Precious Metals in the U. S. Washington, 1881.
Burgess (J. M.), The Book of Mormon. Liverpool, 1850.
Burnett (Peter H.), Recollections, etc., of an Old Pioneer. New York, 1880.
Burton (R. F.), The City of the Saints. London, 1861. New York, 1862.
Burton's City of the Saints, Review of, Edinb. Rev., cxv. 185; Littell's Liv.
Age, Ixxi. 630.
xiiv AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Busch (M.), Die Mormonen. Leipzig, 1855; Geschiclite der Mormonea.
Liepzig, 1870.
Bush (C. S.), Plain Facts. Macclesfield (Eng.), 1840.
Byers (W, N.), The Mormons at the Missouri. MS.
California: Its Past History, etc. London, 1850.
Cali.'ornia Journals of Assembly and Senate, 1850-1881.
Californian. San Francisco, 1880 et seq.
Call (Anson), and Others, Fragments of Experience. Salt Lake City.
Call to the Unconverted, etc. Liverpool, n.d.
Camp (D. W.), The American Year-Book, 1869 et seq. Hartford.
Campbell (A.), Analysis of the Book of Mormon. Boston, 1832; Mormonism
Weighed in the Balances. London, Edinburgh, and Nottingham, n.d.
The Millennial Harbinger. Bethany, Va.
Campbell (A.), and Hines (J. V.), Delusions, and Mormon Monstrosities.
Boston, 1842.
Campbell (J. H.), My Circular Notes. London, 1876.
Campbell {J. L.), Idaho; Six Months in the New Gold-diggings. Chicago,
1864.
Campbell (Robt), in Pac. R. Kept, xi. 35.
Cannon (Geo. Q.), Speeches in the U. S. House of Rep. for his admission to a
seat. Salt Lake City, 1882; The Western Standard. San Francisco,
Cal., 1856 et seq; Sunday Schools in Utah. MS.; Juvenile Instructor,
Ills. Salt Lake City, 1866 et seq.; Review of Decision of U. S. Supreme
Court in the case of Geo. Reynolds. Salt Lake City, 1879; Speech in
U. S. House of Rep. Washington, 1882; Utah and its People in No.
Amer. Rev., cxxxii. 451; George Q. Pukuniahi He Olelo Hoolaha, etc.
San Francisco, 1855; My First Mission. Salt Lake City, 1879; The Life
of Nephi. Salt Lake City, 1883; Writings from the Western Standard.
Liverpool, 1864.
Carson (Nev.), Appeal; State Register.
Carvalho (S. N.), Incidents of Travel and Adventure in the Far West. New
York, 1858.
Carver (J. ), Travels through the interior parts of North America. London,
1778.
Caswall (Henry), The City of the Mormons, etc. London, 1843; The Prophet
of the 19th Century, etc. London, 1843; Joseph Smith and the Mor-
mons, etc. London, 1851; Mormonism and its Author, etc. London, 1852.
Catechism Cards. Salt Lake City.
Cavo, Tres Siglos, i. 127-9.
Chalmers, Jr (E. B.), Mormonism a Delusion. London, 1852.
Chambers, History of the Mormons. Edinburgh and London, n.d.; History
and Ideas of the Mormons, in Westm. ilev., Jan. 1853; Religious Im-
postors. Edinburgh, n.d.
Champagnac (J. B. L. ), Le Jeune Voyageur en Calif omie. Paris, n.d.
Chandless (W.), A Visit to Salt Lake. London, 1857.
Cherry Creek (Nev.), White Pine News.
Chicago (111.), Inter-Ocean; Journal.
Christ or Barabbas? Weston — super mare. London and Bristol, n.d.
Cincinnati (0.), Commercial Advertiser; Gazette; Inquirer.
Circular of the First Presidency. Salt Lake City, July 11, 1877.
Circular from the Twelve Apostles. Salt Lake City, 1880.
Clagett (Wm H.), Speech in House of Rep., Jan. 28, 29, 1873. Washing-
ton, 1873.
Clark (John A.), Gleanings by the Way. New York and Philadelphia, 1842.
Clarke (F. W.), The Mormon Widow's Lament, in Galaxy, May 1871.
Clarke (Mrs H. T.), The Emigrant Trail. MS.
Clarke, Tlie Mormons in a Fix. London, n.d,
Clarke (R.), Mormonism Unmasked, n.d.
I
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. xxv
Clavigero, StoriaCal., 153.
Clay (Edmund), Tracts on Mormonism. London, Leamington, and Liver-
pool, 1S51, 1852.
Clayton (W.), Journal. MS.
Clemens (S. L.), (Mark Twain), Roughing It. Hartford, etc., 1874.
Coast Review. San Francisco, 1871-80. 15 vols.
Cobb (J. J.), The Mormon Problem. MS.
Codmau (J.), in Intern. Rev., xi. 1881; The Round Trip. New York, 1879;
Through Utah, in The Galaxy, xx. 1875, in Intl. Rev., ii. 227; The Mor-
mon Country. New York, 1874.
CoflBn (C. C), Our New Way round the World. Boston, 1869.
Colburn's United Service Mag., etc. London, 1829 et seq.
Cole (Wm L.), California, etc. New York, 1871.
Colfax (Schuyler), Speech at Salt Lake City, Oct. 5, 1869; Letter in New York
Independent, Dec. 2, 1869.
Col. Doc.,xiv. 321-3.
Comettant (0.), Les Civilisations Inconnues. Paris, 1863.
Como (Nev.), Lyon County Sentinel.
Concordance and Reference Guide to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.
Piano (111.), 1870.
Congressional Globe. Washington, 1836 et seq.
Constitution of State of Deseret, and Memorial to Congress. S. L City, 1872.
Constitution of the State of Utah. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Contested Election. Maxwell vs Cannon. Argument, n.d.
Contributor. Salt Lake City, 1879 et seq.
Conybeare (J. W.), Mormonism. London, 1854.
Conyer (Josiah B.), The Leading Causes of the Hancock Mob, etc. Quincy
(111.), 1846.
Cook (Joseph), Speeches, etc. n.d.
Cooke (Mrs S. A.), Theatrical and Social Affairs in Utah. MS.
Cooper (A. R.), Polygamy and Prostitution. MS.
Copenhagen Skandinavisk Stjerne. Ungdommens Raadgiver. n.d.
Copperopolis (Cal.), Courier.
Corinne (Utah), Enterprise; Reporter.
Cornaby (H.), Autobiography and Poems. Salt Lake City, 1881.
Correspondence between Joseph Smith and Col John Wentworth, Gen. Jas
A. Bennett, and Hon. John C. Calhoun. New York, 1844.
Correspondence, Orders, etc. , in Relation to the Disturbances with the Mor-
mons. Fayette (Mo.), 1841.
Corrill (John), Brief History of the Church, etc. St. Louis, 1839.
Cortez (J.), Report on Indian Tribes. Washington, 1856.
Country Clergyman's Warning to his Parishioners. London, n.d.
Coyner (J. M. ), Letters to Bost. Educ. Jour. Salt Lake City, 1878-9; Hand-
book of Mormonism. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Cradlebaugh (John), Mormonism. S. L. City, 1877; Nevada Biography.
MS.; Speech in House of Rep., Feb. 7, 1863. Washington, 1863.
Cragin (Aaron H.), Speech in U. S. Senate, May 18, 1870, on Execution of
Laws in Utah. Washington, 1870.
Cram (Capt. T. J.), Topog. Memoir on the Department of the Pacific. Wash-
ington, 1859; 35th cong. 2d sess., H. Ex. Doc. 114.
Crawford (P. W.), Narrative. MS.; Overland to Oregon. 2 vols. MS.
Crimes of Latter-day Saints. San Francisco, 1884.
Crocheron (A. J.), Representative Women of Deseret. Salt Lake City, 1884;
Wild Flowers of Deseret. Salt Lake City, 1S81.
Crofutt (G. A.), New Overland Tourist. Chicago, 1879.
Crouise (T. F.), Nat. Wealth of Cal. San Francisco, 1868.
Culmer (H. L. A.), Tourists' Guide-book to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City,
1879; Utah Directory and Gazetteer. Salt Lake City, 1879.
Curtis (W. E.), in Amer. Christ. Rev., viii. 367.
xxvi AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Dall (Caroline H.), My First Holiday. Boston, 1881.
Dallas (Tex.), Herald.
Dalles (Or.), Mountaineer.
Dalton (Mrs L. L.), Autobiography. MS.
Damon (S. C), The Friend. Honolulu, 1843-7.
Dana (C. W.), The Great West. Boston, 1861.
Daniels (Wm N.), A Correct Account of the Murder of Generals Joseph and
Hyrum Smith. Nauvoo, 1844.
Das Buch Mormon, n.d.
Davies (John), Yr hyn sydd o ran, etc.; Epistol CyStedinol Cyntaf; Trae-
thawd ar Wyrthiau; Etto Adolygiad, etc.; Chwech Rhifyn; Pregethu
i'r Ysbrydion yn Ngharchar, etc.; Ewch a Dysgwch; Darlithiau ar
Ffydd; Y Doniau Ysbrydol yn Mrawdlys y Gelyn; Traethawd ar
Fedydd; Corff Crist; neu yr Eglwys; Ffordd y Bywyd Tragywyddol;
Yr Achos Mawr Cyntaf, gan 0. Pratt; Prohvch Bob Peth, etc.;
Athraniaeth lachus; Ymddyddanion yn Gymraeg a Saesonaeg; Llythy-
ron Capt. Jones o Ddyfifryn y li. H. Mawr, yn desgrifio arderchawgrwydd
Seion: no dates (pub. in Wales).
Davis (E. J.), Manufacture and Sale of Intoxicating Liquors. MS.
Davis (Geo. T. M.), Massacre of Joseph Smith, etc. St Louis, 1844.
Davis (John E.), Mormonism Unveiled. Bristol (Eng.), 1856, second edition.
Dawson's Hist. Mag., new series, vi. 1869.
Dayton (Nev.), Lyon County Sentinel.
De Bow (J. D. B. ), De Bow's Review and Industrial Resources. New Orleans,
etc., 1854-7. 7 vols.
Declarations of Principles of Utah Territorial Convention, People's Party.
Salt Lake City, 1882.
Deck (J. G.), The Mormons, etc. Bombay, 1853.
Deer Lodge (Mont.), New Northwest.
Defence of the Constitutional and Religious Rights of the People of Utah,
1882.
De Groot (Henry), Report on Mineral Deposits, etc. San Francisco, 1871;
Sketches of Washoe Silver Mines. San Francisco, 1860.
Delano (A.), Life on the Plains. New York, 1861.
Democrat, Bear River, 1880 et seq.
Democratic Review.
Demoralizing Doctrines and Disloyal Teachings of the Mormon Hierarchy,
New York, 1866.
Denver (Col.), News.
Derby (E. H.), The Overland Route to the Pacific. Boston, 1869.
Der Mormonismus. Bern (Switz.), 1872.
De Rupert (A. E. D.), Califomians and Mormons. New York, 1881.
Description of Huntsville, Weber Co. , Utah. MS.
Deseret Agric. and Manufac. Soc. Reports. Salt Lake City, 1867 et seq. ;
List of Premiums. Salt Lake City, 1878.
Deseret Alphabet: The following works printed in — Deseret First Book, by
the Regents of the Deseret University, 1868; Book of Mormon, part i.
New York, 1869; Book of Mormon. New York, 1869.
Deseret and Nauvoo, Natl. Mag., iv. 481, v. 343.
Deseret Home, A Monthly Journal. Salt Lake City, Jan. 1882 et seq.
Deseret News. Salt Lake City, 1850 et seq.; Extra, Sept. 14, 1852.
Deseret Sunday-school: Catechism, no. i., Joseph the Prophet. Salt Lake
City, 1882; Reader, First and Second Books. Salt Lake City, 1880, 1881,
and 18S3; Union Music Book. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Deseret Telegraph Company. Memoranda. MS.
De Smet (P. J.), Western Missions and Missionaries, New York, 1868.
D'Haussonville, One Day in Utah. Salt Lake City, 1883.
Dialogues: Between Joseph Smith and the Devil. Salt Lake City and
New York, 1844; between Tradition, Reason, and Scriptus. n.d. (Liver-
pool).
I
AUTHOEITIES CONSULTED. lami
Diamond (Utah), Rocky Mountain Husbandman.
Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex., ser. ii. torn. i. 378, 392.
Dickeson (M. W.), The j^merican Numismatic Manual. Philadelphia, 1860.
Dickinson (E. E.), in Scribner's Monthly, xx. 613.
Diehl (C), History of the Masonic Fraternity in Utah. MS.
Dilke (C. W.), Greater Britain. Philadelphia, 1869. 2 vols.
Directories: Utah, Pacific Coast, San Francisco, Nevada.
Discourses delivered by Joseph Smith (30th June, 1843) and Brigham Young
(ISth February, 1855) on the Relation of the Mormons to the Govern-
ment of the U. S. Salt Lake City.
Dixon, in All the Year Round. No. 17,252.
Dixon (W. H.), New America. London and New York, 1867; White Con-
quest. London, 1876. 2 vols.
Doctrine and Covenants, etc. Nauvoo, 1846; Liverpool, 1854; Liverpool, n.d.;
Liverpool, 1882; Salt Lake City, 1876.
Doctrines of Mormonism. London, n.d.
Documentos Historicos Mexicanos, three ser. Mexico, 1853, 1854, 1856.
Docuraentos Historicos Mexicanos. MS.
Domenech (Abb6 Era.), Seven Years' Residence in the Great Deserts of North
America. London, 1860.
Dooly (J. E. ), History of the Express and Banking Business in Utah. MS.
D'Orbigny (A.), Voyage dans les deux Amferiques. Paris, 1859.
Douglas' Private Papers. MS. 2d ser., i.
Drummond (P.), Mormonism an Imposture, n.d.; The Mormons' Only Way
to be Saved not the Way to be Saved. Stirling (Scot.), 1854.
Duffus-Hardy (Lady), Through (cities and Prairie Lands. London, 1881.
Dunbar (E. E.), The Romance of the Age. New York, 1867.
Dunn (B. S.), How to Solve the Mormon Problem. New York, 1877.
Dutton (J. R.), in Gent. Mag., new ser., vii. 675.
Early Scenes in Church History. Salt Lake City, 1882.
East Portland (Or.), Democratic Era.
Eaton (Mrs), Origin of Mormonism.
Ebey's Journal. MS.
Eckman (E. ), Medicinal Herbs and their Use. MS.
Edinburgh Review. Edinburgh, 1850 et seq.
Eine Gottliche Offenbarung; und Belehrung uber den Chestand. n.d.
Elder's Journal, Kirtland, Ohio, and Far West, Missouri, 1838-9.
Elko (Nev. ) Independent.
Engelmann (H.), Geolog. Survey of Utah. Washington, 186(X
Enoch's Advocate, 1874.
Epistle of the Twelve Apostles, etc. Salt Lake City, 1877.
Epitome of the Faith and Doctrines of the Reorganized Church of Jesua
Christ of Latter-day Saints. Piano (111.)
Epitre du President de la Mission Francaise h, I'Eglise des Saints dea Der-
niers-jours en France et dans les lies de la Manche. n.d.
Erb (G. S.), Recollections. MS.
Escalante, Carta de 28 Oct., 1775. MS.
Etourneau (M.), Les Mormons. Paris, 1856.
Eureka (Nev.), Leader; Sentinel.
Eustis (W. T.), Rev. of Ferris, Utah, etc., in New Englander, xii. 553.
Evidence Taken on the Trial of Mr Smith, before the Municipal Court of
Nauvoo, on Saturday, July 1, 1843. Nauvoo.
Exposures of a Rotten Priesthood. Salt Lake City, 1878.
Eyring (Henry), Ein Wort der Vertherdigung, etc. Bern (Switz.), 1875.
F. (W. B.), The Mormons, the Dream and the Reality, etc. London, 1857.
Fabian (B.), Statistics concerning Utah. Salt Lake City, 1874.
Farmer (E. J.), The Resources of the Rocky Moiintains.
Famham (A.), The Zion's Watchman. Sidney (N. S. W.), Aug. 1853 et seq.
I
xxviii AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Famham (T. J.), Travels in the Great Western Prairies. Poughkeepsie, 1841}
New York, 1843.
Far West (Mo.), Elder's Journal.
Faulconer (M. A.), Fulness of the Atonement. Piano (111.); Questions for
the Use of Scholars in the Latter-day Saints Sunday-schools. Piano
(111.), 1869.
Favez, Fragments sur J. Smith et les Mormons, n.d.
Female Life among the Mormons. New York, 1855,
Ferris (B. G.), Utah and the Mormons. New York, 1854, 1856.
Ferris (Mrs G. B.), The Mormons at Home. New York, 1856.
Fiftieth Anniial Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. Salt Lake City, 18S0.
FLndlay (Hugh), The Mormons, or Latter-day Saints. Bombay (India),
18o3.
Fire Department, Report of Chief Engineer. Salt Lake City, 1880.
Fisher (L. P.), Advertiser's Guide. San Francisco, 1870.
Fisher (R. S.) and Colby (C), American Statistical Annual. N. Y., 1854.
Fitch (Mrs Thos), in Overland Monthly, vii. 235.
Fitch (Thos), Speeches in House of Rep., Feb. 23, 1870, and April 29, 1870.
Washington, 1870; Speech in Utah Constitutional Convention, Feb. 20,
1872. Salt Lake City, 1S72; Argument before House Judiciary Com-
mittee, Feb. 10, 1873. Washington, 1873.
Flanigan (J. H.), Reply to Palmer's Internal Evidence against the Book of
]\lormon. Liverpool, 1849.
Font's Journal. MS,
Forbes' Hist. Cal., 157-62.
Ford (Thomas), Message, Dec. 23, 1844, to Illinois Senate, etc. Springfield,
1844; History of Illinois. Chicago, 1854.
Fort Joues (Utah), Scott Valley News.
Foster (J. E.), Prehistoric Races of U. S. of America. Chicago, 1873.
Eraser's Magazine. London, 1830 et seq.
Fremont (J. C), Nan-ative of Exploring Expedition. New York, 1849; Re-
port of Exploring Expedition. Washington, 1845.
Friendly Warnings on the Subject of Mormonism, London, 1850.
Frignet, La Cahfomie, 58-60.
Frisco (Utah), Times.
Froiseth (Jennie Anderson), Women of Mormonism. Detroit (Mich.), 1882.
Frost ( W. ), Dialogue between a Latter-day Saint and a Methodist, Aylsham
(Eng.), 1849.
Fry (F.), Traveler's Guide, etc. Cincimiati, 1865.
Fuller (Metta Victoria), (M. F. Victor), Lives of Female Mormons. Phila-
delphia, 1860; Mormon Wives, etc. New York, 1856.
Fullmer (John S.), Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, etc. Liver-
pool, 1855; Expulsion from Nauvoo. Liverpool, n.d.
Garc6s, Diario, 246-348,
Garden of the World. Boston, 1856,
Gardener (A.), Mormonism Unmasked. Rochdale (Elng.), 1841.
Gardner (J. G.), Iron Ore and Iron Manufacture. MS.
Geese of Ganderica. Salt Lake City, 1883.
Geikie (A.), in Nature, xxii. 324.
Gems for the Young Folks. Salt Lake City, 1881.
General Epistle from the Council of the Twelve Apostles, etc. , dated at Win-
ter Quarters, Omaha Nation (now Florence, Neb.), Dec. 23, 1847.
Geneva, (Switzerland), Le Reflecteur.
Genoa (Carson Valley), Territorial Entei-prise, 1858 et seq.
Gerstiicker (Freidiich), Adventures d'une Colonic d'^migi'ants en Amferique,
Paris, 1855; Travels, London, 1854; Western Lands and Western Waters.
London, 1864.
Gibbon (J. G.), in Phila. Cath. Quart, Rev,, iv, 664.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. xax
Gibson (Wm), Three Nights' Public Discussion, etc. Liverpool, 1851.
Glad Tidings of Great Joy. Salt Lake City.
Goddard (F. B.), Where to Emigrate, and Why. New York, 1869.
Gold Hill (Nev.), News.
Gomara, Hist. Ind., 272-4.
Gooch (Daniel W.), Speech in the U. S. House of Rep, April 4, 1860, on
Polygamy in Utah. Washington.
Goodrich (E. S.), Mormonism Unveiled; The Other Side. Salt Lake City,
1884.
Goodrich (L. D.), Rocky Mountain Rovings. MS.
Good Tidings, etc. Liverpool, n.d.
Goodwin (C. C.), in Harper's Mag., Ixiii. 756; No. Amer. Rev., cxxxii. 276.
Gordon (J. B. ), Historical and Geographical Memoir of the N. A. Continent.
Dublin, 1820.
Gospel, The [broadsheet]. Piano (111.)
Gospel Witness (Anon.) Liverpool, 1848.
Graham (J. C), Utah Directory. Salt Lake City, 1883-4.
Grant (J. M.). A Collection of Facts Relative to the Course of Sidney Rigdon.
Philadelphia, 1844, 1884; Three Letters to the " N. Y. Herald," etc.,
1852; Letter to the President (of the U. S.), May 1, 1852.
Grass Valley (Cal.), Republican.
Gray (J. H.), Principles and Practices of the Mormons. Douglas (Isle of
Man), 1853.
Gray (W. H.), History of Oregon. Portland, S. F., and N. Y., 1870.
Great Contrast, etc. Liverpool, n.d.
Great Proclamation, etc. Liverpool, n.d.
Greeley (H.), Overland Journey. New York, 1860.
Green (N. W.), Fifteen Years among the Mormons. New York, 1858; Mor-
monism, etc. Hartford, 1870; Narrative of Mrs Mary Ettie V. Smith.
New York, 1860.
Greene (John P.), Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons from
Missouri. Cincinnati, 1839.
Greenhow (R.), History of Oregon and California. Boston and London, 1844;
New York, 1845; Boston, 1845; Boston, 1847.
Greenlagh (James), Narrative, To Nauvoo and Back. Liverpool, 1842.
Greenwood (Grace), New Life in New Lands. New York, 1873.
Guers, L'Irvingisme et le Mormonisme jag6s par la parole de Dieu. n.d.
Gunnison (J. W. ), The Mormons, or Latter-day Saints. Philadelphia, 1852,
1857, 1860.
Gurley (Z. H.), The Polygamic Revelation. Lamoni (Iowa), 1882.
Gurley (Z. H.) and KeUey (E. L.), The Utah Problem and the Solution.
Washington, 1882.
Gwin (W. M.), Memoirs on History. MS.
Haefeli (L.), One Day in Utah. Ogden, 1883.
Haefeli (L.) and Cannon (F. J.), Directory of Ogden City and Weber County.
Ogden City, 1883.
Haefer, Biographic G6n6rale. 1858.
Haining (Samuel), Mormonism Weighed, etc. Douglas (Isle of Man), 1840.
Hakluyt's Voy., iii. 373-9.
Hall (E. H.), Guide to the Great West. New York, 1865; New York, 1866. ■
Hall (William), Abominations of Mormonism. Cincinnati, 1852.
Hand-book Guide to Salt Lake Museum. Salt Lake City, 1881.
Hand-])ook on Mormonism. Salt Lake City, Chicago, and Cincinnati, 1882.
Hand-book of Reference. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Hardy (J. D.), in Gent. Mag., xxv. 233.
Harper (C), Agricultural Products of Utah. MS.
Harper's New Month. Ma?. New York, 1856 et seq.
Harris (W.), Mormonism Portrayed, etc. Warsaw (HI.), 1841.
Hartley (R.) and Rich (B. E.), Public Discussion. Salt Lake City, 1884.
XXX AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Hassard (J. R. G.), in Cath. World, xxvi. 227.
Hastings (L. W.), Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California. Cin. 1845.
Have You Read tlie Book of Mormon ? n.d.
Havilah (Gal.), Courier.
Hawtliornwaite, Adventures among the Mormons. Manchester (Eng.), 1857.
Hay (John), The Mormon Prophet's Tragedy, in Atlantic Monthly, xxiv. 6G9.
Hayden (F. V.), Survey. Meteor. Obsver., by Gannett. Washington, 1872;
Report. Washington, 1872.
Hayden ( ), Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve.
Hayes (Benjamin), Diary of a Journey Overland, 1849-50. MS.; Emigrant
Notes. MS., and Scraps; California Politics (Scraps); Utah (Scraps).
Haynes (John), The Book of Mormon Examined. Brighton and London,
1853; Refutation of the Momaon Doctrines. Brighton and London, 1853.
Hays (Rev.), Addresses on Mormonism. Douglas (Isle of Man), 1839.
Head (F. H.), in Overland Monthly, v. 270; Cliamb. Jour., xxxvii. 29.
Healdsburg (Cal.) Enterprise; Russian River Flag.
Heap (G. H. ), Central Route to the Pacific. Philadelphia, 1854.
Helena (Mont.), Independent.
Hepburn (A. B. ), Mormonism Exposed. London and Swansea, 1855.
Herrera, dec. vi. lib. ix. cap. xi.-xii.
Hewitt (W.), Exposure of the Errors and Fallacies of the Self -named Latter-
day Saints. Staffordshire, n.d.
Hewlett (Alfred), One Wife, or Many Wives. Manchester and London, n.d.
Hickmau (Edward B. ), Mormonism Sifted. London, Norwich, and Brandon,
1850.
Higbie (Rev. A.), Polygamy vs Christianity. San Francisco, 1857.
Hill (H. A.), in Penn. Monthly, ii. 129.
Hill (H. C), Remarks on Mines and Mining in Utah. MS.
Hines (G.), Voyage round the World. Buffalo, 1850.
Hist. Nevada. Oakland (Cal.), 1881.
Historical Magazine, and Notes and Queries. Boston, etc., 1857-69. 15 vols.
Hittell (John S.), Comm. and Indus, of the Pac. Coast. San Francisco, 1882.
Scraps.
HoUister (0. J.), Resources and Attractions of Utah. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Holman (J.), The Peoria Party. MS.
' Homespun,' Lydia Knight's History. Salt Lake City, 1883.
Honolulu Friend. Polynesian, 1845 et seq.
Hooper (W. H.), Speeches in House of Rep., Feb, 25, 1869, March 23, 1870;
and 28th and 29th Jan., 1873. Washington, 1870, 1873.
Hopper, Narrative. MS.
Horn (H. B.), The Overland Guide. New York, 1852.
Home (Mrs J.), Migration and Settlement of the Latter-day Saints. MS.
Hours at Home. New York, 1865 et seq.
Howe (E. D.), Mormonism Unvailed. Painesville (0.), 1834, 1841.
Howe (Mrs J.), Migration and Settlement of the Latter-day Saints. MS.
Howitt (Mary), History of the U. S. New York, 1860.
Hoyt (J. P.), Arizona Events. MS.
Hubner (Le Baron de), A Ramble round the World. New York, 1874.
Huffaker's Early Cattle Trade. MS.
Hughes (Elizabeth), Voice from the West to the Scattered People of the
Twelve, and all the Seed of Abraham, San Francisco, 1879.
Hunt (J. H.), Mormonism: Origin, Rise, and Progress. St Louis, 1844.
Hunt's Merchants' Magazine. New York, 1839 et seq.
Huntington (D. B.), Vocabulary of the Utah and Shoshone Dialects. Salt
Salt Lake City, 1872.
Hurlburt, Mormonism Unveiled, n.d.
Hutchings' lUus. Cal. Mag. San Francisco, 1857-61.
Hyde, Jr (John), Mormonism: Its Leaders and Designs. York, 1857
Hyde (Mrs M. A. P,), Autobiograhpy. MS.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. xm
Hyde (Orson), Address to the Hebrews. Rotterdam (Holland), 1S41; Cry
out of the Wilderness, 1842 (first published in Germany and in Ger-
man); News from the Old World; Sketch of Travels and Ministry.
Salt Lake City, 1869; Speech on Sidney Rigdon. Nauvoo, 1844.
Hyde (Mrs Orson), Workings of Mormonism. MS.
Hygiene of U. S. Army, etc. Washington, 1875.
Hymns, A Collection of Sacred. Voree (Wis.), 1850, second edition; New
York, 1838; The Samts' Harp, etc. Piano (111.), 1870; Of Latter-day
Saints. Liyerpool, 1841, 1881; London, 1851; Salt Lake City, 1st Utah
ed. (14th ed.), 1871.
Idaho City, Idaho World.
Idolatry. Piano (111.)
L'lUustration. Journal Universel, 1858 et seq.
Important Documents Bearing on Political Questions in Utah. Logan, 1882.
Independence (Mo.), Elder's Journal; Evening and Morning Star, 1832 et
seq. ; Upper Missouri Advertiser, 1832.
Indian Hostilities: Letter Sec. of War. 41st cong. 2d sess., H. Ex. Doc. 44;
Memorial Leg. Assemb. Utah. 41st cong. 1st sess., H. Misc. Doc. 19.
1869.
Indictment for the Miirder of James Monroe, etc. Liverpool, 1851.
Insane Ayslum of Utah, Report of Board of Directors. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Intemperance. Salt Lake City, 1881.
Internat. Rev. New York, 1870 et seq.
Interview between Pres. John Taylor and U. S. Int. Rev. Col. 0. J. HoUia-
ter. Salt Lake City, Jan. 13, 1879.
Investigation into the Murder of Dr J. K. Robinson. Salt Lake City, 1866.
Irving (Edward), and the Catholic and Apostolic Church. London and Liver-
pool, 1856.
Irving (Wash.), Bonneville's Adven., 186.
Is Mormonism True or Not ? (Religious Tract Society.) London, n.d.
Items of Church History. Salt Lake City, 1884.
J. (H. S.), The Latter-day Saints, and their Spiritual Views, n.d.
Jackson (D. J.), Early Overland Emigration. MS.
Jackson (Helen H.), (H. H.), Bits of Travel at Home. Boston, 1878.
Jacksonville (Or.), Dem. Times.
Jacob (May), Peace-maker. Nauvoo (111.), 1842.
Jacob (U. H.), Extract from a Manuscript Entitled The Peace-maker. Nau-
voo, n.d.
Jaqnes (John), Der Katechismus fur Kinder. Bern (Switz.), 1872; Catechism
for Children. Salt Lake City, 1870, 1877; Exclusive Salvation; Salva-
tion: A Dialogue in Two Parts, n.d.; The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, etc. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Jenkins (H. D.), The Mormon Hymn-book, in Our Monthly, Dec. 1870.
Jennings (Wm), Carson "Valley. MS. Material Progress of Utah. MS.
Jepson (Ring), Among the Mormons. San Francisco, 1879.
Johnson (Benjamin F.), Why the Latter-day Saints Marry a Plurality of
Wives, etc. San Francisco, 1854.
Johnson (J. H.), Voice from the Mountains. Salt Lake City, 1881.
Johnston (James F. W.), Joe Smith and the Mormons, in Harper's Mag.,
June 1851.
Jones (Dan.), Yr Etirgrawn Ysgrythyrol; Pwy jrw Duw y Saint; Yr Hen
Grefydd Newydd; Annerchiad i'r Peirch, etc. ; Gwrthbrofion i'r Spaulcl-
ing Story am Lyfr Mormon; Anmhoblogrwydd Mormoniaeth; Arweinydd
i Seion; Pa beth yw Mormoniaeth? Pa beth yw gras Cadwedigol? Dadl
ar Mormoniaeth? AnflFyddiaeth Sectyddiaeth; Araddififyniad rhag Cam-
gyhuddiadau; Y Lleidr ar y Groes; "Peidiwch a'uGwrando;"Egwyd dor-
ion Cyntaf a Gwahoddiadau; Ai duw a Ddanfonodd Joseph Smith;
Llofruddiad Joseph a Hyrum Smith; Tarddiad Llfyr Mormon; Dammeg
y Pren Ffrwythtawn; Darlun o'r Byd Crefyddol. n.d, (Pub. in Wales.)
xxxu AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Jones (Nathaniel V.), Reply to 'Mormonism Unveiled.' Calcutta, 1853.
Jones { \Vm A. ), Reconnoissance of Northwestern Wyoming. 1873. Wash-
ington, 1875.
Jonveaux L'Am6rique Actuelle. Paris, 1869.
Kane (Thos L.), The Mormons: Discourse before Hist. Soc of Penn., March
20, 1850. Philadelphia.
Kanesville (Iowa), Frontier Guardian.
Kelley (E. L.) and Braden (C), Public Discussion. St Louis, 1884.
Kelly (Wm. ), An Excursion to Cal. London, 1851. 2 vols.; The Pretensions
of Mormonism. Guernsey (Chan. Isles), 1848.
Kelson (J. H.), Seth's Work is Done. Salt Lake City, 1883.
Kendall (H.), A Week in Great Salt Lake City, in Hours at Home, i. 63.
Kidder (Daii'l P.), Mormonism and the Mormons. New York, 1842.
Kimball (David C. ), Fireside Visitor. Liverpool, n.d.
Kimball (H. C), Journal. Salt Lake City, 1882; Journal. MS.
Kimball (H. C.) and Woodruff (W.), The Word of our Lord to the Citizens
of London. 1839.
King (Hannah Taptield), An Epic Poem. Salt Lake City, 1884; Brief Memoir
of Early Mormon Life of. MS. ; Songs of the Heart. Salt Lake City,
1876; Women of the Scriptures. Salt Lake City, 1874.
Kinney (John F.), Speech in House of Rep., Jan. 27, 1864, on Loyalty of
Utah to U. S. ; Speech on March 17, 1864, on Tenitories and Settlement
of Utah. Washington, 1864.
Kirchhoff (Theodor), Reisebilder und skissen aus Amerika. New York,
1875-6. 2 vols.
Kirtland (Ohio), Latter-day Saints Messenger and Advocate; Northern Times.
Kneeland (S.), The Wonders of Yosemite. Boston, 1871.
Labors in the Vineyard. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Lapham (F.), in Dawson's Hist. Mag., 2d ser., vii. 187C^.
Latter-day Saints. Cape Town (Africa).
Latter-day Saints in Utah. Opinion of Judge Snow, etc. n.d.
Lausanne (Switzerland) Reflecteur.
Lawrence (C. W.), A Few Words from a Pastor, n.d.
Laws concerning Natui-alization, etc., quoted from statutes, etc.
Lee (Jolm D.), Trial. Salt Lake City, 1875.
Leslie (Mrs Frank), California: A Pleasure Trip from Gotham to the Golden
Gate. New York, 1877.
L'Etoile du Dfeseret. Paris, 1851-2.
Lewis (M. G.), Cooperation in Theory and Practice. MS.
Liberty (Mo.), Missouri Enquirer.
Libro de Mormon, Trozos Selectos. Salt Lake City, 1875. {
Libro di Mormon, n.d.
Lieber (F.), in Putnam's Monthly, v. 225.
Life among the Mormons, in Putnam's Monthly, Aug. to Dec. 1855.
Life among the Mormons. By an Officer of the U. S. A. New York, 1868.
Life of Bill Hickman, Brigham Young's Destroying Angel. New York, 1872.
Linforth (James), Reply to "Few Words from a Pastor," etc. Liverpool,
n.d. ; Route from Liverpool to Great Salt Lake Valley. Liverpool, 1855,
Lippincott's Magazine, etc. Philadelphia, 1868 et seq.
Littell's Living Age. Boston, 1844 et seq.
Little (F.), Mail Service across the Plains. MS.
Little (J. A.), Jacob Hamlin. Salt Lake City, 1881.
Littlefield (L. 0.), Narrative of the Massacre of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.
Nauvoo, 1844; The Martyrs. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Liverpool Mormon.
Livesey (Richard), An Exposure of Mormonism. Preston (Eng.), 1838.
Livre de Mormon, n.d.
Llyfr Hymnau (Wales), n.d.
Llyfr Mormon (Wales), n.d.
I
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. inmn
Logan (Utah), Journal; Leader.
London Monthly Rev., new. ser., iii. 1842, vi. 1852.
Lorenzana, in Cortes, Hist. Mex., 325.
Los Angeles Herald; News; Star.
Lossing (B. J.), The Mormons, in Harper's Mag., vi. 605.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
Lovejoy (A. L.), Founding of Portland. MS.
Lowe (J. B. ), Mormonism Exposed. Liverpool, 1852.
Ludlow (F. H. ), Among the Mormons, in Atlantic Monthly, xiii. 479; The
Heart of the Continent. New York, 1870.
Lynn (Catherine Lewis), Narrative of Some of the Proceedings of the Mor-
mons, etc. 1848.
Lyon (J. ), The Harp of Zion. London and Liverpool, 1853.
Mac (R. W.), Mormonism in Hlinois, in Amer. Whig Review, April, June,
and Dec. 1852.
Mackay (Chas), The Mormons, or Latter-day Saints. London, 1851; Lon-
don, 1852; Auburn, N. Y., 1853; London, 1854. London. 2 vols. n.
impr.
Madan (M.), Thelyphthora; or, A Treatise on Federal Ruin. London, 1781.
Magasin Pittoresque. Paris, 1859 et seq.
Marcy (Col R. B. ), Thirty Years of Army Life on the Border. N. Y., 1866.
Mariposa (Cal. ), Gazette.
Marsh (R. K.), Cotton Growing and Manufacture. MS.
Marshall (C), Characteristics of Mormonism, in Transatlantic Mag., Ang.
1871; Id., in Frazer's Mag., no. 83, 692; no. 84, 97.
Marshall (W. G.), Through America. London, 1881.
Martin (Moses), A Treatise on the Fulness of the Everlasting GospeL New
York, 1842.
Martin (T. S.), Narrative of Fremont's Expedition. 1845-7. MS.
Marurier (X.), Les Voyageurs Nouveaux. Paris, 1860.
Marysville (Cal.), Appeal.
Mather (F. G.), Early Days of Mormonism, in Lippincott's Mag. August,
1880.
Mayer (B.), Mexico, Aztec, Spanish, and Republican. Hartford, 1852.
Mayhew (H. ), The Mormons. London, 1851, 1852.
McBride (J. R.), The Route by Which the Mormons Entered Salt Lake Val-
ley in 1847. MS. ; Utah and Mormonism, in Intemat. Rev. New York,
February, 1882.
McCabe, Jr (J. D.), A Comprehensive View of our Country and its Re-
sources. Philadelpliia, 1876.
McCarthy (Justin), Brigham Young, in Galaxy, Feb. 1870.
McCauley (I. H. ), History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
McChesney (James), An Antidote to Mormonism. New York, 1838.
McClellan (R. G.), The Golden State. San Francisco, 1872.
McClure (A. K.), Three Thousand Miles through the Rocky Monntains.
Philadelphia, 1869.
McGlashan (C. F.), History of the Donner Party. Truckee, 1879; San
Francisco, 1880.
McGrorty vs Hooper; 40th cong. 2d sess. , H. Com. Rept, 79.
McKinley (Henry J.), Brigham Young, etc. San Francisco, 1870.
McLaughlin (A. C), Mormonism Measured by the Gospel Rule. Covington
(Ky.), 1842.
McNierce (R. G.), in Presb. Rev., ii. 331.
Memoir of the Mormons. South. Lit. Messenger, Nov. 1848.
Memorial of Citizens of Salt Lake City, March 31, 1870, against "Oullom"
Bill. Washington, 1870.
Memorial of Legislative Assembly of Utah. Salt Lake City, 1882; Washing-
ton (D. C), 1884.
Memorial to Congress. Piano (111.), 1870.
Hist. Vtasl a
I
xxxiv AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. "^
i
Mendocino (Cal.), Democrat.
Merewether (H. A.), By Sea and by Land. London, 1874.
Merrish (W. J.), The Latter-day Saints, etc. Ledbury, n.d.
Meteor. Observations. Washington, 1826.
Meteor. Register. Washington, 1851.
Mexico, Anales del Ministerio de Fomento. Mex. 1854, vol. 1, 1855, vol. 2.
Miles(J.) vsTheU. S.
Millennial Star. Manchester, 1841; Liverpool, 1842-54; Liverpool and Lon-
don, 1855 et seq.
Miller (Joaquin), Danites in the Sierras. Chicago, 1881; First Families of the
Sierras. Chicago, 1876.
Miller (N. K.), Federal Affairs in Utah. MS.
Miller (Reuben), James J. Strang Weighed in the Balaaces, etc. Burlington
(Iowa), 1846.
Mines of Utah, List of. Salt Lake City, 1882. 1
Missions, Reports of the Scandinavian, Italian, and Prussian. Liverpool,
1853.
Mokelumne Hill (Cal. ), Calaveras Chronicle.
MoUhausen (B.), Tagebauch einer Reise vom Mississippi, etc. Liepzig, 1858;
Der Halbindianes. Leipzig, 1861; Das Mormonmadchen. Jena and
Leipzig, 1864.
Monogamy and Polygamy. Boston, 1882.
Montonus (A.), De Nieuwe Weereld. Amsterdam, 1671.
Moore (Aug.), Pioneer Experience. MS.
Morgan (J. ), Doctrines of the Church; Plan of Salvation, Salt Lake City, n.d.
Morgan (Martha M.), A Trip across the Plains. San Francisco, 1864.
Morgan (Wm B. ), Mormonism and the Bible. London and Bristol, n.d.
Mormon Battalion, Report of the Fii'st General Festival of the Renowned.
Salt Lake City, n.d.
Mormon Doctrine. Salt Lake City.
Mormon Hymn-book. Liverpool and London, 1851.
Mormonism: Additional Articles on in the following magazines: All the Year
Round, X. 247; Amer. Bib. Repos., 2d ser., ix.; Amer. Ch. Rev., viii. ;
Amer. Natur., ix.; Bentley, Miscel., xxxviii. 61; Brit. Quart. Rev.,
xxiii. 62, XXXV., cxxii. 450; Chamb. Jour., xxxvii., liii. 193; Christ
Exam., liii.; Christ. Obser., Ixii. 183; Christ. Rememb., iv. 278, xxxiii,
257, xlv. 185; Colburn Monthly, cxiv. 239, cxxi. 253, cxxxvi. 369; Cong,
Mag., xxvii. 641; De Bow, Com. Rev., xvi. ; Dem. Rev., xl. 184, xliii
294; Dub. Rev. xxxiii. 77; Dub. Univ. Mag., xxi. 288, Iviii.; Eclec
Mag., xxi. 400, xcvii. 773; Eclec. Rev., xcvi. 669, xcviii. 479; Edinb;
Rev,, xcix. ; Evan. Rev., x. ; Every Sat. xi. 291, 541 ; Eraser Mag. , Ixxxiii.
Ixxxiv.; Galaxy, ii., iv., xiv. 677, 822; Gent. Mag., new ser., vii. xxv,
Hogg, Instruc, viii. 107, 321; Hours at Home, i. ; Lakeside Monthly, i.
Lippincott, Mag., vi. 41; Littell, Liv. Age, xxx. 429, xlii. 99, 147, xlix
602, 1. 429, Ivi. 494, Ixxviii. 124, 2d ser., xx.; Id., Mus. For. Lit., xlii
xlv.; Lond. Quart. Rev., ii. 95, xviii. 351; Metli. Quart., iii.; Monthl;
Rev., clix. 190; Museum For. Lit., xlii. 370; Natl. Mag., iv., v.; Nat!
Quart. Rev. , xxxix. ; New Englander, xii. ; New Quart. Rev. , iv. ; Nc
Brit. Rev., xxxix. 207, 485; Penn. Monthly, ii.; Potter, Amer. Monthly
xvii. 298; Presbt. Rev., ii. ; Princeton Rev., xxiv.; Putnam Mag. , v. 641
vi. 144, 602; Sharpe, London Mag., xx. 55, 1. 29; South. Lit. Messen.
X. 526, xiv. 641, xvii. 170; South. Rev., new ser., xx. 438; Tait, Edinl
Mag., xxiv. 763; Temp. Bar, iv. 181; U. S. Cath. Mag., iv. 354; U. &
Westm. Ixxxvii. 401; Westminst. Rev., lix., Ixxvi. 360, Ixxxvii.
Mormonism. Cuttack (Ind.), 1855.
Mormonism Examined, etc. Birmingham, 1855.
Mormonism, Its Character, Origin, and Tendency, n.d.
Mormonism. London, n.d.
Mormonism or the Bible, etc. Cambridge and London, 1852,
Mormonism, Past and Present, Nor, Brit. Review, Aug. 1863.
AXJTHOEITIES CONSULTED. jobev
Mormonism Self -refuted (by D. K.) London, n.d.
Mormonism Unveiled. Calcutta, 1852.
Jilormonism Unveiled, etc. London, 1855.
^Mormonism Unveiled, Life and Confessions of John D. Lee. St Louis, 1877.
ilormonismen och Swedenborgianismen. Upsala, 1854.
Mormon Pamphlets. A collection of thirteen brochures referred to by titles.
Mormon Politics and Policy in San Bernardino Co. , Cal. Los Angeles, 1856.
Mormons Bog. n.d.
Mormons (The), History of their Leading Men, in Phren. Jour., Nov. 1866.
Mormons (The), in Utah. Bentley's Miscel., Jan. 1855.
Mormons (The). London, 1851, 1852.
Mormons: their Politics and Policy. Los Angeles, 1856.
]\lormon's Wife (The), in Putnam's Monthly, June 1855.
jNJormon Women in Mass Meeting. Salt Lake City, Nov. 16, 1878.
Morris (Annie), A Week among the Mormons. Lipp. Mag., July 1870.
jMorrish (W. J.), Latter-day Saints and Book of Mormon. Ledbury (Eng^.),
1840.
Morse, Washington Territory. MS.
Mota-Padilla, Conq. N. Gal., iii. 14, 158-69.
^lountain Meadows Massacre. Trial of John D. Lee. Salt Lake City, 1875.
Mountain of the Lord's House. Piano (HI.)
Muhlenpfordt (E.), Versuch eiuer getreuen Schilder. Eepub. Mex. Hano-
ver, 1844. 3 vols.
MuUioUand (James), An Address to Americans. Nauvoo, 1841.
Murdock (John), Persecutions of the Latter-day Saiuts, etc. ; Sydney (Aoa-
tralia), 1852; Zion's Watchman. Sydney, 1852.
Murphy (J. R.), Mineral Resour. of Utah. San Francisco, 1872.
Murray (Eli H.), Message to the Legislative Assembly, 1884; Remarks on th«
Way out of the Difficulty. MS.
Musser (A. M.), Defence of our People. Philadelphia, 1877; Fruits of Mor-
monism. Salt Lake City, 1878.
Napa County Reporter.
Narrative of Some of the Proceedings of the Mormons, n. d.
Narrative of the Massacre of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. (Anon.) n.d.
Natl. Almanac. Phila., San Francisco, London, and Paris, 1863 et seq.
Natl. Democ. Quart. Rev. Washington, 1859 et seq.,
Nauvoo (111.), Ensign and Zarahemla Standard; L'Etoile du Deseret; Ex-
positor; Neighbor; Patriot; Wasp.
Nebeker (.John), Early Justice. MS.
Nem (E. D.), in Hist. Mag., xvi. 68.
Nelson's Picture Guide Books. New York, n.d.
Nevada (Cal.), Journal
Nevada, Journals of Assembly and Senate, 1864 et seq
Nevers, Nevada Pioneers. MS.
New Amer., in All the Year Round, xvii. 1867.
New Amer. Religions, in Lond. Quart. Rev., cxxii. 1867.
Newman (J. P.), A Sermon with an Answer by O. Pi-att. Salt Lake City,
1870.
Jfew Orleans Picayune.
Newspapers of Utah and other territories of the Pacific U. S., etc. The
.most important are cited under the name of the town where published,
and many of them named in this list.
New York Courier and Enquirer; Herald; Mail; Mormon Intelligence; Ob-
server; Prophet; Sun; Times; W^all St Journal.
Nicholay (C. G.), Oregon Territory. London, 1846.
Nicholson (John), Comprehensive Salvation. Liverpool, 1880; The Latter-
day Prophet. Salt Lake City, n.d.; The Means of Escape. Liverpool,
1878; The Modern Prophet: The Preceptor. Salt Lake City, 1883.
Nickerson (Freeman), Death of the Prophet. Boston, 1844.
xxxvi AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Nidever, Life and Adv. MS.
Niles' Register, Baltimore, etc., 1847etseq,
Nineteenth Century. London, 1SS4.
NordofF (Chas), California for Health, Pleasure, etc. New York, 1873.
North Anierican Review. Boston, 1850 et seq.
Noticias, in Doc. Hist. Mex., 671-2.
Nouvelles Annales des Voyages. Paris, 1847 et seq.
Oakland Monthly Review; Tribune.
O'Bit Tauk between Two Berry Chaps obeawt th' Latter-day Saints, etc.!
Bury (Eng.), 1848.
Observations in Utah. MS.
Ogden (Utah), Freeman; Herald; Junction; Times.
Olive Branch. Kirtland (0.), and Springfield (lU.), 1848-50.
Olsbausen (Theodor), Geschichte der Mormoneu, etc. Gottingen, 1856.
Olympia (Wash. ), Pioneer and Democrat; Paget Sound Courier; Puget Sound
Herald; Washington Standard.
Omaha (Neb.), New West, Republican.
Onderdonk (J. L.), in Nat. Quart. Rev., xxxix. 80.
Ontario Mining Company, Report, 1881-3.
Origin and History of the Mormonites, in Eclectic Mag. , Nov. 1850.
Origin of the Morm. Imposture, in Littell's Liv. Age, xxx. 1851.
OiT (Adrian), Mormonism Dissected. Bethania (Pa.), 1841.
Overland Monthly. San Francisco, 1868 et seq.
Oviedo, iv. 19.
Oxford, Idaho Enterprise.
Pacific Railroad Reports. Washington, 1855-60. 13 vols.
Paddock (Cornelia), Fate of Madame La Tour. New York, 1881; In the
Toils, etc. Chicago, 1879.
Page (John E.), The Spaulding Story, etc., Exposed. Piano (El.), 1866.
Palmer (Joel), Journal of Travels over the Rocky Mountains, 1845-6. Cin-
cinnati, 1852.
Palmer (W.), Mormonism Briefly Examined. London, n.d.
Palou, Not., ii. 281-2.
Panama, Star and Herald.
Park (J. R.), Educational Affairs in Utah. MS.
Parker (Samuel), Journey beyond the Rocky Mountains. Ithaca (N. Y.),
etc., 1840, 1842, 1846.
Parry (C. C), in Amer. Natural., ix. 14-.346. I
Parry (J. H.), The Mormon Metropolis. Salt Lake City, 1883. '
Parsons (T.), Mormon Fanaticism Exposed. Boston, 1841.
Patterson (R.), History of Washington County, Pa. Philadelphia, 1882.
Patterson (Robt), Who Wrote the Book of Mormon? Philadelphia, 1882.
Pearl of Great Price. Salt Lake City, 1878.
Peck (G.), in Meth. Quart., iii. 111.
Penrose (C. W.), Mormon Doctrine. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Perpetual Emigrating Fund. MS.
Petaluma (Cal. ), Argus; Crescent; Journal and Argus.
Peters (De W. C.), Life and Adventures of liit Carson. New York, 1859.
Phelps (W. W.), Deseret Almanac, 1851 et seq.
Philadelphia (Pa), Gospel Reflector.
Philip HaiTy, in Simpson's Explor., 490.
Pierrepont (Edward), Fifth Avenue to Alaska. N. Y. and Lond. 1884.
Pioche (Nev.), Record.
Pittsburg (Pa), Baptist Witness; Latter-day Saints Messenger and Advocat<
Placer (Cal.), Herald; Times.
Placerville (CaL), Tri-weekly Register, June 24, 1858.
Plain Questions for Mormonites. By One Who EJiows They are not SaLat;
Loudon, 1852.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. xxxrii
Piano (111.). True Latter-day Saints' Herald; Saints' Advocate.
Player- Frowd (J. G.), Six Months in California. London, 1872.
Political Pamphlets. A collection of twenty brochures referred to by title
and number. Salt Lake City, 1879.
Polygamy and Monogamy Compared. The History and Philosophy of Mar-
riage. Boston, 1875.
Popular Science Monthly. New York, 1872etseq.
Portland (Or.), Bee; Deutsch Zeitung; Herald; Lantern; Oregonian; Stand-
ard.
Port Townsend (Wash.), Dsmocratic Press.
Powell (J. W.), Explor. of the Colorado River of the West. Washington,
1875; Gcol. of East. Uinta Mountains. Wash., 1876; Geol. Surv. of
Rocky Mountains. Wash., 1877; Rept on Lands of Arid Region. Wash. ,
1879.
Pratt (Belinda Marden), Defence of Polygamy by a Lady of Utah. Salt Lake
City, 1854. Republished in Millennial Star of July 29, 1854.
Pratt (Orson), Remarkable Visions. Edinburgh, 1840; Liverpool, 1848; Ac-
count of Several Remarkable Visions. New York, 1841, 1842; Was
Joseph Smith Sent of God ? Liverpool, 1848; Kingdom of God, in 4 parts.
Liverpool, 1848-9; New Jerusalem, etc. Liverpool, 1849; Divine Authen-
ticity of the Book of Mormon. 6 nos. Liverpool, 1850-1 ; Reply to "Re-
marks on Mormonism," etc. Liverpool, 1849; Reply to T. W. P. Taylder.
Liverpool, 1849; Great First Cause, etc. Liverpool, 1851; -Twenty-four
Miracles. Liverpool, 1857; Spiritual Gifts. Liverpool and London, 1857;
Universal Apostacy, etc. Liverpool, 1857; The Seer, vol. i. 12 numbers,
ii. 8 numbers. Washington, 1853 et seq. ; A Series of Pamphlets on Faith,
Repentance, Baptism, Holy Spirit, Spiritual Gifts, etc. Liverpool, 1851,
1857; Reply to Newman's Sermon. Salt Lake City, 1870; Bible and
Polygamy. Salt Lake City, 1877; Cubic and Biquadratic Equations.
London and Liverpool, 1866; Key to the Universe. London and Liver-
pool, ( ); Salt Lake City, 1879; Works, A Series of Pamphlets on the
Doctrines of the Gospel. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Pratt (Orson) and Newman (J. P.), Discussion on Polygamy. Salt Lake
City, Aug. 12-14, 1870.
Pratt (Orson), Smith (3. A.), and Cannon (G. Q.), Discourses on Celestial
Marriage. Salt Lake City, Oct. 7, 1869.
Pratt (Parley P.), Journal of the Elders and their Missions. Liverpool,
1837-8; The Millennium and Other Poems, etc. New York, 1840; Late
Persecution. New York, 1840; Appeal to the Inhabitants of New York
State. Nauvoo (111.), 1841; Letter to Queen Victoria. Manchester,
1841; Heaven on Earth. Liverpool, 1841; Voice of Wamiag and In-
struction. New York, 1837; Liverpool ( ); London, 1854; Salt Lake
City, 1874; Mormon Herald. San Francisco (Cal.), 1855 et seq.; Voix
d'Avertissement. n.d.; Fountain of Knowledge, n.d.; Intelligence and
Affection, n.d. ; Immortality of the Body, n.d.; Priodas a Moesau yn
Utah (Wales), n.d.; Key to the Science of Theology. Liverpool and
London, 1855; Salt Lake City, 1874; Marriage and Morals in Utah.
Liverpool, 1856; Autobiography. New York, 1874; An Address to the
People of England, etc. Manchester, 1840; Mormonism Unveiled, etc.
New York, 1838; Proclamation, etc. Sydney (N. S.'W.), 18.52; Repent,
Ye People of California. San Francisco, 1854; Scriptural Evidences in
Favor of Polygamy. San Francisco, 1856; The Angel of the Prairies.
Salt Lake City, 1880; Treatise on the Regeneration and Eternal Duration
of Matter. New York, 1840.
Prescott (Ariz.), Miner,
ti Price (R. L.), The Two Americas. Philadelphia, 1877.
Prichard (Jas C), Researches into the Pliysical History of Mankind. Lon-
don, 1836; London, 1847. 5 vols.
iliiPrieto (G.), Viaje a los Estados Unidos. Mexico, 1877-9. 3 vols.
Prime (E. D. G.), Around the World. New York, 1872.
xxxviu AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles, etc. N. Y. and Liverpool, 1845.
Prop'-wycl y Jubili. Merthyr Tydvil, South Wales.
Provo (Utah), Enquirer; Times.
Putnam's Magazine. New York, 1863 et seq.
Quigley (Hugh), The Irish Race in California, etc San Francisco, 1878.
Rae (W. F.), Westward by Rail. London, 1870.
RafFensperger (Mrs), in Scribner's Jklonthly, iii. 672.
Ramusio, Viaggi, iii. 359-63.
Randolph's Oration, 313-14.
RajTnond (Rossiter W.), Mining Industry of the States and Territories of
the Rocky Mountains. New York, 1874; Silver and Gold. New York,
1873; Statistics of Mines and Mining. Washington, 1873.
Reasons Why I cannot Become a Mormonite. London, n.d.
Red Bluff (Cal.), Independent; Sentinel.
Reese (J.), Mormon Station. MS.
Reid (Mayne), The Mormon Monsters, in Onward, Nov. 1869.
Rejection of the Church. Piano (111.)
Relacion de Castaneda. Temanx-Compans, serie i. torn. ix. 61-5.
Religious Pamphlets. A collection of 25 pamphlets. S. L. City, 1879.
Remarks on Mormonism. Glasgow (Scot.), n.d.
Rem^, Orientale et Americane. n.d.
Remonstrance and Resolutions adopted by a mass meeting of the citizens of
Utah against the Cullom Bill. Salt Lake City, 1870.
Remy (Jules), Voyage au pays des Mormons. Paris, 1860. 2 vols.
Remy (Jules) and Julius Brenchley, A Journey to Great Salt Lake City.
London, 1S61. 2 vols.
Reno (Nev.), Gazette; State Journal.
Reorganization of the Legislative Power of Utah Territory. Minority Report
of Committee on Territories. Washington, 1884.
Report of the First General Festival of the Renowned Mormon Battalion.
Salt Lake City, 1855.
Report of the Grand Jury, 1878.
Report of Three Nights' Public Discussion in Bolton (Eng. ), etc. Liverpool,
1851.
Report of Utah Commission. Washington, 1884.
Report on Governor's Message. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Review of the Opinion of the U. S. Supreme Court in Reynolds vs U. S.
Salt Lake City, 1878.
Revised Laws of the Nauvoo Legion. Nauvoo, 1844.
Revised Ordinances of Provo City. Salt Lake City, 1877.
R6voil, Les Harems du Nouveau Monde. Paris, 1856.
Revue des Deux Mondes. Paris, 1839 et seq.
Re\nie Orientale et Americaine. Paris, 1859 et seq.
Reynolds (George), Are We of Israel ? Salt Lake City, 1883; Myth of the
Manuscript Found. Salt Lake City, 1SS3; The Book of Abraham. Salt
Lake City, 1879; Plaintiff in Error vs U. S. n.d.
Rhinehart Memoranda. MS.
Ribas, Hist. Triumphos, 26-7.
Richards (Franklin D.), Bibliography of Utah. MS.; European Emigra-
tion to Utah. MS.; Compendium of the Faith and Doctrines of the
Church, etc. Liverpool, 1857. Narrative. MS.; Private Journal. MS.;
The Book of Mormon. MS. ; The Pearl of Great Price. Liverpool, 1851 ;
Revised. Salt Lake City, 1878; Tracts.
Richards (F. D. ) and Little (James A. ), Compendium of the Doctrines of the
Gospel. Salt Lake City, 1882, 1884.
Richards (Franklin S.), Bennett, Harkness, and Kirkpatrick, Argument on
the Elections in Utah. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Richards (J.), What is Mormonism? Madras (Hind.), 1853.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. xxxix
Eichards (Mrs F. D.), Reminiscences. MS.; The Inner Facts of Social Life
in Utah. MS.
Richards ( Willard), Address to Chancellor and Regents of Deseret University.
Great Salt Lake City, April 17, 1850.
Richardson (A. D.), Beyond the Mississippi. Hartford, 1867.
Richardson (D.), Preexistence of Man, etc. n.d.; Faith of the Latter-day
Saints.
Richardson (David M.), Address to Congress. Detroit (Mich.), 1882.
Rise and Progress of the Mormon Faith and People, in South. lat. Messenger,
Sept. 1844.
Roberts (C. M.), Politics and Religion. MS.
Robinson (Phil. ), Sinners and Saints. Boston, 1883.
Rockwell (0. P. ), The Destroying Angels, etc. San Francisco, 1878.
Rockwood (A. P.), Report on Zion Coop. Fish Association. S. L. City, 1878.
Rodeubough (Theo. F. ), From Everglade to Canon with the Second Dragoons.
New York, 1875.
RoUo (J. B.), Mormonism Exposed. Edinburgh, 1841.
Ross (James) and George Gary, From Wisconsin to Cal. and Return. Madi*
son, 1869.
Ruby City (Idaho), Avalanche.
Ruby Hill (Nev.), Miniug News.
Ruffner (E. H.), Report of Reconnais. in the Ute Country. Wash., 1876.
Rules and Practice of the District Court, etc. Salt Lake City, 1868.
Rusling (Jag F.), Across America. New York, 1874.
Ruxton (Geo. F.), Life in the Far West. New York, 1855.
Sacramento (Cal.), Bee; Record-Union; Union.
Safford (A. K. P.), Narrative. MS.
Saint Abe and his Seven Wives. A Tale of Salt Lake City. (Poem.) Lon-
don, 1872.
Sala (George A. ), America Revisited. London, 1882. 2 vols.
Salem (Or. ), Oregon Argus; Oregon Statesman.
Salmeron, in Doc. Hist. Mex., 3d ser., pt iv. 7-9.
Salt Lake City (Utah), Newspapers: Anti-Polygamy Standard; Birknben
(Scandinavian); Christian Advocate; City Review; College Lantern; Con-
tributor; Deseret News; Educational Journal; Footlights; Grocer; Her-
ald; Independent; Journal; Juvenile Instructor; Leader; Mail; Miner;
Monthly Record; Mormon Expositor; Mormon Tribune; Mountaineer;
New Endowment; News; Peep o' Day; Press; Real Estate Circular;
Rocky Mountain Christian Advocate; Skandinav; Telegraph; Tribune;
Union Vidette; Utah Commercial; Utah Magazine; Utah Mining Ga-
zette; Utah Mining Journal; Utah Musical Times; Utah Posten (Danish);
Utah Reporter; Utah Review; Valley Tan; Western Magazine (Utah
ed.); Woman's Exponent.
Salt Lake Fruit. Boston, 1884.
Samson (G. W.), in Scribner's Monthly, iii. 1872.
San Bernadino Guardian.
San Buenaventura Ventura Free Press.
San Diego News; Union.
San Francisco (Cal.), Newspapers: Abend Post; Alta California; Cal. Chris-
tian Advocate; Cal. Courier; Cal. Farmer; Cal. Mercantile Journal; Cal.
Star; Cal. Teacher; Call; Chronicle; Commercial Herald and Market Re-
view; Despatch and Vanguard; Echo du Pacifique; Evening Bulletin;
Examiner; Golden Era; Herald; Mercantile Gazette; Mercantile Journal;
Mining Review, etc. ; Mining and Scientific Press; Monitor; News Letter;
Occident; Pacific Baptist; Pacific Churchman; Pacific News; Pacific
Observer; Pacific Rural Press; Picayune; Pioneer; Post; Scientific Press;
Stock Exchange; Stock Report; Times; Town Talk; Visitor; Western
Standard, 1856-8; Wide West.
San Jos6 (Cal.), Argus; Mercury; Pioneer; Times.
xl AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Santa Barbara Index.
Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Santa Rosa Times.
Sargent (A. A.), Speech in House of Rep., Feb. 23, 1870. Washington, 1870.
Saxon (Isabella), Five Years within the Golden State. Philadelphia, 1868.
Scenes in the Rocky Mountains. Philadelphia, 1846.
Schiel (Doct. J. ), Reise durch die Felsengebirge Schaffhausen. 1859.
Schott (Chas A.), Tables of Temperature, etc. Washington, 1876; Tables of
Rain and Snow, etc. Washington, 1872.
Scribner's Monthly Magazine (later the Century). New York, 1871 et seq.
Seattle (Wash.), Intelligencer; Pacific Tribune; Puget Sound Despatch.
Second General Epistle of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, 1849; Third ditto. Salt Lake City,
1850.
Seeley (R. H.), The Mormons and their Religion, in Scribner's Monthly, iii.
396.
Seer (The). Washington and Liverpool.
Serra, Memorial, March 1873. MS.
Sexton (Geo. ), A Portraiture of Mormonisni. London, 1849.
Shearer (Joel), Mysteries Revealed. Council Bluffs (Iowa), 1854.
Shearer (Joel) and Swett (Wm), Comments on the Kingdom of God. Coun-
cil Bluffs (Iowa), 1854.
Shearer, Journal of a Trip to California. 1849. MS.
Sheen (Isaac), The Narrow Way. Piano (lU.); The Plan of Salvation. Piano
(111.)
Shepherd (M. L.), Colonizing of San Bernardino. MS.
Shuck (0. T.), Cal. Scrap-book. San Francisco, 1869; Rep. Men. San Fran-
cisco, 1870, 1875.
Silliman (Benjamin), Amer. Jour, of Science and Art. New Haven, 1846
et seq.
Silver City (Idaho), Avalanche.
Silver Reef (Utah), Echo; Miner.
Simonin (L.), Le Grand-Ouest des Etats-Unis. Paris, 1869; Les Mines d'Or
et d'Argent aux Etats-Unis, in Reveue des Deux Mondes. Nov. 1875.
Simons (John), A Few More Facts, etc. Dymock (Eng.), 1840.
Simpson (J. H.), On the Change of Route West from Omaha, proposed by
the U. P. Railroad. Washington, 1865; Rept. on U. P. Railroad and
Branches. Washington, 1865; Shortest Route to Cal. Philadelphia,
1869; Report of Explorations across the Great Basin, etc. Washington,
1876.
Simpson (S.), Mormonism: Its History, Doctrine, etc. London, n.d.
Siskiyou County Affairs. MS. j
Skelton (Robt) and Meik (J. P.), Defence of Mormonism. Calcutta, 1855.
Sketches of Mormonism, as Drawn by Brigham Young and the Elders, in j
Western Lit. Messenger, July 1856.
Slater (N.), Fruits of Mormonism. Coloma (Cal.), 1851.
Sloan (E. L.), Gazetteer of Utah. Salt Lake City, 1874.
Sloan (R. W.), Utah Gazetteer. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Sloan (Robt W.), and Others, Utah, Her Attractions and Kesources. S. L,
City, 1881.
Smith (Alexander H.), Polygamy, etc. Piano (111.)
Smith (Charles H.), The Mormonites. Bristol (Eng.), 1849.
Smith (Clark), Mystery and Crime in the Land of the Ute. Cornelius (Or.),
1878.
Smith (David H.), The Bible versus Polygamy. Piano (111.)
Smith (Emma), Selection of Hymns. Independence (Mo.), 1832.
Smith (Geo. A.), Plea on Trial of Howard Egan. Liverpool, 1852; Rise,
Progi-ess, etc. , of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, 1869, 1872; Liver*
pool and London, 1873; Discourse on Celestial Marriage. Oct. 8, 1869.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. xU
Smith (J.), Items of Church History, etc. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Smith (J. L.), Eiaige Worte on die Heiligen der Lezten Tage. Zurich
(Switz.), 1861.
Smith (Joseph), Reply to Orson Pratt. Piano (111.); "Who then can be
Saved?" Piano (111.)
Smith, Jr (Joseph), Book of Mormon. Palmyra (N. Y.), 1830; Completely
Revised by the Translator. Nauvoo (111.), 1840; Liverpool, 1852; New-
York, ( ); Salt Lake City, 1871, 1879; The Holy Scriptures Translated
and Corrected by the Spirit of Revelation. Piano (111.), 1867; Book of
Doctrine and Covenants, etc. Nauvoo, 1846; Liverpool, 1854; Liver-
pool, n.d.; Liverpool, 1882; Salt Lake City, 1876; Views of the Powers
and Policy of the Government of the United States. Nauvoo, 1844.
Smith, Jr (Joseph), Correspondence between, and John Wentworth, James
A. Bennett, and John C. CaUaoun. New York, 1844; and Young (Brig-
ham), Discourses on the Relation of the Mormons to the Government,
Salt Lake City, 1855.
Smith (Lucy), Biog. Sketches of Joseph Smith, etc. Liverpool, 1853.
Smith (Mary Ettie V.), Fifteen Years among the Mormons. N. Y., 1858.
Smith, Narrative of the Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum. By an Eye-
witness.
Smith (The Prophet Joseph), Questions and Answers. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Smith (T. W. ), Spiritualism Viewed from a Scriptural Standpoint. Piano (111. ) ;
The " One Baptism," etc. Piano (111.) The " One Body." Piano (111.)
Smith (Wm), Revelation Given to. Philadelphia, 1848; Slanders Refuted,
etc., n.d.
Smithsonian Institution, Annual Reports. Washington, 1853 et seq.
Smoot (Margaret S.), Experience of a Mormon Wife. MS.
Smucker (Sam'l H.), The Religious, Social, and Political History of the
Mormons. N. Y., 1856, 1860.
Smyth (John H.), Homestead Law, etc.
Snow (ElLza R.), Hymns and Songs. Salt Lake City, 1880; Poems, Religious,
Historical, and Political. Liverpool and London, 1856. vol. i. ; Salt Lake
City, 1877. vol. ii.; Women's Organizations in Utah. MS.; Bible Ques-
tions and Answers. Salt Lake City, 1881 and 1884; Brief Sketch. MS.;
Biography of Lorenzo Snow. Salt Lake City, 1884; Children's Primary
Hymn Book. Salt Lake City, 1880 and 1882; Correspondence of Pales-
tine Tourists. Salt Lake City, 1875; Recitations for the Primary Asso-
ciations, Books nos. 1 and 2. Salt Lake City, 1882; Sketch of my Life.
MS.; Time Book. Salt^Lake City, 1880.
Snow (Erastus), En rost fran landet Zion, Copenhagen (Den.), 1852; One
Year in Scandinavia, etc. n.d.; Skandinabieus Stieme. Copenhagen,
1851.
Snow (E.) and Winchester (B.), Address to the Citizens of Salem (Mass.), 1841.
Snow (Lorenzo), Voice of Joseph, etc. Liverpool and Lond. 1852; Only Way
to be Saved. London, 1851; Madras, 1853; Italian Mission, n.d.; La
Voix de Joseph, etc. Turin (Italy), 1851; Exposition des Premier Prin-
cipes de la Doctrine de I'Eglise de Jesus Christ, etc. Turin (Italy), 1851.
Snow (Z.) (Atty-Genl.), Communications to Utah Legislature. Salt Lake
City, 1872; Salt Lake City, 1874; Correspondence with Wm Clayton
(Auditor, etc.) Salt Laie City, 1872; Opinion on Brigham Young.
Liverpool, 1852.
Sonoma (Cal.), Democrat.
Southern Quarterly Review. New Orleans, etc., 1842 et seq.
Spaulding (Samuel J.), Spaulding Memorial; A Genealogical History, etc.
Boston, 1872.
Spence (Thos), Settlers' Guide. New York, 1862.
Spencer (Orson), Letters Exhibiting the Most Prominent Doctrines of the
Church, etc. Liverpool, 1848; London, 1852; Patriarchal Order, or
Plurality of Wives, etc. Liverpool, 1853; Report to President Young
on the Prussian Mission. Liverpool and London, 1853; Most Prominent
Doctrines of the Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, 1874.
xlu AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Spiritual Courtship and Marriage of the Mormons. London, n.d.
Spiritual-Wife Doctrine of the Mormons. Report of the Judges of Utah
Territory. Cheltenham (Eng.), 1852.
Spring Lake Villa (Utah), Farmer's Oracle,
Stanford (Jos), Sketch of Weber County. MS.; Ogden City. MS.
Stansbury (Howard), Die Mormonen, etc. Stuttgart, 1854; Exped. to Valley
of Great Salt Lake. Philadelphia, 1855. 2 vols.
Staples (Daw J.), Incidents'and Information. MS.
Statistical Report of Stakes of Zion. MS.
Stayner (Arthur), Report on the Manufacture of SUgar. Salt Lake City,
1884.
Stayner (C. W.), Farmers' and Miners' Manual. Salt Lake City, 1883.
St Clair (D. L.), To the Followers of the Latter-day Saints. Cheltenham
(Eng.), 1840.
Stenhouse (T. B. H.), Expos6 of Polygamy. New York, 1872; Les Mormons,
etc. Lausanne, 1854; The Rocky Mountain Saints. New York, 1873.
Stenhouse (Mrs T. B. H.), Tell it All, etc. Hartford, 1879; An Englishwoman
in Utah. London, 1880; A Lady's Life among the Mormons. New
York, 1872.
Stevenson (H.), Lecture on Mormonism. Newcastle (Eng.), 1839.
St George (Utah), Pomologist and Gardener.
Stillman ( Jas W. ), Speech on the Mormon Question. Boston, 1884.
St Louis Democrat; Luminary.
Stockton (Cal. ), Herald; Independent.
Stoue (W. F.), The Mormon Problem. MS.; The Saints at Pueblo. MS.
Sturtevant (J. M. ), Review of Mormonism in All Ages, in Amer. Bib. Repos.,
2d ser., ix. 109.
Successor in the Prophet's Office, etc. Piano (111.)
Suisun (Cal.), Republican.
Sunday-school Dialogues and Recitations, Book no. 1. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Sunderland (L.), Mormonism Exposed, 1841 ; New York, 1842.
Sutter Co. Hist. 17.
Sweet (J. B.), The Book of Mormon and the Latter-day Saints. London,
1857.
Talmage (De Witt), Speeches, etc.
Tanner (Mary J.), Fugitive Poems. Salt Lake City, 1880.
Taylder (T. W. P.), Mormon's Own Book, etc. London, 1845, 1857; Material-
ism of the Mormons, etc. Woolwich (Eng.), 1849.
Taylor (B. F. ), Summer Savory, etc. Chicago, 187^.
Taylor (John), Three Nights' Public Discussion, at Boulogne -sur-mer.
Liverpool, 1850; Aux Amis de la V6rit6 Religieuse. n.d.; De la Ne-
cessity de Nouvelles Revelations prouv^e par la Bible, n. d. ; Traits sur
le Bapteme. n.d; Buch der Mormonen. Hamburg, 1851; Zion 's Pauier.
Hamburg, 1851; Government of God. Liverpool and London, 1852; Re-
plies to Viee-President Colfax. Salt Lake City, 1870; On the decision of
the Supreme Court of the U. S. in the case of Geo. Reynolds. Jan. 13,
1879, Salt Lake City; Discourse at the General Conference. Salt Lake
City, April 9, 1882; Early Recollections. MS. ; Epistle to the Presidents
of Stakes, etc. Salt Lake City, 1882; Items on Priesthood. Salt Lake
City, 1881, 1882; On Marriage and Succession in the Priesthood. Salt
Lake City, 1882; Reminiscences of the First Year's Journey across the
Plains. MS. ; The Mediation and Atonement of Our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City, 1882; Truth Defended, etc. Liverpool,
1840.
Taylor (John) and Others, Epistle of the Twelve Apostles, etc. S. L. City,
1877; Circular from the Twelve Apostles. S. L. City, April 16, 1880;
A String of Pearls. Salt Lake City, 1882.
T. C. R., What I Saw in Utah. MS.
Testimony of the Great Prophet, etc. Liverpool, n. impt.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. xliii
The Book of Mormon a Forgery. London and Leamington, 1850.
The Book of Mormon, History and Contents. London and Leamington, 1850,
The Church of Latter-day Saints, in Old and New, ii. 1870.
The City of the Saints, in Littell's Liv. Age, Ixxi. 1861.
The Delegate from Utah (CTeo. Q. Cannon), n.d.
The Diamond. Voree (Wis.), 1848.
The Doctrine of the Latter-day Saints. London, n.d.
The Doctrines of Mormonism. Loudon, n.d.
The Emigrant Caravan, in Chambers's Jour., liii. 1876.
The External Evidences of the Book of Mormon Examined. London, n.d.
The Fowlers' Snare. London, 1860.
The Galaxy. New York, 1866 et seq.
Tlie Gates of the Mormon Hell Opened. London, n.d.
The Hand-book of Reference to History, etc., of Latter day Saints. Salt
Lake City, 1884.
The Latter-day Saints, in Fortnightly Rev., xii. 1869.
The Life and Character of Joseph Smith. London and Leamington, 1850.
The Mining Industry. Denver (Col.), 1881.
The Mormon Doctrine of Polygamy. London, 1853.
The Mormon Imposture, etc. London, 1851.
The Mormon Metropolis. Salt Lake City, 1883.
The Mormon Problem, in Old and New, i. 1870.
The Mormonites, in Lond. Month. Rev., new ser^ iii. 1842.
The Mormons in Utah, in Littell's Liv. Age, xlvi. 1855.
The Mormons or Latter-day Saints, with Memoirs of the Life of Joseph
Smith, the American Mahomet. London ( ).
The Mormons, or Life in Utah. Birmingham, n.d.
The Mysteries of Mormonism. New York, 1882.
The Restorer (in English and Welsh), Monthly; Merthyr Tydfil. Wales,
1864.
The Spiritual-Wife Doctrine of the Mormons. Manchester (Eng,), n.d.
The Two Prophets of Mormonism, in Cath. World, xxvi. 1878.
The Utah Magazine, 1868-69.
The Voice of Truth, etc. Nauvoo, 1844.
The Yankee Mahomet, in Am. Whig Rev., new ser., vii. 1851.
Theobald (J. ), Mormonism Dissected.
Thomas (E. A.), in No. Amer. Rev., 1884. Fortnightly Rev.^ xxxvi . 414;
Potter's Amer. Monthly, xvii. 298.
Thomas (John), Rise, Progress, and Dispersion of the Mormons. London,
Edinburgh, and Nottingham.
Thompson (Charles), Evidences in Proof of the Book of Mormon; Batavia
(N. Y.) and New York, 1841; Proclamation and Warning to the Inhab-
itants of America.
Thornton (J. Q.), Oregon and California in 1848. N. Y., 1849. 2 vols.
Three Nights' Public Discourse at Boulogne-sur-mer, etc. Liverpool, 1850.
Tice (J. H.), Over the Plains, etc. St Louis, 1872.
Times and Seasons. Commerce (IlL), 1830; Nauvoo (EL), 1840-46, 6 vols.
in 2.
Tithing. Piano (HI.)
Todd (John), The Sunset Land. Boston, 1870.
Torquemada, i. 609-10,
Townsend (G. A.), The Mormon Trials at Salt Lake City, New York, 1871.
Townsend (J. K.), Narrative of a Journey, etc. Philadelphia, 1839.
Townsend, Mormon Trials, n.d.
Townshend (F. T.), Ten Thousand Miles of Travel, etc. London, 1869.
Tracy (Mrs N. N.), Narrative. MS.
Trial of Jos Smith, Jr, and Others, for High Treason and Other Crimea
against the State of Missouri, 26th cong. 2d sess., Sen, Doc. 189, Feb.
15, 1841.
Trial of the Witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus, Piano (111.), 1870.
xUv AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Tribune Almanac. N. Y., 1838 et seq.
Triplett (Frank), Conquering the Wilderness. New York and St Louis, 1883.
True Latter-day Saints' Herald. Cincinnati (0.) and Piano (111.), 1860-72.
Truth by Three Witnesses: A Warning Voice. Piano (111.)
Truth made Manifest: A Dialogue. Piano (111.)
Tucker (Pomeroy), Origin, Rise, etc., of Mormonism. New York, 1867.
Tullidge (Edward W.), Life of Brigham Young. N. Y., 1876; Life of Jo-
seph the Prophet. Salt Lake City, 1878; Women of Mormondom. N. Y.,
1877; Quarterly Magazine. S. L. City, 1880 et seq.; Morm. Common-
wealth, in Galaxy, ii. 356. Morm. Theoc, in Id., ii. 209, iv. 541; Refor-
mation, etc.. Harper's Mag., xliii. 602; Autobiograhpy. MS.; Brigham
Young and Mormonism, in Galaxy, Sept. 1867; Views of Mormorism, in
Id., Oct. 1, 1806; Leaders in the Monnon Reform Movement, in Phren.
Jour., July 1871; The Mormons, etc., in Id., Jan. 1870; The Utah Gen-
tiles, etc., in Id., May 1871; Wm H. Hooper, of Utah, in Id., Nov. 1870;
History of Salt Lake City.
Tullidge 's Quarterly ilagazine. Salt Lake City, 1880 et seq.
TurnbuU (W.), A CaU to the Unconverted. Liverpool, n.d.
Turner (J. B. ), Mormonism in All Ages. New York, 1842.
Turner (0.), Origin of the Mormon Imposture, in Littell's Liv. Age, Aug. 30,
1851.
Tuscarora (Nev.), Times; Review.
Tuthill, Colorado.
Tuthill, Hist. Cal. San Francisco, 1866.
Tyler (Daniel), History of the Mormon Battalion. Salt Lake City, 1881.
Tyson (Thomas), Joseph Smith, the Great American Impostor. London,
1852.
Udgom Seion. Wales.
Union ville (Nev.), Silver State.
United States Geolog. Explor. of 40th Parallel, by Clarence King. Wash-
ington, 1870.
United States Geolog. Surv. West of 100th Merid. (Geo. W. Wheeler);
Bulletins; Reports and Various Publications. Washington, 1874 et seq.
4to. Atlas sheets. Maps.
United States Government Documents: Accounts; Agriculture; Army Reg-
ulations; Army Meteorological Register; Banks; Bureau of Statistics;
Census; Commerce, Foreign and Domestic; Commerce and Navigation;
Commercial Relations; Congressional Directory; Education; Engineers;
Finance; Indian Affairs; Interior; Land Office; Meteorological Reports;
Mint; Ordnance; Pacific Railroad; Patent Office; Postmaster-General;
Post-offices; Quartermaster-general; Revenue; U. S. Official Register —
cited by their dates.
United States Government Documents: House Exec. Doc; House Journal;
House Miscel. Doc; House Com. Reports; Message and Documents;
Senate Exec. Doc; Journal; Miscel. Doc; Com. Repts — cited by con-
gress and session. Many of these documents have, however, separate
titles, for which see author or topic.
University of Deseret. Annual Catalogues, 1868 et seq.; Circulars; Bien-
nial Reports.
Upper Missouri Advertiser. 1838.
U. P. R. R., Report of Saml B. Reed.
U. S. Charters and Constitutions. Washington, 1877. 2 vols.
Utah: A Bill to Establish a Territorial Government. Washington, 1S50.
Utah Almanac
Utah and its People. New York, 1882.
Utah and the Mormons, in The New Englander, vi. 1854.
Utah Board of Trade, Resources and Attractions, etc. Salt Lake City, 1879.
Utah Central R. R. Company, Grants, Rights and Privileges, etc. Salt Lake
City, 1871.
Utah Commission, Special Report. Washington, 1884.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. xlv
Utah Commission, the Edmunds Act, Reports of the Commissioners, Rules,
Regulations, etc. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Utah, Constitution of the State of. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Utah, County Sketches by various authors. MS.
Utah, Election Laws. Salt Lake City. n.d.
Utah, in Beadle's Monthly, July 1866.
Utah: Its Silver Mines and Other Resources, n.d.
Utah Journals of Council and House, 1851 et seq., together with the other
Public Documents printed by the territory, which are cited in my notes
by their titles and dates, the title consisting of ' Utah, ' followed by one
of the following headings: Act; Adjutant General's Report; Agricul-
tural; Chancellor of University Reports; Corporations; Council and
House Bills, County Financial Reports, Deseret Agric. and Manufac.
Society; Stat. Reports; Domestic Relations; Elections, Fisheries; Inaugural
Addresses of Governors, Messages and Documents; Joint Resolutions;
Land Acts; Laws; Memorials; Militia; Mines and Mining; Political Code;
Revenue Laws; School Law; Secretary of Territory Reports; Superin-
tendent of District Schools Reports; Territorial Auditor Reports; Ter-
ritorial Librarian Reports; Transportation; Warden of Penitentiary
Reports.
Utah Miscellany. MS.
Utah Notes. MS.
Utah Pamphlets, Political, containing the following: Argument before Commr
of Intl Revenue, etc. ; Bates (George C. ), Argument in Baker habeas cor-
pus case; Cannon (Geo. Q.), Review of decision of U. S. Supreme Court;
Clagett (Wm H.), Speech against admission of Utah as a state; Consti-
tution of State of Deseret and Memorial; Cragin (A. H. ), Speech on
execution of laws in Utah; Fitch (Thos), Speech on Utah Bill; Speech
on Land Grants and Indian Policy; Speech on the Utah Problem; Re-
ply to Memorial of Salt Lake Bar; Hooper (W. H.), Speech against the
"Cullom Bill;" Reply to Clagett; Kinney (Jno. F.), Reply to Fernando
Wood; Laws concerning Naturalization, etc. ; Memorial of Citizens of
Salt Lake City; Musser (A. M.), Fruits of Mormonism; Paine (H. E.),
Argument in Contested Election, etc. ; Review of Opinion of U. S. Su-
preme Court by an old Lawyer; Reynolds (Geo.), vs U. S.; Snow (Z.),
(Terrtl Atty. -Genl. ), Communication to Legislative Assembly; Commu-
nication to Terr. House of Rep.; Taylor (John), Interview with 0. J.
HoUister, etc.
Utah Pamphlets, Religious, containing the following: Minutes of Special
Conference of August 28, 1852, at Salt Lake City; Extract from a MS.
entitled The Peace-maker; Skelton (Robt) and Meik (J. P.), A Defence
of Mormonism; Pratt (0.), Smith (Geo. A.), and Cannon (Geo. Q.), Dis-
courses on Celestial Marriage; Hyde (0.), Sketch of Travels and Minis-
try; Colfax (S.), The Mormon Question; Taylor (John), Reply to Colfax;
Newman (Rev. Dr.), A Sermon on Plural Man-iage; Pratt (0.), Reply
to Newman; Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, Constitution and
By-laws; Utah Central R. R. Grants, Rights and Privileges; Smith
(Geo. A.), Rise, Progress, and Travels of the Church, etc.; Young (B.),
The Resurrection; Circular of the First Presidency; Death and Funeral
of Brigham Young; Young, Sen. (Joseph), History of the Organization
of the Seventies; Gibbs (G. F.), Report of Convention of Mormon
Women, etc.; The Great Proclamation, etc.; Good Tidings, etc.; The
Testimony of the Great Prophet; The Great Contrast; Death of the
Prophets Joseph and Hyrum Smith; Smith (Jos), Peaxl of Great Price;
Reynolds (Geo.), Book of Abraham.
Utah. Perpetual Emigration Fund. MS.
Utah Pioneers, Anniversary Meetings; Proceedings 33d Anniversary. Salt
Lake City, 1880.
Utah, Speeches on the Edmunds Bill.
Utah Tracts, A collection of eleven pamphlets cited by titles and dates.
Salt Lake City, 1879.
xlvi AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.
Vancouver (Wash.), Register.
Van Deusen (Increase and Maria), Hidden Orgies of Mormonism. Notting-
ham (Eng.), n.d. ; Spiritual Delusions. New York, 1855; Startling
Disclosures of the Great Mormon Conspiracy. New York, 1849; Sub-
lime and Ridiculous Blended. New York, 1848.
Van Dyke (Walter), Recollections of Utah. MS.
Van Sickles (H. ), Utah Desperadoes.
Van Tramp (John C), Prairies and Rocky Mountains. St Louis, 1860.
Venegas, Not. Cal., i. 167-9.
Vest, Iklorgan, Call, Brown, Pendleton, and Lamar, in U. S. Senate. Salt
Lake City, 1882.
Vetromile (Eugene), Tour in Both Hemispheres. New York, etc., 1880.
Victor (Frances F. ), All Over Oregon and Washington. San Francisco, 1872;
River of the West. Hartford, 1870.
" Vidette " (The Union). Camp Douglas and Salt Lake City, 1864 to 1867.
Villagra, Hist. N. Mex., 19 et seq.
Virginia (Mont.), Madisonian.
Virginia and Helena (Mont.), Post.
Virginia City (Nev. ), Chronicle; Territorial Enterprise.
Visit of the Wyoming Legislature to Utah. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Visit to the Crazy Swede. MS.
Visit to the Mormons, in Westmin. Rev., Oct. 1861.
Voice from the West, etc. ; Histoiy of the Morrisites. San Francisco, 1879.
Voice of the Good Shepard. Piano (111.)
Wadsworth (W.), National Wagon-road Guide. San Francisco, 1858.
Waite (C. B.), The Western Monthly. Salt Lake City, 1869 et seq.; in
Lakeside, i. 290.
Waite (Mrs C. V.), Adventures in the Far West, etc. Chicago, 18S2; The
Momaon Prophet and his Harem. Chicago, 1857; Cambridge, 1866.
Walker (W.), Industrial Progress and Prospects of Utah. MS.
Walla Walla (Wash.), Statesman.
Wandell (C. W.), History of the Persecutions Endured by the Church, etc.
Sidney (N. S. W.), 1852; Reply to "Shall we Believe in Mormon?"
Sidney (N. S. W.), 1S52.
Ward (Austin N.), Husband in Utah. New York, 1857; Male Life among
the Mormons. Philadelphia, 1863.
Ward (J. H. ), Gospel Philosophy. Salt Lake City, 1884; The Hand of Provi-
dence. Salt Lake City, 1883.
Ward (Maria), Female Life among the Mormons. New York, 1855; The
Mormon Wife, etc. Hartford, 1873.
Warner, Rem. MS. , 21-9.
Warren (G. K.), Preliminary Report, etc. Washington, 1875.
Warsaw (HI. ), Signal.
Washington (D. C.), Natl Intelligencer; Seer; Star.
Waters ( ), Life among the Mormons. New York, 1868.
Watsonville (Cal.), Pajaronian; Pajaro Times.
Way to End the Mormon War, in Littell's Liv. Age, 2d ser., xx. 1858.
Webster (Thomas), Extracts from the Doctrine and Covenants. Preston
(Eng.), n.d.
Wedderbum (D.), Mormonism from a Mormon Point of View, in Fortnightly
Rev., 1876; Pop. Scien. Monthly, x. 156.
Weightman (Hugh), Mormonism Exposed; The Other Side. Salt Lake City,
1884.
Weiser (R.), in Evang. Rev., x. 80.
Wells (D. H.), Journal. MS.
Wells (E. B.) and Williams (Z. Y.), Memorial to U. S. Congress. Washing.
ton, 1879.
Wells (J. F.), The Contributor, A Monthly Magazine, Salt Lake City, Oct,
1879 et geq.
AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. xlvu
Wells (Samuel R,.), The Mormon Question, in Phren. Jour., Dec 1871; Our
Visit to Salt Lake City, in Id., Dec. 1870.
Wentworth, Great West.
West (P. R.), The Brewing Business. MS.
Westbrook (G. W.), Appendix to Hunt's Mormonism. St Louis, 1844; The
Mormons in Illinois. St Louis, 1844.
West Coast Reporter, iv. 415.
Westmins. Rev., lix. 196.
Whatcom (Wash.), Bcllingham Bay Mail.
White (F. P. ), Cattle Raising and Grazing. MS.
Whitney (H.), Journal. MS.
Whitney (H. M.), Plural Marriage. Salt Lake City, 1882.
Whittier (J. G. ), in Howitt, Journal, ii. 157; Littell's Liv. Age, xv. 461.
Why We Practise Plural Marriage. Salt Lake City, 1884.
Wight (Lyman), Abridged Account of my Life. n.d.
Willard (Emma), Last Leaves of American History. New York, 1853.
Willes (W.), What is Mormonism ? Calcutta, n.d.; The Mountain Warbler.
Salt Lake City. 1872.
Williams (H. T.), Pacific Tourist. New York, -1876.
Williams (S.), Mormonism Exposed. 1842.
Willmore (Benj.), Mormonism Unmasked. West Bromwich (Eng.), 1855.
Winchester (Benj.), A History of the Priesthood. Philadelphia, 1843; Ori-
gin of the Spaulding Story. Philadelphia, 1840; Synopsis of the Holy
Scriptures, etc. Philadelphia, 1842.
Winnemucca (Nev. ), Silver State.
With the False Prophet, in Scrib. Monthly, iii. 1872.
Wolfe (J. M.), Gazetteer. Omaha, 1878.
Woodi-uf (W.) and Richards (F, D.), Historial Events of Mormonism. MS.
Woodruff (Phebe W. ), Autobiog. Sketch. MS.
Woodruff (W.), Leaves from my Journal. Salt Lake City, 1881, 1882; Over-
land to Utah. MS. ; Private Journal. MS.
Woods (C. L.), Recollections. MS.
Worthington (C. J.), The Woman in Battle, etc. Hartford, 1876.
Wray (G. W.), Mormonism Exhibited in its Own Minor. Middlesbrough
(Eng.), 1834.
Yankee Mahomet (The), in Amer. Whig Rev., June 1851.
Year of Jubilee, etc. Salt Lake City, 1880.
Young (Ann Eliza), Wife No. 19, etc. Hartford, 1876.
Young (Brigham), Resurrection: A Discourse. Salt Lake City, 1875; Death
of, etc. Salt Lake City, 1877; History and Private Journal. MS.
Young (Brigham) and Others, Circular of the First Presidency, etc. Salt
Lake City, July 11, 1877; Journal of Discourses. Liverpool and London,
1854 et seq.
Young (L.), Early Experiences. MS.
Young (Mrs C. D.), A Woman's Experiences with the Pioneer Band. MS.
Young, Sen. (Jos), Organization of the Seventies, etc. Salt Lake City, 1878.
Y Perlo FawT Bris. n.d. (Wales).
Yr Curgrawn Ysgrythyrol. Merthyr Tydvil, South Wales.
Yuma (Arizona), Sentinel.
Zabriskie (Jas C), Public Land Laws of the U. S. San Francisco, 1870.
Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution; Constitution, By-Laws, and Arti-
cles of Incorporation. S. L. City, 1870. MS. ; Argument before U. S.
Commissioner of Internal Revenue. S. L. City, 1878; Mercantile and
Manufacturing Establishments. S. L. City, 1884; Semi-annual State-
ment. S. L. City, 1880; Wholesale Price List. S. L. City, 1880.
Zion's Watchman (Australia and New Zealand).
HISTORY OF UTAH.
CHAPTER I.
DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
1540-1777.
Francisco Vazquez de Coronado at CrBoiA — ExPEDirioN of Pedro db
ToBAR AND Father Juan de Padilla — They Hear of a Large
RrvER — GarcIa Lopez de Cardenas Sent in Search of It — The First
Europeans to Approach Utah — Route of Cardenas — Mythical
Maps — Part of the Northern Mystery — Journey of Dominguez
AND ESCALANTE — ThE CoURSE ThEY FOLLOWED — ThE RiVERS ThEY
Crossed — The Comanches — Region of the Great Lakes — Rivers
Timpanogos, San Buenaventura, and Others — The Country op
THE YuTAS — Route from Santa Fe to Monterey — The Friars Talk
OF the Lake Country — Return of the Spaniards to Zuni and
March to Santa Fe.
As Francisco Vazquez de Coronado was journeying
from Culiacan to the north and east in 1540, he rested
at Cibola, that is to say Zuni, and while waiting for
the main army to come forward, expeditions were sent
out in various directions. One of these, consisting
of twenty men under Pedro de Tobar, and attended
by Father Juan de Padilla, proceeded north-westward,
and after five days reached Tusayan, or the Moqui
villages, which were quickly captured. Among other
matters of interest, information was here given of a
large river yet farther north, the people who lived
upon its banks being likewise very large.
Returning to Cibola, Tobar reported what had been
said concerning this river; whereupon Captain Garcia
Lopez de Cdrdenas 'was sent with twelve men to
explore it, Pedro de Sotomayor accompanying to
(1)
^^,
2 DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
chronicle the expedition. Obtaining at Tusayan, where
he was well received, guides and carriers, with an
ample supply of provisions, Cardenas marched for
twenty days, probably in a north-westerly direction,^
^ I say probably, though in my own mind there is little doubt. The Span-
iards were exploring northward. They had lately traversed the region to
their south-west, and instead of wishing to retrace their steps they would be
likely to keep up well away from their former track. It is true that one nar-
rative gives the direction as west; but then the same writer places Tusan, or
Tusayan, west of Cibola, which if the latter be ZuSi, and the former Moqui,
is incorrect. Then, if their direction from the Moqui towns was the same
as this writer declares it to have been in travelling to that place, the
Spaniards at this time certainly struck the Colorado within the limits of the
present Utah. Escalante, Carta de 2S Oct. 1775, MS., placed Moqui west
of Zuni, but a little north of west, with the Yutas their neighbor on the
north. It is suflBciently plaia that Cibola was Zuni, and Tusayan Moqui,
and as a matter of fact the latter is in a north-westerly direction from the
former. That they went due west and crossed the Little Colorado without
any mention of that stream is not likely; because, first, it is not twenty days
distant from the Moquis, and the stream when reached does not answer to
their desciiption. It was the great river they wished to find, and a north
west course would be the most direct. Further than this, it is stated plainly
that the point at which they discovered the river was much nearer its source
than where the Spaniards had previously seen it. Upon the direction thenj
taken hangs the question as to the first Europeans to enter Utah. I deem the]
matter of sufficient importance to give both the originals and the translations'
of two of the most complete and reliable narratives of the expedition. The
first and fullest we find in the Belation de Castaneda of Coronado's expedi-
tion, Ternaux-Companfi, serie i. torn. ix. 61-5, which reads as follows:
' Comme don P6di-o de Tobar avait rempli sa mission, il revint sur ses pas
et rendit compte au g^n^ral de ce qu'il avait vu. Celui-ci fit partir sur-le-
champ don Garci-Lopez de Cardenas et douze autres personnes pour aljer
visiter cette riviere ; cet officier fut tr^s-bien reiju et parfaitement traits par
les indiens de Tusayan, qui lui donnferent des guides pour continuer sa route.
Nos soldats partirent charges de vivres, les indiens les ayant avertis qu'il
fe,llait traverser un desert de vingt journees de long avant d'entrer dans un
pays habits. Aprfes ces vingt joum^es de marche ils arriv6rent en effet k
cette rivifere, dont les bords sont tellement 6lev6s qu'ils croyaient 6tre h trois
ou quatre lieues en Fair. Le pays est convert de pins bas et rabougris; il est
expos6 au nord, et le froid y est si violent, que, quoique Ton ftit en 6t4, ou
pouvait h peine le supporter. Les Espagnols marchferent pendant trois joura
le long de ces montagnes, esp6rant tou jours trouver une descente pour arriver
k la rivifere qui, d'en haut, ne paraissait pas avoir plus d'une brasse de large,
et qui, selon les Indiens, avait plus d'une demi-lieue; mais il fut impossible
de s'y rendre. Etant parvenus deux ou trois jours aprfes dans un endroit oil
la descente leur parut plus facile, le capitaine Melgosa, Juan Galeras et un
soldat qui ^taient les plus legers de la bande, r^solurent de faire une tenta-
tive. Ils descendirent jusqu'ii ce que ceux qui ^talent rest^s en haut les
eussent perdus de ven. lis revinrent vers les quatre heures du soir, disant
qu'ils avaient trouve tant de difficult^s, qu'ils n'avaient pu arriver jusqu'en
bas; car ce qui d'en haut semblait facile, ne I'^tait pas du tout quand ©n
approchait. Ils ajoutferent qu'ils 6taient parvenus k environ un tiers de la
descente, et que de 1^, la riviere paraissait dej^ tr6s grande, ce qui confirmait
ce que les indiens avaient dit. lis assur^rent que quelques rochers que I'ou
voyait d'en haut, et qui paraissait k peine de la hauteur d'un homme 6taient
plus hauts que la tour de la cath^drale de Seville. Les Espagnols cess6rent
EXPEDITION OF CARDENAS. S
through a desert country until he discovered the river,
but from such high banks that he could not reach it.
It was the river called the Tizon, and it flowed from
the north-east toward the south-west. It seemed to
the Spaniards when they first descried it that they
were on mountains through which the river had cut
de suivre les rochers qui bordeiit la rivifere, parce qu'on y manquait d'eau.
Jusque-li ils avaient 6te obliges chaque soir de s'avancer une lieue ou deux
dans I'int^rieur pour en trouver. Quand ils eurent march^ pendant trois ou
quatre jours, les guides leur d^clarferent qu'il 6tait impossible d'aller plus
loin, qu'on ne trouverait pas d'eau de quatre jours; que quand les Indiena
passaient cette route, ils emmenaient avec eux des femmes charg^es de cale-
basses remplies d'eau, et qu'ils en enterraient une partie pour les retrouvei
au retour; que d'ailleurs ils parcouraient en un jour autant de chemin que
les Espagnols en deux. Cette riviere 6tait celle del Tizon. On arriva beau-
coup plus prfes de sa source que de I'endroit oii Melchior Diaz et ses gens
I'avaient travers^e, et Ton sut plus tard que les Indiens dont on avait parl6
^taient de la meme nation que ceux que Diaz avait vus. Les Espagnols
revinrent done sur leurs pas, et cette expedition n'eut pas d'autre r6sultat.
Pendant la marche, ils arrivferent k une cascade qui tombait d'un rocher.
Les guides dirent que les cristaux blancs qui pendaient k I'entour 6taient du
seL On en recueillit une quantity que Ton emporta, et qu'on distribua h
Cibola, oil Ton rendit compte par 6crit au g6n6ral de tout ce que Ton avai»
vu. Garci-Lopez avait emmen6 avec lui un certain P6dro de Sotomayor, qm
etait chroniqueur de I'expedition. Tous les villages de cette province sont
rest6s nos allies, mais on ne les a pas visit^s depuis, et I'on n'a tent6 aucune
d6couverte de ce c6t6. '
As soon as Don Pedro de Tobar had fulfilled his mission, he returned and
gave the general an account of what he had seen. The latter immediately
ordered Don Garci-Lopez de Cdrdenas, and 12 other persons, to go and visit
that river; this officer was well received and politely treated by the Indiana
of Tusayan, who furnished him with guides to continue his journey. Our
soldiers departed loaded with provisions, the Indians having notified them
that it was necessary to travel 20 days through a desert before entering any
inhabited country. After this 20 days' march, they arrived at that river
whose banks are of such a height that it seemed to them that they were three
or four leagues up in the air. The country is covered with low and stunted
pines, exposed to the north, and the cold is so violent that, although it was
summer, one could hardly endure it. The Spaniards during three days
skirted those mountains, always in the hope of finding a descent to reach the
river, which from above appeared to be no more than a fathom in width, and
which, according to the Indians, was more than half a league wide; but all
their efforts were vain. Two or three days later, they arrived at a place
where the descent seemed easier; Captain Melgosa Juan Galeras and a
soldier who were the lightest men of the band, resolved to make an attempt.
They descended until those who had remained on the top had lost sight of
them. They returned at about four o'clock in the afternoon, saying they had
found so many difficulties that they could not reach the bottom; for, what
seemed easy from above was not at all so when approaching the water. They
added that they came down about one third of the descent, and that even
from there the river seemed very large. This statement confirmed what
the Indians had said. The three men affirmed that some rocks seen from
above and which appeared to be of the height of a man, were higher than
the tower of the cathedral of Seville. The Spaniards stopped following the
rocks that bordered the river on account of the lack of water. Until then,
they had been obliged to advance one or two leagues in the interior to find
i DISCOVEPvIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
a chasm only a few feet wide, but which if they
might beheve the natives was half a league across.
In vain for several days, with their faces toward the
south and west, they sought to escape from the
mountains that environed them, and descend to the
river, for they were suffering from thirst. At length
some. When they had marched during three or four days, the guides declared
to them that it was impossible to go further, that water would not be found
before four days; that when the Indians travelled on tliis road, they took
with them women who carried calabashes filled with water, and they buried
a certain part, so that they might find it when returning; and besides they
made in one day as many miles as the Spaniards would in two. This was the
river del Tizon. They arrived much nearer to its source than the place
where Melchor Diaz and his people had crossed, and it was known later that
the Indians spoken of belonged to the same nation as those seen by Diaz.
The Spaniards therefore came back, and the expedition had no other result.
While marching, they arrived at a cascade falling from a rock. The guides
affirmed that the white crystals hanging around were salt. A quantity of it
was gathered, carried away, and distributed at Cibola, where a written account
of all that had been seen was sent to the general. Garci-Lopez had taken
with him a cei'tain Pedro de Sotomayor, who was the chronicler of the expe-
dition. All the villages of this province have remained our allies, but they
have not been visited since, and no attempt at discovery has been made in
that direction.
The other is from a relation by an unknown author, found in the archives
of the Indies, and printed in Pacheco and Cardenas, Col. Doc, xiv. 321-3,
under title of Relacion del suceso de la Jornada que Francisco Vazquez hizo en
el descubrlmiento de Cibola, and from which I give the extract covering the
same incident:
' Vuelto D. Pedro de Tobar, 6 dada relacion de aquellos pueblos, luego
despach6 d D. Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, maestre de campo, por el mesmo
camiuo que habia venido D. Pedro, 6 que pasase de aquella provincia de
Tuzan, al Poniente, 6 para ida 6 vuelta de la Jornada 6 descobrimiento, le
senalo ochenta dias de t^rmino de ida 6 vuelta, el qual fu6 echado adelante
de Tuzan con guias de los naturales que decian que habia adelante, poblado,
aunque lejos, andadas cincuenta leguas de Tuzan al Poniente, 6 ochenta de
Cibola, haU6 una barranca de un rio que i\i6 imposible por una parte ni otra
hallarle baxada para caballo, ni aun para pi6, sino por una parte muy traba-
xosa, por donde tenia casi dos leguas de baxada. Estaba la barranca tan
acantillada de pefias, que apenas podian ver el rio, el cual, aunque es segun
dicen, tanto 6 mucho mayor que el de Sevilla, de arriba aparescia un arroyo ;
por manera que aunque con harta diligencia se busc6 pasada, 6 por muchas
partes no se halla, en la cual estuvieron artos dias con mucha necesidad de
agua, que no la hallaban, 6 la del rio no se podian aprovechar della aunque la
vian ; 6 a esta causa le hi6 forzado A don Garcia Lopez volverse d donde lial-
laron ; este rio venia del Nordeste 6 volvia al Sur Sudueste, por manera que
sin falta ninguna es aquel donde lleg6 Melchor Diaz. '
Don Pedro de Tobar having returned, and having made a report concern-
ing those towns, D. Garcia Lopez de Cdrdenas, maestre de campo, was
ordered to take the same route by which Don Pedro had come, and to go on
from the province of Tuzan to the westward. He was given 80 days in which
to make the journey, from his departure until his return. He went on
beyond Tuzan, accompanied by Indian guides, who told him that farther on
there was a settlement. Having gone 50 leagues to the westward of Tuzan,
and SO from Cibola, he came to the canon of a river adown the side of which
there was no descent practicable for horse, nor even for those on foot, except
ATTEMPT TO REACH THE RIVER. 6
one morning three of the lightest and most active of
the party crept over the brink and descended until
they were out of sight. They did not return till
toward evening, when they reported their failure to
reach the bottom, saying that the fiver, and distances
and objects, were all much larger than they seemed
to the beholder above, rocks apparently no higher
than a man being in fact larger than the cathedral at
Junior
Cibola
Pbobable Route of CAkdenas.
Seville. Compelled by thirst they retired from the
inhospitable stream, and finally returned to Tusayan
and Cibola.
by a way full of difficulties, and nearly two leagues in length. The side of
the canon was of rock so steep that the river was oarely discernible, although,
according to report, it is as great as the river of Seville, or greater ; and from
above appeared a brook. During many days, aud in many places, a way by
which to pass the river was sought in vain. During this time there was
much sufifering from a lack of water, for although that of the river was in
view, it was unattainable. For this reason Don Garcia Lopez was forced to
return. This river comes from the north-east, and makes a bend to the
south-south-eastward; hence, beyond a doubt, it must be that reached by
Melchor Diaz.
Thus the reader will be able to determine the matter for himself as clearly
as may be. For details on Coronado's expedition see the following author-
., t
(\
DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
It was not necessary in those days that a country
should be discovered in order to be mapped; even
now we dogmatize most about what we know least.
It is a lonely sea indeed that cannot sport mermaids
and monsters; it were a pity to have so broad an ex-^
tent of land without a good wide sheet of water in it;
so the Conihas Regio cum Vicinis Gentibvs shows a
large lake, called Conibas, connecting by a very wide
CONIBAS REGIO
CVM-
VteifilS GENTIBVS
TOXSIS. BETQITVU
Map from Maqin, 1611.
river apparently with a northern sea. I give herewith
another map showing a lake large enough to swallow
ities, though comparatively few of them make mention of the adventures
of Captain Cdrdenas on the Colorado : Eamusio, Viaggi, iii. 359-63; Hak-
luyt's Voy., iii. 373-9; Mota-Padilla, Cong. H. Gal, iii. 14, 158-69; To7--
quemada, i. 609-10; Herrera, dec. vi. lib. ix. cap. xi.-xii. ; Beaumont, Hist.
Mich., MS., 407-22, 482-546, 624-5; Oviedo, iv. 19; Villagrd, Hist. JST.
Mex., 19 et seq.; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 272-4; Bemal Diaz, Hist. Verdad.,
235; Benzoni, Hist. Mundo Nuovo, 107; Rihas, Hist. Triumphos, 26-7; Vene-
gas. Not. Cal., i. 167-9; Clavigero, Storia Cal., 153; Alegre, Hist. Comp.
Jesus, i. 233-8; Salmeron, in Doc. Hist. Mex., 3d ser. pt. iv. 7-9; Noticias, in
Id., 671-2; Cavo, Tres Sighs, i. 127-9; Lorenzana, in Cortes, Hist. Mex.,
325. These might be followed by a long list of modern writers, for which I
will refer the reader to Hist. North Mexican States, this series.
FANCIFUL MAP-MAKING. 7
Utah and Idaho combined, and discharging its waters
by two great rivers into- the Pacific. This species of
geography was doubtless entirely satisfactory to the
wise men of this world until they came to know bet-
ter about it. If the reader will look over the chap-
ters on the Northern Mystery in my History of the
Map by John Hakkis, 1705.
Northwest Coast he may learn further of absurdities
in map-making.
A more extended and pronounced exploration was
that of two Franciscan friars, one the visitador comi-
8 DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
sario of New Mexico, Francisco Atanasio Dominguez,
and the other ministro doctrinero of Zuni, Silvestre
Velez de Escalante, who set out from Santa Fe July
29, 1776, for the purpose of discovering a direct route
to Monterey, on the seaboard of Alta California.
New Mexico had now been known nearly two and a
half centuries; the city of Santa Fe had been founded
over a century and a half, Monterey had been occu-
pied since 1770, and yet there had been opened no
direct route westward with the sea, communication
between Mexico and Santa Fe being by land, the
road following the Rio Grande. In his memorial of
March 1773, while in Mexico, Father Junipero Serra
had urged that two expeditions be made, one from
Sonora to California, which was carried out the fol-
lowing year by Captain Anza, and one from New
Mexico to the sea, which Dominguez and Escalante
now proposed to undertake. Again in 1775 Anza
made a similar journey, this time leaving at the junc-
tion of the Colorado and Gila Father Garces who
ascended the former stream to the Mojave . country,
whence crossing to Mission San Gabriel he proceeded
to the Tulare Valley. There he heard from the na-
tives of a great river coming in from the east or north-
east.^ Indeed it was long the prevailing opinion that
there existed such a stream in that vicinity. From
the Tulare country Garces returned to San Gabriel
and Mojave, and thence proceeded to the villages of
the Moquis. ^'rom this place he probably wrote to
Santa Fe concerning the rumor of this river; for all
through the journey of Dominguez and Escalante
they were in search of it.' »
''On Father Font's map, 1777, are laid down two rivers entering the region
of the Tulare lakes from the north-east, one the Bio de San Phelipe, and the
other called the Bio de que se Viene Noticia por el P. Garces. See Font's
Journal, MS.; Serra, Memorial, March 1773, MS.; Garces, Diario, 246-348;
Forbes' Hist. Cal, 157-62; Arch. Cal, Prov. Bee, MS., i. 47-8, vi. 59;
Palou, Not., ii. 281-2; Hist. Cal; Hist. New Mex.j Hist. North Mex. States,
this series.
^Probably it was the San Joaquin, or the Sacramento, of which they
heard. Concemiag a route from New Mexico to California Humboldt says:
' En consid6rant les voyages hardis des premiers conquerans espagnols au
DOMINGUEZ AND ESCALANTE. 9
The party consisted in all of nine persons. Besides
the two priests there were Juan Pedro Cisneros, al-
calde mayor of Zuni, Bernardo Miera y Pacheco, capi-
tan miliciano of Santa Fe, and five soldiers.* Having
implored divine protection, on the day before named
they took the road to Abiquiii, passed on to the Bio
Chama, and on the 5th of August reached a point
called Nieves, on the San Juan Biver, three leagues
below the junction of the Navajo. Thence they
passed down the north bank of the San Juan, cross-
ing the several branches, until on the 10th they found
themselves on a branch of the Mancos, some distance
from the San Juan, and beyond the line of the present
state of Colorado.^ The 12th they camped on the
north bank of the Bio Dolores, in latitude 38° 13',^ and
were there joined by two natives from Abiquiii, who
had deserted their homes to follow the expedition.^
They now followed the general course of the Do-
lores^ until the 23d, when they left the San Pedro,
which flows into the Dolores near La Sal, and crossed
Mexique, au P^rou, et sur la riviere des Amazones, on est 6towa6 de voir que
depuis denx sifecles cette meme nation n'a pas su trouver un chemin de terra
dans la Nouvelle-Espagne, depuis Taos au port de Monterey.' Essai Pol., i.
317.
* ' Don Joaquin Lain, vecino de la misma villa, Lorenzo Olivares de la
villa del Paso, Lucrecio Muniz, Andres Muiiiz, Juan de Aguilar y Simon
Lucero. ' Diario, in Doc. Hist. Mex. , ser. ii. torn. i. 378.
* At the beginning of the journey their route was identical with what was
later known as the old Spanish trail from Santa F6 to Los Angeles. Their
course was at first north-west, but shortly after passing Abiquiu it pointed
due north into Colorado, then west, and again north-west into Utah, being
about the same as was later called the old Spanish trail from Santa F6 to
Great Salt Lake. Captain J. N. Macomb of the topographical engineers has
surveyed and mapped essentially the same trail.
^ Probably not so far north by some 40'.
^ ' Esta tarde nos alcanzaron un coyote y un genlzaro de Abiquiii, nombradoa
el primero Felipe y el segundo Juan Domingo; por vagar entre los gentiles,
se huyeron sin permiso de sus superiores del dicho pueblo, pretestando querer
acompanamos. No necesitdbamos de ellos; mas por evitar las culpas, que 6
por su ignorancia 6 por su malicia podian cometer andando mas tiempo solos
entre los yutas, si intent^bamos que regresasen, los admitimos por companeros. '
Diario, Doc. Hist. Ilex., ser. ii. tom. i. 392.
* These streams are doubtless those emptying into the Colorado not far from
its junction with the Bunkara. Latitude 39° 13' is here given, but that must
be too high. Philip Harry, in Simpson''s Explor. , 490, says that np to the
point first touched on the Dolores the priests' path and Macomb's survey are
identical, but that they here diverge.
10
DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
over north-east to Rio San Francisco,^ and again to
the Rio San Javier^" on the 28th, their course being
for some distance east of north.
Not far from their path was a rancherfa of Yutas,
which the Spaniards visited, endeavoring to obtain
guides to the land of the Timpanogos, Timpangotzis,
or Lagunas, where they had been told to look for
Escalante's Route from Santa Fi to Utah Lake.
Pueblo towns. A Laguna guide was there, but the
Yutas did all in their power to dissuade the explorers
^ An affluent of the San Javier, or Grand River.
^^ Calle'l by the Yutas Tomiche; to-day Grand River. It may here be
observed that the route toward this region had been visited by Spaniards
before, notably by Juan Maria de Ribera in 1761, and Spanish names had
been given to places, though the present Utah was probably not entered by
him. Escalante states that the San Javier is formed by four small streams
coining in above the point at which he crossed, and these, says Harry, Simp-
KOHS Explor., 490, correspond 'remarkably with the Uncompagre River,
Grand River, Smith's Fork, and another large fork. . .It seems evident that
after crossing the San Xavier he follows up stream a different fork from what
we call Grand River, but which fork he calls the main river, or San Xavier. '
Gunnison maps liis explorations, showing the mouth of this last named
stream. In Simpson's Explor., 489, is given a map of the present expedition,
but it does not conform in every particular to Escalante's text.
I
ARRIVAL AT UTAH LAKE. 11
from proceeding, pretending ignorance of the country
and danger from the Comanches. But the 3d of Sep-
tember saw them again on their way. Pursuing a
north-west course, the second day they crossed and
camped on the north bank of the Rio San Rafael, or
Colorado," in latitude 41° 4'. Their course thence
was north-westerly, and on the 9th they crossed a
river called San Clemente,^^ flowing west. Signs of
buffaloes were abundant, and on the 11th they killed
one. Two days afterward they crossed the Rio de
San Buenaventura,^^ the boundary between the Yutas
and the Comanches, in latitude 41° 19', at a place
which the priests call Santa Cruz. Here were six large
black poplars, on one of which they left an inscription.
After resting two days they took the course of the
San Buenaventura south-west ten leagues, and from
a hill saw the junction of the San Clemente. Descend-
ing a little farther they found a river flowing in from
the west, following which they reached a branch the
17th, naming it the San Cosme.^*
From this point they proceeded westward, follow-
ing up the Uintah, across the Duchesne, and over the
mountains, with no small difficulty, to a river which
they called Purisima,^^ and which they followed till
on the 23d they came in sight of the lake which the
natives called Timpanogos, but which is known now
as Utah Lake.
Several reasons combined to bring the Spaniards
so far to the north of what would be a direct road
" Grand River; but the latitude given was about 1° 30' too high.
*^ White River, the point of crossing being near tlie Utah line.
" Green River. The latitude given is at least 50' too high. The crossing
was above the junctions of White River and the Uintah with Green River.
See Rep. Fr. Alonso de Posada, custodio de JSf. Mex., in Doc. Hist. Mex., i.
439.
" This is the north branch of the Uintah. Indeed the narrative of the
explorers makes their route in this vicinity unmistakable.
^^ Now the Timpanogos. ' Proseguimos al noroeste media legua, pasamos ^
la otra banda del rio, subimos una corta cuesta y divisamos la laguna y dila-
tado valle de Nuestra SeSora de la Merced de los Timpanogotzis — asi lo uom«
bramos desde aqui.' Diario, Doc. Hist. Mex., s6rie ii. torn. i. 454.
^p
I? DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
from Santa Fe to Monterey. First, Escalante enter-
tained a theory that a better route to the Pacific
could be found northward than toward the south.
Then there was always a fascination attending this
region, with its great and perpetual Northern Mys-
tery; perhaps the Arctic Ocean came down hereabout,
or at least an arm of the Anian Strait might be
found; nor were forgotten the rivers spoken of by
different persons on different occasions as flowing
hence into the Pacific. And last of all it may be
that the rumor of Pueblo villages in this quarter car-
ried the explorers further north than otherwise they
would have gone.
However this may have been, they were now of
opinion that they had penetrated far enough in a
northerly direction, and from this point must take a
southerly course. There were here no town-builders
like the Moquis and Zunis, as the priests had been
led to suppose, but there were wild Indians, and the
first they had seen in this vicinity. At first these
savages manifested fear, but when assured that the
strangers had not come to harm them, and were in no
way leagued with the dreaded Comanches, they wel-
comed them kindly and gave them food. They were
simple-minded and inoffensive, these native Yutas,
very ready to guide the travellers whithersoever they
would go; but they begged them to return and estab-
lish a mission in their midst; in token of which, and
of their desire to adopt the Christian faith, they gave
the priests a kind of hieroglyphic painting on deer-
skin.^^
^® The Spaniards asked from them some token to show that they wished
them to return, and the day after they brought them one ; ' pero al traer la
sena vio un companero, que no sabia el 6rden dado, A las figuras de ella, y
mostrdndole la cruz del rosario, les di6 d entender, que la piutasen sobre una
de las figuras, y entonces la volvieron d Uevar, y sobre cada una pintaron
una cruz pequeua ; lo demas qued6 como antes y nos la dieron diciendo que
la figura que por uno y otro lado tenia mas almagre, 6 como ellos decian,
sangre, representaba al capitan mayor, porque en las batallas con los cuman-
ches habia recibido mas heridas : las otras dos que no estaban tan ensangren-
tadas, & los otros dos capitanes inferiores al primero, y la que no tenia sangre
ninguna, & uno que no era capitan de guerra, pero era de autoridad entre
I
OBSERVATIONS ON THE COUNTRY.
13
Then the Spaniards talk of the country, and of the
people about them. They are in the valley and by
the lake of Nuestra Seiiora de la Merced de los Tim-
TiMPANOGOS Valley.
ellos. Estas cuatro figuras de hombres estaban rudamente pintadas con tierra
y aliTiEgre en un corto pedazo de gamuza.' Diario, Doc. Hist. Mex., s6rie ii.
torn. i. 462-3.
14 DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
panogos," and north of the river San Buenaventura are
the mountains which they have just crossed, extend-
ing north-edst and south-west some seventy leagues,
and having a width of forty leagues. From the sur-
rounding heights flow four rivers of medium size,
discharging their waters into the lake, where thrive
fish and wild fowl. The valley which surrounds this
lake extends from south-east to north-west sixteen
Spanish leagues; it is quite level, and has a width of
ten or twelve leagues. Except the marshes on the
lake borders the land is good for agriculture. Of the
four rivers which water the valley the southernmost,
which they call Aguas CaUentes, passes through rich
meadows capable of supporting two large towns.
The second, three leagues from the first, flowing
northerly, and which they call the San NicoMs, fer-
tilizes enough good land to support one large town
or two smaller ones. Before reaching the lake it
divides into two branches, on the banks of which
grow tall poplars and alders. The third river, which
is three and a half leagues to the north-east, and which
they call the San Antonio de Padua, carries more
water than the others, and from its rich banks, which
would easily support three large towns, spring groves
of larger trees. Santa Ana, they call the fourth
river, which is north-west of the San Antonio, and
not inferior to the others ^^ — so they are told, fox they
do not visit it. Besides these rivers, there ath, good
springs of water both on plain and mountairi-side;
pasture lands are abundant, and in parts the fertile
soil yields such quantities of flax and hemp that it
seems they must have been planted there by man.
On the San Buenaventura the Spaniards had been
^' Or, as it was also called, Timpagtzis, Timpanoautzis, 6 Come Pescado.
Doc. Hist. Mex., s6rie ii. torn. i. 464.
^^ There is no difficulty in recognizing these land-marks, the Uintah
Moiintains, the San Buenaventura, or Green River; and in the four streams
of the valley, their Aguas Calientes is Currant Creek; the second, their San
Nicolas, though more than three leagues from the first, and not correspond-
ing in every other particular, is the Spanish River; the San Antonio is the
Provo; and the Santa Ana, the River Jordan.
DELIGHTFUL CLIMATE. 15
troubled by the cold; but here the cHmate is so
deHghtful, the air so balmy, that it is a pleasure to
breathe it, by day and by night. In the vicinity are
other valleys equally delightful. Besides the jDro-
ducts of the lake the Yutas hunt hares, and gather
seeds from which they make atole. They might cap-
ture some buffaloes in the north-north-west but for
the troublesome Comanches,^^ They dwell in huts
of osier, of which, likewise, many of their utensils are
made; some of them wear clothes, the best of which
are of the skins of rabbits and antelopes. There are
in this region many people, of whom he who would
know more may consult the Native Races.
The Spaniards are further told by the Yutas of a
large and wonderful body of water toward the north-
west, and this is what Father Escalante reports of it.
"The other lake, with which this communicates," he
says, "occupies, as they told us, many leagues, and
its waters are injurious and extremely salt; because
the Timpanois^'' assure us that he who wets any part
of his body with this water, immediately feels an itch-
ing in the wet part. We were told that in the circuit
of this lake there live a numerous and quiet nation,
called Puaguampe, which means in our language Sor-
cerers; they speak the Comanche language, feed on
herbs, and drink from various fountains or springs of
good water which are about the lake; and they have
their little houses of grass and earth, which latter
forms the roof They are not, so they intimated,
enemies of those living on this lake, but since a certain
time when the people there approached and killed a
man, they do not consider them as neutral as before.
"This is directly opposite the direction in which we would expect to
find the Comanches of to-day; but the Utea applied the term comanche to all
hostile Indians. Buflfaloes were common in aboriginal times in Cache and
Powder River valleys as well as in eastern Oregon and Bois6 valley.
*" Yet another form for the name Timpanogos, as indeed before the end of
the following page we have 'Timpanosis,' 'Timpanogotzis,' and 'Timpanogo.'
See note 17 this chapter. On Froisett's map, published at Salt Lake City in
1875, is the ' Provo, or Timponayas ' river.
16 DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS.
On this occasion they entered by the last pass of the
Sierra Blanca de los Timpanogos, which is the same in
which they are, by a route north one fourth north-west,
and by that same way they say the Comanches make
their raids, which do not seem to be very frequent."'^
Continuing their journey the 26th of September
with two guides, the Spaniards bend their course
south-westwardlyin the direction of Monterey, through
the Sevier lake and river region, which stream they
call Santa Isabel. The 8th of October they are in
latitude 38° 3' with Beaver River behind them.
Passing on into what is now Escalante Valley they
question the natives regarding a route to the sea, and
as to their knowledge of Spaniards in that direction.
The savages know nothing of either. Meanwhile
winter is approaching, provisions are becoming low, the
way to the sea must be long and difficult; therefore
the friars resolve to abandon the attempt; they will
continue south, turning perhaps to the east until they
come to the Colorado, when they will return to Santa
¥6 by way of the Moqui and Zuni villages.
Some of the party object to this abandonment of
'^ As this is the first account we have of the Great Salt Lake and its people
I will give the original entire : ' La otra laguna con quien esta se comunica,
ocupa, segun nos informaron, muchas leguas y sus aguas son nocivas 6 estre-
madamente saladas ; porque nos aseguran los timpanois que el que se mojaba
alguna parte del cuerpo con ellas, al punto sentia mucha comenzon en la parte
niojada. En su circuito nos dijeron habita una nacion nunaerosa y quieta,
que se nombra Puaguampe, que en nuestro vulgar dice hechiceros ; la cual
usa el idionia cumanche ; se alimenta de las yervas, bebe de varias fuentes d
ojos de buena agua, que estdn en el circuito de la laguna, y tienen sus casitas
de zacate y tierra, que era el techo de ellas. No son enemigos de los lagunas,
segun insinuaron, pero desde cierta ocasion que se acercaron y les mataron un
honibre, no los tienen por tan neutx'ales como antes. En esta ocasion entraron
por la puerta iinal de la Sierra Blanca de los Timpanosis, que es la misma en
que estdn, por el norte cuarta al noroeste, y por aqui mismo dicen hacer sus
entradas los cumanches, las que no parecieron ser muy frecuentes. ' Diario,
Doc, Hist. Mex. , s6rie ii. torn. i. 468.
Mr Harry is evidently not very thoroughly versed in the Spanish lan-
guage, or his manuscript copy of Escalante's journey is defective. For exam-
ple he translates echizeros — which being old Spanish he could not find in his
modern dictionary — ' throwers or slingers ' when the word ' witches,' or rather
' sorcerers, ' is clearly implied. Again he queries vacate, not knowing its
meaning — a common enough Mexican word, formerly written zacate, and sig-
nifying hay or grass. For further inaccuracies see his summary in Simpson^s
Explor., 494. Warren, Pacific Railroad Report, xi. 35, examined the same
copy of Escalante's narrative, then in the Peter Force library, which was
used by Harry.
EETURN TO SANTA FE. 17
purpose. They have come far; they can surely find a
way: why turn back? To determine the matter prayers
are made and lots cast, the decision being against Mon-
terey. As they turn eastward, the llth, in latitude
36° 52', they are obliged to make bread of seeds pur-
chased from the natives, for their supplies are wholly
exhausted. Reaching the Colorado the 26th, twelve
days are passed in searching for a ford, which they
find at last in latitude 37°, the line dividing Utah
from Arizona. Their course is now south-east, and
the 16th of November they reach Oraybi, as they call
the residence of the Moquis. There they are kindly
received; but when for food and shelter they offer-
presents and religious instruction the natives refuse;
Next day the Spaniards visit Xongopabi, and the day
after Gualpi, at which latter place they call a meeting
and propose to the natives temporal and spiritual sub-
mission. The Moquis will be friendly they say, but
the further proposals they promptly decline. There-
upon the friars continue their way, reaching Zuni No-
vember 24th and Santa Fe the 2d of January 1777.^^
''^The journey into Utah of Domingnez and Escalante, as given in Poc.
Hist. Alex., s^rie ii. torn. i. 375-558, under title of Diario y der voter o de los R. B.
PP. Fr. Francisco Atanasio Dominguez y Fr. Silvestre Velez de Fscalante, para
descubrir el camino desde el Presidio de Santa F6 del Nuevo Mexico, al de Mon-
terey, en la California Septentrioyial, is full and clear as to route and informa-
tion regarding the country and its inhabitants. As must be expected in all
such narratives it is full of trivial detail which is tiresome, but which we can
readily excuse for the worth of the remainder. The priests were close and
intelligent observers, and have much to say regarding configuration, soil,
climate, plants, minerals, animals, and people. A summary is given in Simp-
son's Explor., app. R by Philip Harry, from a manuscript copy of the origi-
nal in the archives in the city of Mexico which answers the purpose therein
required, but is not sufficiently reliable or exact for historical purposes. The
map accompanying the summary is better, being for the most part correct.
Of the two padres and what they saw Humboldt says, Essal Pol.: 'Ce ter-
rain est la continuation de la Cordill^re des Grues, qui se prolonge vers la
Sierra Verde et vers le lac de Timpanogos, c6l6bre dans I'histoii-e mexicaine.
Le Rio S. Rafael et le Rio S. Xavier sont les sources principales du fieuve
Zaguananas, qui, avec le Rio de Nabajoa, forme le Rio Colorado: ce demir a
son embouchure dans le golfe de Califomie. Ces regions abondautes en sel
gemme out 6t6 examinees, en 1777, par deux voyageurs remplis de z6le et
d'intr^pidit^, moines de I'order de S. Francois, le pfere Escalante et le pere
Antonio Velez. ' From the last clause it is clear that Humboldt was confused
as to names, Velez and Escalante belonging to the same person. Simpson,
Explor., 13, enters upon a long dissertation over a simple and very transpar-
ent mistake. See also Hist. North Mex, Stages; Hist. New Mex.; and Hisi.
Cal., this series.
Hist. Utah. 2
CHAPTER II.
ADVENT OF TRAPPERS AND TRAVELLERS.
1778-1846.
Invasion by Fur Hunters — Baron la Hontan and his Fables — The Pop-
ular Geographic Idea — Discovert of the GtReat Salt Lake — James
Bridger Deciding a Bet — He Determines the Course of Bear River
and Comes upon the Great Lake — Henry, Ashley, Green, and
Beckwourth on the Ground — Fort Built at Utah Lake — Peter
Skeen Ogden — Journey of Jedediah S, Smith — A Strange Coun-
try — Pegleg Smith — Wolfskill, Yount, and Burton Traverse the
Country — Walker's Visit to California — Some Old Maps — The
Bartleson Company — Statements of Bidwell and Belden Com-
pared—Whitman AND LovEjoY — Fremont — Pacific Coast Immigra-
tions OF 1845 AND 1846 — Origin op the Name Utah.
Half a century passes, and we find United States
fur hunters standing on the border of the Great Salt
Lake, tasting its brackish waters, and wondering if
it is an arm of the sea.^
* There are those who soberly refer to the Baron la Hontan and his prodi-
gious falsehoods of 1689 for the first information of Great Salt Lake. Because
among the many fabulous wonders reported he somewhere on the western
side of the continent placed a body of bad-tasting water, Stansbury, Exped.,
151, does not hesitate to affirm 'that the existence of a large lake of salt water
somewhere amid the wilds west of the Rocky Mountains seems to have been
known vaguely as long as 150 years since.' Perhaps it was salt, and not silver
that the Winnebagoes reported to Carver, Travels, 33-6, as coming down in
caravans from ' the mountains lying near the heads of the Colorado River. '
Warren, in Pacific Railroad Report, xi. 34, repeats and refutes the La Hon-
tan myth. He says, * the story of La Hontan excited much speculation, and
received various additions in his day; and the lake finally became represented
on the published English maps.' Long before this date, however, reliable in-
formation had been received by the Spaniards, and the same may have come
to English trappers; so that by 1826 reports of the existence of such a sheet
may have reached civilization. It is needless to say that neither La Hontan
nor Carver ever received information from the natives, or elsewhere, sufficient
to justify map-makers in placing a large lake in that vicinity. In Gordon's
Historical and Geographical Memoir of the North American Continent, pub-
lished in Dublin in 1820, it is written: 'Concerning the lakes and rivers of
this as yet imperfectly explored region we have little to say. Of the former
(18)
DISCOVERY OF GREAT SALT LAKE.
19
First among these, confining ourselves to authentic
records, was James Bridger, to whom belongs the
honor of discovery. It happened in this wise. During
the winter of 1824-5 a party of trappers, who had
ascended the Missouri with Henry and Ashley, found
we have no certain account. Two have been noticed in the western parts, a
salt lake about the thirty-ninth degree of latitude, the western limits of
which are unknown, and the lake of Timpanogos, about the forty -first degree,
of great but unascertained extent. '
Map of Utah, 1826.
In a report submitted to congress May 15, 1826, by Mr Baylies it is stated
that ' many geographies have placed the Lake Timpanogos in latitude 40, but
they have obviously confounded it with the Lake Theguayo, which extends
from 39° 40' to 41°, and from which it appears separated by a neck or penin-
sula; the two lakes approaching in one direction as near as 20 miles.' 19th
Con}]., 1st Sess., Home Bept. No. 213. Such statements as this amount to
nothing— the honorable gentleman, with all due respect, not knowing what
he was writing about— except as going to show the vague and imperfect im-
pression of the popular mind concerning this region at that time.
I will give for what it is worth a claim, set up in this same cougrea-
3p ADVENT OF TEAPPEHS AND TRAVELLEES.
themselves on Bear River, in Cache, or Willow Val-
ley. A discussion arose as to the probable course
of Bear River, which flowed on both sides of them.
A wager was made, and Bridger sent to ascertain the
truth. Following the river through the mountains
the first view of the great lake fell upon him, and
when he went to the margin and tasted the water he
found that it was salt. Then he returned and re-
ported to his companions. All were interested to
know if there emptied into this sheet other streams,
on which they might find beavers, and if there was
an outlet; hence in the spring of 1826 four men ex-
plored the lake in skin boats.^
'"During this memorable year of 1825, when Peter
sional report, by one Samuel Adams Ruddock, that in the year 1821 he
journeyed from Council Bluff to Santa F6, and thence with a trading party
proceeded by way of Great Salt Lake to Oregon. The report says : ' On the
9th of June this party crossed the Rio del Norte, and pursuing a north-west
direction on the north bank of the river Chamas, and over the mountains,
reached Lake Trinidad; and then pursuing the same direction across the
upper branches of the Rio Colorado of California, reached Lake Timpanagos,
which is intersected by the 42d parallel of latitude, the boundary between
the United States of America and the United States of Mexico. This lake
is the principal source of the river Timpanagos, and the Multnomah of Lewis
and Clarke. They then followed the course of this river to its junction with
the Columbia, and reached the mouth of the Columbia on the first day of
August, completing the journey from the Council Bluffs in seventy-nine
days. '
^This, upon the testimony of Robert Campbell, Pac. R. Rept., xi. 35, who
was therejat the time 'and found the party just returned from the exploration
of the lake, and recollect their report that it was without any outlet. ' Bridger's
story of his discovery was corrroborated by Samuel TuUock in Campbell's
counting-room in St Louis at a later date. Campbell pronounces them both
'men of the strictest integrity and truthfulness.' Likewise Ogden's trappers
met Bridger's party in the summer of 1825 and were told of the discovery.
See Hist. Nevada, this series. Irving, Bonneville's Adv., 186, says it was
probably Sublette who sent out the four men in the skin canoe in 1826. Bonne-
ville professes to doubt this exploration because the men reported that they
suffered severely from thirst, when in fact several fine streams flow into the
lake; but Bonneville desired to attach to his name the honor of an early sur-
vey, and detract from those entitled to it. The trappers in their canoes did
not pretend to make a thorough survey, and as for scarcity of fresh water in
places Stansbury says, Exped., 103, that during his explorations he frequently
was obliged to send fifty miles for water. Other claimants appear prior to
Bridger's discovery. W. M. Anderson writing to the National Intelligencer
under date of Feb. 26, 1860, says that Provost trapped in this vicinity in
1820, and that Ashley was there before Bridger. Then it was said by Seth
Grant that his partner, Vazquez, discovered the great inland sea, calling it an
arm of the ocean because the water was salt. That no white man ever saw
the Great Salt Lake before Bridger cannot be proven; but his being the only
well authenticated account, history must rest there until it finds a better one.
DISCOVERY OF SALT LAKE BY BRIDGER.
FORT ASHLEY. 21
Skeen Ogden with his party of Hudson's Bay Com-
pany trappers was on Humboldt River, and James P.
Beckwourth was pursuing his daring adventures, and
the region round the great lakes of Utah first became
familiar to American trappers, William H. Ashley,
of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, at the head of
one hundred and twenty men and a train of well
packed horses, came out from St Louis, through the
South Pass and down by Great Salt Lake to Lake
Utah}' There he built a fort, and two years later
brought from St Louis a six-pounder which thereafter
graced its court. Ashley was a brave man, shrewd
and honest; he was prosperous and commanded the
respect of his men. Nor may we impute to him lack
of intelligence, or of common geographical knowledge,
when we find him seriously considering the project of
descending the Colorado in boats, by means of which
he would eventually reach St Louis. Mr Green, who
gave his name to Green River, had been with Ashley
the previous year; and now for three years after the
establishing of Fort Ashley at Utah Lake, Green with
his trappers occupied the country to the west and north. ^
' See Hist. Northwest Coast, ii. 447-8, this series. T. D. Bonner in Iiis
Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth, 71-3, gives what purports to be
an account of Ashley's descent of Green River to Great Salt Lake on a certain
occasion in Ashley's own language. There may be some truth in it all, though
Beckwourth is far astray in his dates, as he places the occurrence in 1S22.
Beckwourth goes on to say that one day in June a beautiful Indian girl
offered him a pair of moccasins if he would shoot for her an antelope and bring
her the brains, that with them she might dress a deer-skin. Beckwourth
started out, but failing to secure an antelope, and seeing as he supposed an
Indian coming, he thought he would shoot the Indian and take his brains to
the gu'l, who would not know the difference. Just as he was about to fire he
discovered the supposed Indian to be Ashley, who thereupon told him of his
adventures down Green River and through the canon to Great Salt Lake. I
have no doubt it is three fourths fiction, and what there is of fact must be
placed forward four years. 'We had a very dangerous passage down the
river,' said Ashley to Beckwourth, 'and suffered more than I ever wish to see
men suffer again. You are aware that we took but little provision with us,
not expecting that the canon extended so far. In passing over the rapids,
where we lost two boats and three guns, we made use of ropes in letting down
our boats over the most dangerous places. Our provisions soon gave out.
We found plenty of beaver in the canon for some miles, and, expecting to find
them in as great plenty all the way, we saved none of their carcasses, which
constituted our food. As we proceeded, however, they became more and
more scarce, until there were none to be seen, and we were entirely out of
provisions. To trace the river was impossible, and to ascend the perpendicu-
23 ADVENT OF TRAPPERS AXD TRAVELLERS.
From Great Salt Lake in August, 1826, Jedediah
S. Smith sets out on a trapping and exploring tour
with fifteen men. Proceeding southward he trav-
erses Utah Lake, called for a time Ashley Lake,^ and
after ascending Ashley River, which, as he remarks,
flows into the lake through the country of the Sam-
patches, he bends his course to the west of south, passes
over some mountains running south-east and north-
west, and crosses a river which he calls Adams,^ in
lar cliffs, which hemmed us in on either side, was equally impossible. Our
only alternative was to go ahead. After passing six days without food, the
men were weak and disheartened. I listened to all their murmurings and
heart-rending complaints. They often spoke of home and friends, declaring
they would never see them more. Some spoke of wives and children whom
they dearly loved, and who must shortly become widows and orphans. They
had toiled, they said, through every difficulty; had risked their lives among
wild beasts and hostile Indians in the wilderness, all of which they were will-
ing to undergo; but who could bear up against actual starvation? I en-
couraged them all in my power, telling them that I bore an equal part in their
sufferings; that I too was toiling for those I loved, and whom I yet hoped to
see again; that we should all endeavor to keep up our courage, and not add
to our misfortunes by giving way to despondency. Another night was passed
amid the barren rocks. The next morning the fearful proposition was made
by some of the party for the company to cast lots, to see which should be
sacrificed to afford food for the others, without which they must inevitably
perish. My feelings at such a proposition cannot be described. I begged
of them to wait one day more, and make all the way they could meanwhile.
By doing so, I said, we must come to a break in the canon, where we could
escape. They consented, and moving down the river as fast as the current
would carry us, to our inexpressible joy we found a break, and a camp of
trappers therein. All now rejoiced that they had not carried their fearful
proposition into effect. We had fallen into good hands, and slowly recruited
ourselves with the party, which was under the charge of one Provo, a man
with whom I was well acquainted. By his advice we left the river and "pro-
ceeded in a north-westerly direction. Provo was well provided with pro-
visions and horses, and he supplied us with both. We remained with his
party until we arrived at the Great Salt Lake. Here I fell in with a large
company of trappers, composed of Canadians and Iroquois Indians, under the
command of Peter Ogden, in the service of the Northwest Fur Company.
With this party I made a very good bargain, as you will see when they arrive
at our camp, having purchased all their peltry on very reasonable terms.'
* Jedediah Smith in 1826 calls the lake Utah, and the stream flowing into
it from the south Ashley River. ' Je traversal le petit lac UtS,, et je remon-
tai le cours de I'Ashley qu'il recoit. ' Extrait d'une lettre, in Nouvelles An. des
Voy., XXX vii. 208. For an account of this journey see Hist. Cal., this series,
where are fully discussed the several conflicting authorities. Warner^s Rem.,
MS., 21-9, dates the journey 1824, and carries the company from Green
River, south of Salt Lake, and over the mountains near Walker Pass.
Accounts in Croime's Nat. Wealth Cal; Hutchings' Mag., v. 351-2; S. F.
Times, Jwne 14, 1867; Randolph's Oratio7i, 313-U; Tuthill's Hist. Cal, 124-5;
Frignet, La Calif ornie, 58-60; Douglas' Private Papers, MS., 2d ser. i.;
Victor's River of the West, 34; Hines' Voy., 110, are mentioned.
° The Sevier; or possibly he crossed from the Sevier to the Virgen and
supposed them to be one stream.
SMITH AND WOLFSKILL. 23
honor of the president. After ten days' march, still in
a south-westerly direction, through the country of the
Pah Utes, he recrosses the same stream, and after
two days comes to the junction of the Adams with
what he calls the Seedskeeder, or Siskadee, river,^ a
stream full of shallows and rapids and flowing through
a sterile country. Then he reaches a fertile wooded
valley which belongs to the Amajabes, or Mojaves,
where the party rests fifteen days, meeting with the
kindest treatment from the natives, who provide food
and horses. Thence they are guided by two neo-
phytes westward through a desert country, and reach
the mission of San Gabriel in December, their ap-
pearance causing no small commotioij in California.
After many strange adventures, fully narrated in my
History of California, Smith works his way north-
ward up the San Joaquin Valley, and in May 1827
crosses the Sierra Nevada and returns eastward to
Great Salt Lake. With Jedediah Smith, during
some part of his stay in Utah, was Thomas L. Smith,
whom we must immortalize in history as Pegleg
Smith. He did not possess a very estimable charac-
ter, as, I am sorry to say, few of his class did in those
days. The leaders of American fur companies, how-
ever, were exceptions, and in points of intelligence,
integrity, and daring were in no wise behind their
British brethren.^.
From south-east to north-west a portion of Utah
was traversed in the autumn of 1830 by a trapping
party under William Wolfskill. The company was
fitted out in New Mexico, and the great valley of
California was their objective point. Wolfskill had
been a partner of Ewing Young, who was then in
California. Leaving Taos in September they struck
* The Adams now is clearly the Rio Virgen, and the Seedskeeder, or Sis-
kadee, the Colorado. See Hist. Northwest Coast, ii. 583, this series.
' P. W. Crawford, Nar., M.?., 27, says he saw Pegleg Smith in 1847
on Ham Fork, in a beautiful valley of the Bear River Mountains, where he
then lived with his native wife and a few savage retainers.
u
ADVENT OF TRAPPERS AND TRAVELLERS.
north-westerly, crossing the Colorado, Grande, Green,
and Sevier rivers, and then turned south to the Kio
Virgen, all the time trapping on the way. Then pass-
ing down by the Mojaves they reached Los Angeles
in February 1831. George C. Yount and Louis Bur
ton were of the party.^
'; Geeen River Country.
'^^ During the winter of 1832-3 B. L. E. Bonneville
made his canap on Salmon Biver, and in July following
was at the Green Biver rendezvous.^ Among the
several trapping parties sent by him in various direc-
^ There was little of importance to Utah history in this expedition, for full
particulars of which see Hist. CaL, this series.
^ For an account of Bonneville and his several excursions see Hist. Northwest
Coast, ii. chap, xxv.; JJist. CaL, and Hist. Nevada, this series.
WALKER'S EXPEDITION. 25
tlons was one under Joseph Walker, who with some
thirty-six men, among them Joe Meek, went to trap on
the streams falHng into the Great Salt Lake. ^^
Bonneville affirms that Walker's intention was to
pass round the Great Salt Lake and explore its bor-
ders ; but George Nidever who was of Walker's com-
pany, and at the rendezvous while preparations were
made, says nothing of such purpose, and it was prob-
ably not thought of by Bonneville until afterward.
Nidever had sulBfered severely from the cold during
the previous winter, and had come to the Green River
rendezvous that season for the express purpose of
joining some party for California or of forming such
a party himself, having been informed that the climate
there was milder than in the mountains where he had
been.-^°
If the intention was, as Bonneville asserts, that
this party should pass round the great lake, in their
endeavor they presently found themselves in the
midst of desolation, between wide sandy wastes and
broad brackish waters; and to quench their thirst
they hastened westward where bright snowy moun-
tains promised cooling streams. The Ogden Biver"
region being to them so new, and the thought of Cali-
fornia so fascinating, they permitted themselves to
stray from original intentions, and cross the Sierra
Nevada to Monterey. All that is known of their
doings before reaching the Snowy Bange is given in
my History of Nevada, and their exploits after reach-
ing California are fully narrated in that part of this
series devoted to the history of the latter country. ^^
*" Such being the case he would hardly have joined Walker's expedition
had it been understood that the exploration of Salt Lake was intended. See
Nidever^s Life and Adv., MS., 58.
" Previously called the Mary River, and now the Humboldt. See Hist.
Nevada; Hist. Northwest Coast; and Hist. Cal., this series.
^^See Nidever' 8 Life and Adv., MS.; Warner's Mem., in Pac. R. Report,
xi. pt. i. 31-4. In giving his dictation to Irving, Bonneville professed great
interest in the exploration of Great Salt Lake though he had done nothing to
speak of in that direction. Irving, however, humored the captain, whose
vanity prompted him to give his own name to the lake, although he had not
a shadow of title to that distinction.
ADVENT OF TRAPPERS AND TRAVELLERS.
In Winterbotham's history published in New York
in 1795 is given a map of North America showing an
enormous nameless inland sea above latitude 42° with
small streams running into it, and south of said par-
allel and east of the meridian of the inland sea is a
smaller body of water with quite a large stream flow-
ing in from the west, besides three smaller ones from
the south and north. As both of these bodies of
Bonneville's Map, 1837.
water were laid down from the imaginations of white
men, or from vague and traditionary reports of the
natives, it may be that only the one Great Salt Lake
was originally referred to, or it may be that the origi-
nal description was applied to two lakes or inland §eas.
The native village on one of the southern tributaries,
Taguayo, refers to the habitations of the Timpanogos,
and may have been derived from the Spaniards; but
more probably the information was obtained through
SOME OLD MAPS.
27
natives who themselves had received it from other
natives.
Utah and Nevada, 1795.
In the map of WilHam Rector, a surveyor in the
service of the general government, Utah has open
and easy communication with the sea by way of the
k
Rector's Map, 1818.
28 ADVENT OF TRAPPERS AND TRAVELLERS.
valley of the Willamette River, whose tributaries
drain the whole of Nevada and Utah.
Mr Finley in his map of North America claimed
to have included all the late geographical discoveries,
which claim we may readily allow, and also accredit
him with much not yet and never to be discovered.
The mountains are artistically placed, the streams
made to run with remarkable regularity and direct-
ness, and they are placed in positions affording the best
FiNLEY's Map, 1826.
facilities for commerce. The lakes and rivers Timpa-
nogos, Salado, and Buenaventura, by their position,
not to say existence, show the hopeless confusion of
the author's mind.
A brief glance at the later visits of white men to
Utah is all that is necessary in this place. The early
emigrants to Oregon did not touch this territory, and
those to California via Fort Bridger for the most part
merely passed through leaving no mark. The emi-
grants to Oregon and California in 1841 came together
by the usual route up the Platte, along the Sweet-
water, and through the South Pass to Bear River
Valley. When near Soda Springs those for Oregon
EMIGRANT ROUTES. 29
went north to Fort Hall, while those for California
followed Bear River southward until within ten miles
of Great Salt Lake, when they turned westward to
find Ogden River. Of the latter party were J. Bar-
tleson, C. M. Weber, Talbot H. Green, John Bid-
well, Josiah Belden, and twenty-seven others. Their
adventures while in Utah were not startling. Little
was known of the Salt Lake region,^^ particularly
of the country to the west of it.
Mr Belden in his Historical Statement, which I
number among my most valuable manuscripts, says:
" We struck Bear River some distance below where
the town of Evanston now is, where the coal mines
are, and the railroad passes, and followed the river
down. It makes a long bend to the north there,' and
comes down to Salt Lake. We arrived at Soda
Springs, on Bear River, and there we separated from
the company of missionaries, who-were going off
towards Snake River or Columbia. There we lost
the services of the guide Fitzpatrick. Several of our
party who had started to go with us to California
also left us there, having decided to go with the mis-
sionaries. Fitzpatrick advised us to give up our
expedition and go with them to Fort Hall, one of the
Hudson's Bay stations, as there was no road for us to
follow, nothing was known of the country, and we had
nothing to guide us, and so he advised us to give up
the California project. He thought it was doubtful
if we ever got there, we might get caught in the
snow of the mountains and perish there, and he con-
sidered it very hazardous to attempt it. Some four
or five of our party withdrew and went with the mis-
"' Previous to setting out,' says Bi dwell, California, I84I-8, MS., 24-5,
* I consulted maps so as to learn as much as possible about the country . . . A3
for Salt Lake, there was a large lake marked in that Region, but it was several
hundred miles long from north to south, with two large rivers running from
either end, diverging as they ran west, and entering the Pacific Ocean. ' It was
Finley's map of North America, 1826, herein reproduced, which he alludes
to. ' My friends in Missouri advised me to bring tools, and in case we could
not get through with our -wagons to build canoes and go down one of these
rivers. ' The region to the west of Salt Lake was indeed a terra incognita to
these explorers.
30 ADVENT OP TRAPPERS AND TRAVELLERS.
sionarles. About thirty-one of us adhered to our
original intention and dedined to give up our expedi-
tion."
While the party were slowly descending Bear River
four of them rode over to Fort Hall to obtain if pos-
sible a "pilot to conduct us to the gap in the Cali-
fornia Mountains, or at least to the head of Mg,ry's
River," and to make inquiries of Mr Grant, then in
charge. No guide could be found, and Grant was not
able greatly to enlighten them. The fur-trader could
have told them much concerning the route to Oregon,
but this way to California as an emigrant road-had
hardly yet been thought of.
"As we approached Salt Lake," writes Bidwell,"
"we were misled quite often by the mirage. The
country too was obscured by smoke. The water in
Bear River became too salt for use. The sage brush
on the small hillocks of the almost level plain became
so magnified as to look like trees. Hoping to find
water, and supposing these imaginary trees to be
growing on some stream, and knowing nothing about
the distance to Salt Lake, we kept pushing ahead
mile after mile. Our animals almost perished for
want of water while we were travelling over this salt
plain, w^hich grew softer and softer till our wagons
cut into the ground five or six inches, and it became
impossible to haul them. We still thought we saw
timber but a short distance ahead, when the fact
really was there was no timber, and we were driving
straight for the Great Salt Lake."
The truth is they had wandered from their course;
they had passed Cache Valley where they intended to
rest and hunt; they were frequently obliged to leave
^' California, 1841-8-^ MS., 33-4. The author, then little more than boy,
being but 21, has a long story to tell about straying from camp one day in
company with a comrade, James Jolin, bent on a visit to the adjacent heights
for a liandful of snow ; and how they slept in the mountains in a bear's nest, .
and reached next day their company, some of whom had spent the night in
search. They had been given up as slain by the Blackfeet; and there were
those so ungracious as to say that it would have served them right had it
been so.
I
NARRATIVES OF BIDWELL AND BELDEN. 31
the river, turned aside by the hills. It was past
mid-summer, and the sun's rays beat heavily on the
white salted plain. The signal fires of the Sho-
shones illuminated the hills at night. " In our des-
peration we turned north of east a little and struck
Bear River again a few miles from its mouth. The
water here was too salt to quench thirst; our ani-
mals would scarcely taste it, yet we had no other."
The green fresh-looking grass was stiffened with salt.
Mr Belden says: ** After separating from the mis-
sionaries we followed Bear River down nearly to
where it enters Salt Lake, about where Corinne is
now. We had some knowledge of the lake from some
of the trappers who had been there. We turned off
more to the west and went round the northerly end
of Salt Lake. There we found a great difficulty in
getting water for several days, all the water near the
lake being very brackish. We had to make it into
strong cofiee to drink it."
On the 20th of August the company rested while
two of their number went out to explore. They
found themselves encamped ten miles from the mouth
of the river. Thence next day, Sunday, they took a
north-west course, crossing their track of the Thursday
previous; on the 23d they were in full view of Salt
Lake. Men and animals were almost dying of thirst,
and " in our trouble," says Bidwell, " we turned di-
rectly north toward some high mountains, and in the
afternoon of the next day found springs of good water
and plenty of grass." This was the 27th, and here the
company remained while two of their number again
advanced and discovered a route to Ogden River.
What befell them further on their way across to the
mountains the reader will find in my History oj
Nevada}^
'^The expedition entire is given in Hist. Cat., this series. See also Bel-
derCs Hist. Statement, MS.; Hopper's Narrative, MS.; Taylor's Dis. and
Founders, i. No. 7; Sutter Co. Hist., 17; S. F. Bulletin, July 27, 1868; S. F.
Aha, Aug. 5, 1856, and Sept. 1868; Santa Cruz Sentinel, Aug. 29, 1868;io.s^n-
geles News, Sept. 1, 1868; San Diego Union, Jan. 16, 1869; San Jose Pioneer,
k
32 ADVENT OF TRAPPERS AND TRAVELLERS.
In 1842 Marcus Whitman and A. L. Lovejoy, on
their way from Oregon to the United States, passed
through Utah from Fort Hall, by way of Uintah,
Taos, and Santa Fe. For further information con-
cerning them, and the object of their journey, I would
refer the reader to my History of Oregon.
In 1843 John C. Fremont followed the emigrant
trail through the south pass, and on the 6th of Sep-
tember stood upon an elevated peninsula on the east
side of Great Salt Lake, a little north of Weber
River, beside which stream his party had encamped
the previous night. Fremont likens himself to Bal-
boa discovering the Pacific; but no one else would
think of doing so. He was in no sense a discoverer;
and though he says he was the first to embark on
that inland sea, he is again in error, trappers in skin
boats having performed that feat while the pathfinder
was still studying his arithmetic, as I have before
mentioned. It is certainly a pleasing sight to any
one, coming upon it from either side, from the cover
of rolling mountains or the sands of desert plains, and
under almost any circumstance the heart of the
beholder is stirred within him. A number of large
islands raised their rocky front out of dense sullen
waters whose limit the eye could not reach, while
myriads of wild fowl beat the air, making a noise
'' like distant thunder."
Black clouds gathered in the west, and soon were
pouring their floods upon the explorers. Camping
some distance above the mouth on Weber Biver, they
made a corral for the animals, and threw up a small
fort for their own protection. Provisions being scarce,
seven of the party under Fran§ois Lajeunesse were
sent to Fort Hall, which place they reached with
Feb. 1877; ShucVs Scrap Book, 182-4; Petaluma Crescent, Sept. 10, 1872;
Santa Clara News, Feb. 6, 1869; Hayes' Scrap Books, CaL Notes, iiL 171;
Napa Reporter, March 23, Sept. 21, " 1872; S. F. Bulletin, July 19, 1860;
Shuck'd Hep. Men, 920-1.
FEfiMONT'S EXPEDITIONS. 33
difficulty, after separation from each other and several
days' wanderings.
Leaving three men in camp, with four others, in-
cluding Kit Carson who was present, Fremont on the
8th embarked in a rubber boat and dropped down to
the mouth of the stream, which the party found shal-
low and unnavigable. Next morning they were out
on the lake, fearful every moment lest their air-blown
boat should collapse and let them into the saline but
beautiful transparent liquid. At noon they reached one
of the low near islands and landed. They found there,
washed up by the waves, a dark brown bank, ten
or twenty feet in breadth, composed of the skins of
worms, about the size of oats, while the rocky cliffs
were whitened by incrustations of salt. . Ascending
to the highest point attainable they took a surround-
ing view, and called the place Disappointment Island,^*
because they had failed to find the fertile lands and
game hoped for. Then they descended to the edge
of the water, constructed lodges of drift-wood, built
fires, and spent the night there, returning next day
in a rough sea to their mainland camp. Thence they
proceeded north to Bear River, and Fort Hall, and
on to Oregon.^^ On his return by way of Klamath
and Pyramid lakes, Fremont crossed the Sierra to
Sutter Fort, proceeded up the San Joaquin into
Southern California, and taking the old Spanish trail
to the Kio Virgen followed the Wahsatch Mountains
to Utah Lake.
There was a party under Fremont in Utah also in
1845. Leaving Bent Fort in August they ascended
the Arkansas, passed on to Green Biver, followed
its left bank to the Duchesne branch, and thence
crossed to the head-waters of the Timpanogos, down
which stream they went to Utah Lake. Thence
" Now Castle Island, or as some call it Fremont Island.
" For an account of Fremont's Oregon adventures see Hist. Oregon; and
for his doings in California see Hist. Cal., this series. We also meet with
him again in our History of Nevada.
Hist. Utah. 3
^ ADVENT OF TRAPPERS AND TRAVELLERS.
they passed on to Great Salt Lake, made camp near
where Great Salt Lake City is situated, crossed to
Antelope Island, and examined the southern portion
of the lake. After this they passed by way of Pilot
Peak into Nevada. ^^
Of the six companies comprising the California im-
migration of 1845, numbering in all about one hun-
dred and fifty, five touched either Utah or Nevada,
the other being from Oregon. But even these it is
not necessary to follow in this connection, Utah along
the emigrant road being by this time well known to
travellers and others. With some it was a question
while on the way whether they should go to Or-
egon or California. Tustin, who came from Illinois in
1845, with his wife and child and an ox team, says
in his manuscript Recollections: '*My intention all
the way across the plains was to go on to Oregon;
but when I reached the summit of the Kocky Moun-
tains where the trail divides, I threw my lash across
the near ox and struck off on the road to Califor-
nia."
For the Oregon and California emigrations of 1846,
except when they exercised some influence on Utah,
or Utah affairs, I would refer the reader to the vol-^
umes of this series treating on those states. An
account of the exploration for a route from southern
Oregon, over the Cascade Mountains, and by way of
Klamath and Goose lakes to the Humboldt River,
and thence on to the region of the Great Salt Lake
by Scott and the Applegates in 1846, is given in
both the History of Oregon, and the History of Ne-
vada, to which volumes of this series the reader is
referred. ^^
^* Fremont's Erpl. Ex., \Z\-^0. Warner m.Pac. R. Rep., p.. ^%-^,
"The word Utah origiHated with the people inhatitiug that region..
Early in the 17th century, when New Mexico was first much talked of by the
Spaniards, the principal nations of frequent mention as inhabiting the several
sides of the locality about that time occupied were the Navajos, the Yutas,
the Apaches, and the Comanches. Of the Utah nation, which belongs to the
Shoshone family, there were many tribes. See Native Races, i. 422, 463-8,
I
THE WORD UTAH. 35
this series. There were the Pah Utes, or Pyutes, the Pi Edes, the Gosh
Utes, or Goshutes, the Uinta Utes, the Yam Pah Utes, and many others.
Pah signifies water; pah guampe, salt water, or salt lake; Pah Utes, Indiana
that live about the water. The early orthography of the word Utah is varied.
Escalante, prior to his journey to Utah Lake, Carta de 28 Oct. 1775, MS.,
finds the ' Yutas ' inhabiting the region north of the Moquis. This was a
common spelling by the early Spaniards, and might be called the proper one.
Later we have ' Youta,' ' Eutaw,' ' Utaw,' and ' Utah.'
CHAPTER III.
THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
1820-1830.
A Glance Eastward — The Middle States Sixty Years Ago — Birth and
Parentage of Joseph Smith — Spiritual Manifestations — Joseph
Tells his Vision— And is Reviled — Moroni Appears — Persecutions
— Copying the Plates — Martin Harris — Oliver Cowdery — Transla-
tion — The Book of Mormon — Aaronic Priesthood Conferred — Con-
versions — The Whitmer Family — The Witnesses — Spaulding
Theory — Printing of the Book — Melchisedec Priesthood Con-
ferred — Duties of Elders and Others — Church of Latter-day
Saints Organized — First Miracle — First Conference — Oliver Cow-
dery Ordered to the West.
Let us turn now to the east, where have been evolv-
ing these several years a new phase of society and a
new religion, destined presently to enter in and take
possession of this far-away primeval wilderness. For
it is not alone by the power of things material that
the land of the Yutas is to be subdued; that mysteri-
ous agency, working under pressure of high enthusi-
asm in the souls of men, defying exposure, cold, and
hunger, defying ignominy, death, and the destruction
of all corporeal things in the hope of heaven's favors
and a happy immortality, a puissance whose very
breath of life is persecution, and whose highest glory
is martyrdom — it is through this subtile and incom-
prehensible spiritual instrumentality, rather than from
a desire for riches or any tangible advantage that the
new Israel is to arise, the new exodus to be conducted,
the new Canaan to be attained.
Sixty years ago western New York was essentially
a new country, Ohio and Illinois were for the most
(86)
QUALITY OF MATERIAL. 37
part a wilderness, and Missouri was the United States
limit, the lands beyond being held by the aborigines.
There were some settlements between Lake Erie and
the Mississippi River, but they were recent and rude,
and the region was less civilized than savage. The
people, though practically shrew^d and of bright intel-
lect, were ignorant; though having within them the
elements of wealth, they were poor. There was among
them much true religion, whatever that may be, yet
they were all superstitious — baptists, methodists, and
presbyterians; there was little to choose between
them. Each sect was an abomination to the others;
the others were of the devil, doomed to eternal tor-
ments, and deservedly so. The bible was accepted
literally by all, every word of it, prophecies, miracles,
and revelations; the same God and the same Christ
satisfied all; an infidel was a thing woful and unclean.
All the people reasoned. How they racked their
brains in secret, and poured forth loud logic in public,
not over problems involving intellectual liberty, human
rights and reason, and other like insignificant matters
appertaining to this world, but concerning the world
to come, and more particularly such momentous ques-
tions as election, justification, baptism, and infant
damnation. Then of signs and seasons, God's ways
and Satan's ways; 'likewise concerning promises and
prayer, and all the rest, there was a credulity most re-
freshing. In the old time there were prophets and
apostles, there were visions and miracles; why should
it not be so during these latter da3'^s? It was time
for Christ to come again, time for the millennial
season, and should the power of the almighty be
limited? There was the arch-fanatic Miller, and his
followers, predicting the end and planning accordingly.
"The idea that revelation from God was unattainable
in this age, or that the ancient gifts of the gospel had
ceased forever, never entered my head," writes a young
quaker; and a methodist of that epoch says: *' We be-
lieved in the gathering of Israel, and in the restoration
S8 THE STORY OP MORMONISM.
of the ten tribes; we believed that Jesus would come
to reign personally on the earth; we believed that
there ought to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pas-
tors, and teachers, as in former days, and that the
gifts of healing and the power of God ought to be as-
sociated with the church." These ideas, of course,
were not held by all; in many respects the strictly
orthodox evangelical churches taught the contrary;
but there was enough of this literal interpretation and
license of thought among the people to enable them
to accept in all honesty and sincerity any doctrine in
harmony with these views.
Such were the people and the place, such the at-
mosphere and conditions under which was to spring up
the ge.rm of a new theocracy, destined in its develop-
ment to accomplish the first settlement of Utah — a
people and an atmosphere already sufficiently charged,
one would think, with doctrines and dogmas, with vul-
gar folly and stupid fanaticism, with unchristian hate
and disputation over the commands of God and the
charity of Christ. All this must be taken into ac-
count in estimating character, and in passing judg-
ment on credulity; men of one time and place cannot
with justice be measured by the standard of other
times and places.
Before entering upon the history of Mormonism, I
would here remark, as I have before said in the pref-
ace to this volume, that it is my purpose to treat the
subject historically, not as a social, political, or relig-
ious partisan, but historically to deal with the sect
organized under the name of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints as I would deal with
any other body of people, thus carrying over Utah
the same quality of work which I have applied to my
entire field, whether in Alaska, California, or Central
America. Whatever they may be, howsoever right-
eous or wicked, they are entitled at the hand of those
desirous of knowing the truth to a dispassionate and
I
METHOD OF TREATMENT. W
respectful hearing, which they have never had. As
a matter of course, where there is such warmth of
feehng, such bitterness and animosity as is here dis-
played on both sides, we must expect to encounter in
our evidence much exaggeration, and many untruth-
ful statements. Most that has been written on either
side is partisan — bitterly so; many of the books that
have been published are full of vile and licentious
abuse — disgustingly so. Some of the more palpable
lies, some of the grosser scurrility and more blas-
phemous vulgarity, I shall omit altogether.
Again, the history of the Mormons, which is the
early history of Utah, is entitled in its treatment to
this consideration, as diflPering from that of other sec-
tions of my work, and to this only — that whereas in
speaking of other and older sects, as of the catholics
in Mexico and California, and of the methodists and
presbyterians in Oregon, whose tenets having long
been established, are well known, and have no imme-
diate bearing aside from the general influence of re-
ligion upon the subjugation of the country, any anal-
ysis of doctrines would be out of place, such analysis
in the present instance is of primary importance. Or-
dinarily, I say, as I have said before, that with the
religious beliefs of the settlers on new lands, or of the
builders of empire in any of its several phases, social
and political, the historian has nothing to do, except
in so far as belief influences actions and events. As
to attempting to determine the truth or falsity of any
creed, it is wholly outside of his province.
Since the settlement of Utah grew immediately out
of the persecution of the Mormons, and since their
persecutions grew out of the doctrines which they pro-
mulgated, it seems to me essential that the origin and
nature of their religion should be given. And as they
are supposed to know better than others what they
believe and how they came so to believe, I shall let
them tell their own story of the rise and progress of
their religion, carrying along with it the commenta-
i
40 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
ries of their opponents; that is, giving in the text
the narrative proper, and in the notes further informa-
tion, elucidation, and counter-statements, according to
my custom. All this by no means implies, here or
elsewhere in my work, that when a Mormon elder, a
catholic priest, or a baptist preacher says he had a
vision, felt within him some supernatural influence, or
said a prayer which produced a certain result, it is
proper or relevant for me to stop and dispute with
him whether he really did see, feel, or experience as
alleged.
As to the material facts connected with the story
of Mormonism, there is but little difference between
the Mormons and their opposers; but in the reception
and interpretation of acts and incidents, particularly
in the acceptation of miraculous assertions and spirit-
ual manifestations, they are as widely apart as the two
poles, as my text and notes clearly demonstrate. And
finally, I would have it clearly understood that it is
my purpose, here as elsewhere in all my historical
efforts, to impart information rather than attempt to
solve problems.
In Sharon, Windsor county, Vermont, on the 23d
of December, 1805, was born Joseph Smith junior,
presently to be called translator, revelator, seer,
prophet, and founder of a latter-day dispensation.
When the boy was ten years old, his father, who was
a farmer, moved with his family to Palmyra, Wayne
county, New York, and four years afterward took up
his abode some six miles south, at Manchester, On-
tario county. Six sons and three daughters com-
prised the family of Joseph and Lucy Smith, namely,
Alvin, Hyrum, Joseph junior, Samuel Harrison, Will-
iam, Don Carlos, Sophronia, Catharine, and Lucy.^
^ Much has been said by the enemies of Mormonism against the Smith
family. 'All who became intimate with them during this period [1820 to
1830] unite in representing the general character of old Joseph and wife,
the parents of the pretended prophet, as lazy, indolent, ignorant, and super-
THE VISION. 41
There was much excitement over the subject of re-
ligion in this section at the time, with no small dis-
cussion of doctrines, methodist, baptist, and the rest;
and about a year later, the mother and four of the
children joined the presbyterians.
But young Joseph was not satisfied with any of the
current theologies, and he was greatly troubled what
to do. Reading his bible one day, he came upon the
passage, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of
God." He retired to the woods and threw himself
upon his knees. It was his first attempt at prayer.
While thus engaged a vision fell upon him. Sud-
denly he was seized by some supernatural power of
evil import, which bound him body and soul. He
could not think; he could not speak; thick darkness
gathered round. Presently there appeared above his
head a pillar of light, which slowly descended and
enveloped him. Immediately he was delivered from
the enemy; and in the sky he saw two bright person-
ages, one of whom said, pointing to the other, " This
is my beloved son; hear him." Then he asked what
he should do; to which sect he should unite himself.
stitious, having a firm belief in ghosts and witches; the telling of fortunes;
pretending to believe that the earth was filled with hidden treasures, buried
there by Kid or the Spaniards. Being miserably poor, and not much dis-
posed to obtain an honest livelihood by labor, the energies of their minds
seemed to be mostly directed toward finding where these treasures were con-
cealed, and the best mode of acquiring their possession.' Howe's Mormonism
Unveiled, 11. In the towns of Palmyra and Manchester, in 1833, documents
defamatory to the family were circulated for signature, one receiving 1 1 and
another 51 names. Given with signatures in Howe's Mormonism Unveiled,
261-2, and in Kidder's Mormonism, 20-1. See also Olshausen, Gesch. d,
Morm., 9-14, 103-10, 200-1; Gazette of Utah, 1874, 17; Tucker's Origin and
Prog. Mor., 11-20. In one of these documents, signed and sworn to by Peter
Ingersoll, he said that the Smith family employed most of their time in gold-
digging. At one time Joseph Smith senior told Ingersoll to hold a mineral
rod iu his hand, a piece of witch-hazel, and selected a place to stand where
he was to whisper directions to the rod; Smith stood apart, throwing himself
into various shapes, but was unable to produce the desired effect. Again he
took a stone that Ingersoll had picked up and exclaimed that it was invalu-
able; looking at it earnestly, he said it revealed to him chests of gold and
silver at the back of his house; and putting it into his hat, threw himself
into various attitudes, and soon appeared exhausted; then in a faint voice,
said, ' If you only knew what I had seen you would believe. ' Some time be-
fore Joseph's discovery of the gold plates, the elder Smith told Ingersoll
that a book had been found in Canada in a hollow tree which treated of the
discover^y of this continent
42 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
And he was told to join none of them, that all were
corrupt, all were abomination in the eyes of the Lord.
When he came to himself he was still gazing earnestly
up into heaven. This was in the spring of 1820, and
Joseph was yet scarcely fifteen.
When the young prophet began to proclaim his
vision, the wise men and preachers of the several sects
laughed at him; called him a silly boy, and told him
that if his mind had really been disturbed, it was the
devil's doing. " Signs and revelations," said they,
"are of by-gone times; it ill befits one so young to
lie before God and in the presence of his people."
"Nevertheless," replied Joseph, "I have had a vision."
Then they reviled him, and the boy became disheart-
ened and was entangled again in the vanities of the
world, under the heavy hand of their oppression.
But the spirit of the Lord could not thus be
quenched. The young man repented, and sought and
found forgiveness. Retiring to his bed, midst prayer
and supplication, on the night of September 21, 1823,
presently the room grew light, arid a figure robed in
exceeding whiteness stood by the bedside, the feet
not touching the floor. And a voice was heard, say-
ing, " I am Moroni, and am come to you, Joseph, as a
messenger from God." Then the angel told the youth
that the Lord had for him a great work to do, that his
name should be known to all people, and of him should
be spoken both good and evil. He told him of a book
written on plates of gold, and containing an account
of the early inhabitants of this continent, and the
gospel as delivered to them by Christ. He said that
deposited with those plates were two stones in silver
bows, which, fastened to a breastplate, constituted the
Urim and Thummim; and that now as in ancient times
the possession and use of the stones constituted a seer,
and that through them the book might be translated.
After offering many scriptural quotations from both
the old and the new testament, and charging the young
man that when the book and the breastplate were de-
THE PLATES. 48
livered to him he should show them to no one, under
pain of death and destruction — the place where the
plates were deposited meanwhile being clearly re-
vealed to his mental vision — the lio^ht in the room
grew dim, as Moroni ascended along a pathway of
glory into heaven, and finally darkness was there as
before. The visit was made three times, the last
ending with the dawn, when Joseph arose greatly ex-
hausted and went into the field to work.
His father, observing his condition, sent him home ;
but on the way Joseph fell in a state of unconscious-
ness to the ground. Soon, however, the voice of
Moroni was heard, commanding him to return to his
father, and tell him all that he had seen and heard.
The young man obeyed. The father answered that
it was of God; the son should do as the messenger
had said. Then Joseph, knowing from the vision
where the plates were hidden, went to the west
side of a hill, called the hill Cumorah, near the town
of Manchester, and beneath a large stone, part of
whose top appeared above the ground, in a stone
box,*^ he found the plates,^ the urim and thum-
' Oliver Cowdery stated that he visited the spot, and that 'at the bottom
of this [hole] lay a stone of suitable size, the upper surface being smooth.
At each edge was placed a large quantity of cement, and into this cement at
the four edges of this stone were placed erect four others, their lower edges
resting in the cement at the outer edges of the first stone. The four last
named when placed erect formed a box, the comers, or where the edges of
the four came in contact, were also cemented so firmly that the moisture
from without was prevented from entering. It is to be observed also that
the inner surfaces of the four erect or side stones were smooth. The box
was sufficiently large to admit a breastplate. From the bottom of the box
or from the breastplate arose three small pillars, composed of the same de-
scription of cement as that used on the edges; and upon these three pQlara
were placed the records. The box containing the records was covered with
another stone, the lower surface being flat and the upper crowning.' Machaxfa
The, Mormons, 20.
'Orson Pratt thus describes the plates, Visiom, 14: 'These records were
engraved on plates, which had the appearance of gold. Each plate was not
far from seven bjr eight inclaes in width and length, being not quite as thick
as common tin. They were fiUed'on both sides with engravings in Egyptian
characters, and bound together in a volume, as the leaves of a book, and fast-
ened at one edge with three rings running through the whole. This volume
was about six inches in thickness, and a part of it was sealed. The char-
acters or letters upon the unsealed part were small and beautifully engraved.
The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction, as well
4# THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
mim,* and the breastplate.^ But when he was about to
take them out Moroni stood beside him and said, "Not
yet ; meet me here at this time each year for four years,
and I will tell you what to do." Joseph obeyed.
The elder Smith was poor, and the boys were some-
times oblig-ed to hire themselves out as laborers. It
was on the 22d of September, 1823, that the plates
were found. The following year Alvin died, and in
October 1825 Joseph went to work for Josiah Stoal,
in Chenango county. This man had what he sup-
posed to be a silver mine at Harmony, Pennsylvania,
said to have been once worked by Spaniards. Thither
Joseph went with the other men to dig for silver,*
as much skill in the art of engraving.' In the introduction to the Booh of Mor-
mon (New York ed.), viii., is given essentially the same description. See
also Bonwick's Mormons and Silver Mines, 61; Bertrand, Mem. d'un Mor., 25;
Olshausen, Gesch. d. Morm., 12-29; Stenhouse, Les Mormons, i.-vii. ; Ferris^
Utah and The Mormons, 58; Mackay's The Mormons, 15-22; Smucker^s Hist.
Mormons, 18-28. For fac-simile of writing on golden plates, see Beadle's
Life in Utah, 25. For illustrations of the hill, finding the plates, etc., see
Mackay's The Mormons, 15; Smzicker's Hist. Mormons, 24; Tucker's Origin
and Prog. Mor., frontispiece. When sceptics ask, Why are not the plates
forthcoming? believers ask in turn, Why are not forthcoming the stone tables
of Moses? And yet the ten commandments are to-day accepted.
* 'With the book were found the urim and thummim, two transparent
crystals set in the rims of a bow. These pebbles were the seer's instru-
ment whereby the mystery of hidden things was to be revealed ! ' Intro-
duction to Book of Mormon (New York ed. ), viii. ' The best attainable defi-
nition of the ancient urim and thummim is quite vague and indistinct. An
accepted biblical lexicographer gives the meaning as "light and perfection,"
or the "shining and the perfect." The following is quoted from BuUerworth's
Concordance: "There are various conjectures about the urim and thummim,
whether they were the stones in the high-priest's breastplate, or something
distinct from them; which it is not worth our while to inquire into, since
God has left it a secret. It is evident that the urim and thummim were
appointed to inquire of God by, on momentous occasions, and continued in
use, as some think, only till the building of Solomon's temple, and all con-
clude that this was never restored after its destruction.'" Tucker's Origin and
Prog. Mor., 32.
* ' A breastplate such as was used by the ancients to defend the chest
from the arrows and weapons of their enemy. ' Mackay's The Mormons, 20.
^ ' Hence arose the very prevalent story of my having been a money digger. '
Hist. Joseph Smith, in Times and Seasons, May 2, 1842. It seems from this,
or some other cause, that the followers of Smith have never regarded mining
with favor, although some of them at times have engaged in that occupation.
Upon the discovery of gold in California, the Mormons were among the first
in the field, at Coloma, at Mormon Bar, and elsewhere. Left there a little
longer, they would soon have gathered barrels of the precious dust; but
promptly upon the call they dropped their tools, abandoned their brilliant
prospects, and crossing the Sierra, began to build homes among their people
in the untenanted desert.
I
JOSEPH'S MARRIAGE. 45
boarding at the house of Isaac Hale. After a month's
fruitless effort Steal was induced by Joseph to aban-
don the undertaking; but meanwhile the youth had
fallen in love with Hale's pretty daughter, Emma,
and wished to marry her. Hale objected, owing to
his continued assertions that he had seen visions, and
the resulting persecutions; so Joseph took Emma to
the house of Squire Tarbill, at South Bainbridge,
where they were married the 18th of January, 1827,
and thence returned to his father's farm, where he
worked during the following season.'^
Every year went Joseph to the hill Cumorah to
hold communion with the heavenly messenger, and on
the 22d of September, 1827, Moroni delivered to him
the plates,® and the urim and thummim with which
to translate them, charging him on pain of dire dis-
'' Among the many charges of wrong-doing ascribed to Smith from first to
last, was that of having stolen Hale's daughter. In answer it is said that
the young woman was of age, and had the right to marry whom and as she
chose.
^ ' When the appointed hour came, the prophet, assuming his practised
air of mystery, took in hand his money-digging spade and a large napkin,
and went off in silence and alone in the solitude of the forest, and after an
absence of some three hours, returned, apparently with his sacred charge con-
cealed within the folds of the napkin. Reminding the (Smith) family of the
original "command" as revealed to him, strict injunction of non-intervention
and non-inspection was given to them, under the same terrible penalty as be-
fore denounced for its violation. Conflicting stories were afterwards told in
regard to the manner of keeping the book in concealment and safety, which
are not worth repeating, further than to mention that the first place of secre-
tion was said to be under a heavy hearthstone in the Smith family mansion.
Smith told a frightful story of the display of celestial pyrotechnics on the ex-
posure to his view of the sacred book — the angel who had led him to the dis-
covery again appearing as his guide and protector, and confronting ten thou-
sand devils gathered there, with their menacing sulphurous flame and smoke,
to deter him from his purpose ! This story was repeated and magnified by
the believers, and no doubt aided the experiment upon superstitious minds
which eventuated so successfully.' Tucker^s Orig. and Prog. Mor., 30-31.
'A great variety of contradictory stories were related by the Smith family
before they had any fixed plan of operation, respecting the finding of the
plates from which their book was translated. One is, that after the plates
were taken from their hiding-place by Jo, he again laid them down, looked
into the hole, where he saw a toad, which immediately transformed itself into
a spirit and gave him a tremendous blow. Another is, that after he had got
the plates, a spirit assaulted him with the intention of getting them from his
possession, and actually jerked them out of his hands. Jo, nothing daunted,
seized them again, and started to run, when his Satanic majesty, or the spirit,
applied his foot to the prophet's seat of honor which raised three or four feet
from the ground.' Hoioe's Mormonism Unveiled, 275-6. The excavation
was at the time said to be 160 feet in extent, though that is probably an ex-
48 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
aster to guard them well until he should call for
them. Persecutions increased when it was known
that Joseph had in his possession the plates of gold,
and every art that Satan could devise or put in force
through the agency of wicked men was employed to
aggeration. It had a substantial door of two-inch plank, and a secure lock.
Lapse of time and other causes have almost effaced its existence. Tucker's
Orirjin and Prog. Mor., 48. 'In 1843, near Kinderhook, Illinois, in exca-
vating a large mound, six brass plates were discovered of a bell-shape four
inches in length and covered with ancient characters. They were fastened
together with two iron wires almost entirely corroded, and were found
along with charcoal, ashes, and human bones, more than twelve feet below
the surface of a mound oif the sugar-loaf form, common in the Mississippi
Valley. Large trees growing upon these artificial mounds attest their great
antiquity. . .No key has yet been discovered for the interpretation of the
engravings upon these brass plates, or of the strange gylphs upon the
ruins of Otolum in Mexico.' Daniel Wedderbum, in Popular Science Monthly,
Dec. 1876; see also Times and Seasons, iv. 186-7, and engraved cuts in Tay-
lor's Discussioiis, and in Mackay's The Mormons, 26-7. On the authority of
Kidder, Mormonism, 23-6, Willard Chase, a carpenter, said: 'In the fore
part of September (I believe) 1827, the prophet requested me to make him a
chest, informing me that he ddsigned to move back to Pennsylvania, and ex-
pecting soon to get his gold book, he wanted a chest to lock it up, giving me
to understand, at the same time, that if I would make the chest he would
give me a share in the book. I told him my business was such that I could
not make it; but if he would bring the book to me, I would lock it up for
him. He said that would not do, as he was commanded to keep it two years
without letting it come to the eye of any one but himself. This command-
ment, however, he did not keep, for in less than two years twelve men said
they had seen it. I told him to get it and convince me of its existence, and
I would make him a chest; but he said that would not do; as he must have a
chest to lock the book in as soon as he took it out of the ground. I saw him
a fews days after, when he told me I must make the chest. I told him plainly
that I could not, upon which he told me that I could have no share in the book.
A few weeks after this conversation he came to my house and related the
following story: That on the 22d of September he arose early in the morning
and took a one-horse wagon of some one that had stayed over night at their
house, without leave or license; and, together with his wife, repaired to the
hill which contained the book. He left his wife in the wagon, by the road,
and went alone to the hill, a distance of thirty or forty rods from the road;
he said he then took the book out of the ground and hid it in a tree-top and
returned home. He then went to the town of Macedon to work. After
about ten days, it having been suggested that some one had got his book, his
wife went after him; he hired a horse, and went home in the afternoon, stayed
long enough to drink one cup of tea, and then went for his book, found it
safe, took off his frock, wrapt it round it, put it under his arm, and ran all
the way home, a distance of about two miles. He said he should think it
would weigh sixty pounds, and was sure it would weigh forty. On his return
home he said he was attacked by two men in the woods, and knocked them
both down and made his escape, arrived safe, and secured his treasure. He
then observed that if it had not been for that stone (which he acknowledged
belonged to me) he would not have obtained the book. A few days after-
ward he told one of my neighbors that he had not got any such book, and
never had; but that he told the story to deceive the damned fool (meaning
me), to get him to make a chest.' Others give other accounts, but it seema
to me not worth while to follow them further.
MARTIN HARRIS. 4|
wrest them from him. But almighty power and wis-
dom prevailed, and the sacred relics were safely kept
till the day the messenger called for them, when they
were delivered into his hands, Joseph meanwhile hav-
ing accomplished by them all that was required of
him.
And now so fierce becomes the fiery malevolence of
the enemy that Joseph is obliged to fly.^ He is very
poor, having absolutely nothing, until a farmer named
Martin Harris has pity on him and gives him fifty
dollars,^" with which he is enabled to go with his wife
to her old home in Pennsylvania." Immediately after
his arrival there in December, he begins copying the
"Soon the news of his discoveries spread abroad throughout all those
parts. . .The house was frequently beset by mobs and evil-designing persons.
Several times he was shot at, and very narrowly escaped. Every device was
used to get the plates away from him. And^being continually in danger of
his life from a gang of abandoned wretches, He at length concluded to leave
the place, and go to Pennsylvania; and accordingly packed up his goods,
putting the plates into a barrel of beans, and proceeded upon his journey.
He had not gone far before he was overtaken by an officer with a search-war-
rant, who flattered himself with the idea that he should surely obtain the
plates; after searching very diligently, he was sadly disappointed at not find-
ing them. Mr Smith then drove on, but before he got to his journey's end
he was again overtaken by an officer on the same business, and after ransack-
ing the wagon very carefully, he went his way as much chagrined as the first
at not being able to discover the object of his research. Without any fur-
ther molestation, he pursued his journey until he came to the northern part
of Pennsylvania, near the Susquehanna River, in which part his father-in-
law resided.' PraWs Visions, 15.
^^ ' In the neighborhood (of Smith's old home) there lived a farmer possessed
of some money and more credulity. Every wind »of doctrine afiected him.
He had been in turn a quaker, a Wesleyan, a baptist, a presbyterian. Hia
heterogeneous and unsettled views admirably qualified him for discipleship
where novelty was paramount, and concrete things were invested with the
enchantment of mystery. He was enraptured with the young prophet, and
oflfered him fifty dollars to aid in the publication of his new bible.' l^aylder's
Mormons, xxviii.-ix,
" 'Soon after Smith's arrival at Harmony, Isaac Hale (Smith's father-in-
law) heard he had brought a wonderful box of plates with him. Hale "was
shown a box in which it is said they were contained, which had to all ap-
pearances been used as a glass box of the common window-glass. I was
allowed to feel the weight of the box, and they gave me to understand that
the book of plates was then in the box — into which, however, I was not al-
lowed to look. I inquired of Joseph Smith, Jr., who was to be the first who
would be allowed to see the book of plates. He said it was a young child.
After this I became dissatisfied, and informed him that if there was any-
thing in my house of that description, which I could not be allowed to see,
he must take it away; if he did not, I was determined to see it. After that
the plates were said to be hid in the woods.'" Howe's Mormonism Unveiled^
264.
^ THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
characters on the plates, Martin Harris coming to his
assistance, and by means of the urim and thummim
manag-es to translate some of them, which work is
continued till February 1828. Harris' wife is ex-
ceedingly curious about the matter, and finally obtains
possession through her husband of a portion of the
manuscript/^ About this time Harris takes a copy
*^ Martin Harris 'says he -wTote a considerable part of the book as Smith
dictated; and at one time the presence of the Lord was so great that a screen
was hung up between him and the prophet; at other times the propliet would
sit in a different room, or up stairs, while the Lord was communicating to him
the contents of the plates. He does not pretend that he ever saw the won-
derful plates but once, although he and Smith were engasfed for months in
deciphering their contents.' Mormonism Unveiled, 14. 'Harris rendered
Smith valuable assistance by transcribing for him, since he could not wi-ite
himself. Poor Martin was unfortunately gifted with a troublesome wife. Her
inquisitive and domineering nature made him dread unpleasant results from
his present engagement. His manuscript had reached IIG pages, and he
therefore begged permission to read it to her ' ' with the hope that it might
have a salutary effect upon her feelings. " His request was at length granted;
but through carelessness or perfidy, while in his house, the precious docu-
ment was irrecoverably lost. Joseph suffered greatly in consequence of this
hinderance, but more from the anger of heaven which was manifested against
him. As soon as possible, he resumed his task, having secured the services
of another scribe, Oliver Cowdery, a school-master in the neighborhood.
Martin Harris, earnest as he was, had never yet been favored with a sight of
the golden plates. He had not attained to sufficient purity of mind; but a
copy of a small portion of their contents was placed in his hands, and this he
was told he might show to any scholar in the world, if he wished to be sat-
isfied. Accordingly he started for New York, sought Professor Anthon
(Charles Anthon, LL. D. , then adjunct professor of ancient languages in Colum-
bia College), and requested his opinion.' Taylder's Mormons, xxxviii.-ix.
'She (Harris's wife) contrived in her husband's sleep to steal from him the
particular source of her disturbance, and burned the manuscript to ashes.
For years she kept this incendiarism a profound secret to herself, even until
after the book was published. Smith and Harris held her accountable for the
theft, but supposed she had handed the manuscript to some "evil-designing
persons," to be used somehow in injuring their cause. A feud was thus pro-
duced between husband and wife which was never reconciled. Great con-
sternation now pervaded the Mormon circles. The reappearance of the myste-
rious stranger (who had before visited the Smiths) was again the subject of
inquiry and conjecture by observers, from whom was withheld all explanation
of his identity or purpose. It was not at first an easy task to convince the
prophet of the entire innocency of his trusted friend Harris in the matter of
this calamitous event, though mutual confidence and friendship were ultimately
restored.' Tucker's Orig. and Prog. Mor., 46. Of this lost manuscript Smith
afterward wrote: ' Some time after Mr Harris had begun to write for me he
began to tease me to give him liberty to carry the writings home and show
them, and desired of me that I would inquire of the Lord through the urim
and thummim if he might not do so. * To two inquiries the reply was no, but
a third application resulted in permission being granted under certain re-
strictions, which were, that Harris might sliow the papers to his brother,
his wife, her sister, his father and mother, and to no one else. Accordingly
Smith required Harris to bind himself in a covenant to him in the most
solemn manner that he would not do otherwise than had been directed. * He
I
WORK OF TRANSLATION. 49
of some of the characters to New York city, where
he submits them to the examination of Professor
Anthon and Dr Mitchell, who pronounce them to
be Egyptian, Syriac, Chaldaic, and Arabic. ^^ Then
did so,' says Smith. 'He bound himself as I required ol him, took the
writings, and went his way. Notwithstanding ... he did show them to others,
and by stratagem they got them away from him. ' Smith, in I'imes and Sea-
sons, iii. 7S5-(i.
1* In a letter to E. D. Howe, printed in his book, and in the introduction
to the New York edition of the Book of Mormon, Prof. Anthon, among other
statements, denies that he ever gave a certificate. The letter reads as follows :
' New York, February 17, 1834.
' Dear Sir: I received your letter of the 9th, and lose no time in making
a reply. The whole story about my pronouncing the Mormon inscription to
be reformed Egyptian hierogj^lphics is perfectly false. Some years ago, a
plain, apparently simple-hearted farmer called on me with a note from Dr
Mitchell, of our city, now dead, requesting me to decipher, if possible, the
paper which the farmer would hand me. Upon examining the paper in ques-
tion, I soon came to the conclusion that it was all a trick — perhaps a hoax.
When I asked the person who brought it how he obtained the MTiting, he gave
me the following account: A gold book consisting of a number of plates, fast-
ened together by wires of the same material, had been dug up in the northern
part of the state of New York, and along with it an enormous pair of specta-
cles. These spectacles were so large that if any person attempted to look
through them, his two eyes would look through one glass only, the spectacles
in question being altogether too large for the human face. " Whoever," he
said, " examined the plates through the glasses was enabled not only to read
them, but fully to understand their meaning." All this knowledge, however
was confined to a young man, who had the trunk containing the book and specta-
cles in his sole possession. This young man was placed behind a curtain in a
garret in a farm-house, and being thus concealed from view, he put on the
spectacles occasionally, or rather looked tlirough one of the glasses, deciphered
the characters in the book, and having committed some of them to paper,
handed copies from behind the curtain to those who stood outside. Not a
word was said about their being deciphered by the gift of God. Everything
in this way was effected by the large pair of spectacles. The farmer added
that he had been requested to contribute a sum of money toward the publica-
tion of the golden book, the contents of which would, as he was told, produce
an entire change in the world, and save it from ruin. So urgent had been
these solicitations, that he intended selling his farm and giving the amount to
those who wished to publish the plates. As a last precautionary step, he had
resolved to come to New York, and obtain the opinion of the learned about
the meaning of the paper which he brought with him, and which had been
given him as part of the contents of the book, although no translation had at
that time been made by the young man with spectacles. On hearing this odd
story, I changed my opinion about the paper, and instead of viewing it any
longer as a hoax, I began to regard it as part of a scheme to cheat the farmer
of his money, and I communicated my suspicions to him, warning him to be-
ware of rogues. He requested an opinion from me in writing, which, of
course, I declined to give, and he then took his leave, taking his paper with
him. TMs paper in question was, in fact, a singular scroll. It consisted of
all kinds of singular characters disposed in columns, and had evidently been
prepared by some person who had before him at the time a book containing
various alphabets, Ureek and Hebrew letters, crosses and flourishes; Roman
letters inverted or placed sideways were arranged and placed in perpendicular
columns, and the whole ended in a rude delineation of a circle, divided into
HiBT. Utah, i
50 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
Joseph buys of his wife's father a small farm and goes
to work on it. In February 1829 he receives a visit
from his own father, at which time a revelation comes
to Joseph Smith senior, through the son, calling him
to faith and good works. The month following Mar-
tin Harris asks for and receives a revelation, by the
mouth of the latter, regarding the plates, wherein the
said Harris is told that Joseph has in his possession
the plates which he claims to have, that they were
delivered to him by the Lord God, who likewise gave
him power to translate them, and that he, Harris,
should bear witness of the same. Three months
later, Harris having meanwhile acted as his scribe,
Joseph is commanded to rest for a season in his work
of translating until directed to take it up again.
various compartments, arched with various strange marks, and evidently
copied after the Mexican calendar given by Humboldt, but copied in such a
way as not to betray the source whence it was derived. I am thus particular as
to the contents of the paper, inasmuch as I have frequently conversed with
friends on the subject since the Mormon excitement began, and well remem-
ber that the paper contained anything else but Egyptian iiieroglyphics. Some
time after, the farmer paid me a second visit. He brought with him the gold
book in print, and offered it to me for sale. I declined purchasing. He then
asked permission to leave the book with me for examination. I declined re-
ceiving it, although his manner was strangely urgent. I adverted once more
to the roguery which, in my opinion, had been practised upon him, and asked
him what had become of the gold plates. He informed me they were in a
trunk with the spectacles. I advised him to go to a magistrate and have the
trunk examined. He said the curse of God would come upon him if he did.
On my pressing him, however, to go to a magistrate, he told me he would
open the trunk if I would take the curse of God upon myself. I replied I
would do so with the greatest willingness, and would incur every risk of that
nature, provided I could only extricate him from the grasp of the rogues. He
then left me. I have given you a full statement of all that I know respecting
the origin of Mormonism, and must beg of you, as a personal favor, to publish
this letter immediately, should you find my name mentioned again by these
wretched fanatics. Yours respectfully, 'Charles Anthon.'
It is but fair to state that Smith never claimed that the characters were
the ordinary Greek or Hebrew, but were what he called Reformed Egyptian.
Harris says: ' He gave me a certificate which I took and put into my pocket,
and was just leaving the house when Mr Anthon called me back, and asked
me how the young man found out that there were gold plates in the place
where he found them. I answered that an angel of God had revealed it unto
him. He then said imto me, Let me see that certificate. I accordingly took
it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it to pieces,
saying that there was no such thing now as ministering of angels, and that if
I would bring the plates to him he would translate them. I informed him
that part of the plates were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them;
he replied, "I cannot read a sealed book." I left him and went to Dr Mit-
chell, who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the ^
characters and the translation. ' Pearl of Great Price, xiii. 54.
BOOK OF MORMON. 51
The tenor of the book of Mormon^* is in this wise:
Following the confusion of tongues at the tower of
Babel, the peoples of the earth were scattered abroad,
one colony being led by the Lord across the ocean to
America. Fifteen hundred years after, or six hundred
years before Christ, they were destroyed for their
wickedness. Of the original number was Jared,
among whose descendants was the prophet Ether,
who was their historian. Ether lived to witness the
extinction of his nation, and under divine direction he
deposited his history in a locality where it was found
by a second colony, Israelites of the tribe of Joseph,
who came from Jerusalem about the time of the de-
struction of the first colony, namely, six hundred
years before Christ. Thus was America repeopled;
the second colony occupied the site of the first, mul-
tiplied and became rich, and in time divided into two
nations, the Nephites and the Lamanites, so called
from their respective founders, Nephi and Laman.
The former advanced in civilization, but the Laman-
ites lapsed into barbarism, and were the immediate
progenitors of the American aboriginals.
The Nephites were the beloved of the Lord. To
them were given visions and angels' visits; to them
the Christ appeared with gifts of gospel and prophecy.
It was, indeed, the golden age of a favored people;
but in a time of temptation, some three or four cen-
turies after Christ, they fell, and were destroyed by
^* ' The word " Mormon," the name given to his book, is the English termi-
nation of the Greek word mormoo, which we find defined in an old, obsolete
dictionary to mean bugbear, hobgoblin, raw bead, and bloody bones.' Howe's
Mormonism Unveiled, 21. 'The word "Mormon" is neither Greek nor de-
rived from the Greek, but from the "reformed Egyptian."' BeWs Reply to
Theobald, 2. In Times and Seasons, Mr Smith writes as follows with regard
to the meaning of the word ' Mormon : ' ' We say from the Saxon, good; the
Dane, god; the Goth, goda; the German, gut; the Dutch, goed; the Latin,
bonus; the G^eek, halos; the Hebrew, tob; and the Egyptian, mon. Hence,
with the addition of more, or the contraction mor, we have the word "Mor-
mon," which means, literally raorg good.^ 'Joseph Smith, annoyed at the
profane wit which could derive the word "Mormon " from the Greek mormo, a
bugbear, wrote an epistle on the subject, concluding with an elaborate display
of his philological talent, such as he was accustomed to make on every pos-
sible occasion.' Taylder'a Mormon's Own Book, xxxiv., xxxv.
I
52 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
the wicked Lamanites. The greatest prophet of the
Nephites, in the period of their declension, was Mor-
mon, their historian, who after having completed his
abridgment of the records of his nation, committed it
to his son Moroni, and he, that they might not fall
into the hands of the Lamanites, deposited them in
the liill of Cumorah, where they were found by Joseph
Smith.
On the 5th of April, 1829, there comes to Joseph
Smith a school-teacher, Oliver Cowdery by name,
to whom the Lord had revealed himself at the house
of the elder Smith, where the teacher had been
boarding. Inquiring of the Lord, Joseph is told that
to Oliver shall be given the same power to translate
the book of Mormon,^® by which term the writing on
" The Booh of Mormon; an account written hy 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, who are a remnant oj
the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile; written by way of command-
ment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. Written and sealed
up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they mifjht not be destroyed; to come forth
by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof; sealed by the hand
of Moroni, 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 Jar&d; who ivere
scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people vjhen they
were building a tower to get to heaven; lohich is to shew 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 unto all nations. And now if there are
faidts, they are the inistakes of men; wherefore condemn not the things of God,
that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ. By Joseph Smith,
Jim., Author and Proprietor. (Printed by E. B. Grandin, for the author,
Palmyra, New York, 1830.) Several editions followed. This first edition
has 583 pages, and is prefaced among other things by an account of 117
pages, which Mrs Harris burned. This preface is omitted in subsequent
editions. The testimony of three witnesses, and also of eight witnesses
which in subsequent editions is placed at the beginning, is here at the end.
The testimony of witnesses alSrms that the signers saw the plates and the
engravings thereon, having been shown them by an angel from heaven; they
knew of the translation, that it had been done by the gift and power of God,
and was therefore true. The book was reprinted at Nauvoo, at New York,
at Salt Lake City, and in Europe. An edition printed by Jas 0. Wright &
Co., evidently by way of speculation, contains eight pages of introduction,
and an advertisement asserting that it is a reprint from the third American
edition, and that the work was originally published at Nauvoo, which latter
statement is incorrect. The publishers further claim that at the time of this
printing, 1848, the book was out of print, notwithstanding the several pre-
BOOK OF MORMON. 53
ceding editions. The edition at present in common use was printed at Salt
Lake City, at the Deseret Xews office, and entered according to act of con-
gress in 1879, by Joseph F. Smith. It is divided into chapters and verses,
with references by Orson Pratt, senior. The aiTangement is as follows:
The first book of Nephi, his reign and ministry, 22 chapters; the second
book of Nephi, 33 chapters; the book of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, 7 chap-
ters; the book of Enos, 1 chapter; the book of Jarom, 1 chapter; the book
of Omni, 1 chapter; the words of Mormon, 1 chapter; the book of Mosiah,
29 chapters; the book of Alma, the son of Alma, 63 chapters; the book of
Helaman, 16 chapters; the book of Nephi, the son of Nephi, who was the
son of Helaman, 30 chapters; the book of Nephi, who is the son of Nephi,
one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, 1 chapter; book of Mormon, 9 chapters;
book of Ether, 15 chapters; the book of Moroni, 10 chapters. In all 239
chapters.
I give herewith the contents of the several books. The style, like that of
the revelations, is biblical.
' First Book of Nephi. Language of the record; Nephi's abridgment;
Lehi's dream; Lehi departs into the wilderness; Nephi slay eth 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 bi'oken off; Nephi's
vision of Mary; of the crucifixion of Christ; of 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 breaks his bow; directors work by faith; Ishmael died; Lehi and Nephi
threatened; Nephi commanded to build a ship; Nephi about to be worshipped
by his brethren; ship finished and entered; dancing in the ship; Nephi bound;
ship driven back; arrived on the promised land; plates of ore made; Zenos,
Neum, and Zenock; Isaiah's writing; holy one of Israel.
'Second Book of Nephi. Lehi to his sons; opposition in all things; Adam
fell that man might be; Joseph saw our day; a choice seer; writings grow to-
gether; prophet promised to the Lamanites; Joseph's prophecy on brass
plates; Lehi buried; Nephi's life sought; Nephi separated from Laman; tem-
ple built; skin of blackness; priests, etc., consecrated; make other plates;
Isaiah's words by Jacob; angels to a devil; spirits and bodies reunited; bap-
tism; no kings upon this land; Isaiah prophesieth; rod of the stem of Jesse;
seed of Joseph perisheth not; law of Moses kept; Christ shall shew 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 uf) 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 commences among all people; lamb of God baptized; baptism by
water and holy ghost.
'Book of Jacob. Nephi anointeth a king; Nephi dies; Nephites and
Lamanites; a righteous branch from Joseph; Lamanites shall scourge you;
more than one wife forbidden; trees, waves, and mountains obey us; Jews
look 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 weeps; branches overcome the roots; wild branches
plucked off; Sherem, the anti-Christ; a sign, Sherera 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 wax strong; Lamanites drink blood;
fortify cities; plates delivered to Omni.
L' The Book of Omni. Plates given to Amaron; plates given to Chemish;
54 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
Mosiah warned to flee; Zarahemia discovered; engravings on a stone; Cori-
antumr discovered; his parents come from the tower; plates delivered to
King Benjamin.
' The words of Mormon. False Christs and prophets.
' Book of Mosiah. Mosiah made king; 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., bomid and imprisoned; Limhi's procla-
mation; 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
l)rison and scourged with fagots; waters of Mormon; the daughters of the
Lamanites stolen by King Noah's priests; records on plates of ore; last trib-
ute of wine; Lamanites' deep sleep; King Limhi baptized; priests and teach-
ers labor; Alma saw an angel; Alma fell (dumb); King Mosiah's sons preach
to the Lamanites; translation of records; plates delivered by Limhi; trans-
lated 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;
Zeesrom the lawyer; Zeesrom trembles; election spoken of; Melchizedek
priesthood; Zeesrom stoned; records burned; prison rent; Zeesrom 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., deliv-
ered; Jerusalem built; preaching in Jerusalem; Lamoni's father converted;
land desolation and bountiful; anti-Nephi-Lehies; general council; swords
buried; 1,005 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 Zoramites; 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; twenty-four plates; Gazelem, a stone (secret); Liahona, or com-
pass; Alma to Shiblon; Alma to Corianton; unpardonable sin; resurrection;
restoration; justice in punishment; if, Adam, took, tree, life; mercy rob jus-
tice; ^Moroni's stratagem; slaughter of Lamanites; Moroni's speech to Zera-
hemnah; prophecy of a soldier; Lamanites' covenant of peace; Alma's proph-
ecy 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 ap-
pointed judge; army against king-men; Amalickiah slain; Ammoron made
king; Bountiful fortified; dissensions; 2,000 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 2, 000 fainted; prisoners rebel, slain; Mantitaken by stratagem; Moroni
to the governor; governor's answer; King Pachus slain; cords and ladders
prepared; Nephihah taken; Teancum's stratagem, slain; peace established;
MoronUiah made commander; Helaman died; sacred things, Shiblon; Moroni
died; 5,400 emigrated north; ships built by Hagoth; sacred things committed
to Helaman; Shiblon died.
'The Book of Helaman. Pahoran died; Pahoran appointed judge; Kish-
kuraen slays Pahoran; Pacumeni appointed judge; Zarahamia taken; Pacu-
BOOK OF MORMON. 55
meni killed; Coriantumr slain; Lamanites surrendered; Helaman appointed
judge; secret signs discovered and Kishkumen stabbed; Gadianton fled; em-
igration 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; 8,000 baptized; Al-
ma and Nephi surrounded with fire; angels administer; Cezoram and son
murdered; Gadianton robbers; Gadianton robbers destroyed; Nephi's proph-
ecy; Gadianton robbers are judges; chief judge slain; Sean turn detected; keys
of the kingdom; Nephi taken away by the spirit; famine in the land; Gla-
dian ton band destroyed; famine removed; Samuel's prophecy; tools lost; two
days and a night, light; sign of the crucifixion; Samuel stoned, etc. ; angels
appeared.
'Third Book of Nephi. Lachoneus chief judge; Nephi receives the records;
Nephi's strange departure; no darkness at night; Lamanites become white;
Giddianhi to Lachoneus; Gidgiddoni chief judge; Giddianhi slain; Zemna-
rihah hanged; robbers surrendered; Mormon abridges the records; church
begins to be broken up; government of the land destroyed; chief judge mur-
dered; divided into tribes; Nephi raises the dead; sign of the crucifixion;
cities destroyed, earthquakes, darkness, etc.; law of Moses fulfilled; Christ
appears 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 Gentiles; Gentile wickedness on the land of Joseph;
Isaiah's words fulfilled; Jesus heals the sick; Christ blesses children; little
ones encircled with fire; Christ administers the sacrament; Christ teaches
his disciples; names of the twelve; the twelve teach the multitude; baptism,
holy ghost, and fire; disciples made white; 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 commence
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 appears again; Moses,
church; three Nephitea tarry; the twelve caught up; change upon their
bodies.
' Book of Nephi, son of Nephi. Disciples raise the dead; Zarahemia re-
built; other disciples are ordained in their stead; Nephi dies; Amos keeps the
records in his stead; Amos dies, and his son Amos keeps the records; prisons
rent by the three; secret combinations; Ammaron hides the 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 takes the records hidden in Shim; Mor-
mon repents of his oath and takes command; coming forth of records; records
hid in Cumorah; 230,000 Nepliites 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 cries unto the Lord;
Jared goes down to the valley of Nimrod; Deseret, honey-bee; barges built;
decree of God, choice land; free from bondage; four years in tents at Morian-
cumer; Lord talks three hours; barges like a dish; eight vessels, sixteen
stones; Lord touches the stones; finger of the Lord seen; Jared 's brother sees
the Lord; two stones given; stones sealed up; goes aboard of vessels; furious
wind blows; 344 days' passage; Orihah anointed king; King Shule taken cap-
tive; Shule's sons slay Noah; Jared carries his father away captive; the
daughters of Jared dance; Jared anointed king by the hand of wickedness;
Jared murdered and Akish reigns in his stead; names of animals; poisonous
serpents; Riplakish's cruel reign; Morianton anointed king; poisonous ser-
pents destroyed; many wicked kings; Moroni on faith; miracles by faith;
Moroni sees Jesus; New Jerusalen spoken of; Ether cast out; records finished
56 THE STORY OP MORMONISM.
in the cavity of a rock; secret combinations; war in all the land; King Gilead
murdered by his high priest; the high priest murdered by Lib; Lib slain by
Coriantumr; dead bodies cover the land and none to bury them; 2,000,000
men slam; hill Ramah; cries rend the air; sleep on their swords; Corian-
tumr slays Shiz; Shiz falls to the earth; records hidden by Ether.
'Book of Moroni. Christ's words to the twelve; manner of ordination;
order of sacrament; order of baptism; faith, hope and charity; baptism sf lit-
tle children; women fed on their husbands' flesh; daughters murdered and
eaten; sufferings of women and cMldren; cannot recommend them to God;
Moroni to the Lamanites; 420 years since the sign; records sealed up (Moroni);
gifts of the spirits; God's word shall hiss forth.'
From a manuscript furnished at my request by Franklin D. Richards, en-
titled The Book of Mormon, I epitomize as follows : Several families retain-
ing similar forms of speech were directed by God to America, where they
became numerous and prosperous. They lived righteously at first, but after-
ward became sinful, and about 600 b. c. broke up as a nation, leaving records
by their most eminent historian Ether, During the reign of Zedekiah, king
of Judah, two men, Lehi and Mulek, were warned of God of the approaching
destruction of Jerusalem, and were directed how they and their families could
make their escape, and were led to this land where they found the records
of the former people. Lehi landed at Chili. His people spread to North
America, became numerous and wealthy, lived under the law of Moses which
they had brought with them, and had their judges, kings, prophets, and
temples. Looking confidently for the coming of Christ in the flesh, in due
time he came, and after his crucifixion organized the church in America as he
had done in Judea, an account of which, together with their general history,
was preserved on metallic plates in the language of the times. An abridgment
was made on gold plates about A. D. 400 by a prophet named Mormon, from
all the historical plates that had come down to him. Thus were given not
only the histories of the Nephites and Lamanites — his own people- — but of
the Jaredites, who had occupied the land before them, and his book was
called the Book of Mormon. Destruction coming upon the people. Mormon's
son, Moroni, was directed of God where to deposit the plates, the urim and
thummim being deposited with them so that the finder might be able to read
them. And as Moroni had left them so were they found by Joseph Smith.
The Book of Mormon was translated in 1851 into Italian, iinder the auspices
of Lorenzo Snow, and into Danish under the direction of Erastus Snow; in
1852 John Taylor directed its translation into French and German, and
Franklin D. Richards into Welsh. In 1855 George Q. Cannon brought out an
edition in the Hawaiian language at San Francisco; in 1878 N. C. Flygare
supervised its publication in the Swedish, and Moses Thatcher in 1884 in the
Spanish language.
In December 1874, Orson Pratt, at that time church historian, prepared
an article for insertion in the Universal Cyclopedia, a portion of which is as
follows: 'The first edition of this wonderful book was published early in
1830. It has since been translated and published in the Welsh, Danish,
German, French, and Italian languages of the east, and in the language of
the Sandwich Islands of the west. It is a volume about one third as large as
the bible, consisting of sixteen sacred books . . . One of the founders of the
Jaredite nation, a great prophet, saw in vision all things from the foundation
of the world to the end thereof, which were written, a copy of which was en-
graved by Moroni on the plates of Mormon, and then sealed up. It was this
portion which the prophet, Joseph Smith, was forbidden to translate or to
unloose the seal. In due time this also will be revealed, together with all
the sacred records kept by the ancient nations of this continent, preparatory
to the time when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters
cover the great deep.' Deseret News, Sept. 27, 1876. Orson Pratt afterward
stated that the book of Mormon had been translated into ten different lan-
guages. Deseret News, Oct. 9, 1878. See also Taylder's Mormons, 10. For
further criticisms on the book of Mormon, see Millennial Star, xix., index v.;
OLIVER COWDERY. 57
the golden plates is hereafter known, and that he also
shall bear witness to the truth.
Two days after the arrival of Oliver/^ Joseph and he
begin the work systematically, the former translating
while the latter writes ;^'' for Oliver has a vision, mean-
Times and Seasons, ii. 305-6; Pratt^s Pamphlets, i. to vi. 1-96; Hyde's Mor-
monism, 210-83; Olshausen Gesch. der Mormen, 15-29; Howe's Mormonism
Unveiled, 17-123; Salt Lake City Tribune, Apr. 11, June 5 and 6, and Nov.
5, 1879; Juvenile Instructor, xiv. 2-3; Reynolds' Myth of the Manuscript
Found, passim; Lee's Mormonism, 119-26; Clements' Roughing It, 127-35;
Pop. Science Monthly, Ivi. 165-73; Bennett's Mormonism Exposed, 103-40.
See letter from Thurlow Weed, also statement by Mrs Matilda Spaulding
McKinstry in Scribner's Mag., Aug. 1880, 613-16.
^^ Oliver Cowdery ' is a blacksmith by trade, and sustained a fair reputa-
tion until his intimacy commenced with the money digger. He was one of
the many in the world who always find time to study out ways and means to
live without work. He accordingly quit the blacksmithing business, and is
now the editor of a small monthly publication issued under the directions of
the prophet, and principally filled with accounts of the spread of Mormonism,
their persecutions, and the fabled visions and commands of Smith. ' He was
'chief scribe to the prophet, while transcribing, after Martin had lost 116
pages of the precious document by interference of the devil. An angel
also has shown him the plates from which the book of Mormon proceeded,
as he says.' Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 15, 265; see also Pearl of Great
Price, xiii. 54; Smucker's Hist. Mor., 28; Taylder's Mormons, xxxii.
^' ' Instead of looking at the characters inscribed upon the plates, the
prophet was obliged to resort to the old peep-stone which he formerly used in
money digging. This he i)laced in a hat, or box, into which he also thrust
his face. . .Another account they give of the transaction is, that it was per-
formed with the big spectacles,' which enabled ' Smith to translate the plates
without looking at them.' Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 17-18. ' These were
days never to be forgotten,' Oliver remarks, 'to sit under the soimd of a voice
dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this
bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth,
as he translated with the urim and thummun, or, as the Nephites would
have said, "interpreters," the history or record called the "Book of Mor-
mon,"' Pearl of Great Price, 55. See also Mackay's The Mormons, 30-31;
Millennial Star, iii. 148; Smucker's Hist. Mormons, 35; Pratt's Pamphlets, iv,
68-9; Ferris' Utah and the Mormons, 61-2. In relation to the peep-stone al-
luded to, Williard Chase says in his sworn testimony that he discovered a
singular stone while digging a well in the year 1822. Joseph Smith was as-
sisting him, and borrowed the stone from him, alleging that he could see into
it. After he obtained the stone Smith published abroad the wonders that
he could see in the stone, and made much disturbance among the credulous
members of the community. See Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 241. 'This
stone attracted particular notice on account of its peculiar shape, resembling
that of a child's foot. It was of a whitish, glassy appearance, though opaque,
resembling quartz . . . He (Joseph Jr) manifested a special fancy for this geo-
logical curiosity; and he carried it home with him, though this act of plunder
was against the strenuous protestations of Mr Chase's children, who claimed
to be its rightful owners. Joseph kept this stone, and ever afterward refused
its restoration to the claimants. Very soon the pretension transpired that he
could see wonderful things by its aid. The idea was rapidly enlarged upon
from day to day, and in a short time his spiritual endowment was so devel-
oped that he asserted the gift and power (with the stone at his eyes) of re-
vealing both things existing and things to come.' Tucker's Mormonism, 19-20.
68 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
while, telling him not to exercise his gift of translating
at present, but simply to write at Joseph's dictation.
Continuing thus, on the 15th of May the two men go
into the woods to ask God concerning baptism, found
mentioned in the plates. Presently a messenger de-
scends from heaven in a cloud of light. It is John the
Baptist. And he ordains them, saying, "Upon you,
my fellow-servants, in the name of messiah, I confer
the priesthood of Aaron." Baptism by immersion is
directed; the power of laying-on of hands for the gift
of the holy ghost is promised, but not now bestowed;
then they are commanded to be baptized, each one
baptizing the other, which is done, each in turn lay-
ing his hands upon the head of the other, and ordain-
ing him to the Aaronic priesthood. As they come
up out of the water the holy ghost falls upon them,
and they prophesy.
Persecutions continue ; brethren of Christ threaten
to mob them, but Joseph's wife's father promises
protection. Samuel Smith comes, and is converted,
receiving baptism and obtaining revelations; and later
Joseph's father and mother, Martin Harris, and
others. Food is several times charitably brought to
the translators by Joseph Knight, senior, of Coles-
ville. New York, concerning whom is given a revela-
tion. In June comes David Whitmer with a request
from his father, Peter Whitmer, of Fayette, New
York, that the translators should occupy his house
thenceforth until the completion of their work, and
brings with him a two-horse wagon to carry them
and their effects. Not only is their board to be free,
but one of the brothers Whitmer, of whom there are
David, John, and Peter junior, will assist in the writ-
ing. Thither they go, and find all as promised ; David
and Peter Whitmer and Hyrum Smith are baptized,
and receive revelations through Joseph, who inquires
of the Lord for them by means of the urim and thum-
mim. The people thereabout being friendly, meetings
are held, and the new revelation taught, many believ-
I
THE ELEVEN WITNESSES. m
ing, certain priests and others disputing. Three
special witnesses are provided by Christ, namely,
Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris,^^
to whom the plates are shown by an angel after much
prayer and meditation in the woods. These are the
three witnesses. And there are further eight wit-
nesses, namely, Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer,
Peter Whitmer junior, John Whitmer, Hiram Page,
Joseph Smith senior, Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H.
Smith, who testify that the plates were shown to
them by Joseph Smith junior, that they handled them
with their hands, and saw the characters engraven
thereon.^^
'*The objections raised against this testimony are, first, there is no date
nor place; second, there are not three separate affidavits, but one testimony
signed by three men; third, compare with Smith's revelation Doctrine and
Covenants, p. 173, and it appears that this testimony is drawn up by Smith
himself. But who are these witnesses ? Sidney Rigdon, at Inclependence,
Missouri, in 1838, charged Cowdery and Whitmer with 'being connected with
a gang of counterfeiters, thieves, liars, blacklegs of the deepest dye, to de-
ceive and defraud the saints.' Joseph Smith {Times and Seasons, vol. i. pp.
81, 83-4) charges Cowdery and Whitmer with being busy in stirring up
strife and turmoil among the brethren in 1838 in Missouri; and he demands,
' Are they not murderers then at the heart ? Are not their consciences seared
as with a hot iron ?' These men were consequently cut off from the church.
In 1837 Smith prints this language about his coadjutor and witness: 'There
are negroes who have white skins as well as black ones — Granny Parish
and others, who acted as lackeys, such as Martin Harris ! But they are so
far beneath my contempt that to notice any of them would be too great a
sacrifice for a gentleman to make.' Hyde's Mormonism, 252-5. Of David
Whitmer, Mr Howe says: 'He is one of five of the same name and family
who have been used as witnesses to establish the imposition, and who are
now head men and leaders in the Mormonite camp. They were noted in
their neighborhood for credulity and a general belief in witches, and perhaps
were fit subjects for the juggling arts of Smith. David relates that he was
led by Smith into an open field, on his father's farm, where they found the
book of plates Ijdng upon the ground. Smith took it up and requested him
to examine it, which he did for the space of half an hour or more, when he
returned it to Smith, who placed it in its former position, alleging that it
was in the custody of an angel. He describes the plates as being about eight
inches square, the leaves being metal of a whitish yellow color, and of the
thickness of tin plates.' Mormonism Unveiled, 16. See also Kidder^ s Mor-
mons, 49-51; Tucker's Origin and Prog. 21 or., 69-71; Smucker's Hist. Mor.,
29-30; Bertrand's Memoires d'un Mormon, 29-31.
^' ' It •will be seen that the witnesses of this truth were principally of the
two families of Whitmer and Smith. The Smiths were the father and broth-
ers of Joseph. Who the Whitmers were is not clear, and all clew to their
character and proceedings since this date, though probably knowm to the
Mormons themselves, is undiscoverable by the profane vulgar. ' Mackay's The
Mormons, 23.
The theory commonly accepted at present by those not of the Mormon
faith, in regard to the origin of the book of Mormon, is thus given in the in-
60 THE STORY OF MORMOiSTISM.
troduction to the New York edition of the Booh of Mormon, essentially the
same as that advanced previously by E. D. Howe, and subsequently elabo-
rated by others: 'About the year 1809, the Rev. Solomon Spaulding, a clergy-
man who had graduated from Dartmouth college, and settled in the town of
Cherry Valley, in the State of New York, removed from that place to New
Salem (Conneaut), Ashtabula county, Ohio. Mr Spaulding was an enthu-
siastic archiEologist. The region to which he removed was rich in American
antiquities. The mounds and fortifications which have puzzled the brains of
many patient explorers attracted his attention, and he accepted the theory
that the American continent was peopled by a colony of the ancient Israelites.
The anjple material by which he was surrounded, full of mythical interest and
legendary suggestiveness, led him to the conception of a curious literary pro-
ject. He sefe himself the task of writing a fictitious history of the race which
had built the mounds. The work was commenced and progressed slowly for
some time. Portions of it were read by Mr Spaulding's friends, as its dif-
ferent sections were completed, and after three years' labor, the volume was
sent to the press, bearing the title of TJie Manuscript Found. Mr Spaulding
had removed to Pittsburgh, Pa., before his book received the final revision,
and it was in the hands of a printer named Patterson, in that city, that the
manuscript was placed with a view to publication. This was in the year
1812. The printing, however, was delayed in consequence of a difficulty
about the contract, i;ntil Mr Spaulding left Pittsburgh, and went to Amity,
Washington county. New York, where in 1816 he died. The manuscript
seems to have lain unused during this interval. But in the employ of the
printer Patterson was a versatile genius, one Sidney Rigdon, to whom no
trade came amiss, and who happened at the time to be a journeyman at work
with Patterson. Disi^utations on questions of theology were the peculiar de-
light of Rigdon, and the probable solution of the mystery of the book of Mor-
mon is found in the fact that, by this man's agency, information of the exist-
ence of the fictitious record was first communicated to Joseph Smith.
Smith's family settled in Palmyra, New York, about the year 1815, and re-
moved subsequently to Ontario county, where Joseph became noted for su-
preme cunning and general shiftlessness. Chance threw him in the company of
Rigdon soon after Spaulding's manuscript fell under the eye of the erratic
journeyman, and it is probable that the plan of foimding a new system of re-
ligious imposture was concocted by these two shrewd and unscrupulous par-
ties. The fact that the style of the book of Mormon so closely imitates that
of the received version of the bible — a point which seems to have been con-
stantly kept in view by Mr Spaulding, probably in order to invest the fiction
with a stronger character of reality — answered admirably for the purposes
of Rigdon and Smith.' Mr Howe testifies that 'an opinion has prevailed to
a considei-able extent that Rigdon has been the lago, the prime mover of
the whole conspiracy. Of this, however, we have no positive proof.' Mor-
monism Unveiled, 100.
To prove the foregoing, witnesses are brought forward. John Spaulding,
brother of Solomon, testifies: 'He then told me that he had been writing a
book, which he intended to have printed, the avails of which he thought
would enable him to pay all his debts. The book was entitled The Manuscript
Found, of which he read to me many passages. It was an historical romance
of the first settlers of America, ' etc. He goes on to speak of Nephi and Lehi
as names familiar, as does also Martha Spaulding, John's wife. Heniy Lake,
formerly Solomon's partner, testifies to the same effect; also John N. Miller,
who worked for Lake and Spaulding in building their forge; also Aaron
Wright, Oliver Smith, and Nahum Howard, neighbors; also Artemas Cunning-
ham, to whom Spaulding owed money. To these men Solomon Spaulding
used to talk about and read from his Manuscript Found, which was an ac-
count of the ten lost tribes in America, which he wanted to publish and with
the profits pay his debts. After the book of Mormon was printed, and they
saw it, or heard it read, they were sure it was the same as Spaulding's Manu-
script Found. Id. , 278-87.
THE SPAULDING THEORY. 61
Who Wrote the Book of Morrr.on? is the title of a 4to pamphlet of 16
pages by Robert Patterson of Pittsburgh. Reprinted from the illustrated
history of Washington county, Philadelphia, 1882. This Patterson is the
son of printer Patterson, to whose office the Spaulding MS. is said to have
been sent. Little new information is brought out by this inquisition. First
he extracts passages from Howe's Moi-monism Unveiled, quoting at second-
hand from Kidder's Mormonism ajA the Mormons, in the absence of the orig-
inal, stating erroneously that Howe's book was first printed in 1835. I give
elsewhere an epitome of the contents of Howe's work. Ballantyne in his
Beply to a Tract, by T. Richards, What is Mormonism? wherein is advanced
the Spaulding theory, asserts in answer that Spaulding's manuscript was not
known to Smith or Rigdon until after the publication of the Book of Mor-
mon, and that the two were not the same, the latter being about three times
larger than the former. 'Dr Hurlburt,' he says, 'and certain other noted
enemies of this cause, having heard that such a manuscript existed, deter-
mined to publish it to the world in order to destroy the book of Mormon, but
after examining it, found that it did not read as they expected, consequently
declined its publication.' The Spaulding theory is advanced and supported
by the following, in addition to the eight witnesses whose testimony was given
by Howe in his Mormonism Unveiled. Mrs Matilda Spaulding Davidson, once
wife of Solomon Spa\ilding, said to Rev. D. R. Austin, who had the statement
printed in the Boston Recorder, May 1839, that Spaulding was in the habit
of reading portions of his romance to his friends and neighbors. When John
Spaulding heard read for the first time passages from the book of Mormon
he 'recognized perfectly the work of his brother. He was amazed and af-
flicted that it should have been perverted to so wicked a purpose. His grief
found vent in a flood of tears, and he arose on the spot and expressed to the
meeting his sorrow and regret that the writings of his deceased brother should
be used for a purpose so vile and shocking.' Statements to the same effect
are given as coming from Mrs McKinstry, daughter of Spaulding, priuted in
Scribner's Monthly, August 1880; W. H. Sabine, brother of Mrs Spaulding;
Joseph Miller, whose statements were printed in the Pittsburgh Telegraph,
Feb. 6, 1879; Redick McKee in the Washington Reporter, April 21, 1SG9;
Rev. Abner Jackson in a communication to the Washington County Histori-
cal Society, printed in the Washington Bvporter, Jan. 7, 1881, and others.
See also Kidder's Mormonism, 37-49; California — Its Past History, 198-9;
Ferris' Utah and 3fo7-moas, 50-1; Gunnison's Mormons, 93-7; Bertrand's
Mimoires d'lm Mormon, 33-44; Hist, of Mormons, 41-50; Bennett's Mormon-
ism, 115-24; Howe's Mormonism, 289-90.
Robert Patterson, in his pamphlet entitled Who Wrote the Booh of Mor-
mon? thus discusses the case of Sidney Rigdon: 'It was satisfactorily proven
that Spauldiug was the author of the book of Mormon; but how did Joseph
Smith obtain a copy of it ? The theory hitherto most widely published,' says
Patterson, 'and perhaps generally accepted, has been that Rigdon was a
printer in Patterson's printing-office when the Spaulding manuscript was
brought there in 1812-14, and that he either copied or purloined it. Having
it thus in his possession, the use made of it was an after thought suggested
by circumstances many years later. More recently another theoxy has been
advanced, that Rigdon obtained possession of the Spaulding manuscript dur-
ing his pastorate of the first baptist church or soon thereafter, 1822-4, with-
out any necessary impropriety on his part, but rather through the courtesy
of some friend, in whose possession it remained unclaimed, and who regarded
it as a literary curiosity. The friends of Rigdon, in response to the first
charge, deny that he ever resided in Pittsburgh previous to 1S22, or that he
ever was a printer, and in general answer to both charges affirm that he
never at any time had access to Spaulding's manuscript.' Rigdon denies em-
phatically that he ever worked in Patterson's printing-office or knew of such
an esta,blishment; and the testimony, produced by Patterson, of Carvil Rig-
don, Sidney's brother, Peter Boyer, his brother-in-law, Isaac King, Samuel
Cooper, Robert Dubois, and Mrs Lambdin points in the same direction. On
62 THE STORY OF MORMOOTSM.
the other hand, Mrs Davidson, Joseph Miller, E«dick McKee, Rev. Cephas
Dodd, and Mrs Eichbaum are quite positive that either Rigdon worked in the
printing-ofBce, or had access to the manuscript. 'These witnesses,' continues
Patterson, 'arc all whom we can find, after inquirif-s extending through some
three years, who can testify at all to Rigdon's residence in Pittsburgh before
1816, and to his possible employment in Patterson's printing-office or bindery.
Of this employment none of them speak from personal knowledge. In mak-
ing inquiries among two or three score of the oldest residents of Pittsburgh
and vicinity, those who had any opinion on the subject invariably, so far as
now remembered, repeated the story of Rigdon's employment in Patterson's
office as if it were a well known and admitted fact; they could tell all about
it, but when pressed as to their personal knowledge of it or their authority
for the conviction, they had none.' Nevertheless he concludes, 'after an im-
partial consideration of the preceding testimony, that Rigdon as early as 1823
certainly had possession of Spaulding's manuscript; how he obtained it is
unimportant for the present purpose; that during his career as a minister of
the Disciples church in Ohio, he carefully preserved under lock and key this
document, and devoted an absorbed attention to it; that he was aware of the
forthcoming book of Mormon and of its contents long before its appearance;
that the said contents were largely Spaulding's romance, and partly such
modifications as Rigdon had introduced; and that, during the preparation of
the book of Mormon, Rigdon had repeated and long interviews with Smith,
thus easily supplying him with f resli instalments of the pretended revelation. '
In a letter to the editors of the Boston Journal, dated May 27, 1839, Rigdon
says: ' There was no man by the name of Patterson during my residence at
Pittsbiirgh who had a printing-office; what might have been before I lived
there I know not. Mr Robert Patterson, I was told, had owned a printing-
office before I lived in that city, but had been unfortunate in business, and
failed before my residence there. This Mr Patterson, who was a presbyterian
preacher, I had a very slight acquaintance with during my residence in Pitts-
burgh. He was then acting under an agency in the book and stationery
business, and was the owner of no property of any kind, printing-office or
anything else, during the time I resided in the city. ' Smiicher^s Mormons, 45-8.
In Philadelphia, in 1840, was published The Origin of the Spauldinfj
Story, concerning the Alanuscript Found; with a short biography of Dr P. Hul-
bert, the originator of the same; and some testimony adducd, showing it to be a
sheer fabrication so far as its connection with the Book of Mormon is concerned.
By B. Winchester, minister of the Gospel. The author goes on to say that
Hulbert, a raethodist preacher at Jamestown, N. Y., joined the Mormons in
1833, and was expelled for immoral conduct, whereupon he swore vengeance
and concocted the Spaulding story. Hearing of a work written by Solomon
Spaulding entitled The Manuscript Found, he sought to prove to those about
him that the book of Mormon was derived from it, ' not that any of these
persons had the most distant idea that this novel had ever been converted
into the book of Mormon, or that there was any connection between them.
Indeed, Mr Jackson, who had read both the book of Mormon and Spaulding's
manuscript, told Mr H. when he came to get his signature to a writing testi-
fying to the probability that Mr S.'s manuscript had been converted into the
book of Mormon, that there was no agreement between them; for, said he,
Mr S.'s manuscript was a very small work, in the form of a novel, saying
not one word about the children of Israel, but professed to give an account
of a race of people who originated from the Romans, which Mr S. said he had
translated from a Latin parchment that he had found. ' Winchester states fur-
ther that Hurlburt, or Hulbert, wrote Mormonism Unveiled and sold it to
Howe for $500.
The Myth of the Manuscript Found; or the absurdities of the Spaulding
story; By Elder George Reynolds, was published at Salt Lake City in 1883.
It is a 12mo vol. of 104 pages, and gives first the history of the Spaulding man-
uscript, and names Hurlburt as the originator of the story. Chap. iii. is en-
titled ' the bogus affidavit,' referring to the alleged sworn statement of Mrs
PRINTING THE BOOK. 63
The translation of the book of Mormon being fin-
ished, Smith and Cowdery go to Palmyra, secure the
copyright, and agree with Egbert B. Grandin to
print five thousand copies for three thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, a revelation comes to Martin Harris, at
Manchester, in March, commanding him to pay for
the printing of the book of Mormon, under penalty
of destruction of himself and property. ^° The title-
Davison, the widow of Spaulding, published by Storrs, but denied by Mrs
Davison. Rigdon's connection, or rather lack of connection with the manu-
script is next discussed. Then is answered an article in Scribner's llagazhie
by Sirs Dickenson, grand niece of Mr Spaulding, and probably the most shal-
low treatment of the subject yet presented on either side. Further discus-
sions on the book are followed by an analysis of the life of Joseph, and finally
internal evidences and prophecies are considered. 'It is evident,' Mr Rey-
nolds concludes, 'that if Mr Spaulding's story was what its friends claim,
then it never could have formed the ground-work of the book of Mormon;
for the whole historical narrative is different from beginning to end. And
further, the story that certain old inhabitants of New Salem, who, it is said,
recognized the book of Mormon, either never made such a statement, or they
let their imagination run away with their memory into the endorsement of a
falsehood and an impossibility.'
^"Speaking of Martin Harris, E. D. Howe says: 'Before his acquaintance
with the Smith family he was considered an honest, industrious citizen by
his neighbors. His residence was in the town of Palmyra, where he had
accumulated a handsome property. He was naturally of a very visionary
turn of mind on the subject of religion, holding one sentiment but a short
time.' Mortgaged his farm for §3,000, and printed the Book of Mormon, as
he said, to make money. The price first was $1.75, then $1.25, afterward
whatever they could get. ' Since that time the frequent demands on Mar-
tin's purse have reduced it to a very low state. He seems to have been the
soul and body of the whole imposition, and now carries the most incon-
testable proofs of a religious maniac . . . Martin is an exceedingly fast talker.
He frequently gathers a crowd around in bar-rooms and in the streets.
Here he appears to be in his element, answering and explaining all manner
of dark and abstruse theological questions . . . He is the source of much
trouble and perplexity to the honest portion of his brethren, and would un-
doubtedly long since have been cast off by Smith were it not for his money, and
the fact that he is one of the main pillars of the Mormon fabric. ' Mormonism
Unveiled, 13-15. 'The wife of Martin Harris instituted a lawsuit against
him [Joseph Smith, Jr], and stated in her affidavit that she believed the chief
object he had in view was to defraud her husband of all his property. The
trial took place at New York, and the facts, as related even by the mother
of the prophet, are strongly condemnatory of his conduct . . . Harris denied
in solemn terms that Smith had ever, in any manner, attempted to get pos-
session of his money, and ended by assuring the gentlemen of the court that,
if they did not believe in the existence of the plates, and continued to resist
the truth, it would one day be the means of damning their souls. ' Tayldcr's
Mormons, xxxi.-ii. 'In the beginning of the printing the ilormons pro-
fessed to hold their manuscripts as sacred, and insisted upon maintaining con-
stant vigilance for their safety during the progress of the work, each morn-
ing carrying to the printing-office the instalment required for the day, and
withdrawing the same at evening. No alteration from copy in any manner
was to be made. These things were "strictly commanded," as they said. Mr
64 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
%
page is not a modern production, but a literal trans-
lation from the last leaf of the plates, on the left-hand
side, and running like all Hebrew writing.
And now in a chamber of Whitmer's house Smith,
Cowdery, and David Whitmer meet, and earnestly ask
God to make good his promise, and confer on them
the Melchisedec priesthood, which authorizes the lay-
ing-on of hands for the gift of the holy ghost. Their
prayer is answered; for presently the word of the
Lord comes to them, commanding that Joseph Smith
should ordain Oliver Cowdery to be an elder in the
church of Jesus Christ, and Oliver in like manner
should so ordain Joseph, and the two should ordain
others as from time to time the will of the Lord should
be made known to them.^^ But this ordination must
not take place until the baptized brethren assemble
and give to this act their sanction, and accept the
ordained as spiritual teachers, and then only after the
blessing and partaking of bread and wine. It is next
revealed that twelve shall be called to be the disciples
of Christ, the twelve apostles of these last days, who
shall go into all the world preaching and baptizing.
John H. Gilbert, as printer, had the chief operative trust of the type-setting
and press-work of the job. After the first day's trial he foiind the manu-
scripts in so very imperfect a condition, especially in regard to grammar,
that he became unwilling further to obey the "command," and so announced
to Smith and his party; when finally, upon much friendly expostulation, he
was given a limited discretion in correcting, which was exercised in the par-
ticulars of syntax, orthography, punctuation, capitalizing, paragraphing, etc.
Many errors under these heads, nevertheless, escaped correction, as appear
in the first edition of the printed book. Very soon, too — after some ten
days — the constant vigilance by the Mormons over the manuscripts was re-
laxed by reason of the confidence they came to repose in the printers. Mr
Gilbert has now (1867) in his possession a complete copy of the book in the
original sheets, as laid off by him from the press in working . . . Meanwhile,
Harris and his wife had separated by mutual arrangement, on account of
her persistent unbelief in Mormonism and refusal to be a party to the mort-
gage. The family estate was divided, Harris giving her about eighty acres
of the farm, with a comfortable house and other property, as her share of the
assets; and she occupied this property until the tinie of lier death.' Tucker's
Origin and Prog. Mor., 50-7.
^^ Speaking of the manner in which Smith delivered these revelations,
Howe says: ' In this operation lie abandoned his spectacles, or peep-stone, and
merely delivered it with his eyes shut. In this manner he governs his follow-
ers, by asking the Lord, as he says, from day to day.' Mormonism Unveiled,
102.
CHURCH ORGANIZED. 65
By the spirit of prophecy and revelation it is done.
The rise of the church of Jesus Christ in these last
days is on the 6th of April, 1830, at which date the
church was organized under the provisions of the
statutes of the state of New York by Joseph Smith
junior, Hyrum Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whit-
mer, Samuel H. Smith, and Peter Whitmer. Joseph
Smith, ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ, is made
by the commandment of God the first elder of this
church, and Oliver Cowdery, likewise an apostle, is
made the second elder. Again the first elder falls
into worldly entanglements, but upon repentance and
self-humbling he is delivered by an angel.
The duties of elders, priests, teachers, deacons, and
members are as follow: All who desire it, with hon-
esty and humility, may be baptized into the church ;
old covenants are at an end, all must be baptized anew.
An apostle is an elder; he shall baptize, ordain other
elders, priests, teachers, and deacons, administer bread
and wine, emblems of the flesh and blood of Christ; he
shall confirm, teach, expound, exhort, taking the lead
at meetings, and conducting them as he is taught by
the holy ghost. The priest's duty is to preach, teach,
expound, exhort, baptize, administer the sacrament,
and visit and pray with members; he may also ordain
other priests, teachers, and deacons, giving a certifi-
cate of ordination, and lead in meetings when no
elder is present. The teacher's duty is to watch over
and strengthen the members, preventing evil speak-
ing and all iniquity, to see that the meetings are regu-
larly held, and to take the lead in them in the absence
of elder or priest. The deacon's duty is to assist the
teacher; teacher and deacon may warn, expound, ex-
hort, but neither of them shall baptize, administer
the sacrament, or lay on hands. The elders are to
meet in council for the transaction of church business
every three months, or oftener should meetings be
called. Subordinate officers will receive from the
elders a license defining their authority; elders will
Hist. Utah. 6
fSB THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
receive their license from other elders by vote of
church or conference. There shall be presidents,
bishops, high counsellors, and high priests; the pre-
siding elder shall be president of the high priesthood,
and he, as well as bishops, high counsellors, and high
priests, will be ordained by high council or general
conference. The duty of members is to walk in holi-
ness before the Lord according to the scriptures, to
bring their children to the elders, who will lay their
hands on them and bless them in the name of Jesus
Christ. The bible, that is to say, the scriptures of
the old and new testaments, is accepted wholly, save
such corruptions as have crept in through the great
and abominable church; the book of Mormon is a
later revelation, supplementary thereto. Thus is or-
ganized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints,^^ in accordance with special revelations and
commandments, and after the manner set forth in the
new testament.
The first public discourse, following the meetings
held in Whitmer's house, was preached on Sunday,
the 11th of April, 1830, by Oliver Cowdery, who the
'^ The church was not at that time so called, nor indeed until after the
4th of May, 1834. See chap, iv., note 50; also Millennial Star, iv. 115; Bur-
ton's City of the Saints, 671-2. Kidder, Mormonism, 68, affirms that this
name was not adopted till some years later. Mather is only a year and a day
astray when he says, 'The conference of elders on May 3, 1833, repudiated
the name of "Mormons" and adopted that of "Latter-Day Saints.'" Lippin-
cott's Mag. , Aug. 1880. The term ' Mormons, ' as first applied by their enemies
to members of the church of Latter-Day Saints, was quite offensive to them,
though later they became somewhat more reconciled to it. As at present popu-
larly employed, it is by no means a term of reproach, though among themselves
they still adhere to the appellation 'Saints,' just as quakers speak of them-
selves as the 'Society of Friends.' The term 'Mormon' seems to mequite fit-
ting for general use, fully as much so as presbyterian, reformed Dutch, uni-
versalist, and others, few of which were of their own choosing. 'Mormon was
the name of a certain man, and also of a particular locality upon the Ameri-
can continent; but was never intended to signify a body of people. The name
by which we desire to be known and to walk worthy of is "Saints."' Bell's
Heply to Theobald, 2. At the time of the riots in Missouri, in addressing com-
munications to the governor, and in many other instances, they designate
themselves as ' members of the church of Christ, vulgarly called Mormons. '
See also Z>e Smet's Western Missions, 393; Mackay's The Mormons, 41-2.
The term 'gentile' was generally applied to unbelievers of the white race.
The Lidians, originally, were denominated 'of the house of Israel,' 'of the
house of Joseph,' or 'of the house of Jacob,' also the Lamanitea.
THE FIRST MIRACLE. 67
same day baptized in Seneca Lake several persons,
among whom were Hyrum and Katherine Page, some
of the Whitmers, and the Jolly family. The first
miracle likewise occurred during the same month,
Joseph Smith casting out a devil from Newel Knight,
son of Joseph Knight, who with his family had been
universalists. Newel had been a constant attendant
at the meetings, and was much interested; but when
he attempted to pray the devil prevented him, writhing
his limbs into divers distortions, and hurling him about
the room. "I know that you can deliver me from
this evil spirit," cried Newel. Whereupon Joseph
rebuked the devil in the name of Jesus Christ, and
the evil spirit departed from the young man. Seeing
this, others came forward and expressed their belief
in the new faith, and a church was established at Coles-
ville.
On the 1st of June the first conference as an or-
ganized church was held, there being thirty members.
The meeting was opened by singing and prayer, after
which they partook of the sacrament, which was fol-
lowed by confirmations and further ordinations to the
several oflfices of the priesthood. The exercises were
attended by the outpouring of the holy ghost, and
many prophesied, to the infinite joy and gratification of
the elders. Some time after, on a Saturday previous
to an appointed sabbath on which baptism was to be
performed, the brethren constructed, across a stream of
water, a dam, which w^as torn away by a mob during
the night. The meeting was held, however, though
amid the sneers and insults of the rabble, Oliver preach-
ing. Present among others was Emily Coburn, Newel
Knight's wife's sister, formerly a presbyterian. Her
pastor, the Rev. Mr Shearer, arrived, and tried to
persuade her to return to her father. Failing in this,
he obtained from her father a power of attorney, and
bore her off by force; but Emily returned. The dam
was repaired, and baptism administered to some thir-
teen persons the following morning; whereupon fifty
68 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
men surrounded Mr Knight's house, threatening vio-
lence. The same night Joseph was arrested by a
constable on a charge of disorderly conduct, and for
preaching the book of Mormon. It was the purpose
of the populace to capture Joseph from the constable
and use him roughly, but by hard driving he escaped.
At the trial which followed, an attempt was made to
prove certain charges, namely, that he obtained a
horse from Josiah Stoal, and a yoke of oxen from
Jonathan Thompson, by saying that in a revelation he
was told that he was to have them; also as touching
his conduct toward two daughters of Mr Stoal; but
all testified in his favor, and he was acquitted. As
he was leaving the court-room, he was again arrested
on a warrant from Broome county, and taken midst
insults and buffetings to Colesville for trial. The old
charges were renewed, and new ones preferred. Newel
Knight was made to testify regarding the miracle
wrought in his behalf, and a story that the prisoner
had been a money digger was advanced by the prosecu-
tion. Again he was acquitted, and again escaped from
the crowd outside the court-house, whose purpose it
was to tar and feather him, and ride him on a rail.
These persecutions were instigated, it was said, chiefly
by presbyterians.
While Joseph rested at his home at Harmony fur-
ther stories were circulated, damaging to his character,
this time by the methodists. One went to his father-
in-law with falsehoods, and so turned him and his
family against Joseph and his friends that he would
no longer afford them protection or receive their doc-
trine. This was a heavy blow; but proceeding in
August to Colesville, Joseph and Hyrum Smith and
John and David Whitmer continued the work of
prayer and confirmation. Fearing their old enemies,
who lay in wait to attack them on their way back,
they prayed that their eyes might be blinded; and so
it came to pass. Then they held service and returned
safely, although five dollars reward had been offered
FIRST MISSION ORDERED. 69
for notification of their arrival. Removing his family
to Fayette, Joseph encountered further persecutions,
to which was added a fresh grief Hiram Page was
going astray over a stone which he had found, and by
means of which he had obtained revelations at va-
riance with Joseph's revelations and the rules of the
new testament. It was thouo^ht best not to aofitate
the subject unnecessarily, before the meeting of the
conference to be held on the 1st of September; but
the Whitmer family and Oliver Cowdery seeming
to be too greatly impressed over the things set forth
by the rival stone, it was resolved to inquire of the
Lord concerning the matter; whereupon a revelation
came to Oliver Cowdery, forbidding such practice;
and he was to say privately to Hiram Page that
Satan had deceived him, and that the things which
he had written from the stone were not of God.
Oliver was further commanded to go and preach the
gospel to the Lamanites,^^ the remnants of the house
of Joseph living in the west,^* where he was to estab-
*^ 'The Lamanites originally were a remnant of Joseph, and in the first
year of the reign of Zedekiah, King of Judah, were led in a miraculous man-
ner from Jerusalem to the eastern borders of the Red Sea, thence for some
time along its borders in a nearly south-east direction, after which they altered
their course nearly eastward, until they came to the great waters, where by
the command of God they built a vessel in which they were safely brought
across the great Pacific Ocean, and landed upon the western coast of South
America. The original party included also the Nephites, their leader being
a prophet called Nephi; but soon after landing they separated, because the
Lamanites, whose leader was a wicked man called Laman, persecuted the
others. After the partition the Nephites, who had brought with them the
old testament down to the time of Jeremiah, engraved on plates of brass, in
the Egyptain language, prospered and built large cities. But the bold, bad
Lamanites, originally white, became dark and dirty, though still retaining a
national existence. They became wild, savage, and ferocious, seeking by
every means the destruction of the prosperous Nephites, against whom they
many times arrayed their hosts in battle; but were repulsed and driven bacK
to their own territories, generally with great loss to both sides. The slain,
frequently amounting to tens of thousands, were piled together in great heaps
and overspread with a thin covering of earth, which will satisfactorily account
for those ancient mounds filled with human bones, so numerous at the pres-
ent day, both in North and South America.' Pratt {Orson), Series of Paviph-
lets, vi. 7-8; Pratt {P. P.), Voice of Warning, 81-117.
■■'^'The attention of the little band was directed, from the very commence-
ment of their organization, to the policy and expediency of fixing their head-
quarters in the far west, in the thinly settled and but partially explored
territories belonging to the United States, where they might squat upon or
purchase good lands at a cheap rate, and clear the primeval wilderness.
70 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
lish a church and build a city,^^ at a point to be desig-
nated later.
"Behold, I say unto thee, Oliver, that it shall be
given unto thee that thou shalt be heard by the
church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach, them
by the comforter concerning the revelations and com-
mandments which I have given. But behold, verily,
verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to
receive commandments and revelations in this church,
excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jr, for he re-
ceiveth them even as Moses; and thou shalt be obe-
dient unto the things which I shall give unto him,
even as Aaron, to declare faithfully the command-
ments and the revelations with power and authority
unto the church. And if thou art led at any time by
the comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by the
way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest
do it. But thou shalt not write by way of command-
ment, but by wisdom; and thou shalt not command
him who is at thy head and at the head of the church;
for I have given him the keys of the mysteries and
the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint
unto them another in his stead."
They required elbow-room, and rightly judged that a rural population would
be more favorable than an urban one to the reception of their doctrine.' Mack-
ay's The Mor., 63.
^^ The most ancient prophecy which the saints are now in possession of
relating to the New Jerusalem was one delivered by Enoch, the seventh from
Adam. This was revealed anew to Joseph Smith in December 1830. In it
the Lord is represented as purposing 'to gather out mine own elect from
the iowv quarters of the earth unto a place which I shall prepare . . . But this
revelation does not tell in what part of the earth the New Jerusalem shoi^ld
be located. The book of Mormon, which the Lord has brought out of the
earth, informs us that this holy city is to be built upon the continent of
America, but it does not inform us upon what part of that vast country it
should be built.' Pratt's Series of Pamphlets, vii. 4; Pratt's Interesting Ac-
count, 16-25; First Book of Nephi in Book of Mormon.
CHAPTER lY.
THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
1830-1835.
Parley Peatt's Conversion — Mission to the Lamanites— The Mission-
aries AT KiRTLAND — CONVERSION OF SlDNEY RiGDON — MORMON SUC-
CESS AT KiRTLAND — ThE MISSIONARIES IN MISSOURI — RiGDON ViSITS
Smith — Edward Partridge — The Melchisedec Priesthood Given —
Smith and Rigdon Journey to Missouri — Bible Translation —
Smith's Second Visit to Missouri — Unexampled Prosperity — Causes
OF Persecutions — Mobocracy — The Saints are Driven from Jackson
County — Treachery of Boggs — Military Organization at Kirtland
— The Name Latter-day Saints — March to Missouri.
One evening as Hyrum Smith was driving cows
along the road toward his father's house, he wa»si
overtaken by a stranger, who inquired for Joseph
Smith, translator of the book of Mormon. "He is
now residing in Pennsylvania, a hundred miles away,"
was the reply.
"And the father of Joseph?"
"He also is absent on a journey. That is his house
yonder, and I am his son."
The stranger then said that he was a preacher of
the word; that he had just seen for the first time a
copy of the wonderful book; that once it was in his
hands he could not lay it down until he had devoured
it, for the spirit of the Lord was upon him as he read,
and he knew that it was true; the spirit of the Lord
had directed him thither, and his heart was full of joy.
Hyrum gazed at him in amazement; for converts
of this quality, and after this fashion, were not com-
mon in those days of poverty and sore trial. He
was little more than a boy, being but twenty-three,
72 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
and of that fresh, fair innocence which sits only on a
youthful face beaming with high enthusiasm. But it
was more than a boy's soul that was seen through
those eyes of deep and solemn earnestness; it was
more than a boy's strength of endurance that was in-
dicated by the broad chest and comely, compact limbs;
and more than a boy's intelligence and powers of
reasoning that the massive brow betokened.
Hyrum took the stranger to the house, and they
passed the night in discourse, sleeping little. The
convert's name was Parley P. Pratt. He was a na-
tive of Burlington, New York, and born April 12,
1807. His father was a farmer of limited means and
education, and though not a member of any religious
society, had a respect for all. The boy had a passion
for books; the bible especially he read over and over
again with deep interest and enthusiasm. He early
manifested strong religious feeling; mind and soul
seemed all on fire as he read of the patriarchs and
kings of the old testament, and of Christ and his
apostles of the new. In winter at school, and in
summer at work, his life passed until he was sixteen,
when he went west with his father William, some
two hundred miles on foot, to Oswego, two miles
from which town they bargained for a thickly wooded
tract of seventy acres, at four dollars an acre, paying
some seventy dollars in cash. After a summer's work
for wages back near the old home, and a winter's
work clearing the forest farm, the place was lost
through failure to meet the remaining payments.
Another attempt to make a forest home, this time in
Ohio, thirty miles west of Cleveland, was more suc-
cessful; and after much toil and many hardships, he
found himself, in 1827, comfortably established there,
with Thankful Halsey as his wife.
Meanwhile religion ran riot through his brain. His
mind, however, was of a reasoning, logical caste.
"Why this difference," he argued, ''between the an-
cient and modern Christians, their doctrines and their
JOSEPH'S VISION.
PARLEY PRATT. 73
practice? Had I lived and believed in the days of
the apostles, and had so desired, they would have
said, 'Repent, be baptized, and receive the holy ghost.'
The scriptures are the same now as then; why should
not results be the same ? " In the absence of anything
better, he joined the baptists, and was immersed; but
he was not satisfied. In 1829 Sidney Rigdon, of
whom more hereafter, preached in his neighborhood;
he heard him and was refreshed. It was the ancient
gospel revived — repentance, baptism, the gift of the
holy ghost. And yet there was something lacking —
the authority to minister; the power which should
accompany the form of apostleship. At length he and
others, who had heard Rigdon, organized a society on
the basis of his teachings, and Parley began to preach.
The spirit working in him finally compelled him to
abandon his farm and go forth to meet his destiny,
he knew not whither. In this frame of mind he wan-
dered eastward, and while his family were visiting
friends, he came upon the book of Mormon and Hy-
rum Smith. Now did his soul find rest. Here was
inspiration and revelation as of old; here was a new
dispensation with attendant signs and miracles.
As he left Smith's house the following morning,
having an appointment to preach some thirty miles
distant, Hyrum gave him a copy of the sacred book.
Travelling on foot, and stopping now and then to rest,
he read at intervals, and found to his great joy that
soon after his ascension Christ had appeared in his
glorified body to the remnant of the tribe of Joseph
in America, that he had administered in person to the
ten lost tribes, that the gospel had been revealed and
written among nations unknown to the apostles, and
that thus preserved it had escaped the corruptions of
the great and abominable church.
Returning to Smith's house, Parley demanded of
Hyrum baptism. They went to Whitmer's, where
they were warmly welcomed by a little branch of the
church there assembled. The new convert was bap-
74 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
tized by Cowdery, and was ordained an elder. He
continued to preach in those parts with great power.
Congregations were moved to tears, and many heads
of families came forward and accepted the faith.
Then he went to his old home. His father, mother,
and some of the neighbors believed only in part ; but
his brother Orson, nineteen years of age, embraced
with eagerness the new religion, and preached it from
that time forth. Returning to Manchester, Parley
for the first time met Joseph Smith, who received him
warmly, and asked him to preach on Sunday, which
he did, Joseph following with a discourse.
Revelations continued, now in the way of command,
and now in the spirit of prophecy. In Harmony, to
the first elder it was spoken: "Magnify thine office;
and after thou hast sowed thy fields and secured them,
go speedily unto the churches which are in Colesville,
Fayette, and Manchester, and they shall support
thee; and I will bless them, both spiritually and
temporally; but if thej^- receive thee not, I will send
on them a cursing instead of a blessing, and thou
shalt shake the dust off thy feet against them as a
testimony, and wipe thy feet by the wayside." And
to Cowdery, thus: "Oliver shall continue in bearing
my name before the world, and also to the church;
and he shall take neither purse nor scrip, neither
staves nor even two coats." To Emma, wife of Jo-
seph: "Thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an
elect lady, whom I have called; and thou shalt com-
fort thy husband, my servant Joseph, and shalt go
with him, and be unto him as a scribe in the absence
of my servant Oliver, and he shall support thee."
Emma was also further directed to make a selection of
hymns to be used in church.-"-
^ The hymn-book of Emma Smith does not appear to have been published,
but a little book containing hymns selected by Brigham Young passed through
eight editions up to 1849, the eighth being published in Liverpool in that year.
Smucker's Hist. ofMor., 57-61; Millennial Star, iv. 150-1. The preface to
the first edition was signed by Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and Joha
SIDNEY RIG DON". 7fi
In the presence of six elders, at Fayette, in Septem-
ber 1830, came the voice of Jesus Christ, promising
them every blessing, while the wicked should be de-
stroyed. The millennium should come; but first dire
destruction should fall upon the earth, and the great
and abominable church should be cast down. Hiram
Page renounced his stone. David Whitmer was or-
dered to his father's house, there to await further in-
structions. Peter Whitmer junior, Parley P. Pratt,
and Ziba Peterson were directed to go with Oliver
and assist him in preaching the gospel to the Laman-
ites, that is to say, to the Indians in the west, the
remnant of the tribe of Joseph. Thomas B. Marsh
was promised that he should begin to preach. Miracles
were limited to casting out devils and healing the sick.
Wine for sacramental purposes must not be bought,
but made at home.^
Taking with them a copy of the revelation assign-
ing to them this work, these first appointed mission-
aries set out, and continued their journey, preaching
in the villages through which they passed, and stop-
ping at Buflfalo to instruct the Indians as to their an-
cestry, until they came to Kirtland, Ohio. There
they remained some time, as many came forward and
embraced their faith, among others Sidney Rigdon,
a preaching elder in the reformed baptist church, who
presided over a congregation there, a large portion of
whom likewise became interested in the latter-day
church.'
Taylor. The preface to the ninth edition, published at Liverpool and Lon-
don ia 1851, is by Franklin D. Richards, who states that 54,000 copies of the
several editions have been sold ia the European missions alone within eleven
years. Several editions have since been published in Europe and America.
^ Smith says: ' In order to prepare for this (confirmation) I set out to go
to procure some wine for the occasion, but had gone only a short distance
when I was met by a heavenly messenger, and received the revelation. ' Mil'
lennial Star, iv. 151; Times and Seasons, iv. 117-18.
'At the town of Kirtland, two miles from Rigdon's residence, was a num-
ber of the members of his church who lived together, and had all things in
common, from which circumstance, Smith says, the idea arose that this was
the case with the Mormon believers. To these people the missionaries re-
paired and preached with some success, gathering in seventeen on the first
occasion. Rigdon after spending some time in the study of the book of Mor-
76 THE STORY OF MORMONISM,
RIgdon was a native of Pennsylvania, and was now
thirty-seven years of age. He worked on his father's
farm until he was twenty-six, when he went to live
with the Rev. Andrew Clark, and the same year, 1819,
was licensed to preach. Thence he went to Warren,
Ohio, and married; and after preaching for a time he
was called to take charge of a church at Pittsburgh,
where he met with success, and soon became very
popular. But his mind was perplexed over the doc-
trines he was required to promulgate, and in 1824 he
retired from his ministry. There were two friends
who had likewise withdrawn from their respective
churches, and with whom he conferred freely, Alex-
ander Campbell, of his own congregation, and one
Walter Scott, of the Scandinavian church of that city.
Campbell had formerly lived at Bethany, Virginia,
where was issued under his auspices a monthly jour-
nal called the Christian Baptist. Out of this friend-
ship and association arose a new church, called the
Campbellites, its doctrines having been published
by Campbell in his paper. During the next two
years Bigdon was obliged to work in a tannery to
support his family; then he removed to Bainbridge,
Ohio, where he again began to preach, confining him-
self to no creed, but leaning toward that of the Camp-
bellites. Crowds flocked to hear him, and a church
was established in a neighboring town through his in-
strumentality. After a year of this work he accepted
a call to Mentor, thirty miles distant. Slanderous
reports followed him, and a storm of persecution set
in against him; but by his surpassing eloquence and
deep reasoning it was not only soon allayed, but
greater multitudes than ever waited on his ministra-
tions.
mon concluded to accept its doctrines, and together with his wife was bap-
tized into the church, which now numbered about twenty in this section.
Millennial Star, iv. 181^; v. 4-7, 17; Times and Seasons, iv. 177, 193-4.
Rigdon had for nearly three years already taught the literal interpretation oi
scripture prophecies, the gathering of the Israelites to receive the second com-
ing, the literal reign of the saints on earth, and the use of miraculous gifts in
the church. Gunnison's Mormons, 101.
FORCE OF EXAMPLE. 77
Rigdon was a cogent speaker of imposing mien and
impassioned address. As a man, however, his charac-
ter seems to have had a tinge of insincerity. He was
fickle, now and then petulant, irascible, and sometimes
domineering. Later, Joseph Smith took occasion
more than once to rebuke him sharply, fearing that
he might assume the supremacy.
Upon hearing the arguments of Pratt and Cow-
dery, and investigating the book of Mormon, Rigdon
was convinced that he had not been legally ordained,
and that his present ministry was without the divine
authority. In regard to the revival of the old dis-
pensation, he argued thus: *'If we have not familiar-
ity enough with our creator to ask of him a sign, we
are no Christians; if God will not give his creatures
one, he is no better than Juggernaut." The result was,
that he and others accepted the book and its teach-
ings,* received baptism and the gift of the holy ghost,
and were ordained to preach.
On one occasion Cowdery preached, followed by
Rigdon. After service they went to the Chagrin
River to baptize. Rigdon stood in the stream and
poured forth his exhortations with eloquent fervor.
One after another stepped forward until thirty had
been baptized. Present upon the bank was a hard-
headed lawyer, Varnem J. Card, who as he listened
grew pale with emotion. Suddenly he seized the arm
of a friend and whispered, ''Quick, take me away, or
in a moment more I shall be in that water 1" One
hundred and twenty-seven converts at once, the num-
* Howe intimates that Rigdon knew more of the book and the people than
he pretended. Of the proselytes made in his church he says; ' Near the res-
idence of Rigdon, in Kirtland, there had been for some time previous a few
families belonging to his congregation, who had formed themselves into a
common stock society, and had become considerably fanatical, and were daily
looking for some wonderful event to take place in the world. Their minda
had become fully prepared to embrace Mormonism, or any other mysterious
ism that should first present itself. Seventeen in number of these persona
readily believed the whole story of Cowdery about the finding of the golden
plates and the spectacles. They were all reimmersed in one night by Cowdery. '
Mormonism Unveiled, 103.
78 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
ber afterward increasing to a thousand, were here
gathered into the fold.^
After adding to their number one Frederic G. Will-
iams, the missionaries continued on their way, arriving
first at Sandusky, where they gave instructions to the
Indians in regard to their forefathers, as they had
done at Buifalo, and thence proceeded to Cincinnati
and St Louis. In passing by his old forest home,
Pratt was arrested on some trivial charge, but made
his escape. The winter was very severe, and it was
some time before they could continue their journey.
At length they set out again, wading in snow knee-
deep, carrying their few effects on their backs, and
having to eat corn bread and frozen raw pork; and
after travelling in all fifteen hundred miles, most of the
way on foot, preaching to tens of thousands by the
way, and organizing hundreds into churches, they,
reached Independence, Missouri, in the early part of
1831. There Whitmer and Peterson went to work
as tailors, while Pratt and Cowdery passed over the
^ Speaking of the doings at Kirtland after the departure of the Lamanite
mission, Mr Howe says: 'Scenes of the most wild, frantic, and horrible fanat-
icism ensued. They pretended that the power of miracles was about to be
given to all those who embraced the new faith, and commenced communicat-
ing the holy spirit by laying their hands upon the heads of the converts,
which operation at first produced an instantaneous prostration of body and
mind. Many would fall upon the floor, where they would lie for a long
time apparently lifeless. They thus continued these enthusiastic exhibitions
for several weeks. The fits usually came on during or after their prayer
meetings, which were held nearly every evening. The young men and wo-
men were more particularly subject to this delirium. They would exhibit
all the apish actions imaginable, making the most ridiculous grimaces, creeping
upon their hands and feet, rolling upon the frozen ground, go through with
all the Indian modes of warfare, such as knocking down, scalping, ripping
open and tearing out the bowels. At other times they would run through
the fields, get upon stumps, preach to imaginary congregations, enter the
water and perform all the ceremony of baptizing, etc. Many would have fits
of speaking all the different Indian dialects, which none could understand.
Again, at the dead hour of night the young men might be seen running over
the fields and hills in pursuit, as they said, of the balls of fire, light, etc.,
which they saw moving through the atmosphere. . .On the arrival of Smith
in Kirtland he appeared astonished at the wild enthusiasm and scalping per-
formances of his proselytes there. He told them that he had inquired of the
Lord concerning the matter, and had been informed that it was all the work
of the devil, as heretofore related. The disturbance therefore ceased.' Mor'
monism Unveiled, 104, 116.
MISSIONARIES RECEIVED BY THE CHIEF OF THE DELAWARES.
A PERIOD OF PROSPERITY. 7»
border, crossed the Kansas Kiver, and began their
work among the Lamanites, or Indians, thereabout.
The chief of the Delawares was sachem of ten
tribes. He received the missionaries with courtesy,
and set food before them. When they asked him to
call a council before which they might expound their
doctrines, he at first declined, then assented ; where-
upon Cowdery gave them an account of their ances-
tors, as contained in the wonderful book, a copy of
which he left with the chief on taking his depart-
ure, which soon occurred; for when it was known
upon the border settlements what the missionaries
were doing, they were ordered out of the Indian coun-
try as disturbers of the peace. ^ After preaching a
short time in Missouri, the five brethren thought it
best that one of their number should return east and
report. The choice fell on Pratt. Starting out on
foot, he reached St Louis, three hundred miles dis-
tant, in nine days. Thence he proceeded By steamer
to Cincinnati, and from that point journeyed on foot
to Strongville, forty miles from Kirtland. Overcome
by fatigue and illness, he was forced to remain at this
place some ten days, when he continued his journey
on horseback. He was welcomed at Kirtland by
hundreds of the saints, Joseph Smith himself being
present.
In December 1830 comes Sidney Rigdon to Jo-
seph Smith at Manchester, and with him Edward
Partridge, to inquire of the Lord; and they are told
what they shall do; they shall preach thereabout, and
also on the Ohio/
" 'One of their leading articles of faith is, that the Indians of North Amer-
ica, in a very few years, will be converted to Mormonism, and through rivers
of blood will_ again take possession of their ancient inheritance. ' Howe's
Mormonism Unveiled, 145.
'' 'We before had Moses and Aaron in the persons of Smith and Cowdery,
and we now have John the Baptist, in the person of Sidney Rigdon. Their
plans of deception appear to have been more fully matured and developed
after the meeting of Smith and Rigdon. The latter being found very inti-
mate with the scriptures, a close reasoner, and as fully competent to make
80 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
The year 1831 opens with flattering prospects.
On the 2d of January a conference is held at Fayette,
attended by revelations and prophecy. James Col-
ville, a baptist minister, accepts the faith, but shortly
recants, being tempted of Satan, and in fear of per-
secution.® Smith and his wife go with Rigdon and
white appear black and black white as any other man; and at all times pre-
pared to establish, to the satisfaction of great numbers of people, the negative
or affirmative of any and every question from scripture, he was forthwith
appointed to promulgate all the absurdities and ridiculous pretensions of
Mormonisni, and call on the holy prophets to prove all the words of Smith.
But the miraculous powers conferred upon him we do not learn have yet been
put in requisition. It seems that the spirit had not, before the arrival of
Rigdon, told Smith anything about the promised land, or his removal to Ohio,
It is therefore very questionable what manner of spirit it was which dic-
tated most of the after movements of the i^rophet. The spirit of Rigdon, it
must be presumed, however, generally held sway; for a revelation was soon
had that Kirtland, the residence of Rigdon and his brethren, was to be the
eastern border of the promised land, and from thence to the Pacific Ocean.
On this land the New Jerusalem, the city of refuge, was to be built. Upon
it all true Mormons were to assemble, to escape the destruction of the
world which was so soon to take place.' Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 109-10.
Tucker, Origin and Prog. Mor., 76-8, thus speaks of the first appearance of
this first regular Mormon preacher before a Palmyra congregation : ' Rigdon
introduced himself as the messenger of God, declaiming that he was commanded
from above to proclaim the Mormon revelation. After going through with a
ceremonious form of prayer, in which he expressed his grateful sense of the
blessings of the glorious gospel dispensation now opening to the world, and
the miraculous light from heaven to be displayed through the instrumentality
of the chosen revelator, Joseph Smith Jr, ... he announced his text as fol-
lows: First book of Nephi, chapter iv. — "And the angel spake unto me, say-
ing, These last records which thou hast seen among the gentiles shall estab-
lish the truth of the first, which is of the twelve apostles of the lamb, and
shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away
from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and i^eople that
the lamb of God is the son of the eternal father and saviour of the world; and
that all men must come unto him or they cannot be saved. " The preacher
assumed to establish the theory that the book of Mormon and the old bible
were one in inspiration and importance, and that the precious things now re-
vealed had for wise purposes been withheld from the book first promulgated
to the world, and were necessary to establish its truth. In the course of his
argument he applied various quotations from the two books to prove his posi-
tion. Holding the book of Mormon in his right hand, and the bible in his
left hand, lie brought them together in a manner corresponding to the em-
phatic declaration made by him, that they were both equally the word of God;
that neither was perfect without the other; and that they were inseparably
necessary to complete the everlasting gospel of the saviour Jesus Christ. ' It
is said that Rigdon, after his return to Kirtland from his visit to Smith, in
one of his eloquent discourses on the new faith, 'gave a challenge to the
world to disprove the new bible, and the pretensions of its authors.' Rigdon's
old friend, Thomas Campbell, hearing of it, wrote him from Mentor accept-
ing, at the same time enclosing an outline of what his line of argument would
be. There the matter dropped.
^ See Millennial Star, v. 33-5; Times and Seasons, iv. 352-4. Mather, in
LippincoWs Mag., Aug. 1880, states that to escape persecution sixty believ-
FIRST MIGRATION". 81
Partridge to Kirtland, arriving there early in Feb-
ruary, and taking up their residence with N. K. Whit-
ney, who shows them great kindness. Among the
hundred behevers there at the time, certain false doc-
trines have crept in; these are quickly overcome, and
a plan for community of goods which the family of
saints had adopted is abolished. Commandment comes
by revelation that a house shall be built for Joseph ; that
Sidney shall live as seems to him good, for his heart
is pure; that Edward Partridge shall be ordained a
bishop;^ that all but Joseph and Sidney shall go forth,
two by two, into the regions westward and preach
the gospel.^"
''And now, behold, I speak unto the church : thou
shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not lie;
thou shalt love thy wife, cleaving unto her and to
none else; thou shalt not commit adultery ; thou shalt
not speak evil of thy neighbor, nor do him any harm.
Thou knowest my laws, given in my scriptures; he
that sinneth and repenteth not shall be cast out. And
behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate
of thy properties for their support, laying the same
before the bishop of my church, the residue not to be
taken back, but to be used by the church in buying
lands and building houses of worship, for I will conse-
crate of the riches of those who embrace my gospel
among the gentiles unto the poor of my people who
are of the house of Israel. Let him that goeth to
ers abandoned their homes in the Susquehanna valley and moved westward.
'Some of the followers,' he says, 'were moved by a spirit of adventure, while
others placed their property in the common lot and determined to accompany
the prophet to his earthly as well as to his heavenly kingdom. Smith Baker
was one of the teamsters, and reports that the train consisted of three bag-
gage and eleven passenger wagons. The exodus was along the old state road,
north of Binghamton, to Ithaca, and thence across Cayuga Lake to Palmyra. '
* ' Smith had appointed as his bishop one Edward Partridge, a very hon-
est and industrious hatter of Painesville, Ohio, who had withal a comfortable
stock of the good things of the world. He was stationed at Independence,
and had the sole control of all the temporal and spiritual affairs of the colony,
always obedient, however, to the revelations promulgated by Smith.'
'" ' Some of the members pretended to receive parchment commissions
miraculously, which vanished from their sight as soon as they had been cop-
ied.' For a copy of one of these, with seal attached, see Howe's Mormonism
Unveiled, 107; Kidder's Mormonism, 73.
_ EiBT. Utah. 6
m THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
the east tell them that shall be converted to flee to
the west. And again, thou shalt not be proud ; let
thy garments be plain, the work of thine own hand,
and cleanly. Thou shalt not be idle. And whosoever
among you is sick, and has faith, shall be healed;
and if he has not faith to be healed, but believe, he
shall be nourished with all tenderness. If thou wilt
ask, thou shalt receive revelation and knowledge.
Whosoever hath faith sufficient shall never taste death.
Ye shall live together in love; that whether ye live
ye may live in me, or if ye die ye may die in me. So
saith the Lord."
Edward Partridge was born at Pittsfield, Massachu-
setts, August 27, 1793. At the age of sixteen he
was apprenticed to a hatter. His was an earnest,
thoughtful nature, and his mind much troubled about
religion. In 1828 he entered Sidney Rigdon's Camp-
bellite church, and in that faith remained until met
by the missionaries Pratt, Cowdery, and the others,
when he accepted the new revelation, and was subse-
quently baptized by Joseph in the Seneca River. He
had a profitable business at the time; but when it was
revealed that he should leave his merchandise and de-
vote his whole time to the church, he obeyed without
a murmur.
Joseph and Sidney were much together now in their
revelations and rulings. A woman attempted prophe-
sying and was rebuked. Sarcasm was employed, and
scurrilous stories were printed in the newspapers ; an ac-
count of a great Asiatic earthquake was headed "Mor-
monism in China." Revelations during March were
frequent. In one of them John Whitmer was ap-
pointed church historian; and it was revealed that he
should keep the church records, write and keep a regu-
lar history, and act as secretary to Joseph, as had
Oliver Cowdory formerly." Lands might be bought
^' 'Since the organization of the church on the sixth day of April, 1830,
there has been a record kept in our church of ita general transactions, of its
CHURCH RECORDS. 83
for immediate necessity; but remember the city to be
presently built, and be prudent.^^ And now from the
shaking quakers came one Lemon Copley and accepted
the gospel, though not in its fullness, as he retained
persecutions and general history. The one in charge of this duty is called by
us "the historian and general church recorder." The first who occupied this
position was John Whitmer, until 1838, when he was excommunicated from
the church for transgression, and took portions of the church records with
him.' Richards' Bibliography of Utah, MS., 2. 'The earliest clerk service
rendered the prophet Joseph, of which there is any account, was by Martin
Harris; Joseph's wife, Emma, then Oliver Cowdery, who, as is claimed, wrote
the greater portion of the original manuscript of the Booh of Mormon, as he
translated it from the gold plates by the urim and thummim which he obtained
with the plates. In March 1831 John Whitmer was appointed to keep the
church record and history continually, Oliver having been appointed to other
labors. Whitmer was assisted, temporarily, on occasions of absence or illness
by Warren Parrish. At a meeting of high council at Kirtland, Sept. 14,
1835, it was decided that "Oliver Cowdery be appointed, and that he act
hereafter as recorder for the church," Whitmer having just been called to be
editor of the Jilessenger and Advocate. At a general conference held in Far
West April 6, 1838, John Corrilland Elias Higbee were appointed historians,
and George W. Robinson "general church recorder and clerk for the first
presidency." On the death of Elder Robert B. Thompson, which occurred at
Nauvoo on the twenty-seventh of August, 18-41, in his obituary it is stated:
" Nearly two years past he had officiated as scribe to President Joseph Smith
and clerk for the church, which important stations he filled with that dignity
and honor befitting a man of God." During the expulsion from Missouri, and
the early settlement of Nauvoo, James Mulholland, William Clayton, and
perhaps others rendered temporary service in this line until the 13th of
December, 1841, when Willard Richards was appointed recorder, general
clerk, and private secretary to the prophet, which offices he occupied until
his death, in March 1854, when he was succeeded by George A. Smith, who
held it until his death on the first of September, 1875, with Wilford Wood-
ruff as his assistant. Soon after, Orson Pratt succeeded to the otiSce, retain-
ing Woodruff as his assistant, until his demise on the third of October, 1881.
Directly after President Woodruff was appointed to the office, and in January
1884, Apostle Franklin D. Richards was appointed his assistant.' See Times
and Seasons, v. 401; Millennial Star, v. 82; Richards' Narrative, MS., 94-8.
^^ Of the future of this city there were many revelations and many con-
jectures. ' It was said that it would in a few years exceed in splendor every-
thing known in ancient times. Its streets were to be paved with gold; all
that escaped the general destruction which was soon to take place would
there assemble with all their wealth; the ten lost tribes of Israel had been
discovered in their retreat, in the vicinity of the north pole, where they had
for ages been secluded by immense barriers of ice, and became vastly rich ;
the ice in a few years was to be melted away, when those tribes, with St
John and some of the Nephites, which the book of Mormon had immortalized,
would be seen making their appearance in the new city, loaded with immense
quantities of gold and silver. Whether the prophet himself ever declared
that these things had been revealed to him, or that he had seen them through
his magic stone or silver spectacles, we will not say; but that such stories
and hundreds of othei'S equally absurd were told by those who were in daily
intercourse with him, as being events which would probably take place, are
susceptible of proof.' Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 127-8. 'Kirtland was
never intended to be the metropolis of Mormonism; it was selected as a tem-
porary abiding place, to make money in reference to a removal farther west. '
Ferris' Utah and the Mormons, T2,
84 THE STORY OF MORMOXISM.
somewhat of his former faith; whereupon a revelation
ordered him to go with Parley P. Pratt and preach to
the shakers, hot according to his old ideas, but as
Parley should direct.
''And again, I say unto you that whoso forbiddeth
to marry is not ordained of God, for marriage is or-
dained of God unto man; wherefore it is lawful that
he should have one wife, and they twain shall be one
flesh. Beware of false spirits. Given May 1831."
The saints from New York began to come in num-
bers, and Bishop Partridge was ordered to look after
them and attend to their requirements. It was or-
dered that if any had more than they required, let
them give to the church; if any had less, let the church
relieve their necessities. The 6th of June a confer-
ence of elders was held at Kirtland, and several re-
ceived the authority of the Melchisedec priesthood.
The next conference should be held in Missouri,
whither Joseph and Sidney should proceed at once,
and there it would be told them what to do. And
to the same place others should go, two by two, each
couple taking different routes and preaching by the
way. Among those who went forth were Lyman
Wight and John Corrill, John Murdock and Hyrum
Smith by the way of Detroit, Thomas B. Marsh and
Selah J. Griffin, Isaac Morley and Ezra Booth, David
Whitmer and Harvey Whitlock, Parley P. Pratt and
Orson Pratt, Solomon Hancock and Simeon Carter,
Edson Fuller and Jacob Scott, Levi Hancock and
Zebedee Coltrin, Beynolds Gaboon and Samuel H.
Smith, Wheeler Baldwin and William Carter, Joseph
Wakefield and Solomon Humphrey. With Joseph
and Sidney were to go Martin Harris and Edward
Partridge, taking with them a letter of recommenda-
tion from the church." "And thus, even as I have
^ ' From this point in the history of this delusion,' says Howe, ' it began
to spread with considerable rapidity. Nearly all of their male converts,
however ignorant and worthless, were forthwith transformed into elders, and
sent forth to proclaim, with all their wild enthusiasm, the wonders and my."
teries of Mormonism. All those having a taste for the marvellous and de«
MOVE TO MISSOURI. 85
said, if ye are faithful, ye shall assemble yourselves
together to rejoice upon the land of Missouri, which
is the land of your inheritance, which is now the land
of your enemies. Behold, I the Lord will hasten the
city in its time, and will crown the faithful with joy
and with rejoicing. Behold. I am Jesus Christ the son
of God, and I will lift them up at the last day. Amen."
While preparing for the journey to Missouri, a let-
ter was received from Oliver Cowdery, reporting on
his missionary work, and speaking of another tribe of
Lamanites, living three hundred miles west of Santa
Fe, called the Navarhoes (Navajoes), who had large
flocks of sheep and cattle, and who made blankets.
W. W. Phelps," with his family joining the society,
was commissioned to assist Oliver Cowdery in select-
ing, writing, and printing books for schools. Thus
the move from Ohio to Missouri was begun, Joseph
and his party starting from Kirtland the 19th of June,
going by wagon, canal-boat, and stage to Cincinnati,
by steamer to St Louis, and thence on foot to Inde-
pendence, arriving about the middle of July.
lighting in novelties flocked to hear them. Many travelled fifty and a
hundred miles to the throne of the prophet in Kirtland, to hear from his own
mouth the certainty of his excavating a bible and spectacles. Many, even in
the New England states, after hearing the frantic story of some of these
elders, would forthwith place their all into a wagon, and wend their way to
the promised land, in order, as they supposed, to escape the judgments of
heaven, which were soon to be poured out upon the land. The state of New
York, they were privately told, would most probably be sunk, unless the
people thereof believed in the pretensions of Smith.' Mormonism, Unveiled,
115-16.
i*lIowe writes thus of Phelps: 'Before the rise of Mormonism he was an
avowed infidel; having a remarkable propensity for fame and eminence, he
was supercilious, liauglity, and egotistical. His great ambition was to em-
bark in some speculation where he could shine preeminent. He took an
active part for several years in the political contests of New York, and
made no little display as an editor of a partisan newspaper, and after being
foiled in his desires to become a candidate for lieutenant-governor of that
state, his attention was suddenly diverted by the prospects which were held
out to him in the gold-bible speculation. In this he was sure of becoming
a great man, and made the dupes believe he was master of fourteen dif-
ferent languages, of which they frequently boasted. But he soon found
that the prophet would sufi'er no growing rivalships, whose sagacity he had
not well calculated, until he was met by a revelation which informed him
that he could rise no higher than a printer,' Mormottism Unveiled, 274.
£6 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
" Harken, O ye elders of my churca, saith the Lord
your God, who have assembled yourselves together,
according to my commandments, in this land, which
is the land of Missouri, which is the land which 1
have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of
the saints; wherefore this is the land of promise, and
the place for the city of Zion. And thus saith the
Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom here is
wisdom. Behold the place which is now called Inde-
pendence is the centre place, and the spot for the
temple is lying westward upon a lot which is not far
from the court-house: wherefore it is wisdom that
the land should be purchased by the saints; and also
every tract lying westward, even unto the line run-
ning directly between jew and gentile; and also every
tract bordering by the prairies, inasmuch as my disci-
ples are enabled to buy lands."
Further, Sidney Gilbert was made church agent, to
receive money and buy lands; he was also directed to
establish a store. Partridge was to partition the
lands purchased among the people; Phelps was
made church printer. But the last two becoming a
little headstrong on entering upon their new duties,
Joseph found it necessary to reprimand and warn
them. Harris was held up as an example to emulate,
for he had given much to the church. It was or-
dered that an agent be appointed to raise money in
Ohio to buy lands in Missouri, and Kigdon was com-
missioned to write a description of the new land of
Zion for the same purpose. Ziba Peterson was dis-
possessed of his lands, and made to work for others,
in punishment for his misdemeanors.
Thus the latter-day saints had come to the border
line of civilization, and looking over it into the west
they thought here to establish themselves forever.
Here was to be the temple of God; here the city of
refuge ; here the second advent of the savior. Mean-
while their headquarters were to be at the town of
Independence.
CITY OF ZION. U7
In Kaw township, twelve miles west of Indepen-
dence, the Colesville branch of the church built a log
house; the visible head of the church, on the 2d of
August, laying the first log, brought thither by
twelve men, in honor of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Next day the ground for the temple, situated a little
west of Independence,^^ was dedicated, and the day fol-
lowing was held the first conference in the land of Zion.^^
It was now commanded that Smith, Rigdon, Cow-
dery, and others should return east, and make more
proselytes, money for the purpose to be furnished
them out of the general fund." Accordingly on the
1* Of Independence one of them says: 'It is a new town, containing a court-
house built of brick, two or three merchants' stores, and 15 or 20 dwelling-
houses built mostly of logs hewed on both sides; and is situated on a handsome
rise of ground about three miles south of Missouri River, and about 12 miles
east of the dividing line between the United States and the Indian reserve,
and is the county seat of Jackson county. ' Booth's letter in Howe's Mormonism
Unveiled, 196. On the south side of the Missouri, Parley Pratt says, Auto-
hiograx>hy, 78, 'some families were entirely dressed in skins, without any
other clothing, including ladies young and old. Buildings were generally
without glass windows, and the door open in winter for a light.'
^® Booth, in Howe's Mormonism Uiiveiled, 196-9, says: 'The designation of
the site where the city of Zion was to begin was attended with considerable
parade and an ostentatious display of talents, both by Rigdon and Cowdery.
And the next day the ground for the temple was consecrated. Smith claiming
the honor of laying the corner-stone himself. The location of the stone was
marked by a sapling from which the bark was removed on the north and east
sides: on the south side a letter T was cut, which stood for temple, and on
the east side Zam., for Zomas; which Smith said is the original Avord for Zion.
This stone was placed near the foot of the sapling and covered with bushes
cut for the purpose; the spot being on an elevation half a mile from Inde-
pendence.' 'The Colesville branch was among the first organized by Joseph
Smith, and constituted the first settlers of the members of the church in
Missouri. They had arrived late in the summer and cut some hay for their
cattle, sowed a little grain, prepared some ground for cultivation, and were
engaged during the fall and winter in building log cabins, etc. The winter
was cold, and for some time about 10 families lived in one cabin, which was
open and unfinished, while the frozen ground served for a floor. Our food
consisted of beef, and a httle bread made of com which had been grated
into coarse meal by rubbing the ears on a tin grater.' PratCs Autobiogra-
phy, 76. See also Millennial Star, v. 131. It was revealed through Joseph
the seer that the property of the Colesville branch should be held in com-
mon, and that Partridge (its bishop) have charge and distribute from the com-
munity storehouse according to the needs of each. Smith's Doctrine and
Covenants (1876), 187-8. Smith in the beginning of the church attempted to
establish communism, each giving their all to the bishop, and only drawing
out of the office sufficient to live upon. This was found to be impracticable,
and it was silently permitted to glide into the payment of tithing. Hyde'a
Mormonism, 37.
" 'This year, 1831, passed off with a gradual increase, and considerable
wealth was drawn in, so that they began to boast of a capital stock of ten or
88 THE STORY OF MORMONTSM.
9th Joseph and ten elders started down the river in
sixteen canoes, the leaders arriving at Kirtland
the 27th/^ after having suffered hardship and mortifi-
cation through disaffection among the elders. Titus
Billings, who had charge of the church property there,
was ordered to dispose of the lands, and prepare to
remove to Missouri in the following spring, together
with part of the people, and such money as could be
raised. It was provided that those wishing to buy
land in Zion could do so by forwarding the purchase-
money. The account of the new country written by
Sidney Kigdon did not please Joseph, and he was or-
dered to write another; if that should not prove satis-
factory, he was to be deprived of office.^'
On the 12th of September Joseph removed to the
town of Hiram, thirty miles away, and prepared to
begin again the translation of the bible, with Rigdon as
scribe. The farm of Isaac Morley was ordered sold,
while Frederic G. Williams should retain his, for it
was desirable to keep a footing at Kirtland yet for
fifteen thousand dollars. Their common-stock principles appear to be some-
what similar to those of the shakers.' Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 128-9.
1* Booth intimates that Smith and Rigdon preferred living in Ohio to en-
during the hardships of Missouri. ' Before they went to Missouri their lan-
guage was, "We shall winter in Ohio but one winter more;" and when in
Missouri, "It will be many years before we come here, for the lord has a great
work for us to do in Ohio." And the great work is to make a thorough al-
teration of the bible, and invent new revelations, and these are to be sent to
Missouri in order to be printed.' Letter in Howe's Mormonism Unveiled,
199.
^' 'Some dispute, of which the nature is not clearly known, appears to have
arisen between Joseph and his friend Sidney Rigdon before their return. It
is probable, from the course of subsequent events, that Sidney, even at this
time, aspired to greater power in the church than suited the prophet, . . .
who saw fit to rebuke him by a revelation accusing him of "being exalted in
his heart, and despising the counsel of the lord. They afterward became
reconciled." ' Smucker's Mormons, 75-6, confirmed by Millennial Star, v. 149;
Times and Seasons, v. 467. From this time till January 1832, Joseph con-
tinued preaching in various parts of the United States, making converts with
great rapidity. He found it necessary, however, further to check the pre-
sumption of some new and indiscreet converts who also had revelations from
the Lord, which they endeavored to palm oflf upon the public. Among others,
one W. E. McLellan was rebuked for endeavoring to ' write a commandment
like unto one of the least of the Lord's. ' Mackay's Mormons, 67-8. See anecdote
of 'The Swamp Angel;' also account of raising the dead by Smith, about this
time. Ward's Mormon Wife, 10-11, 15-24. For text of rebuke, where the
name of the offender is given William E. M'Lellin, see Millennial Star, v. 185-
6; Times and Seasons, v. 496.
PROGRESS AND APOSTASY. ' SflT
five years. The store kept by Newel K. Whitney
and Sidney Gilbert should likewise be continued. A
system of tithes should be established. Ezra Booth
apostatized, and wrote letters against the church.^''
Orson Hyde, clerk in Gilbert and Whitney's store,
was baptized, and later make an elder. Phelps was
told to buy at Cincinnati a printing-press and type,
and start a monthly paper at Independence, to be
called the Evening and Morning Star, which was done.
Oliver Cowdery was instructed in November to return
to Missouri, and with him John Whitmer, the latier
to visit the several stations, and gather further
materials for church history. Newel K. Whitney
^^ Booth's letters were first printed at Ravenna, in the Ohio Star, and after-
ward by E. D. Howe in his book, Mormonism Unveiled, 175-221. They are
nine in number, and are full of general denunciation and sorrow over his past
blindness, and an account of the hardships and disappointments attending
his journey to and from Missouri. I quote tlae more pertinent points.
'When I embraced Mormonism I conscientiously believed it to be of God.'
'The relation in which Smith stands to the church is that of a prophet, seer,
revealer, and translator; and when he speaks by the spirit, or says he knows
a thing by the communication of the spirit, it is received as coming directly
from the mouth of the Lord.' 'This system, to some, carries the force of
plausibility, and appears under an imposing form. It claims the bible for its
patron, and proffers the restoration of the apostolic church, with all the gifts
and graces with which the primitive saints were endowed.' 'Many of them
have been ordained to the high priesthood, or the order of Melchisedec, and
profess to be endowed with the same power as the ancient apostles were. But
they have been hitherto unsuccessful in finding the lame, the halt, and the
blind who had the faith sufficient to become the subjects of their miracles,
and it is now concluded that this work must be postponed until they get to
Missouri; for the Lord will not show those signs to this wicked and adulterous
generation. In the commandment given to the churches in the state of New
York to remove to the state of Ohio, they were assured that these mii-acles
should be wrought in the state of Ohio; but now they must be deferred until
they are settled in Missouri.' 'Everything in the church is done by com-
mandment; and yet it is said to be done by the voice of the church. For
instance. Smith gets a commandment that he shall be the head of the church,
or that he shall rule the conference, or that the church shall build him an
elegant house and give him 1,000 dollars. For this the members of the church
must vote, or they will be cast off for rebelling against the commandments of
the Lord.' 'Smith describes an angel as having the appearance of a tall, slim,
well built, handsome man, with a bright pillar upon his head. ' The bishop's
'business is to superintend the secular concerns of the church. He holds a
deed of the lands; and the members receive a writing from him signifying
that they are to possess the land as their own so long as they are obedient to
Smith's commandments.' 'The Lord's storehouse is to be furnished with
goods suited to the Indian trade, and persons are to obtain license from the
government to dispose of them to the Indians in their own territory; at the
same time they are to disseminate the principles of Mormonism among
them.'
iO THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
was appointed bishop, to receive and account for
church funds collected by the various elders. Many
of the elders who went to Missouri were by this time
at work in different parts of the east and the west.^^
On the 16th of February, 1832, while Smith and
Rigdon were translating the gospel of St John, they
were favored by a glorious vision from the Lord,^^ which
gave them great comfort and encouragement. The
revelations about this time were frequent and lengthy,
their purport being in great part to direct the move-
ments of missionaries. Simonds Hider and Eli, Ed-
ward, and John Johnson now apostatized.
On the night of the 25th of March, Smith and
Rigdon were seized by a mob, composed partly of the
Campbellites, methodists, and baptists of Hiram,
twelve or fifteen being apostate Mormons. The cap-
tives were roughly treated, and expected to be killed;
but after they had been stripped, beaten, and well
covered with tar and feathers, they were released.
Smith preached and baptized as usual the next day,
Sunday, but Rigdon was delirious for some time after-
ward.^^ This broke up for the present the translation
^^ ' Thirty or forty elders were sent off in various directions in pursuit of
proselytes, and the year passed off with a gradual increase.' Howe's Mormon-
ism Unveiled, 128-9. The men, after baptism, are elders, and are empowered
to perform the ceremony upon others. Carvcdho's Incidents of Travel, 148.
For names of apostates at this time, see iimucker's Hist. Mor., 77. For iur
stances of young women induced to unite with the sect about this time, see
Ward's Mormon Wife, 42-81. Mackay erroneously states that the number
of saints in KLrtland at this time, including women and children, was but 150.
The Mormons, 71-2.
^^In January it was revealed that the work of translating should be pro-
ceeded with by Smith and Rigdon until finished; and that several of the
elders, among whom was Orson Hyde, a recent convert, should go forth in
various directions in pairs as before, and preach. Smith and some of the
elders attended a conference at Amherst, Loraine Co. , after returning from
which both himself and Rigdon were shown the devil in a vision, and had the
revelation of St John explained to them. In March it was revealed that
steps should be taken to regulate and establish storehouses for the benefit of
the poor, both at Kirtland and at Zion. More missionaries were sent out, and
word was received that the emigrants had safely reached Missouri. Tim£8
aiul Seasons, v. 576-7, 592-6, 608-9.
'^ Times and Seasoiis, v. 611-12. Mackay, Mormons, 68-71, erroneously
dates the outrage Jan. 25th. One account says aqua-fortis was poured into
Smith's mouth. Deseret News, Aug. 6, 1862. Smith says 'they tried to force
a vial into my mouth, and broke it in my teeth. ' One reason assigned for
this treatment was that they were attempting to establish communism and
BOOK OF DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS. 91
of the bible ; Rigdon went to Kirtland, and on the 2d
of April, in obedience to a revelation, Smith started
for Missouri, having for his companions Whitney,
Peter Whitmer, and Gause. The spirit of mobocracy
was aroused throughout the entire country. Joseph
even feared to go to Kirtland, and escaped by way of
Warren, where he was joined by Rigdon, whence the
two proceeded to Cincinnati and St Louis by way of
Wheeling, Virginia, a mob following them a good part
of the way. The brethren at Independence and vicin-
ity welcomed their leaders warmly, but the unbeliev-
ers there as elsewhere hourly threatened violence.^*
In May the first edition of the Booh of Command-
ments'^^ was ordered printed; the following month, pub-
dishonorable dealing, forgery, and swindling. Burton's City of the Saints, 672.
Smith merely says that Rigdon was mad; but his mother asserts that he
counterfeited the madness in order to mislead the saints into the belief that
the keys of the kingdom had been taken from the church, and would not be
restored, as he said, until they had built him a new house. This, she says,
gave rise to great scandal, which Joseph however succeeded in silencing.
Rigdon repented and was forgiven. He stated that as a punishment for his
fault, the devil had three times thrown him out of his bed in one night.
Be.my^s Journey to Great Salt Lake, i. 283 (note).
'^*The 26th of April Smith called a general council, which acknowledged
him as president of the high priesthood, to which he had been ordained at the
Amherst conference in January, and Bishop Partridge and Rigdon, who had
quarrelled, were reconciled, probably by Smith, as Rigdon was supposed to be
at Kirtland at the time. This greatly rejoiced Smith; and he immediately
received a revelation, in which it was announced that the stakes must be
strengthened, and all property was to be held in common. Times and Seasons,
v. 624-5; Maclcay^s The Mormons, 71.
''^ The first edition of Doctrine and Covenants presents the following title
page: A Book of Commandments for the Government of the Church of Christ
organized according to law on the 6th of April, 1830. Zion: Published hy W.
W. Phelps d: Co., 1S33. This edition contains the revelations given up to
September, 1831. There were 3,000 copies printed of this edition. Then
there was The Book of Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints; Selected from the Bevelations of God. By Joseph Smith,
President. First European Edition, Liverpool, no date. The preface, how-
ever, by Thomas Ward, is dated Liverpool, June 14, 1845. There are two
principal divisions and an appendix. The first consists of seven lectures on
faith, delivered by Sidney Rigdon before a class of elders at Kirtland; the
second is called Covenants and Commandments, and consists chiefly of revela-
tions given 1830-42, to Joseph Smith, the same for the most part that are also
printed in Times and Seasons, under title of History of Joseph Smith. There
are also rules, minutes of council, visions, and expositions. The appendix
contains rules on marriage, a dissertation on government and laws, and a brief
account of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. 'The book of Mormon, although most
known, is not the chief book of the sect. The Book of Teachings and Cove-
nants, containing some of the revelations which Smith pretended to have re
ceived from heaven, is regarded by his disciples as a book of the law which God
92 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
lished in connection with the Upper Missiouri Adver-
tiser, appeared the first number of the Evening and
Morning Star, under the auspices of W. W. Phelps,
whose printing-press was the only one within a hun-
dred and twenty miles of Independence. On the 6th
of May Smith, Rigdon, and Whitney again set out
on their return to Kirtland.^® On the way Whitney
broke his leg. Smith was poisoned, and that so badly
that he dislocated his jaw in vomiting, and the hair
upon his head became loosened; Whitney, however,
laid his hands on him, and administered in the namQ
of the Lord, and he was healed in an instant.^'
Some three or four hundred saints being now gath-
ered in Missouri, most of them settled on their own
inheritances in this land of Zion, besides many others
scattered abroad throughout the land, who were yet to
come hither, it was deemed best to give the matter of
schools some attention. Parley P. Pratt was labor-
ing in Illinois. Newel K. Whitney was directed in
September to leave his business in other hands, visit
has given this generation. Smith also published other revelations, ■which are
contained in a little book called The Pearl of Great Price.'' De Smefs Western
Missions, 393. 'This book abounds in grammatical inaccuracies, even to a
greater extent than the book of Mormon.' Mackay's The Mormons, 43. A
bungling statement is made by Mather, LippincotVs Mag., Aug. 1880, to the
effect that in 1835 'Rigdon's Book of Doctrine and Covenants and his Lectures
on Faith were adopted.'
^^ Arrangements were early made for the establishment of a store. Ferris'
Utah anil Mormons, 75. When the printing press was bought — see Deseret
News, June 30, 1869 — a supply of goods was purchased; and arrangements
were made at the May council to keep up the supply, which, with few excep-
tions, were considered satisfactory. On April 27th considerable business was
transacted 'for the salvation of the saints who were settling among a fero-
cious set of mobbers, like lambs among wolves. ' On the 28th and 29th Smith
visited the settlement above Big Blue River in Kaw township, 12 miles west
of Independence, including the Colesville branch, and returned on the 30th,
when it was revealed that all minors should be supported by their parents,
but after becoming of age ' they had claims upon the church, or in other
words, the Lord's storehouse,' as was also the case with widows left destitute.
Times and Seasons, v. 625-6.
^'' On May 6th, leaving affairs as he supposed in a flourishing condition,
Smith started for Kirtland to look after the mill, store, and farm in that
neighborhood, but owing to an accident which resulted in the breaking of
Whitney's leg. Smith was delayed 4 weeks en route. Rigdon, who was also of
the party, proceeded through without stopping, and the other two arrived
some time in June. The season was passed by Smith in his work of translat-
ing the scriptures, and in attending to business affairs. Times and Seasons,
V. 626.
FIRST PRESroENCY. 93 ,
the churches, collect money, and administer to the
wants of the poor. The new translation of the bible
was again taken up and continued through the winter,
the new testament being completed and sealed up, not
to be opened till it reached Zion.^^
On January 23, 1833, the ceremony of washing feet
is instituted after John's gospel. Each elder washes
his own feet first, after which Joseph girds himself
with a towel and washes the feet of them all. "Be-
hold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, in conse-
quence of evils and designs, which do and will exist
in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I
have warned you, and forewarned j^ou, by giving unto
you this word of wisdom by revelation, that inasmuch
as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you,
behold it is not good, nor meet in the sight of your
father. And again, tobacco is not for the body, nei-
ther for the belly, and it is not good for man. And
again, hot drinks aro not for the body or belly."
^ Hardly had President Smith turned his back upon Zion, when dissensions
broke out among the saints there. He corresponded regularly with the Star,
giving advice and warning, but matters apparently grew worse, for in Janu-
ary 1833 a conference of twelve high priests was held at Kirtland, or Kirt-
land Mills, as they now called their settlement, at which Orson Hyde and
Hyrum Smith were appointed to write an epistle to the brotherhood of Zion.
The document was dated Jan. 14th, and began: 'From a conference of 12 high
priests to the bishop, his council, and the inhabitants of Zion.' After pre-
mising that Smith and certain others had written on this all-important sub-
ject, and that the replies received had not given satisfactory assurances of
confession and repentauce, charges were made that old grievances, supposed
to be settled, had been again brought up in a censorious spirit, and that they
had accused Brother Smith of seeking after monarchical power and authority.
This complaint was made by Carroll in a letter dated June 2d. Again,
Brother Gilbert, on Dec. 10th, wrote a letter which contained 'low, dark, and
blind insinuations, which they declined to entertain, though the writer's
claims and pretensions to holiness were great.' Brother Phelps, Dec. 15th,
wrote a letter betraying ' a lightness of spirit that ill becomes a man placed
in the important and re.sponsible station that he is placed in.' To a request
that Smith should come to Zion, made by Phelps in a previous letter, it was
answered that 'Brother Smith will not settle in Zion until she repent and
purify herself . . . and remember the commandments that have been given her
to do them as well as say them. ' Finally, it was threatened that unless these
disturbances should cease, they should all be cut off, and the Lord would seek
another place. Brother Ziba Peterson was delivered 'over to the buffetings
of Satan, in the name of the Lord, that he may learn not to transgress the com-
mandments of God.' Times and Seasons, v. 801.
94 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
The first presidency is organized on the 8th of March,
Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. WilHams being
Smith's councillors. Money flows in, and a council
of high priests, March 23d, orders the purchasing for
$11,100 of three farms at Kirtland, upon which the
saints may build a stake, or support, in Zion,^^ and the
foundations of the temple are laid, for here they will
remain for five years and make money until the west-
ern Zion shall be made ready and a temple built
there also. On the land is a valuable quarry of stone,
and good clay for bricks; they also buy a tannery.
In April the school of the prophets closes, to reopen in
the autumn. Shederlaomach is made by revelation a
member of the united firm. It is not the will of the
Lord to print any of the new translation in the Star; but
when it is published, it will all go to the world together,
in a volume by itself, and the new testament and the
book of Mormon will be printed together. Those
preparing to go to Zion should organize.
Commandment comes to lay at Kirtland the foun-
dation of the city of the stake in Zion, with a house
of the Lord, a school-house for the instruction of
elders, a house for the presidency, a house of wor-
ship and for the school of the prophets, an endow-
ment house with a room for the school of apostles,
and a house in which to print the translation of the
scriptures. A church is established in Medina county,
^ 'The church that was to be established in Jackson county was called Zion,
the centre of gathering, and those established by revelation in other places
were called stakes of Zion, or stakes; hence the stake at Kirtland, the stake at
Far West, etc. Each stake was to liaA'e a presidency, consisting of three high
priests, chosen and set apart for that purpose, whose jurisdiction was confined
to the limits of the stake over which they took the watch care. * Kidder's
Mormonism, 121-2. A stake of Zion is an organization comprising a presi-
dency, high priests, and its council of 12 high priests. The latter is a tribu-
nal for the trial of brethren. It is a court of appeal from the bishops, and
has also jurisdiction in spiritual matters. Richards' Narrative, MS., 55.,
For origin of name, see Doctrine and Convenants (1876), 263. 'The nexta
year, 1833, commenced with something like a change of operations. In-1
stead of selling their possessions in Ohio, they again began to buy up im-1
proved land, mills, and water privileges. It would seem that the Missouri
country began to look rather dreary to the prophet and his head men, sup-
posing that they could not enjoy their power there as well as in Ohio.' Howe's^
Mormonism Unveiled, 130.
TEMPLES PLANNED. 95
Ohio, by Sidney Rigdon, who sometimes proves him-
self unruly. Dr Hurlbut is tried before the bishop's
council of high priests on a charge of unchristian-
like conduct with the female sex, and condemned, but
on confession is pardoned. ^°
Temples are ordered built in the city of Zion, in
Missouri, as follow : a house of the Lord for the pres-
idency of the high and most holy priesthood after the
order of Melchisedec ; the sacred apostolic repository,
^° Four years after the first printing of the Book of Mormon, at Palmyra,
New York, was issued in Ohio the following work: Mormonism Unveiled:
or, A faithful account of that singular Imposition and Delusion, from its rise to
the present time. With sketches of the characters of its Propagators, and a full
detail of the manner in which the famous Golden Bible was brought before the
World. To which are added inquiries into the probability that the historical
part of the said bible was written by one Solomon Spaulding, more than twenty
years ago, and by him intended to have been published as a romance. By E. D.
Howe. Painesville, Printed and Published by the Author, 1S34- 12mo, 290
pages. Painesville is situated but a short distance from Kirtland, then the
headquarters of Mormonism, where about that time was ordained the first
quorum of the twelve apostles, and Sidney Rigdon was delivering Joseph
Smith's famous lectures on faith, subsequently printed in Doctrine and Cove-
nants, already noticed. Here also, shortly afterward, the first Mormon temple
was dedicated. Great excitement prevailed throughout that section regarding
religion, and the book was widely circulated. It was a powerful weapon,
and promptly and skillfully handled; yet it seems to have been no serious bar-
rier to the dissemination of the new doctrines. The work is well written;
and while not vehement in its denunciations, it brings forward a large mass
of evidence to prove, as he says, 'the depths of folly, degradation, and super-
stition to which human nature can be carried.' He observes that 'the diffi-
culty of procuring, or arriving at the whole truth, in relation to a religious
imposition which has from its birth been so studiously veiled in secrecy, and
generally under a belief that the judgments of God would follow any dis-
closures of what its votaries had seen or heard, will be readily discovered. '
The author begins with some account of the Smith family. Their thoughts
turned greatly toward gaining possession of hidden treasures. Young Joseph
'had become very expert in the arts of necromancy, juggling, the use of the
divining rod, and looking into what they termed a peep-stone, by which
means he soon collected about him a gang of idle, credulous j'oung men, to
perform the labor of digging into the hills and mountains, and other lonely
places in that vicinity in search of gold.' After comments on Cowdery, Har-
ris, and Whitmer, Mr Howe gives a commentary on the golden bible. Some
63 pages are devoted to this, and to observations on the credibility of the
three and the eight witnesses. Sarcasm is the weapon employed, and gen-
erally with eflfect; the exposition in regard to contradictions and historical
inaccuries might apply with equal force to the bible, the koran, or any other
sacred book. Mention is next made of Pratt's conversion, which, he intimates,
was not accidental, followed by an account of the expedition to the Lam-
anites. Thus the line of events is followed by Mr Howe to the time of the
publication of his book, at the end of which are given letters and testimonials
to disprove the statements and doctrines of the Mormons, and also to prove
that the book of Mormon was the work of Spaulding. On the whole, besides
being the first book published in opposition to the Mormons, it is also one of
the most ably written, the most original, and the most respectable.
96- THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
for the use of the bishop; the holy evangelical house,
for the high priesthood of the holy order of God;
house of the Lord for the elders of Zion ; house of the
Lord for the presidency of the high priesthood ; house
of the Lord for the high priesthood after the order of
Aaron; house of the Lord for the teachers in Zion;
house of the Lord for the deacons in Zion; and others.
There are also to be farms, barns, and dwellings. The
ground secured for the purpose is a mile square, and
will accommodate fifteen or twenty thousand people. ^^
Affairs in Missouri were very prosperous. "Immi-
gration had poured into the county of Jackson in great
numbers," says Parley P. Pratt, ''and the church
'^ A plan and specifications for the new city of Zion were sent out from
Kirtland. The plot was one mile square, drawn to a scale of 660 feet to one
inch. Each square was to contain ten acres, or 660 feet fronts. Lots were
to be laid out alternately in the squares; in one, fronting north or south; in
the next east or west; each lot extending to the centre line of its square, with
a frontage of 66 feet and a depth of 330 feet, or half an acre. By this ar-
rangement in one square the houses would stand on one street, and in the
square opposite on another street. Through the middle of the plot ran a
range of blocks 660 feet by 990 feet set apart for the public buildings, and
in these the lots were all laid off north and south, the greatest length of the
blocks being from east to west: thus making all the lots equal in size. The
whole plot was supposed to be sufficient for tlae accommodation of from 15,000
to 20,000 people. All stables, barns, etc., were to be built north or south of
the plot, none being permitted in the city among the houses. Sufficient ad-
joining ground on all sides was to be reserved for supplying the city with
vegetables, etc. All streets were to be 132 feet (8 perches) wide, and a like
width was to be laid off between the temple and its surrounding streets. But
one house was to be built on a lot, and that must front on a line 25 feet from
the street, the space in front to be set out with trees, shrubs, etc., according
to the builder's taste. All houses to be of either brick or stone. The house
of the Lord for the presidency was to be 61 feet by 87 feet, 10 feet of the length
for a stairway. The interior was so arranged as to permit its division into 4
parts by curtains. At the east and west ends were to be pulpits arranged for
the several grades of president and council, bishop and council, high priests
and elders, at the west; and the lesser priesthood, comprising presidency,
priests, teachers, and deacons, at the east. Provision was also made to seat
visiting officers according to their grades. The pews were fitted with sliding
seats, so that the audience could face either pulpit as required. There was
to be no gallery, but the house was to be divided into 2 stciries of 14 feet each.
A bell of very large size was also ordered. Finally, on each public biiilding
must be written. Holiness to the Lord. When this plot was settled, another
was to be laid out, and so on. Times and Seasons, vi. 785-7, 800. Zion City
— its prototype in Enoch's City. Young's Histonj of the Seventies, 9-15, no.
10, in Mormon Pamphlets. It was revealed to Smith that the waters of
the gulf of Mexico covered the site of a prehistoric city, built by and named
for Enoch; and that it was translated because its inhabitants liad become so
far advanced that further earthly residence was unnecessary. Zion, Smith's
ideal city, was finally to reach a like state of perfection.
ENLARGED PRETENSIONS. 9i
in that county now numbered upward of one thou-
sand souls. These had all purchased lands and paid
for them, and most of them were improving in build-
ings and in cultivation. Peace and plenty had crowned
their labors, and the wilderness became a fruitful field,
and the solitary place began to bud and blossom as the
rose. They lived in peace and quiet, no lawsuits with
each other or with the world ; few or no debts were con-
tracted, few promises broken; there were no thieves,
robbers, or murderers; few or no idlers; all seemed
to worship God with a ready heart. On Sundays the
people assembled to preach, pray, sing, and receive
the ordinances of God. Other days all seemed busy
in the various pursuits of industry. In short, there
has seldom, if ever, been a happier people upon the
earth than the church of the saints now were." They
were for the most part small farmers, tradesmen, and
mechanics, and were not without shrewdness in the
management of their secular affairs.
But all this must now be changed. The saints ot
God must be tried as by fire. Persecutions such as
never before were witnessed in these latter days, and
the coming of which were foretold by Joseph, are
upon them; they shall be buffeted for five years, and
the end is not yet. " Political demagogues were afraid
we should rule the country," says Parley, "and re-
ligious priests and bigots felt that we were powerful
rivals. "^^ Moreover, there is no doubt that they were
indiscreet; they were blinded by their prosperity;
already the kingdom of God and the kingdom x)f this
world had come unto them; now let the gentiles
tremble !^^
^''Autobiography, 103.
*' ' Their prophet had declared that Zion shoiild be established, and should
put down her enemies under her feet. Why, then, should they hesitate to pro-
claim their anticipations? They boasted openly that they should soon possess
the whole country, and that the unbelievers should be rooted out from the
land.' Edinburgh Review, April 1854. 'We have been credibly iuf Armed
that Rigdon has given it as his opinion that the Mormons will be able to
elect a member of congress in five years, and that in three years they would
take the offices in the town of Kirtland. They say that when they get the
H18T. Utah. 7
98 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
And the gentiles did tremble, as they saw so rapidly
increasing their unwelcome neighbors, whose compact
organization gave them a strength disproportionate
to their numbers. Since there was no law to stop their
coming, they determined to face the issue without law.^
In April the people held consultations as to the
best way of disposing of the Mormons; and again
about the middle of July three hundred persons met
at Independence to form a plan for driving them out.
A declaration, in substance as follows, was drawn up
and signed by nearly all present. The citizens of Jack-
son county fear the effect upon society of a pretended
religious sect, fanatics or knaves, settling among them,
and mean to get rid of them at any hazard, and for
the following reasons: They blasphemously pretend
to personal intercourse with the deity, to revelations,
miracles, healing the sick, casting out devils, and other
delusions ; they are the dregs of society, held together
by the acts of designing leaders, and are idle and
vicious. They are poor. They tamper with the
slaves and free negroes. They declare the Indian re-
gion to be theirs by heavenly inheritance.
In answer, Parley P. Pratt asks if their supernatural
pretensions are more extravagant than those of the
old and new testament; if it is anywhere written
that there shall be no more spiritual manifestations as
of old ; does the word of God or the law of man make
poverty a crime? and have they not paid for all the land
they occupy? They are no more dregs than their
neighbors, and the charge of fraternizing with the
blacks is not true; neither is that of vice or crime, as
secular power into their hands, everything will be performed by immediata
revelations from God. We shall then have Pope Joseph the First and his
hierarchy.' Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 145.
'* 'So early as April 1832, the saints were made to feel themselves unwel-
come sojourners in Jackson co. Stones and brickbats were thrown through
the windows of their houses, and they were otherwise annoyed and insulted.
Meetings were held during that year and the early part of 1833, at which
resolutions were sometimes passed, and sometimes the assembly indulged in
a fight among its members; but nothing more serious resulted. Stoning
houses, however, was resumed in the early summer of the last-mentioned year.'
Times and Seasons, i. 17; vi. 851.
I
PEESECUTIONS. 99
the county records will show. In regard to the lands
of the Indians, no violence or injustice is contemplated ;
and if it were, what record of robbery, murder, and
treacherous, betrayal could excel that already made
by the people of Missouri and others in the United
States for our example ?^^
On the 20th the people again met according to ap-
pointment. The old charges were reiterated, and the
old resolutions renewed, with some additions. '^^ To
put them into action the men of Jackson county
^^Persecution of the Saints, 21-8. Mackay, The Mormons, 72-4, says 'the
manner in which the Mormons behaved in their Zion was not calculated to
make friends. The superiority they assumed gave offense, and the rumors
that were spread by some false friends, wlio had been turned out of the
church for misconduct, excited against them an intense feeling of alarm and
hatred. They were accused of communism, and not simply a community of
goods and chattels, but of vrives. . .Joined to the odium unjustly cast upon
them for these reasons, they talked so imprudently of their determination to
possess the whole state of Missouri, and to suffer no one to live in it who
would not conform to their faith, that a party was secretly formed against
them, of which the object was nothing less than their total and immediate
expulsion from their promised Zion . . . The anti-Mormon press contained at
the same time an article entitled "Beware of false prophets," written by a
person whom Joseph called a black rod in the hand of Satan. This article
was distributed from house to house in Independence and its neighbor-
hood, and contained many false charges against Smith and his associates,
reiterating the calumny about the community of goods and wives. ' Smith
calls this man ' one Pixley, ' and says he was sent by the missionary society,
to civilize and christianize the heathen of the west, and that he was not only
a black rod, but 'a poisoned shaft in the power of our foes, to spread lies
and falsehoods '... It is also probable that the more indolent Missourians
gazed with jealous eyes as the new-comers exhibited that agricultural thrift
which has always characterized them as a people; for we find the twelve high
priests, through Hyde and Hyrum Smith, reprimanding Brother Phelps as
follows: "If you have fat beef and potatoes, eat them in singleness of heart,
and boast not j'^ourselves in these things. " ' Times and Seasons, v. 721; vi. 816.
'It was conjectured by the inhabitants of Jackson county that the Mormonites
as a body are wealthy, and many of them entertain fears that next Decem-
ber, when the list of land is exposed for sale, they will outbid others, and
establish themselves as the most powerful body in the county.' Booth, in
Hotve's Mormonism Unveiled, 195.
^•^ It was further declared: '1st, That no Mormon shall in future move
and settle in this county. 2d, That those now here, who shall give a defi-
nite pledge of their intention, within a reasonable time, to remove out of the
county, shall be allowed to remain unmolested until they shall have sufficient
time to sell their property and close their business without any sacrifice.
3d, That the editor of the Star be required forthwith to close his office, and
discontinue the business of printing in this county; and as to all other stores
and shops belonging to the sect, their owners must in every case comply with
the terms strictly, agreeably to the 2d article of this declaration; and upon
failure, prompt and efficient measures will be taken to close the same. 4th,
That the Mormon leaders here are required to use their influence in prevent-
ing any further emigration of their distant brethren to this county, and
lOD THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
sallied forth for the office of the Star,^ and de-
manded that the publication be discontinued. Com-
pliance being refused, Phelps' house, containing the
printing-office, was torn down, materials and paper
destroyed,^^ and Bishop Partridge and Elder Allen
were tarred and feathered.^'' Meanwhile, clergymen
of other denominations, and officers of the state and
county, looked on, saying, "Mormons are the common
enemies of mankind, and ought to be destroyed," and
*'You now know what our Jackson boys can do, and
you must leave the country."*^
Again the mob appeared on the morning of the 23d,
bearing a red flag, and demanding the departure of
the Mormons. Seeing no way of escape, the elders
entered into treaty with the assailants, and promised
to leave the county within a certain time." Cowdery
counsel and advise their brethren to comply with the above requisitions.
5th, That those who fail to comply with the above requisitions be referred
to those of their brethren who have the gift of tongues, to inform them of the
lot that awaits them.' Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 141.
^' 'Six of the principal elders met the mob's committee. The latter de-
manded that the printing-office, the shops, and the store, be closed forth-
with, and that the society leave the county immediately. The elders asked
for three months' delay, which was refused; then for ten days, which was also
refused; the latter refusal being accompanied with a notification that fifteen
minutes was the longest time that could be granted. Each elder having de-
clined to accede to tihe terms, one of the mob remarked on leaving that he
was sorry, for, said he, "the work of destruction will commence immediate-
ly.'" Times and Seasons, i. 18. Phelps, the editor. Partridge, the bishop,
and Gilbert, the store-keeper, are mentioned. S mucker'' s Hist. Mor., 89,
2^ 'In a short time time hundreds of the mob gathered around the print-
ing-office (a two-story brick building), which they soon threw down. The
press was thrown from the upper story, and all the books, stock, and material
scattered through the streets. After destroying the printing house, they
proceeded to Gilbert and Whitney's store for the same purpose, but Gilbert
agreeing to shut it, and box the goods soon, they concluded to let it alone.'
Times and Seasons, i. 18; Pratt'' s Persecution of the Saints, 29.
^' 'A number more were taken, but succeeded in escaping through the over-
anxiety of their keepers, who crowded forward to enjoy the sport. ' Times and
Seasons, i. 18. Phelps the editor was one. Smucker's Hist. Mor., 89. Par-
tridge says the mob was led by George Simpson. Times and Seasons, vi,
819.
*" Spoken by Lilburn W. Boggs, lieutenant-governor, a man who thence-
forward appears to have persecuted the MormcAis with unrelenting hostility.
He 'was in the immediate neighborhood of the riot, but declined to take any
part in preserving the peace.' Smucker's Hist. Mor., 89-90; Times and Sea-
sons, vi. 819.
*^ Six persons signed the agreement that one half of the Mormons should
leave in January and one half in April 1834, the publication of the paper
to be discontinued. Mackay's The Monnons, 76; Pratt's Persecution, 30.
I
THE COUNTRY IN ARMS. 101
was despatched to Kirtland to consult as to what was
best to be done. Meanwhile, incendiary articles ap-
peared in the Western Monitor, printed at Fayette, Mis-
souri. "Two years ago," said that journal, '' some two
or three of this people made their appearance on the
upper Missouri, and they now number some twelve
hundred souls in this county." They look at the
land as theirs to inherit, by either fair means or foul;
and when the officers of law and government shall be
Mormon, we must go. "One of the means resorted
to by them, in order to drive us to emigrate, is an in-
direct invitation to the free brethren of color in Illi-
nois to come up like the rest to the land of Zion."
True, they deny this, but that is only subterfuge.
So it is resolved that no more Mormons shall be per-
mitted to come; that those here must go within a
reasonable time; and that the Star printing-office
shall be declared confiscated.
An appeal was made to the governor, Daniel Dunk-
lin, for redress, and while awaiting the answer mat-
ters were continued much in the usual way. The
brethren were instructed by their elders not to retal-
iate, but to bear all with meekness and patience. At
length a letter came from the governor, assuring them
of his protection, and advising them to resort to the
courts for damages. The church leaders ordered that
none should leave Independence except those who
had signed an agreement to that effect. Four law-
yers were engaged for one thousand dollars to carry
the matter into the courts. No sooner was this
known than the whole country rose in arms and made
war upon the Mormons. On the nights of October
30th, 31st, and November 1st, armed men attacked
branches of the church west of Big Blue, and at the
prairie unroofed the houses and beat the men. Al-
most simultaneously attacks were made at other
points. Stones flew freely in Independence, and
houses were destroyed and the inmates wounded.
Gilbert's store was broken open, and the goods scat-
102 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
tered in the streets. On November 2d thirty saints
retired with their families and effects to a point half a
mile from town. Next day four of the brethren went to
Lexington for a peace warrant, but the circuit judge
refused to issue one through fear of the mob. "You
had better fight it out and kill the outlaws if they
come upon you," said the judge.*^ The saints then
armed, and on the 4th there was a fight, in which two
gentiles and one Mormon were killed, and several on
both sides wounded. One of the store-breakers was
brought before the court, and during the trial the
populace became so furious that Gilbert, Morley, and
Corrill were thrust into jail for protection. The morn-
ing of the 5th broke with signs of yet more bloody
determination on both sides. The militia were called
out to preserve the peace, but this only made matters
worse. The lieutenant-governor, Boggs, pretending
friendship, got possession of the Mormons' arms, and
seized a number to be tried for murder.*^ Further
and yet more violent attacks were made; hope was
abandoned; the now defenceless saints were forced to
fly in eveiy direction, some out into the open prairie,
some up and some down the river. " The struggle
was over," writes Pratt, "our liberties were gone!"
On the 7th both banks were lined with men, women,
and children, with wagons, provisions, and personal
effects. Cold weather came on with wind and rain,
to which most of the fugitives were exposed, few of
them having tents. Some took refuge in Clay county,
some in Lafayette county, and elsewhere.**
Throughout all these trying scenes. Governor
*^ Pratt's Autobiography, 105; Mackay's The Mormons, 77-8; Pratt's
Persecution, 31-6.
*^ In a memorial to the legislature of Missouri, dated Far West, Dec. 10,
1838, and signed by nine prominent Mormons, is this statement: 'A battle
took place in which some two or three of the mob and one of our people were
killed. This raised, as it were, the whole county in arms, and nothing could
satisfy them but an immediate surrender of the arms of our people, and they
forthwith had to leave the county. Fifty-one guns were given up, which
have never been returned or paid for to this day.'
*^ 'About 1,500 people were expelled from Jackson co. in Nov. 1833, and
about 300 of their houses burned.' Geo. A. Smith, in Desertt News, June 30,
ATTITUDE OF OFFICIALS. 103
Dunklin endeavored to uphold the law, but Boggs,
lieutenant-governor, was with the assailants. Wells,
attorney-general, wrote to the council for the church,
the 21st, saying that if they wished to replace their
houses in Jackson county the governor would send
them an adequate force, and if the}'' would organize
themselves into companies, he would supply them
with arms. Application was made accordingly. *'It
is a disgrace to the state," writes Judge Ryland,
"for such acts to happen within its limits, and the
disgrace will attach to our official characters if we
neglect to take proper means to insure the punish-
ment due such offenders." In view of this advice from
the state authorities, the saints resolved to return to
their homes as soon as protection should be afforded
them, and it was ordered by revelation that they
should do so, but with circumspection and not in
haste.*^
All this time President Joseph Smith was at Kirt-
land, harassed with anxiety over affairs in Missouri,
still pursuing the usual tenor of his way, and not
knowing what moment like evils might befall him
and his fold there.*^ It was resolved by the first presi-
dency that the Star should be published at Kirtland
1869, 247. 'Several women thus driven from their homes gave birth to chil-
dren in the woods and on the prairies.' Greene's Facts, 18. Pratt says 203
houses were burned, according to the estimate of the enemy.
*^ On Dec. 15th, Phelps writes to Smith from Clay co. : ' The situation of the
saints, as scattered, is dubious, and affords a gloomy prospect . . . We are in
Clay, Ray, Lafayette, Jackson, Van Buren, etc. [counties], and cannot hear
from each other of tener than we do from you . . . The governor is willing to re-
store us, but as the constitution gives him no power to guard us when back,
we are not willing to go. The mob swear if we come we shall die ! Our peo-
ple fare very well, and when they are discreet, little or no persecution is felt.
The militia in the upper counties is in readiness at a moment's warning,
having been ordered out by the governor, to guard a court-martial and court
of inquiry, etc., but we cannot attend a court of inquiry on account of the
expense, until we are restored and protected. ' Times and Seasons, vi. 944.
*^ Smith wrote to the saints about this time that he had heard they had
surrendered their arms and fled across the river. If this report was true, he
advised them not to recommence hostilities; but if they were still in posses-
sion, they should ' maintain the ground as long as there is a man left. ' They
were also advised to prosecute to the extent of the law; but must not look
for pecuniary assistance from Kirtland, for matters there were by no means
in a flourishing condition. It was recommended that a tract of land be pur-
chased iu Clay co. for present necessaries. Times and Seasons, vi. 914-15.
104 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
until it could be reinstated in Missouri ; another jour-
nal, the Latter-day Samt^ Messenger and Advocate,
was also established at Kirtland, and a mission or-
ganized for Canada.^''
The work of proselyting continued east and west
without abatement through the year 1834. Two by
two and singly the elders went forth: Lyman John-
son and Milton Holmes to Canada, also Zebedee Col-
trin and Henry Harriman; John S. Carter and Jesse
Smith should go eastward together, also James Dur-
fee and Edward Marvin. Elders Oliver Granger,
Martin Harris, and Brigham Young preferred to
travel alone. To redeem the farm on which stood
the house of the Lord, elders Orson Hyde and Orson
Pratt were sent east to solicit funds. The movements
of many others of the brethren are given. Parley
Pratt and Lyman Wight were instructed not to return
to Missouri until men were organized into companies of
*' * Concerning our means of diflfusing the principles we profess, we have
used the art of printing almost from the beginning of our work. At Inde-
pendence, Missouri, in 1832-3-4, two volumes of the Evening and Morning
Star were issued by William W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery. This was a
monthly octavo of 16 pages, devoted to the faith and doctrines of the church,
and was continued from Independence from June 1832 until July 1833, when
its publication was transferred to Kirtland, Ohio, from whence it was con-
tinued until September 1834, when it gave place to the Latter-day Saints' Mes-
senger and Advocate, which continued to cheer tiie persecuted saints until
August 1837, when there appeared in its columns a prospectus for a new
paper to be published at Kirtland, called the Elders' Journal of the Church
of Latter-day Saints, also a monthly, the first number of which bore date
October 1837. The gathering of the people from Kirtland to Far West in
Missouri transferred the publication of the journal also to that place, from
whence it issued uutil stopped by the persecution and extermination of the
saints in the fall and winter of 1838 from the state of Missouri. The first
number of the Millennial Star was issued at Liverpool in May 1840, at first a
monthly, then fortnightly, and for many years a weekly, with at one time a
circulation of 22,000 copies, edited and published variously by elders appointed
and sent to edit the paper, manage the emigration, and preside over the
work generally in the European countries. This work is still issued weekly,
and greatly aids the cause in Europe. The Skandinaviens' Stjerne has been
published in Copenhagen nearly thirty years in the Danish language, edited
by those who have from time to time presided over the Scandinavian missions.
The first number was issued in 1851, and is well supported, being a great aid
in the missionary service in northern Europe. For several years a periodical
entitled the Udgorn Seion was published at Merthyr Tydfil, and was contin-
ued until the number of saints in the Welsh mission was so reduced by emi-
gration as to render its further publication impracticable.' Richards' Bibli-
ography of Utah, MS. , 7-9.
I
MTLITARY ORGANIZATION. 105
ten, twenty, fifty, or one hundred. Thereupon these
and others went out in various directions to raise
men and means for a rehgio-miUtary expedition to
Missouri. There were churches now in every direc-
tion, and the brethren were scattered over a broad
area.
Several appeals for redress were made by the
saints at Independence to the governor of Missouri,
and to the president of the United States. The
president said it was a matter for the governor to
regulate, and the governor did not see what could be
done except through the courts. A court of inquiry
was instituted, which decided, but to little purpose,
that there was no insurrection on the 5th of Novem-
ber, 1833, and therefore the arms taken by the militia
from the Mormons on that occasion must be restored
to them.*^ "And now a commandment I give unto
you concerning Zion, that you shall no longer be
bound as an united order to your brethren of Zion,
only in this wise; after you are organized you shall
be called the united order of this stake of Zion, the city
of Shinehah,*^ and your brethren, after they are or-
ganized, shall be called the united order of the city of
Zion."
On the 7th of May, 1834, a military company was
organized at Kirtland under the name of Zion's camp,
consisting of one hundred and fifty brethren, mostly
young men, elders, priests, teachers, and deacons, with
*® 'About this time a court of inquiry held at Liberty for the purpose of
investigating the action of Col Pitcher, in connection with the expulsion of
the saints from Jackson co. , found sufficient evidence against that officer to
result in his being placed in arrest for trial by court-martial. The plant of
the printing-office was given by the citizens to Davia & Kelly, who removed
it to Liberty, where they commenced the publication of a weekly paper called
the Missouri Enquirer. ' ' The citizens also paid §300 on the §1,000 note given
by the elders to their lawyers, thus acknowledging their action had been
wrong.' Times and Seasons, vi. 961. ' The governor also ordered them to re-
store our arms which they had taken from us, but they never were restored. '
Pratt's Persecution, 52. See also Taylder's Mormons, xliiL-xlvi. ; Deseret News,
Dec. 27, 1851, and June 30, 1869; Utah Tracts, no. 4, 56-64; Millennial Star,
XXV. 535-6, 550-2; Gunnison's Mormons, 104-14; Ferris' Utah and Mormons,
81-8.
*' They 'called their Kirtland colony Shinahar.' Gunnison's Mormons, 167.
106 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
F. G. Williams paymaster and Zerubbabel Snow com-
missary general. They had twenty wagons loaded
with arms and effects, and next day set out for Mis-
souri, President Smith joining them, leaving Rigdon
and Cowdery to look after matters in Ohio. They
passed through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, reaching
Missouri ^° in June, Pratt and others still continuing
6" ' They were trying times, requiring the combined wisdom of the prophet
and his head men . . . But the prophet more readily discovered the new advan-
tages that would ultimately accrue to his cause by a little perseverance. He
well knew that the laws could not continue to be violated in our country for
any length of time, and that he and his followers would, in the end, be the
greatest gainers by the cry of persecution which they could raise ... A revela-
tion was printed in the form of a handbill. It was taken up by all their
priests and carried to all their congregations, some of which were actually sold
for one dollar per copy. Preparations immediately began to be made for a
crusade to their holy land to drive out the infidels , . . Old muskets, rifles, pis-
tols, rusty swords, and butcher knives were soon put in a state of repair and
scoured up. Some were borrowed and some were bought, on a credit if possi-
ble, and others were manufactured by their own mechanics. . .About the first
of May the grand army of fanatics commenced its march in small detachments
from the different places of concentration. On the 3d the prophet, with a life
guard of about 80 men, the elite of his army, left his quarters in Kirtland
with a few baggage wagons, containing their arms, ammunition, stores, etc.
. . .On arriving at Salt Creek, Illinois, they were joined by Lyman Wight
and Hyrum Smith, brother of the prophet, with a reenforcement of twenty
men, which they had picked up on the way. Here the grand army, which
being fully completed, encamped for the space of three days. The whole
number was now estimated at 220, rank and file. During their stay here the
troops were kept under a constant drill of manual exercise with guns and
swords, and their arms put in a state of repair; the prophet became very ex-
pert with a sword, and felt himself equal to his prototype Coriantumr. He
had the best sword in the army; probably a true model of Laban's, if not the
identical one itself, an elegant brace of pistols, which were purchased on a
credit of six months, a rifle, and four horses. Wight was appointed second
in command, or fighting general, who, together with the prophet, had an ar-
mor-bearer appointed, selected from among the most expert tacticians, whose
duty it was to be in constant attendance upon their masters with their arms. '
Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 147-59. 'Cholera broke out in his camp on
the 24th of June, and Joseph attempted to cure it by laying on of hands and
prayer. . .Joseph lost thirteen of his band by the ravages of the disease. . .
He arrived in Clay co. on the 2d, and started back for Kirtland on the 9th . . .
Short as was the time he stayed, he did not depart without organizing and
encouraging the main body . . . and establishing the community in Clay co. on
a better footing than when he arrived.' Mackai/s The Mormons, 85. Churches
were visited in New York, Pennsylvania, and the New England States, about
100 recruits obtained, and 50 more in the vicinity of Kirtland. The first de-
taclmient, about 100 strong, left Kirtland May 5th, and by the next Sunday
about 60 more had joined, part from Ohio and part from the east. The body
was organized in companies of tens, each being furnished with camp equipage.
Messes for cooking purposes were formed, and guards mounted at night.
JDeseret News, Oct. 19, 1869. These men were well armed. A detachment of
twenty men had preceded them as an advanced guard. Bemy's Journey, i.
297. They were divided into companies of 12, consisting of 2 cooks, 2 fire-
men, 2 tent-makers, 2 watermen, one runner or scout, one commissary, and 2
NAME ADOPTED. 107
their efforts en route as recruiting officers. It was
an army of the Lord; they would not be known as
Mormons, which was a name they hated; moreover,
they would be incognito; and the better to accom-
plish all these purposes, three days before they started,
Sidney Rigdon proposed in conference that the name
by which hereafter they would call themselves should
be The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
which proposal was adopted.^^ On the way the breth-
wagoners. 20 wagons accompanied them, and they had fire-arms and all sorts
of munitions of war of the most portable kind for self-defence. Smucker's Hist.
Mor., 95; Times and Seasons, vi. 1074. On June 3d, when in camp on the
Illinois River, Smith had a mound opened and took out a skeleton, between
whose ribs an arrow was sticking. A revelation followed, in which the prophet
was informed that the bones were those of a white Lamanite, a warrior named
Zelph, who served under the great prophet Omandagus. Times and Seasons,
vi. 1076; Smucker^s Hist. Mor., 95-6; Eemy's Journey, i. 297; Ferris' Utah
and the Mormons, 83-4, June 4th to 6th was occupied in crossing the Mis-
sissippi, there being but one boat. The company now consisted of 205 men
and 25 wagons, with 2 or 3 horses each. The company camped on Rush
Creek, Clay co., on June 23d, and on the night of the '24th the cholera broke
out among them, causing several deaths. On the 25th Smith broke up hia
command, and the men were scattered among their neighbors. Times and
Seasons, vi. 1076, 1088, 1 105-6; Beseret News, Oct. 19, 1864. Up to June 22d,
Smith had travelled incognito, apparently fearing assassination. Times and
Seasons, vi. 1104. A list of the members of Zion's camp will be found in Deseret
Fews, Oct. 19, 1864, and those living in 1876 in Id., Apr. 26, 1876. Smith
disbanded his forces in obedience to a revelation. Doctrine and Covenants,
345-9. As the prophet approached Missouri he selected a body-guard of 20
men, appointing his brother Hyrum as theii captain, and another brother,
George, his armor-bearer. He also appointed a general, who daily inspected the
army and drilled them. Smucker's Hist. Mor. , 99. On April 10, 1834, the presi-
dent was again petitioned from Liberty, Mo. (a petition had been sent on in
October 1833); the persecutions were recounted, it was related that an unavail-
ing appeal had been made to the state executive, and it was asked that they
be restored to the lands in Jackson co. thsy had purchased from the U. S.
For text of correspondence, etc., see Tim^s and Seasons, vi. 1041-2, 1056-9,
1071-8, 1088-92, 1103, 1107-9, 1120-4. On the march Pratt still acted as
recruiting officer, and visited the churches in Ohio, Indiana, lUinois, and
Missouri, obtaining men and money which he forwarded to the main body
from time to time. Pratt's Autobiog., 122-3. The band finally numbered 205
in all. Utah Pioneers, 33d Anniversary, 17. The march to Clay co.. Mo.,
occupied 46 days, 9 of which were spent in camp. During the existence of
the body 2 deserted because they could not fight the mob, and one left with-
out a discharge; the rest remained faithful. Deseret News, Oct. 19, 1864.
Further details of the march will be found in Mackay's Mormons, 80-5;
Kidder's Mormonism, 111-16; Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 156-03. Camp-
bell and others who threatened to attack Smith were drowned by the up-
setting of a boat whilst attempting to cross the Missouri. Campbell's vow,
and what became of it. Smucker's Hist. Mor., 100. When the projihet re-
turned to Kirtland, in August, the council met and proceeded to investigate
charges against Smith and others on this march. Deseret News, Nov. 15 and
29, 1851.
"^ The society never styled themselves Mormons; it is a name popularly at-
tached to them. The true name is Latter-day Saints. Pratt's Persecution, 21.
108 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
ren learned of the outrages which had again occurred
in Jackson county.
Just before his arrival in Clay county, Missouri, a
committee of citizens waited on President Smith and
proposed the purchase of the lands in Jackson county
from which the Mormons had been driven. The offer
was declined, the president and council making the
following proposal in return: Let each side choose
six men, and let the twelve determine the amount of
damages due to the Mormons, and also the value of
the possessions of all those who do not wish to live
near them in peace, and the money shall be paid with-
in a year. The offer was not accepted.^^
On the 3d of July a high council of twelve was or-
ganized by the head of the church, with David Whit-
mer as president and W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer
as assistant presidents. The twelve were: Simeon
Carter, Parley P. Pratt, Wm E. McLellan, Calvin
Beebe, Levi Jackman, Solomon Hancock, Christian
Whitmer, Newel Knight, Orson Pratt, Lyman Wight,
Thomas B. Marsh, and John Murdock. Later Phelps
became president of the church in Missouri. In com-
pany with his brother Hyrum, F. G. Williams, and
W. E. McLellan, President Joseph returned to Kirt-
land, arriving about the 1st of August.
" Now, that the world may know that our faith in the
work and word of the Lord is firm and unshaken, and
to shew all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples that
our object is good, for the good of all, we come before
the great family of mankind for peace, and ask their
hospitality and assurance for our comfort, and the pres-
Hyde, Mormonism, 202, states that the sect was first called The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Sidney Kigdon at a convention at Kirt-
land May 4, 1834. See chap, iii., note 22.
^^ When the camp arrived near Salt River, Orson Hyde and Parley P. Pratt
were despatched to Jefferson City to request militaiy aid from Gov. Dunk-
lin, in repossessing the saints of their lands in Jackson co., which aid -wij
refused. Pratt's Autobioff., 123-4. Upon the approach of Smith and his party
the people of Jackson co. held a meeting and sent a committee to Smith with
proposals to buy all the Mormon property in the county. The offer was de-
clined, and the Mormons in turn offered to buy out the Missourians. See
correspondence in Howe's Mormonism, 164-76.
HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH. 1C9
ervation of our persons and property, and solicit their
charity for the great cause of God. We are well aware
that many slanderous reports and ridiculous stories
are in circulation against our religion and society; but
as wise men will hear both sides and then judge, we
sincerely hope and trust that the still small voice of
truth will be heard, and our great revelations read and
candidly compared with the prophecies of the bible,
that the great cause of our redeemer may be supported
by a liberal share of public opinion, as well as the un-
seen power of God. The faith and religion of the
latter-day saints are founded upon the old scriptures,
the book of Mormon, and direct revelation from God."
Thus far have I given the History of Joseph Smith,
in substance as written by himself in his journal,^^ and
^ The most complete history of the early Mormon church is the Jozirnal
of Joseph Smith, extracts from which were made by himself, so as to form a
consecutive narrative, under title of History of Joseph Smith, and published in
Times and Seasons, beginning with vol. iii. no. 10, March 15, 1842, and
ending Feb. 15, 1846, after the prophet's death. The nari'ative would fill a
good-sized 12mo volume. It is composed largely of revelations, which, save
in the one point of commandment which it was the purpose specially to give,
are all quite similar. Publication of the Times and Seasons was begun at
Commerce, afterward called Nauvoo, Illinois, Nov. 1839, and issued monthly.
The number for May 1840 was dated Nauvoo. Later it was published semi-
monthly, and was so continued till Feb. 1840. It is filled with church pro-
ceedings, movements of officers, correspondence of missionaries, history, and
general information, with some poetry. To write a complete history of the
Mormons down to 1846 without these volumes would not be possible. The
names of E. Robinson and D. C. Smith first appear as publishers, then Robin-
son alone, then D. C. Smith, then E. Robinson and G. Hills, next Joseph Smith,
and finally John Taylor. The organ of that branch of the church which re-
mained in Iowa was the Frontier Guardian, published by Orson Hyde at
Potawatamie, or Kanesville, 1849-52, and of the church in Utah the Deseret
News, which was first issued at Salt Lake City in June 1850.
'At the organization of this church, the Lord commanded Joseph the
prophet to keep a record of his doings in the great and important work that
he was commencing to perform. It thus became a duty imperative. After
John Whitmer and others had purloined the records in 1838, the persecution
and expulsion from Missouri soon followed. When again located, now in
Nauvoo, Illinois, and steamboat loads of emigrants were arriving from Eng-
land via New Orleans, the sound thereof awakened an interest in the coun-
try that led Hon. John Wentworth, of Chicago, to write to the prophet,
Joseph Smith, making inquiries about the rise, progress, persecution, and
faith of the Latter-day Saints, the origin of this work, the Book of Mormon,
the plates from which the record was translated, etc. ; and it is the answer to
this letter contained in Times and Seasons, March 1, 1842, that precedes
or prefaces the present history of Joseph Smith, which is the history of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This request of Mr Went-
worth'a seemed to forcibly remind the prophet of the importance of having
the history of his wonderful work restored to such a condition that correct
110 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
printed in the Times and Seasons, which ends here.
It is taken up in the Millennial Star, in diary form,
beginning with volume xv. and continuing to the day
of his death.
inforrnation could be given to editors, authors, publishers, and any or all
classes of inquirers that might apply, and he undertook with his clerks, re-
corder, and all available aid from private journals, correspondence, and his
own indelible memory, and made it a labor to get his own history, which was
indeed that of the church in all the stages of its growth, while he remained
with his people, compiled and written up to date, which with his own cur-
rent journal enabled the historian to complete the history to the time of his
assassination, with the utmost fidelity to facts as they occurred. Our method
of verification, after compilation and rough draft, was to read the same be-
fore a session of the council, composed of the First Presidency and Twelve
Apostles, and there scan everything under consideration. ' Richards' Bibliog-
raphy of Utah, MS., 2-6.
\
CHAPTER V.
THE STORY OP MORMONISM.
1835-1840.
Peesident Smith at Kirtland — First QtroEUM of Twelve Apostles — ThjB
KiRTLAND Temple Completed — Kirtland Safety Society Bank — In
ZioN Again — The Saints in Missouri — Apostasy — Zeal and Indis-
cretion — Military Organization — The War Opens — Depredations
ON Both Sides — Movements of Atchison, Parks, and Doniphan—
Attitude of Boggs — Wight and Gilliam — Death of Patten — Danite
Organization — Order Lodge — Haun Mill Tragedy — Mobs and
Militia — The Tables Turned — Boggs' Exterminating Order — Lucas
and Clark at Far West — Surrender of the Mormons — Prisoners —
Petitions and Memorials — Expulsion — Gathering at Quincy —
Opinions.
Meanwhile, althougli the frontier of Zion was re-
ceiving such large accessions, the main body of the
church was still at Kirtland, where President Smith
remained for some time.
On the 14th of February, 1835, twelve apostles
were chosen at Kirtland, Brigham Young, Orson
Hyde, and Heber C. Kimball being of the number;
likewise a little later Parley P. Pratt. Thence, the
following summer, they took their departure for the
east, holding conferences and ordaining and instruct-
ing elders in the churches throughout New York and
New England, and the organization of the first quorum
of seventies was begun. Classes for instruction, and
a school of prophets were commenced, and Sidney
Rigdon delivered six lectures on faith, of which Joseph
Smith was author.* Preaching on the steps of a
'They were printed and bound in Doctrine and Covenants. See Hyde^a
Mormonism, 202; Remy^a Journey, 504; PratVs Autobiography, 139. Mather,
in Lippincott'a Mag., Aug. 1880, states that the twelve apostles started in
May.
(Ill)
112 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
Campbellite church at Mentor, Parley P. Pratt 'waa
mobbed midst music and rotten eggs.
The temple at Kirtland being finished, was dedicated
on the 27th of March, 1836, and on the 3d of April
Joseph and Oliver had interviews with the messiah,
Moses, Elias, and Elijah, and received from them
the several keys of priesthood, which insured to their
possessors power unlimited in things temporal and
spiritual for the accomplishment of the labors assigned
by them for him to perform.^ The building of this
structure by a few hundred persons, who, during the
period between 1832 and 1836, contributed voluntarily
of their money, material, or labor, the women knitting
and spinning and making garments for the men who
worked on the temple, was regarded with wonder
throughout all northern Ohio. It was 60 by 80 feet,
occupied a commanding position, and cost $40,000.
During its erection the saints incurred heavy debts
for material and labor. They bought farms at high
prices, making part payments, and afterward forfeit-
ing them. They engaged in mercantile pursuits,
^ 'A square mile was laid out in half -acre lots, and a number of farms
were bought, the church farm being half a mile down one of the most beauti-
ful valleys which it is possible to conceive in a range of country so uniformly
level.' Mather, in LipphicoWs Mag., Aug. 1880. In May 1833 it was revealed
that building should begin. Two houses 55 by 65 feet each were ordered,
one for the presidency, the other for printing. Hyrum Smith and two others
Vere presented with lots, and directions were sent to the faithful to subscribe
money to aid in building a temple at Kirtland. Times and Seasons, vi. 769-70.
Before its completion, private assemblies were held at the houses of the faith-
ful, frequently at Smith's. When partly finished, schools were opened in
several of the apartments. It was begun in June 1833, and dedicated March
27, 1836. A brief description of the building, arrangement of interior, etc.,
and a full account of the dedication and ordinary services are given in Tul-
lidge's Women, 76, 80-95, 99-101. Daniel Tyler, in Juvenile Instructor, xiv.
283; Busch, Oesch. dcr Morm., 74; Kidder's Mormonism, 124-6. Probably but
little work was done on it in 1833, for about the front entrances the gilded
inscription,* Built by the church of Jesus Christ, 1834,' still shines bright as
ever. Salt Lake Herald, June 6, 1877. See also Smith's account in Times
and Seasons, vi. 708-11, 723-6, and Eemy's Journey, i. 302-4. For cuts
of building, see Young's Hist, of the Seventies, 8; Juvenile Instructor, xiv. 283;
Pratt's Autobiog. , 140. When nearly finished there was a debt on the building
of from $15,000 to|20,000. Kidder's Mormonism, 124-6. Most of the work-
men were dependent upon their labor for their daily food, which often con-
sisted of corn meal alone, and that had been donated. J uveidle Instructor, 2S3.
Writing in 1880, Mather says: 'The residences of Smith and Rig.lon are al •
most under the eaves of the temple, and the theological sem nary is now occu-
pied by the methodists for a church. ' Lippincott's Mag. , Aug. 1880.
AFFAftlS AT KIRTLAND. 113
buying merchandise in New York and elsewhere in
excess of their ability to pay. They built a steam-
mill, which proved a source of loss, and started a
bank, but were unable to obtain a charter; they is-
sued bills without a charter, however, in consequence
of which they could not collect the money loaned,
and after a brief struggle, and during a period of
great apostasy, the bank failed. It was called the
Kirtland Safety Society Bank, of which Rigdon was
president and Smith cashier. All this time, writes
Corrill, "they suffered pride to arise in their hearts,
and became desirous of fine houses and fine clothes,
and indulged too much in these things, supposing for
a few months that they were very rich." Upon the
failure of the bank in 1838, Smith and Kigdon went
to Missouri, leaving the business in the hands of others
to wind up.^
' ' They also suffered jealousies to arise among them, and several persons
dissented from the church, and accused the leaders of the church with bad
management, selfishness, etc. . . .On the other hand, the leaders of the church
accused the dissenters with dishonesty, want of faith and righteousness, . . .
and this strife or opposition arose to a great height, . . . until Smith and llig-
don were obliged to leave Kirtland.' Corrill, in Kidder's Mormonism, 126-7.
'Subsequently they had a revelation,' another says, 'comman.ding them to
establish a bank, which should swallow up all other banks. This was soon
got into operation on a pretended capital of four millions of dollars, made up
of real estate round about the temple.' John Hjde, 3Iormonism, 201, says
that the bank, a store, and mill were started in Aug. 1S31.. Before me is
one of their bills, dated Jan. 17, 1837, paj-able to C. Scott, or bearer.
Mather says, Lippincoti's Mag., Aug. 1880: 'Richard Hilliard, a leading
merchant of Cleveland, received their bills for a few days, and then took
possession of all their available assets. They were also in debt for their
farms, and for goods bought in New York. The bubble burst, and many in
the \icinity of Kirtland were among the sufferers. Smith and Rigdon fled
to Far West, after having been tarred and feathered for their peculiar the-
ories of finance.' 'Chauncey G. Webb (father of Ann Eliza Young) assisted
in founding this bank, giving Smith all he possessed outside of his house and
shop toward completing the amount necessary for a capital on which to start
the new enterprise. W^'ith the failure of the bank Webb lost everything.'
Young's Wife No. 19, 33, 40-41; see account of formation of bank in Ben-
nett's Mormonism, 135-6. 'Smith had a sort of bank, issue on what was then
called the wild-cat principle. His circulating medium had no redeeming
basis, and was worthless in the hands of the people.' Tucker's Mormonism,
154-5. ' Smith had a revelation from the Lord,^ to the effect that his bank
would be a pattern of all the banks in the United States, that it would
speedily break, and that all the rest would follow the example. The bank
was closed the same day.' Hall's Mormonism, 19» The bank failed iu Nov.
1837. Bemy's Journey, i. 504; Busch, Gesch. der Morm., 84. 'By means of
great activity and an actual capital of about §5,000, they succeeded in set-
ting afloat from $50,000 to §100,000. The concern was closed up after
Hisx. Utah. 8
114 THE STORY OF MOEMONISM.
An endowment meeting, or solemn assembly, held
in 1836 in the temple at Kirtland, is thus described
by William Harris: "It was given out that those who
were in attendance at that meeting should receive an
endowment, or blessing, similar to that experienced
by the disciples of Christ on the day of pentecost.
flourishing 3 or 4 weeks.' Kidder's Mormonism, 128. The building is now
occupied by a private family. Salt Lake 8. W. Herald, June 6, 1877.
'In order to pay the debt on the temple, they concluded to try mercantile
business, and ran in debt in New York and elsewhere some $30,000 for
goods, and shortly after, $50,000 or $60,000 more. In consequence of their
ignorance of business and extravagance, the scheme proved a failure.' Kid-
der's Mormonism, 126, 128; Sinueker's Hist. Mor., 76. 'Gilbert and Whit-
ney's store is still used for original purposes.' Salt Lake Herald, June 0, 1877.
'A poorly furnished country store, where commerce looks starvation in the
face.' Id., Nov. 17, 1877. 'Smith's store was seized and goods sold in Nov,
1839.' Hyde's Mormonism, 203; Bennett's Mormonism, 135. They also spent
some thousands of dollars in building a steam-mill, which never profited
them anything. Kidder's Mormonism, 126. 'The skeleton of a superannu-
ated engine and its contrivances half buried in a heap of ashes — the shed that
covered it having recently burned to the ground — marks the spot where stood
the ashery and its successor, the Mormon saw-mill, at the foot of Temple
hill.' Salt Lake Herald, Nov. 17, 1877. Heber C. Kimball, who went to
Nauvoo in 1839, built a pottery at Kirtland, the ruins of which were to be
seen in 1877. Ihid. 'After the temple was dedicated, the Kirtland high
school was taught in the attic story by H. M. Hawes, prof, of Greek and
Latin. There were from 130 to 140 students, divided into three depart-
ments — the classic, where only languages were taught; the English, where
mathematics, common arithmetic, geography, English grammar, and read-
ing and writing were taught; and the juvenile department. The last two
departments were under assistant instructors. The school was begun in Nov.
1836.' Tidlidge's Women, 99. 'On the 3d floor are a succession of small
rooms containing crippled benches, blackboards, ruined walls, and other
paraphernalia, which indicated that at some period of the temple's histoiy
this part had been used as a primary school. ' Salt Lake S. W. Herald, June
6, 1877. A Hebrew professorship is also mentioned. JRemy's Journey, i. 504.
' Immediately after the closing of the bank, and before the news of its fail-
ure had time to spread. Smith with some 4 or 5 terriers (understrappers in
the priesthood) went to Toronto, Canada, where he preaclied, whilst his fol-
lowers circulated the worthless notes of the defunct bank. Brigham Young
also succeeded in spreading about $10,000 of the paper through several
states. ' Hall's Mormonism, 19-20. ' In January 1838 Smith and Eigdon, being
at Kirtland together, were both arrested on charges of swindling in connec-
tion with their worthless paper bank,' etc. 'The prisoners, however, es-
caped from the sheriif in the night and made their way on horseback to Mis-
souri. ' Tucker's Mormonism, 155-6. Smith and Rigdon ran away on the night
of Jan. 12, 1838. Hyde's Mormonism, 203. 'A new year dawned upon the
church at Kirtland,' writes Smith, 'in all the bitterness of the spirit of
apostate mobocracy, which continued to rage and grow hotter and hotter,
until Elder JRigdon and myself were obliged to flee from its deadly influence,
as did the apostles and prophets of old, and as Jesus said, ' ' AVhen they per-
secute you in one city, ilee ye to another;" and on the evening of the 12th of
January, about ten o'clock, we left Kirtland on horseback to escape mob
violence, which was about to burst upon us, under the color of legal process
to cover their hellish designs and save themselves from the just judgment of
the law.'
AFFAIRS IN MISSOURI. 115
When the day arrived great numbers convened from
the different churches in the country. They spent
the day in fasting and prayer, and in washing and
perfuming their bodies; they also washed their feet,
and anointed their heads with what they called holy
oil, and pronounced blessings. In the evening .they
met for the endowment. The fast was then broken."
Midsummer of 1837 saw Parley P. Pratt in New
York city, where he printed the first edition of his Voice
of Warning,^ and where he labored with great earnest-
ness, at first under many discouragements, later with
signal success. After that he went once more to
Missouri. Others were going in the same direction
from Kirtland and elsewhere during the entire period
between 1831 andl838. The Messenger and Advocate
having been discontinued, the Elder s Journal was
started by Joseph Smith in Kirtland in October
1837.
After the emeutes which occurred in Jackson county
in the autumn of 1833, as before related, the saints
escaped as best they were able to Clay county, where
they were kindly received. Some took up their abode
in Lafayette and Van Buren counties, and a few in
Pay and Clinton counties.^ For their lands, stock,
furniture, buildings, and other property destroyed in
Jackson county, they received little or no compensa-
tion; on the contrary, some who went back for their
effects were caught and beaten.^ Nevertheless, there
* It consisted of 4,000 copies. The author states that * it has since been
published and republished in America and Europe, till some 40,000 or 50,000
copies have not been sufficient to supply the demand.' Pratt's Autobioyrajjhy,
1S4.
*Most of these fled into Clay co., where they were received with some
degree of kindness, and encamped on the banks of the Missouri. Those who
went into Van Buren and Lafayette counties were soon expelled, and had to
move. Pratt's Persecution, 51; Mackay's Mormons, 78; Times and Seasons,
vi. 913. The Missouri River bends to the east as it enters the state, and runs
in a generally east direction through the western counties. Jackson co. is
immediately south of Clay — the river being the dividing line — and Van
Buren lies next south of Jackson. All west of the state line was Indian ter-
ritory, as I have said. See map, p. 121 this vol.
® The Jackson co. exiles being in a destitute condition, a conference waa
116 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
were three years of comparative rest for the people of
God, the effect of which soon appeared in Zion's
wilderness.
The men of Missouri were quite proud of what they
had done; they were satisfied on the whole with the
results, and though their influence was still felt, no
further violence was offered till the summer of 1836.
Then the spirit of mobocracy again appeared. The
Jackson-county boys had served themselves well;
why should they not help their neighbors? So they
crossed the river, in small squads at first, and began
to stir up enmity, often msulting and plundering their
victims, until the people of Clay county, fearing
actions yet worse, held a meeting, and advised the
saints to seek another home.^
For their unrelenting hostility toward the latter-
day saints, for the services rendered to their country
in defying its laws and encouraging the outrages upon
citizens at Independence and elsewhere during the
first Mormon troubles in Missouri, Bog^ofs was made
governor of that state, Lucas major-general, and
Wilson brigadier-general.^ After his election, as be-
fore, Boggs did not hesitate to let it be known that
held at P. P. Pratt's house in Clay co. (some time during the winter of 1833-
4 — date not given), at which it was resolved to appeal to Smith, at Kirtland,
for aid and counsel; and P. P. Pratt and Lyman Wight, having volunteered
their services, were despatched with the message. Starting from Liberty on
Feb. 1, 1834, on horseback, but penniless, on a journey of from 1,000 to 1,500
miles, through a country but partially settled, they arrived at their destina-
tion early in the spring with plenty of money received from friends along their
route. Pratfs Autobiog., 114-16; Utah Pioneers, 33d Aniversary, 17; Home's
Migrations, MS., 3; Young's Woman's Experiences, MS., 2.
"From threats, public meetings were called, resolutions were passed, ven-
geance and destruction were threatened, and affairs again assumed a fearful
attitude.' Cor. Joseph Smith, etc., 5. See also Greene's Facts, 12. 'A meet-
ing of the citizens was held at Liberty on the 29th of June, 1836, in which
these matters were taken into consideration. The Mormons were reminded
of the circumstances under which they were received, and requested to leave,
time l)eing given them to harvest their crops and dispose of their property.
Fortunately for all concerned, the saints. . .agreed to leave on the terms pro-
posed, denying strenuously that they had ever tampered with the slaves, or
had any idea of exciting an Indian war. ' Ferris' Utah and the Mormons, 82-3.
^ These officers 'all very readily received their commissions from their ac-
complice, Gov. Boggs; and thus corruption, rebellion, and conspiracy had
spread on every side, being fostered and encouraged by a large majority of
the state; and thus treason became general. ' Pratt's Persecution, 55-6.
TOWN BUILDING. 117
any reports of misconduct, however exaggerated, would,
if possible, be accepted as reliable. Such reports were
accordingly circulated, and without much regard to
truth. Right or wrong, law or no law, and whether
in accord with the letter or spirit of the constitution
or government of the United States or not, the peo-
ple of Missouri had determined that they would go
any length before they would allow the saints to
obtain political ascendency in that quarter. It was
well understood that war on the Mormons, war on
their civil, political, and religious rights, nay, on their
presence as members of the commonwealth, or if need
be on their lives, was part of the policy of the admin-
istration.
Thereupon the Mormons petitioned the legislature
to assign them a place of residence, and the thinly
populated region afterward known as Caldwell county
was designated. Moving there, they bought the claims
of most of the inhabitants, and entered several sections
of government lands. Almost every member of the
society thus became a landholder, some having eighty
acres, and some forty. A town was laid out, called
Far West, which was made the county seat; they were
allowed to organize the government of the county, and
to appoint from among their own people the officers.^
Again they found peace for a season, during which
their numbers increased, while settlements were made
in Daviess county and elsewhere.-^'' Those in Daviess
county were on terms of amity with their gentile neigh-
bors. Wight was there, and when Smith and Rigdon
arrived from the east they laid out a town named Diah-
man,^* which soon rivalled Gallatin, and gradually the
® John Hyde, Mormonism, 203, says that on their arrival in Missouri,
Smith and Rigdon began ' to scatter the saints in order to obtain political
ascendency in other counties. '
^^ Of the officers then appointed, two of the judges, thirteen magistrates,
all the military officers, and the county clerk were Mormons. 'These steps
were taken, be it carefully observed, by the advice of the state legislature,
and the officers were appointed in the manner directed by law.' Greene's
Facts, 18. The gentiles murmur because of their being under Mormon rule.
Hyde's Mormonism, 203.
'^ ' Smith gave it the name of Adamondiamon, which he said was formerly
118 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
people of Daviess, like the rest, began to war upon
the Mormons.^^
To add to the ever-thickening troubles of the
prophet, a schism broke out in the church about this
time, and there were apostates and deserters, some
because of disappointed ambition, and some from shame
of what they now regarded as a delusion, but all carry-
ing away with them vindictive feelings toward their
former associates, whom they did not hesitate to de-
nounce as liars, thieves, counterfeiters, and everything
that is vile. Among these were Joseph's old friends
Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer,
the three witnesses to the book of Mormon; Orson
Hyde, Thomas B. Marsh, and W. W. Phelps also
seceding.-^^
given to a certain valley where Adam, previous to his death, called his chil-
dren together and blessed them. ' CorrilVs Bnef History, in Kidder'' s Mormon-
ism, 131. 'The earth was divided,' says Mr Richards, 'all the land being
together and all the water. Adam dwelt there with his people for some time
previous to his death. Adam constructed an altar there, and it was there
that he bestowed his final blessings upon his descendants. ' The place was
also called Adam-On-Diahman, Adam-on-di-ahman, and again Diahman. The
second of these names appears to have been the one in use among the saints.
After the foundations of the temple at Far West were relaid, between mid-
night of the 25th and dawn of the 26th of April, 1839, the quorum sang the
song which they called Adam-on-di-ahman. Tullidge's Life of Brigham
Young.
^^ They were afraid the Mormons would 'rule the county, and they did
not like to live under the laws and administration of Jo Smith.' Ibid.
" Tlie first three were themselves accused of counterfeiting coin, and de-
faming Smith's character; and others charged Smith with 'being accessory to
several murders and many thefts, and of designing to rule that part of the
state of Missouri, and eventually the whole republic' Hyde's Mormonism,
204; Mackafs The Mormons, 86. 'At Independence, Rigdon publicly
charged Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer with being connected with a
gang of counterfeiters, etc. Cowdery was afterward arraigned before the
church, and found guilty of "disgracing the church by being connected with
the bogus business, as common report says."' Tucker^s Origin and Prog.
i/or., 158-9. ' Brother Turley could not be surpassed at "bogus." A press
was prepared, and the money, composed of zinc, glass, etc., coated with sil-
ver, was executed in the best style. Imitations both of gold and silver were
in general cu'culation and very diSicult to detect. In fact, for a time, scarcely
any other circulating medium was to be found among them. ' When leaving
Illinois for Council Bluffs, Hall carried in his wagon for some distance on the
way a bogus press, which was afterwards sold on credit in Missouri, but the
seller never got his money, being afraid to go for it. HaWs Mor., 20-1.
Hall, who was a Mormon from 1840 to 1847, mentions this counterfeiting in
connection with the Kirtland bank swindle, but does not state when the work
was begun. It may liave originated in Kirtland, but probably was not car-
ried on to any great extent before the migration to Illinois. These rambling
and general charges should be received with every allowance. ' From some
f
LAYING THE CORNER STONE.
NATURE SPEAKS. 119
At Far West on the 4th of July, 1838, assemble
from the surrounding districts thousands of the saints,
to lay the corner-stone of a temple of God, and to de-
clare their rights as citizens of the commonwealth to
safety and protection, as promised by the constitution.
They are hated and despised, though they break not
the laws of God; they are hunted down and killed,
though they break not the laws of the land. To
others their faith is odious, their words are odious,
their persons and their actions are altogether detest-
able. They are not idlers, or drunkards, or thieves,
or murderers; they are diligent in business as well
as fervent in spirit, yet they are devils ; they worship
what they choose and in their own way, like the dis-
senters in Germany, the quakers in Pennsylvania, and
the pilgrims from England, yet their spiritual father is
Satan. And now, though thus marked for painful
oppression by their fellow-citizens, they come together
on the birthday of the nation to raise the banner of
the nation, and under it to declare their solemn pre-
rogative to the enjoyment of life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness, to the maintainance of which
they stand ready to pledge their lives, their fortunes,
and their sacred honor. This they do. They raise
the pole of liberty; they unfold the banner of liberty;
they register their vows. Is it all in irony? Is it all
a mockery^ Or is it the displeasure of omnipotence,
which is now displayed because of the rank injustice
wrought by the sons of belial under this sacred em-
blem? God knoweth. We know only that out of
heaven comes fire, blasting the offering of the saints !^*
distant bank,' continued Hall, 'they would buy quantities of its unsigned
bank notes, which they took home, and after having them signed by com-
petent artists, placed in circulation. In procuring these bills, no persons met.
The package would be left by a window of the bank, with a pane out, and
the package taken and its price left by the purchaser.'
^* 'In a day or two after these transactions, the thunder rolled in awful
majesty over the city of Far West, and the arrows of lightning fell from the
clouds, and shivered the liberty pole from top to bottom; thus manifesting to
many that there was an end to liberty and law in that state, and that our
little city strove in vain to maintain the liberties of a country which was ruled
by wickedness and rebellion.' Pratfs Persecution, 57.
120 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
Sidney Rigdon delivered the oration on this occa-
sion; and being an American citizen, and one of the
founders of an American religion, it was perhaps nat-
ural for him to indulge in a little Fourth-of-July ora-
tory; it was natural, but under the circumstances it
was exceedingly impolitic. *'We take God to wit-
ness," cries Sidney, " and the holy angels to witness
this day, that we warn all men, in the name of Jesus
Christ, to come on us no more forever. The man or
the set of men who attempt it, do it at the expense of
their lives ; and that mob that comes on us to disturb
us, there shall be between us and them a war of ex-
termination, for we will follow them till the last drop
of their blood is spilled, or else they will have to exter-
minate us; for we will carry the war to their own
houses, and their own families, and one party or the
other shall be utterly destroyed."
On the 8th of July there was a revelation on tithing.
Early in August a conference was held at Diahman,
and a military company, called the Host of Israel,
was organized after the manner of the priesthood, in-
cluding all males of eighteen years and over. There
were captains of ten, of fifty, and of a hundred; the
organization included the entire military force of the
church, as had the Kirtland army previously a part
ofit.^^
At length the storm burst. The state election of
1838 was held in Daviess county at the town of Gal-
latin on the 6th of August. Soon after the polls
were opened, William Peniston, candidate for the leg-
islature, mounted a barrel and began to speak, attack-
ing the Mormons with degrading epithets, calling
them horse-thieves and robbers, and swearing they
should not vote in that county. Samuel Brown, a
Mormon, who stood by, pronounced the charges un-
true, and said that for one he should vote. Im-
mediately Brown was struck by one Weldin, whose
arm, in attempting to repeat the blow, was caught by
^* 'Every man obeyed the call.' Lee's Mormonism, 57.
WAR BEGXJN.
121
another Mormon, named Durfee. Thereupon eight
or ten men, with clubs and stones, fell upon Durfee,
whose friends rallied to his assistance, and the fight
became general, but with indecisive results. The
Mormons voted, however, and the rest of the day
passed quietly.
G R iV /N/D Y) I Yah
The War in Missocbi.
On the next day two or three of Peniston's partj ,
in order it was said to stir up the saints to violence,
rode over to Far West, one after another, and re-
126 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
ported a battle as having been fought at Gallatin, in
which several of the fraternity were killed. Consider-
able excitement followed the announcement, and sev-
eral parties went to Diahman to learn the truth of
the matter. Ascertaining the facts, and being desir-
ous of preventing further trouble, one of the brethren
went to the magistrate, Adam Black, and proposed
bonds on both sides to keep the peace. The proposition
was accepted, Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight sign-
ing for the Mormons, and Black for the gentiles.
The Mormons then returned to Far West; but the
people of Daviess county, not approving the ac-
tion of the magistrate, disputed Black's right to bind
them; whereupon, to appease them. Black went to
the circuit judge and obtained a writ for the arrest
of Smith and Wight on a charge of having forced him,
by threats of violence, to sign the agreement. Brought
before Judge King at Gallatin, Smith and Wight
were released on their own recognizances.
Nevertheless the excitement increased. In Daviess
and adjacent counties, three hundred gentiles met and
armed. The Mormons say that the gentiles made
prisoners, and shot and stole cattle, and the gentiles
say that the Mormons did the same.-^^ Finally affairs
became so alarming that Major-General Atchison con-
cluded to call out the militia of Ray and Clay coun-
ties, under command of generals Doniphan and Parks,
the latter being stationed in Daviess county.^^ Their
purposes in that quarter being thus defeated, the men
of Missouri threw themselves on a small settlement of
saints at Dewitt, where they were joined by a party
with a six-pounder from Jackson county. Setting fire
'^In Daviess county the saints killed between 100 and 200 hogs and a
number of cattle, took at least forty or fifty stands of honey, and at the same
time destroyed several fields of com. The word was out that the Lord had
consecrated through the bishop the spoils unto his host. Harris" Mormonism
Portrayed, 30-1.
^"One thousand men were then ordered into service under the command
of Major-General Atchison and brigadier-generals Parks and Doniphan.
These marched to Daviess co., and remained in service thirty days. But
judging from the result, they had no intention of coming in contact with the
mob, but only to make a show of defending one neighborhood while the mob
was allowed to attack another.' Pratt's Autobiography, 191.
MOVEMENTS OF FORCES. 128
to the houses, they drove off the inmates and destroyed
their property. General Parks then moved his troops
to Dewitt, but found the mob too many for him. They
openly defied him, would make no compromise, and
swore ''they would drive the Mormons from Daviess
to Caldwell, and from Caldwell to hell." General
Atchison then went to Dewitt and told the Mormons
that his men were so disaffected^^ that they had better
apply for protection to Governor Boggs. This official
returned answer that, as they had brought the war
upon themselves, they must fight their owm battles,
and not look to him for help. Thereupon they aban-
doned the place, and fled to Far West.
In order to intercept the mob General Doniphan
entered Daviess county with two hundred men, and
thence proceeded to Far West, where he camped for
the night. In consultation with the civil and military
officers of the place, who, though Mormons, were
nevertheless commissioned by the state, Doniphan
advised them to arm and march to Daviess county
and defend their brethren there. Acting on this ad-
vice, all armed, some going to Daviess county and
some remaining at Far West.-^^ The former were met
by Parks, who inquired of them all particulars.
Shortly afterward some families came in from beyond
Grand Piver, who stated that they had been driven
away and their houses burned by a party under C.
Gilliam.^ Parks then ordered Colonel Wight, who
held a commission under him as commander of the
18 'At length the general (Atchison) informed the citizens that his forces
■were so small, and many of them so much in favor of the insurrectionists,
that it was useless to look any longer to them for protection . . . After the
evacuation of Dewitt, when our citizens were officially notified that they must
protect themselves, . . . they assembled in Far West to the number of one
thousand men, or thereabout, and resolved to defend their rights to the last. '
PratVs Autobiography, 192-3.
'"The Mormons in Caldwell were the regular state militia for that county,
and were at the time acting under the legal authorities of the county.' Chreene^s
Facts, 20.
''■^ 'A noted company of banditti, under the command of Cornelius Gilliam,
who had long infested our borders and been notorioiis for their murders and
daring robberies, and who painted themselves as Indian warriors, came
pouring in from the west to strengthen the camp of the enemy.' Pratfs AU'
tobiography, 202.
124 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
Mormon militia, to disperse the party, which was
done, and the cannon in their possession seized, with-
out firing a shot. Spreading into other counties, Gil-
liam's men raised everywhere the cry that the Mor-
mons were killing people and burning property.
Soon afterward the Mormon militia returned from
Daviess county to Far West, where they learned that a
large force under Samuel Bogart, a methodist clergy-
man, was plundering and burning houses south of
that point, in Ray county, and had taken three men
prisoners, one only of whom was a Mormon. Elias
Higbee, county judge, ordered the Mormon militia
under Captain Patten '^^ to retake the prisoners. In
passing through a wood Patten came without know-
ing it upon the encampment of Bogart, whose guard
fired without warning, killing one of Patten's men.
Patten then attacked, routing Bogart's force, but not
preventing the shooting of the Mormon prisoner,
though he afterward recovered. In the charge one
man was killed, and Patten and one other were mor-
tally wounded. The company captured forty wagons.^^
About this time arose the mysterious and much
dreaded band that finally took the name of Danites,
or sons of Dan, concerning which so much has been
said while so little is known, some of the Mormons
even denying its existence. But of this there is no
question. Says Burton: ''The Danite band, a name
of fear in the Mississippi Valley, is said by anti-
Mormons to consist of men between the ages of sev-
enteen 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 was prophesied he should be a serpent in
the path. They were organized about 1837 under D.
^^ Pratt, Persecution, 68, says that the detachment was under the com-
mand of Captain Durphey, aided by Patten.
^'^ ' The enemy had left their horses, saddles, camp, and baggage in the con-
fusion of their flight, which fell into our hands. ' Pratfn Persecution, 72. ' We
delivered the horses and spoils of the enemy to Col. Hinckle, the command-
ing officer of the regiment.' Id., 74.
THE DANITES. 125
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, despera-
does, thugs, hashshashiyun — in plain English, assas-
sins 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 apos-
tate, Mr John C. Bennett."^'
John Hyde, a seceder, states that the Danite band,
or the United Brothers of Gideon, was organized on
the 4th of July, 1838, and was placed under the com-
mand of the apostle David Patten, who for the pur-
pose assumed the name of Captain Fearnot.^*
*■* John Corrill says that some time in June a secret society was formed of
a few individuals who should be agreed in all things, and stand by each other,
right or wrong, under all circumstances. Next to God was the iiirst presi-
dency; and they bound themselves by the most solemn covenants before the
almighty that the presidency should be obeyed. ' Who started this society
I know not,' writes Corrill; 'but Doctor Samson Arvard was the most promi-
nent leader and instructor, and was assisted by others. The first presidency
did not seem to have much to do with it, . . .but I thought they stood as wire-
workers behind the curtain.' 'Arvard was very forward and indefatigable in
accomplishing their purposes, for he devoted his whole talents to it, and spared
no pains; and, I thought, was as grand a villain as his wit and ability would ad-
mit of . . . They ran into awful extremes, ' seeming to think that they were called
upontoexecutethejudgmentsof God on all their enemies. 'DrAivard received
orders from Smith, Pdgdon, and company to destroy the paper containing the
constitution of the Danite society, as, if it should be discovered, it would be
considered treasonable. He did not, however, obey the orders, bat after he
was made prisoner he handed it to General Clark.' Kidder^s Mormonism, 143.
The constitution is published in Bennett'' s Mormonism Exposed, 265. 'The
oath by which the Danites were bound in Missouri was altered in a secret
council of the inquisition at Nauvoo so as to read: "In the name of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, I do solemnly obligate myself ever to regard the
prophet and first presidency of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints, as the supreme head of the church on earth, and to obey them in all
things the same as the supreme God; that I will stand by my brethren in
danger or difficulty, and will uphold the presidency, right or wrong; and that
I will ever conceal, and never reveal, the secret purposes of this society,
called the Daughter of Zion. Should I ever do the same, I hold my life as
the forfeiture, in a caldron of boiling oil."' Id., 267. The origin of the name
Daughter of Zion may be found in Micah iv. 13.
"^^ Hyde's Mormonism, 104. In Id., 104-5, Hyde writes as follows: 'When
the citizens of Carroll and Daviess counties. Mo. , began to threaten the Mormons
with expulsion in 1838, a death society was organized under the direction of
Sidney Kigdon, and with the sanction of Smith. Its first captain was Captain
Fearnot, alias David Patten, an apostle. Its object was the punishment of the
obnoxious. Some time elapsed before finding a suitable name. They desired
one that should seem to combine spiritual authority with a suitable sound.
Micah iv. 13, furnished the first name. ' 'Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion !
for 1 will make thy horn iron, and thy hoofs brass; and thou shall beat in
pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and
their substaiice unto the Lord of the whole earth." This furnished them with
126 THE STORY OP MORMONISM.
It is the opinion of some that the Danite band, or
Destroying Angels as again they are called, was or-
ganized at the recommendation of the governor of Mis-
souri as a means of self-defence against persecutions
in that state. -^ Thomas B. Marsh, late president of
the twelve apostles, and president of the church at
Far West, but now a dissenter, having "abandoned
the faith of the Mormons from a conviction of their
immorality and impiety," testifies that in October,
1838, they "had a meeting at Far West, at which they
appointed a company of twelve, by the name of the
Destruction Company, for the purpose of burning and
destroying." ^^
The apostate Bennett gives a number of names by
which the same society, or divisions of it, were known,
such as Daughter of Zion, Big Fan,^^ "inasmuch as it
fanned out the chaff from the wheat," Brother of
Gideon, Destructive, Flying Angel. The explana-
tion of Joseph, the prophet, was that one Doctor
Sampson Arvard, who after being a short time in the
church, in order to add to his importance and influence
secretly initiated the order of Danites, and held meet-
a pretext; it accurately described their intentions, and they called themselves
the Daughters of Zion. Some ridicule was made at these bearded and bloody
daughters, and the name did not sit easily. Destroying Angels came next;
the Big Fan of the threslier that should thoroughly purge the floor was tried
and dropped. Genesis, xlix. 17, furnished the name that they finally assumed.
The verse is quite significant: ' ' Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in
the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider shall fall backward."
The sons of Dan was the style they adopted ; and many have been the times
that they have been adders in the path, and many a man has fallen backward,
and has been seen no more.'
^See S mucker's Hist. Mor., 108.
^® 'The members of this order were placed under the most sacred obliga-
tions that language could invent ... to stand by each other unto death, ... to
sustain, protect, defend, and obey the leaders of the church under any and
all circumstances unto death.' To divulge a Danite secret was death. There
were signs and tokens, the refusal to respect which was death. 'This sign
or token of distress is made by placing the right hand on the right side of the
face, with the points of the fingers upwards, shoving the hand upwards until
the ear is snug up between the thumb and forefinger.' Lee's Mormonism, 57-8.
^' 'The society was instituted for the purpose of driving out from the
holy land, their earthly paradise, in Missouri, all apostates or dissenters. . .
They make no scruple whatever to commit perjury, when deemed requisite
for the welfare of their church. . .The number of Danites is now, 1842, about
2,000 or 2,500. From the elite of the Danites, or Daughters of Zion, twelve
men are selected, who are called Destructives, or Destroying Angels, or Fly-
ing Angels.' Mormonism Exposed, 265-9.
HAUN'S MILL TRAGEDY. 127
ings organizing his men into companies of tens and
fifties, with captains. Then he called the officers
together and told them that they were to go forth
and spoil the gentiles; but they rejected the proposal,
and Arvard was cut off from the church. All the
present leaders of the Mormon church deny emphat-
ically the existence of any such band or society as a
part of or having anything to do with their organiza-
tion.^^
*^'It was intended to enable him,' Smith, 'more effectually to execute
his clandestine purposes.' "'Milking the gentiles " is a kind of veiaacular
term of the Mormons, and signifies the obtaining of money or property from
those who are not members of the Mormon church.' Id., 272-8. 'In an ex-
amination before Judge King, Samuel (Samson?) Arvard testified that the
first object of the Danite band was to drive from the county of Caldwell all
those who dissented from the Mormon church, in which they succeeded admir-
ably . . . The prophet Joseph Smith, Jr, together with his two counsellors Hyrum
Smith and Sidney Rigdon, were considered the supreme head of the church,
and the Danite band felt themselves as much bound to obey them as to obey
the supreme God.' John Corrill swore: 'I think the original object of the
Danite band was to operate on the dissenters; but afterwards it grew into a
system to carry out the designs of the presidency, and if it was neces-
sary, to use physical force to uphold the kingdom of God.' John Cleminson
said: 'Whoever opposed the presidency in what they said or desired done
should be expelled the county or have their lives taken.' Wm W. Phelps,
for a season an apostate, testified: 'If any person spoke against the presi-
dency they would hand him over to the hands of the Brothers of Gideon.'
'The object of the meeting seemed to be to make persons confess and repent
of their sins to God and the presidency.' ' Wight asked Smith, Jr, twice if
it had come to the point now to resist the laws. Smith replied the time had
come when he should resist all law.' Ferris' Utah and the Monnons, 92-3.
Arvard 'swore false concerning a coustitution, as he said, that was introduced
among the Danites, and made many other lying statements in connection
therewith.' Mem. to Leg., in Greene's Facts, 32-3. Says John Corrill in his
Brief History, 'A company, called the Fur Company, was raised for the pur-
pose of procuring provisions, for pressing teams, and even men sometimes,
into the army in Caldwell. ' Reed Peck testified that small companies were
sent out on various plundering expeditions; that he 'saw one of these com-
panies on its return. It was called a fur company. Some had one thing,
some another; one had a feather-bed; another some spun yarn, etc. This fur
they were to take to the bishop's store, where it was to be deposited, and if
they failed to do this it would be considered stealmg.' Kidder's Mormonism,
147-8. Affidavit of the city council, Nauvoo: 'We do further testify that
there is no such thing as a Danite society in this city, nor any combination
other than the Masonic of which we have any knowledge.' Signed by Wil-
son Law, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and 10 others. AHllennial Star, xix.
614. References to authorities speaking of the Danites: Mackay's The Mor-
mons, 89-90, 116; Lee's Mormoyiism, 57-8, 156-60; Olshausen, Gesch. d. Morm.,
48; Ferris' Utah and the Mormons, 89; Beadle's Life in Utah, 389-90; Burton's
City of the Saints, 359; Smucker's Hist. Mor., 108-9; Young's Wife No. 19,
47-8, 268; Bmch, Gesch. der Morm., 87; Marslmll's Through Am., 215-16;
Hyde's Mormonism, 104-5; Bennett's 3Iormonism Exposed, 263-72; Miller's
First Families, 64-5; Hickman's Brigham's Destroying Angel; Hall's Mormon-
ism, 94-5; E. M. Webb, in Utah County Sketches, MS., 49-50, the last named
referring to the rules and principles of the order of Enoch.
12tf THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
Meanwhile was being matured the bloody tragedy
which occurred on the 30th of October near Haun's^'
mill, on Shoal creek, about twenty miles below Far
West. Besides the Mormons living there, were a num-
ber of emigrants awaiting the cessation of hostilities
before proceeding on their journey. It had been
agreed between the Mormons and Missourians of that
locality that they would not molest each other, but
live together in peace. But the men of Caldwell and
Daviess counties would not have it so. Suddenly
and without warning, on the day above mentioned,
mounted and to the number of two hundred and forty,
they fell upon the fated settlement. While the men
were at their work out of doors, the women in the
house, and the children playing about the yards, the
crack of a hundred rifles was heard, and before the
firing ceased, eighteen of these unoffending people
were stretched dead upon the ground, while many
more were wounded. I will not enter upon the sick-
ening details, which are copious and fully proven;
sufiice it to say, that never in savage or other war-
fare was there perpetrated an act more dastardly and
brutal.^*' Indeed, it was openly avowed by the men
of Missouri that it was no worse to shoot a Mormon
than to shoot an Indian, and killing Indians was no
worse than killing wild beasts.
A somewhat singular turn affairs take at this junc-
ture. It appears that Boggs, governor, and sworn
enemy of the saints, does not like the way the war is
going on. Here are his own soldiers fighting his own
voters, the state forces killing the men who have put
"^^ Spelled also Hahn, Hohn, Hawn.
^^ ' Immediately after this, there came into the city a messenger from
Haun's mill, bringing the intelligence of an awful massacre of the people
who were residing in that place, and that a force of two or three hundred,
detached from the main body of the army, under the superior command of
Col. Ashley, but under the immediate command of Capt. Nehemiah Compstock,
who, the day previous, had promised them peace and protection, but on re-
ceiving a copy of the governor's order to exterminate or to expel, from the
hands of Col. Ashley, he returned upon them the following day, and surprised
and massacred the whole population, and then came on to the town of Far
West, and entered into conjunction with the main body of the army.'
Mackay's The Mormons, 88-9.
BOGGS' TACTICS. 129
him in office ! This will not do. There is bad blun-
dering somewhere. It is the Mormons only that are
to be killed and driven off, and not the free and loyal
American Boggs voters. Ho, there! Let the state
arms be turned against these damned saints 1 On
what pretext? Any. Say that they are robbing, and
burning, and killing right and left, and that they swear
they will never stop until they have the country.
Easy enough. No doubt they do kill and burn;
the men of Missouri are killing them and burning;
why should they not retaliate? No doubt there are
thieves and bad men among them, who take advan-
tage of the time to practise their vile calling. No
doubt there are violent men among them, who swear
roundly at those who are hunting them to death, who
swear that they will drive them off their lands and
kill them if they can. But this does not make insur-
rectionists and traitors of the whole society. No
matter; down with the Mormons 1 And so Boggs, the
governor, seats himself and coolly writes off to his
generals to drive out or exterminate the vermin.^^
^^ Several of them write to Boggs: 'There is no crime, from treason down
to petit larceny, but these people, or a majority of them, have been guilty of;
all, too, under the counsel of Joseph Smith, Jr, the prophet. They have com-
mitted treason, murder, arson, burglary, robbery, larceny, and perjury.
They have societies formed under the most binding covenants in form, and
the most horrid oaths, to circumvent the laws and put them at defiance; and
to plunder and burn and murder, and divide the spoils for the use of the
church.' Tucker^ s Mor monism, 164.
And thus Boggs makes answer, Oct. 27th: ' Since the order of the morn-
ing to you directing you to cause four hundred mounted men to be raised
within your division, I have received by Amos Rees, Esq., and Wiley E. Will-
iams, Esq. , one of my aids, information of the most appalling character, which
changes entirely the face of things, and places the Mormons in the attitude of
an open and avowed defiance of the laws, and of having made open war upon
the people of this state. Your orders are therefore to hasten your operations,
and endeavor to reach Richmond in Ray county, with aU possible speed.
The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven
from the state if necessary, for the public good. Their outrages are beyond
all description. If you can increase your force, you are authorized to do so
to any extent you may think necessary. I have just issued orders to Maj.-
Gen. WoUock of Marion county to raise 500 men, and to march them to tbe
northern part of Daviess, and there unite with Gen. Doniphan of Clay, who
has been ordered with 500 men to proceed to the same point for the purpose
of intercepting the retreat of the Mormons to the north. They have been
directed to communicate with you by express. You can also communicate
with them if you find it necessary. Instead, therefore, of proceeding as at
first directed, to reinstate the citizens of Daviess in their homes, you will pro-
HisT. Utah. 9
130 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
Thus it appears that the Missouri state miUtia, called
out in the first instance to assist the Mormon state
militia in quelling a Missouri mob, finally joins the mob
ao-ainst the Mormon militia. In none of their acts
had the saints placed themselves in an attitude of un-
lawful opposition to the state authorities; on the other
hand, they were doing all in their power to defend
themselves and support law and order, save in the
matter of retaliation.
The first the saints of Caldwell county know of the
new tactics is the appearance, within half a mile of
Far West,^^ of three thousand armed men, under Gen-
eral Lucas, generals Wilson and Doniphan being pres-
ent, and General Clark with another army being a few
days' march distant. General Lucas states that the
main business there is to obtain possession of three in-
dividuals, whom he names, two of them not Mormons;
and for the rest he has only to inform the saints that
it is his painful duty either wholly to drive them from
the state or to exterminate them.^^ Gilliam and his
comrades, who as disguised Indians and white men
had been fighting the Mormons, now that the state es-
pouses their cause, join Lucas. ^* General Atchison
was. at Kichmond, in Ray county, when the gover-
nor's exterminating order was issued. **I will have
nothing to do with so infamous a proceeding," he said,
and immediately resigned.
ceed immediately to Richmond and there operate against the Mormons. Brig.-
Gen. Parks of Ray has been ordered to have 400 men of his brigade in readi-
ness to join you at Richmond. The whole force will be placed under your
command.'
^^ 'The governor's orders and these military movements were kept an entire
secret from the citizens of Caldwell and Daviess. . .even the maU was with-
held from Far West.' PraWs Autobiography, 200.
^^ 'This letter of the governor's was extremely unguarded, and seems to
have been too literally construed. . .Making all due allowance for the exas-
perated state of the public mind, these threats of extermination sound a lit-
tle too savage in Anglo-Saxon ears. . .But they were impolitic, because they
gave plausibility to the idea that the saints were the victims of a cruel and
unrelenting religious persecution, and furnished them with one of the surest
means of future success.' Ferris' Utah and the Mormons, 90-1.
^* 'About the time that Lucas came out to Far West, Smith assembled the
Mormon troops, and said that for every one they lacked in number of those
who came out among them, the Lord would send angels, who would fight for
them, and they should be victorious.' Kidder's Mormonism, 143.
IMPOLITIC MEASURES. 131
The day following his arrival General Lucas orders
George M. Hinckle, colonel commanding the Mormon
militia, to bring before him Joseph Smith, junior,
Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Sidney Rigdon, Parley
P. Pratt, Caleb Baldwin, and Alexander McRae,
which is done, though not without charge of fraud and.
treachery on the part of Hinckle. A court-martial
is immediately held; the prisoners are all condemned,
and sentenced to be shot next morning at eight o'clock.
"In the name of humanity I protest against any
such cold-blooded murder," says General Doniphan
who further threatens to withdraw his men if such
a course is persisted in; whereupon the sentence i?
not executed. All the Mormon troops in Far West,
however, are required to give up their arms and con-
sider themselves prisoners of war.^^ They are furthei
required to execute a deed of trust pledging all
Mormon property to the payment of the entire cost
of the war, and to give a promise to leave the state
before the coming spring.
Thus in the name of law and justice the Mormon
soldier}'', whose chief crime it would seem was that, in
common with the rest of the militia, they had assisteo
^^ They were ' confined to the limits of the town for about a week.' During
this time much property was destroyed, and women abused. The number of
arms taken was 630, besides swords and pistols, worth between $12,000 and
$15,000. Mem. to Leg., in Greene's Facts, 15. 'General Lucas demanded the
Caldwell militia to give up their arms, which was done to the number of up-
ward of 500, the rest of the troops having fled during the night. After the
troops had surrendered, the city of Far West was surrounded by the robbers,
and all the men detained as prisoners, none being permitted to pass out oi
the city, although their families were starving for want of sustenance.'
Pratt's Persecution, 84. 'We determined not to resist anything in the shape
'of authority, however tyrannical or unconstitutional might be the proceed-
ings against us. With this request (to surrender ourselves as prisoners), we
readily complied as soon as we were assured by the pledge of the honor of
the principal ofBcers that our lives should be safe. . .We were marched into
camp, surrounded by thousands of savage-looking beings, many of whom
were painted like Indian warriors. These all set up a constant yell, like so
many blood-hounds let loose on their prey ... A hint was given us that the
general officers held a secret council . . . iji which we were all sentenced to be
shot.' Pratt's Persecution, 80-2. 'If the vision of the infernal regions could
suddenly open to the mind, with thousands of malicious fiends, all clamoring,
exulting, deriding, blaspheming, mocking, railing, raging, and foaming like
a troubled sea, then could some idea be formed of the hell which we had en-
tered.' Pratt's Autobiography, 204. See Young's Woman^s Experience, MS.;
Home's Migrations, MS.
132 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
the state in putting down a mob, were forced at the
point of the bayonet to sign an obUgation, binding
not only themselves but the civilians within their
settlements to defray the entire expense of the war.
This proceeding was sufficiently peculiar; but, as a
climax to their conduct, some of the officers and men
laid hands on the Mormons' property wherever they
could find it, taking no thought of payment.
General Clark ^^ now comes forward, and entering
the town of Far West, collects the saints in the pub-
lic square, reads them a lecture,^'' and selecting fifty
of their number, thrusts them into prison. Next day
forty-six of the fifty are taken to Richmond,^^ and
after a fortnight's confinement half are liberated,^^
^^ Pratt says that Clark has been commended by some •writers for his
heroic, merciful, and prudent conduct toward the Mormons, but that the
truth is that he openly avowed his approval of all the proceedings of Gen.
Lucas, and said that he should not alter his decrees. Autobiofp-aph;/, 227-8.
^' It runs as follows: 'Gentlemen, You whose names are not attached to
this list of names will now have the privilege of going to your fields to ob-
tain corn for your families, wood, etc. Those that are now taken will go
fi'om thence to prison, to be tried, and receive the due demerit of their crimes,
but you are now at liberty, all but such as charges may be hereafter preferred
against. It now devolves upon you to fulfil the treaty that you have entered
into, the leading items of which I now lay before you. The first of these you
have already complied with, which is, that you deliver up your leading men
to be tried according to law. Second, that you deliver up your arms; this
has been attended to. The third is, that you sign over your property to de-
fray the expenses of the war; this you have also done. Another thing yet re-
mains for you to comply with, that is, that you leave this state forthwith,
and whatever your feelings concerning this affair, whatever your innocence,
it is nothing to me. Gen. Lucas, who is equal in authority with me, has
made this treaty with you. I am determined to see it executed. The orders
of the governor to me were, that you should be exterminated, and not al-
lowed to continue in the state, and had your leaders not been given up and
the treaty complied with before this, you and your families would have been
destroyed, and your houses in ashes.'
^^ Pratt says in his A utohiography, p. 210, that a revelation to Joseph Smith
buoyed up their spirits continually during their captivity. 'As we arose and
commenced our march on the morning of the 3d of November, Joseph Smith
spoke to me and the other prisoners in a low but cheerful and confidential
tone; said he, "Be of good cheer, brethren; the word of the Lord came to me
last night that our lives should be given us, and that whatever we may suffer
during this captivity, not one of our lives should be taken."' 'When we ar-
rived in Richmond as prisoners there were some fifty others, mostly heads
of families, who had been marched from Caldwell on foot, distance thirty
miles, and were now penned up in a cold, open, unfinished court-house, in
which situation they remained for some weeks, while their families were
suffering severe privations.' Id., 227.
^^A court of inquiry was instituted at Richmond before Judge Austin
A. King, lasting from the 11th to 28th of November. Pratt says: 'The judga
could not be prevailed on to examine the conduct of the murderers and rob-
THE SAINTS MUST GO. 133
most of the remainder being set free a week later on
giving bail. Lucas *° then retires with his troops,
leaving the country to be ravaged by armed squads
that burn houses, insult women, and drive off stock
ad libitum}^ The faint pretext of justice on the part
of the state, attending forced sales and forced settle-
ments, might as well have been dispensed with, as
it was but a cloak to cover official iniquity.^^
bers who had desolated our society, nor would he receive testimony except
against us. . .The judge in open court, while addressing a witness, proclaimed
that if the members of the church remained on their lands to put in another
crop they should be destroyed indiscriminately, and their bones be left to
bleach on the plains without a burial... Mr Doniphan, attorney for the
defence, and since famed as a general in the Mexican war, finally advised the
prisoners to offer no defence; "for," said he, "though a legion of angels from
the opening heavens should declare your innocence, the court and populace
have decreed your destruction.". . .Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rig-
don, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin, and Alexander McRay were committed
to the jail of Clay co. on charge of treason; and Morris Phelps, Lyman Gibbs,
Darwin Chase, Norman Shearer, and myself were committed to the jail of
Richmond, Ray co., for the alleged crime of murder, said to be committed in
the act of dispersing the bandit Bogart and his gang. ' Id. , 230-3.
^^ Ingloriously conspicuous in the Missouri persecutions were generals
Clark, Wilson, and Lucas, Colonel Price, Captain Bogart, and Cornelius Gil-
liam, 'whose zeal in the cause of oppression and injustice, ' says Smith, 'was
unequalled, and whose delight has been to rob, murder, and spread devasta-
tion among the saints. . .All the threats, murders, and robberies which these
officers have been guilty of are entirely ignored by the executive of the state,
who to hide his own iniquity must of course shield and protect those whom
he employed to carry into effect his murderous purposes.' Times and Sea-
sons, i. 7.
*^ Pages of evidence, both Mormon and anti-Mormon, might be given, and
can indeed at any time be produced, to prove the commission of innumerable
wrongs and revolting atrocities on the part of the people of Missouri, while
abetted therein by state forces, commanded by state officers, and all under
guidance of the state governor.
*^ There is abundance of testimony from disinterested sources, even from
the opposers of Mormonism themselves, to prove the persecution on the part
of the people of Missouri unjust and outrageous. I will quote only three from
many similar comments that have been made on this subject, and all, be it re-
membered, emanating from the open and avowed enemies of this religion.
Says Prof. Turner of Illinois college: 'Who began the quarrel? Was it
the Mormons? Is it not notorious, on the contrary, that they were hunted
like wild beasts, from county to county, before they made any desperate re-
sistance? Did they ever, as a body, refuse obedience to the laws, when
called upon to do so, until driven to desperation by repeated threats and
assaults from the mob ? Did the state ever make one decent effort to defend
them as fellow-citizens in their rights, or to redress their wrongs ? Let the
conduct of its governors, attorneys, and the fate of their final petitions an-
swer. Have any who plundered and openly massacred the Mormons ever
been brought to the punishment due to their crimes ? Let the boasting mur-
derers of begging and helpless infancy answer. Has the state ever remuner-
ated even those known to be innocent, for the loss of either their property or
their arms? Did either the pulpit or the press through the state raise a note
of remonstrance or alarm? Let the clergy .nen who abetted and the editors
134 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
It did not seem possible to a community convicted of
no crime, and living in the nineteenth century, under
the flag of the world's foremost republic, that such fla-
grant wrongs as the Boggs exterminating order, and
the enforced treaty under which they were deprived of
their property, could be carried into effect. They ap-
pealed, therefore, to the legislature,^^ demanding jus-
tice. But that body was too much with the peo-
ple and with Boggs to think of justice. To make a
show of decency, a committee was appointed and sent
to Caldwell and Daviess counties, to look into the
matter, but of course did nothing. Another was
appointed with like result. Debates continued with
more or less show of interest through the month of
December. In January, 1839, the Mormons were
plainly told that they need expect no redress at the
hand of the legislature or other body of Missouri.
who encouraged the mob answer.' Correspondence Joseph Smith, 2. On the
16th of March, 1839, the editor of the Quincy Argus wrote as follows: 'We
have no language sufficiently strong for the expression of our indignation and
shame at the recent transaction in a sister state, and that state Missouri, a
state of which we had long been proud, alike for her men and history, but
now so fallen that we could wish her star stricken out from the bright con-
stellation of the Union. We say we know of no language sufficiently strong
for the expression of our shame and abhorrence of her recent conduct. She
has wi-itten her own character in letters of blood, and stained it by acts of
merciless cruelty and brutality that the waters of ages cannot efface. It will
be observed that an organized mob, aided by many of the civil and military
olHcers of Missouri, with Gov. Boggs at their head, have been the prominent
actors in this business, incited, too, it appears, against the Mormons by polit-
ical hatred, and by the additional motives of plunder and revenge. They
have but too well put in execution their threats of extermination and expul-
sion, and fully wreaked their vengeance on a body of industrious and enter-
prising men who had never wronged nor wished to wrong them, but on the
contrary had ever comported themselves as good and honest citizens, living
imder the same laws, and having the same right with themselves to the sacred
immunities of life, liberty, and property.' 'By enlightened people the Mor-
mons were regarded as the victims of misguided vengeance in Missouri. The
ruffianly violence they encountered at the hands of lawless mobs, in several
instances eventuating in deliberate murder, finds no extenuation in any alleged
provocation. The due process of law might have afforded adequate redress
for the criminalities of which they should be found guilty on legal trial.
Such was the view of the subject rightly taken by the people of Illinois and
of the M'orld, though it may have been wrongfully applied in favor of the
cause of the persecuted.' Tuclcer's Mormonism, 166.
*^ A memorial was sent to the legislature of Missouri, dated Far West,
Dec. 10, 1838, setting forth these facts, and praying that the governor's
novel, unlawful, tyrannical, and oppressive order be rescinded. It was
signed by Edward Partridge, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Theodore
Turley, Brighara Young, Isaac Morley, George W. Harris, John Murdock,
John M. Burk.
I
GLORIOUS PERSECUTION. 135
There was no help for them; they must leave the
state or be killed; of this they were assured on all
sides, publicly and privately.
And now begins another painful march — painful in
the thought of it, painful in the telling of it. It is
midwinter; whither can they go, and how? They
have homes, but they may not enjoy them; land
which they have bought, houses which they have
built, and barns and cattle and food, but hereabout
they are hunted to death. Is it Russia or Tar-
tary or Hindostan, that people are thus forced to fly
for opinion's sake? True, the people of the United
States do not like such opinions; they do not like a
religious sect that votes solid, or a class of men whom
they look upon as fools and fanatics talking about
taking the country, claimed as theirs by divine right;
but in any event this was no way to settle the diffi-
culty. Here are men who have been stripped in a
moment of the results of years of toil — all that they
have in the world gone; here are women weighed
down with work and care, some whose husbands are
in prison, and who are thus left to bear the heavy
burden of this infliction alone; here are little chil-
dren, some comfortably clad, others obliged to en-
counter the wind and frozen ground with bare heads
and bleeding feet.
Whither can they go? There is a small following
of the prophet at Quincy, Illinois; some propose to
go there, some start for other places. But what
if they are not welcome at Quincy, and what can
they do with such a multitude? There is no help
for it, however, no other spot where the outcasts
can hope for refuge at the moment. Some have
horses and cattle and wagons ; some have ■ none.
Some have tents and bedding; some have none. But
the start is made, and the march is slowly to the
eastward. In the months of February and March^
** 'On the 20th of April, 1839, the last of the society departed from Far
West. Thus had a whole people, variously estimated at from ten to fifteen
136 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
over one hundred and thirty famihes are on the west
bank of the Mississippi unable to cross the river,
which is full of floating ice. There they wait and
suffer; they scour the country for food and clothing
for the destitute; many sicken and die.
Finally they reach Quincy, and are kindly received.
Not only the saints but others are there who have
human hearts and human sympathies. Indeed, upon
the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri the
Settlements in Illinois.
people of Illinois took a stand in their favor. The
citizens of Quincy, in particular, offered their warmest
sympathy and aid, on the ground of humanity. A select
committee, appointed to ascertain the facts in the case,
reported, on the 27th of February, 1839, "that the
thousand souls, been driven from houses and lands and reduced to poverty,
and had removed to another state, during one short winter and part of a
spring. The sacrifice of property was immense.' Pratt's Autobiography, 245.
ATTITUDE OF ILLINOIS AND IOWA. 137
strangers recently arrived here from the state of Mis-
souri, known by the name of latter-day saints, are
entitled to our sympathy and kindest regard." The
working-men of the town should be informed "that
these people have no design to lower the wages of
the laboring class, but to procure something to save
them from starving." Finally it was resolved: "That
we recommend to all the citizens of Quincy, in all
their intercourse with the strangers, that they use
and observe a becoming decorum and delicacy, and
be particularly careful not to indulge in any conver-
sation or expressions calculated to wound their feel-
ings, or in any way to reflect upon those who, by
every law of humanity, are entitled to our sympathy
and commiseration."*^
How in regard to neighboring states ? In case the
people of Illinois soon tire of them, what will they
then do? From Commerce, Isaac Galland writes to
Robert Lucas, governor of Iowa, asking about it.
The answer is such as one would expect from the
average American citizen — neither better nor worse.
It is such, however, as to condemn throughout all
time the conduct of the people of Missouri.*^
*5 PratVs Persecution of the Saints, 185.
*^ 'On my return to this city,' writes Lucas from the executive office at
Burlington, Iowa, 'after a few weeks' absence in the interior of the terri-
tory, I received your letter of the 25th ult. [Feb. 1839], in which you give
a short account of the sufferings of the people called Mormons, and ask whether
they could be permitted to purchase lands and settle upon them in the terri-
tory of Iowa, and there worship Almighty God according to the dictates of
their own consciences, secure from oppression, etc. In answer to your inquiry,
I would say that I know of no authority that can constitutionally deprive
them of this right. They are citizens of the United States, and are all
entitled to all the rights and privileges of other citizens. The 2d section
of the 4th article of the constitution of the United States (which aU
are solemnly bound to support) declares that "the citizens of each state
shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the
several states;" this privilege extends in full force to the territories of the
United States. The first amendment to the constitution of the United States
declares that "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of re-
ligion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. " The ordinances of congress
of the 13th July, 1787, for the government of the territory north-west of the
river Ohio, secures to the citizens of said territory and the citizens of the
states thereafter to be formed therein, certain privileges which were by the
late act of congress organizing the territory of Iowa extended to the citizens
of this territory. The first fundamental article in that ordinance, which is
I
138 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
During these trying times the prophet was moving
about among his people, doing everything in his power
to protect and encourage them. Late in Septem-
ber he was in the southern part of Caldwell county,
whence in October he passed into Carroll county,
where he soon found himself hemmed in by an en-
raged populace. He appealed to the people, he ap-
plied to the governor, but all to no purpose. After-
ward he went to Daviess county, and then back to Far
West, where he was arrested and incarcerated with
the others. Shortly afterward the prisoners, now
declared to be forever unalterable except by common consent, reads as fol-
lows, to wit : No person demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly man-
ner shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious
sentiments in said territory. These principles I trust will ever be adhered
to in the territory of Iowa. Tiiey make no distinction between religious
sects. They extend equal privileges and protection to all; each must rest
upon its own merits ami will prosper in proportion to the purity of its prin-
ciples, and the fruit of holiness and piety produced thereby. With regard to
the peculiar people mentioned in your letter, I know but little. They had a
community in the northern part of Ohio for several years, and I have no rec-
ollection of ever having heard in that state of any complaint against them of
violating the laws of the country. Their religious opinions I conceive have
nothing to do with our political transactions. They aro citizens of the United
States, and are entitled to the same political rights and legal protection that
other citizens are entitled to. The foregoing are briefly my views on the sub-
ject of your inquiries.'
In a memorial sent to Washington in the autumn of 1839, it was claimed
by the ^Mormons that their property destroyed in Jackson co. was worth
$120,000; that 12,000 souls were banished; that they purchased and improved
lands in Clay co., and in three years were obliged to leave there with heavy
loss; that they then purchased and improved lands in Daviess and Carroll
counties; that for the most part these counties were wild and uncultivated;
tliat they had converted them into large and well improved farms, well
stocked, which were rapidly advancing in cultivation and wealth; and that
they were finally compelled to fly from these counties. In a petition pre-
sented by Sidney Rigdon to the state of Pennsylvania, it is stated that ' Lil-
burn Boggs, governor of the state, used his executive influence to have us all
massacred or driven into exile; and all this because we were not lawless and
disobedient. For if the laws had given them a sufficient guaranty against
the evils complained of. . .then would they have had recourse to the laws. If
we had been transgressors of laws, our houses would not have been rifled, our
women ravished, our farms desolated, and our goods and chattels destroyed,
our men killed, our wives and children driven into the prairies, and made to
sufl'er all the indignities that the most brutal barbarity could inflict; but
would only have had to sufler that which the laws would inflict, which were
founded in justice, framed in righteousness, and administered in humanity. . .
Why, then, all this cruelty ? Answer : because the people had violated no law;
and they could not be restrained by law, nor prevented from exercising the
rights according to the laws, enjoyed, and had a right to be protected in, in
any state of the Union.' Mr Corrill remarks: 'My opinion is, that if the
Mormons had been let alone by the citizens, they would have divided and
subdivided, so as to have completely destroyed themselves and their power
as a people in a short time. '
m PRISON. 139
consisting of the prophet Joseph Smith, with Sid-
ney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, Parley P. Pratt, Lyman
Wight, Amasa Lyman, and George W. Robinson,
were removed to Independence; why they did not
know, but because it was the hot-bed of mobocracy,
they said, and peradventure they might luckily be
shot or hanged. A few days later they were taken
to Pichmond and put in irons, and later to Liberty
jail in Clay county, where they were kept confined
for four months. Habeas corpus was tried, and many
petitions were forwarded to the authorities on their be-
half, but all to no purpose. At length they obtained a
hearing in the courts, with a change of venue to
Boone county where they were still to be incarcerated.
Pigdon had been previously released on habeas corpus,
and one night, when the guard was asleep, Smith and
the others escaped and made their way to Quincy.
"I was in their hands as a prisoner," says Smith,
"about six months; but notwithstanding their deter-
mination to destroy me, with the rest of my brethren
who were with me, and although at three different
times we were sentenced to be shot without the least
shadow of law, and had the time and place appointed
for that purpose, yet through the mercy of God,
in answer to the prayers of the saints, I have been
preserved, and delivered out of their hands. "*^
■" In 1839 Carlin was governor of Illinois, and on him the governor of
Missouri made a formal demand for the surrender to the authorities of Smith
and Rigdon, but little attention was paid to it. One of the most complete
documents extant covering this period is, Facts Relative to the Expulsion oj
the Mormons, or Latter-day Saints, from the State of Missouri under the Ex-
terminating Order. Bi/ John P. Greene, an authorized representative of the
Mormons (Cincinnati, 1839). The work consists of 43 Svo pages, and was
written for the purpose of showing to what wrongs the Mormons had been
subjected at the hands of the people and politicians of Missouri, and also
to obtain contributions for the destitute. The contents are laigely documen-
tary, and if we allow for some intensity of feeling, bear the impress of truth.
Pointing in the same direction but less pretentious and less important is
Correspondence between Joseph Smith, the prophet, and Col. John Wentworth,
editor of the ^Chicago Democrat,^ and member of congress from Illinois; General
James Arlington Bennett, of Arlington House, Long Island; and the Honor-
able John C. Calhoun, Senator from South Carolina, in ivhich is given a sketch
of the life of Joseph Smith, Rise and Progress of the Church of Latter-day
Saints, and their persecution by the state of Missouri; with the peculiar views
of Joseph Smith in relation to Political and Religious matters genn-ally; to
which is added a concise account of the present state and prospects of the city of
140 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
Notwithstanding their enormous losses, and the ex-
treme indigence of many, the saints were not all as
destitute of credit as they were of ready means, if
we may judge by their business transacted during
the year 1839. Bishop Knight bought for the church
part of the town of Keokuk, Iowa, situated on the
west bank of the Mississippi, forty miles above Quincy,
Illinois. He also purchased the whole of another
town-site called Nashville, six miles above Keokuk.
Four miles above Nashville was a settlement called
Montrose, part of which Knight bought, together
with thirty thousand acres of land.^
Opposite Montrose, on the east bank of the Mis-
sissippi where was a good landing, stood a village
Nauvoo. (New York, 1844), With a title-page from which so much infor-
mation is to be derived, we must not expect too much from the book itself.
A portion of this correspondence was published in the Times and Seasons.
Late Persecution of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ten
thotisand American citizens robbed, plundered, and banished ; others impris-
oned, and others Tnartyred for their Religion. With a sketch of their Rise, Prog-
ress, and Doctrine. By P. P. Pratt, Minister of the Gospel. Written in prison
(New York, 1840). This is a 16mo vol. of 215 pages, most of which is devoted
to the Missouri persecutions, with but little other history, except what is thrown
in incidentally. An appendix of 37 pages is made up mostly from Greene's
Facts. Pratt gives a graphic account of his life in prison, aud of the means
whereby, with the cooperation of his wife, he rescued from jail the manuscript
of this book, which was written there. After mentioning them, he says:
'Thus, kind reader, was this little book providentially, and I may say mirac-
ulously, preserved, and by this means you have it to read.' The first edition
was published at Detroit, Michigan, the book consisting then of 84 pages.
Full reference for the persecutions of the Mormons in Missouri, 1831-39.
Memorial to Legislature Mass. in 1844, against such conduct, in Times and
Seasons, i. 17-20, 33-6, 49-56, 65-6, 81-6, 94, 97-104, 113-16, 128-34, 145-50,
161-7, 177; V. 514-19; Pratt's Persecution of the Saints, 21-215; Utah Tracts,
no. 4, 56-64; Pratt's Autobiography, 190-237, 311-22, 336-40; Smucker's Hist.
Mor., 86; Deseret News, Dec. 27, 1851, Nov. 29 and Dec. 27, 1851, June
30, 1869; Mackay's The Mormons, 106-14; Tucker's Origin and Prog. Mor.,
160-6; Howe's Mormonism Unveiled, 138-76; Ferris' Utah and the Mormons,
87-8, 90; White's Ten Years in Or., 144; Taylder's Mormon's Own Booh, xliii.-
xlvi.; Gunnison's Mormons, 104-14; Millennial Star, xx v., 535-6, 550-2, 599-
600, 614-16, 631; Burnett's Rec, 56; Beadle's Life in Utah, 60; Lee's Mor-
monism, 55-96; TuUidge's Women, 116-74; Richards' Narrative, MS., 6-9;
Young's Wife No. 19, 43-53; Atlantic Monthly, Dec. 1869; Stenhouse, Les
Mormons, 154-71; Liberty Tribune; Margaret Smoot's Experiences of a Mor-
mon Wife, MS., 2-3: Farnham's Travels Rocky Mts., 6; Bertrand's Mem.
Mor., 51; Busch, Gesch. der Mor., 85-7, 90-7; Juvenile Instructor, xv. 78;
Kidder's Mormonism, 133-5; Iowa Frontier Guardian, March 21, 1849; Rabbi-
son's Growth of Towns, MS., 2-5.
*^ ' Since their expulsion from Missouri a portion of them, about one hun-
dred families, have settled in Lee county, Iowa Territory, and are generally
considered industrious, inoffensive, and worthy citizens.' Letter from Robert
Lucas, governor of Iowa, to A. Ripley, dated Jan. 4, 1840.
I
FOUNDING OF NAUVOO. 141
called Commerce, where were some twenty houses.
This was purchased by the saints, with the lands sur-
rounding, and a town laid out which was named
Nauvoo, "from the Hebrew, which signifies fair, very
beautiful, and it actually fills the definition of the
word; for nature has not formed a parallel on the
banks of the Mississippi from New Orleans to Ga-
lena." The post-office there was first called Com-
merce, after the Mormons had purchased the village,
but the name was changed to that of Nauvoo in May,
1840.*^ The place was started by a company from New
York, but it was so sickly that when the agent for the
Mormons came they were glad to sell. The Mormons
drained it and made the place comparatively healthy.
On his escape from prison. Smith visited Commerce
among other places, and seeing at once the advan-
tages of its site, determined to establish there the
headquarters of the church. For so great had his
power now become, so extensive his following, that he
might choose any spot whereon to call into existence
a city, had but to point his finger and say the word
to transform a wilderness into a garden. During the
winter of 1840 the church leaders applied to the leg-
islature of Illinois for several charters, one for the
city of Nauvoo, one for agricultural and manufactur-
ing purposes, one for a university, and one for a mili-
tary body called the Nauvoo Legion. The privileges
asked were very extensive, but were readily granted;
for the two great political parties were pretty equal in
numbers in Illinois at this time, and the leaders of
the party in office, perceiving what a political power
these people were, determined to secure them.
*^ ' Nauvoo was one of the names of one of the numerous petty chiefs in
British India.' Ferris' The Mor., 97. 'Nauvoo is a Hebrew word, and sig-
nifies a beautiful habitation for man, carrying with it the idea of rest; it is
not, however, considered by the Mormons their final home, but a resting
place only; for they only intend to remain there until they have gathered
force sufiEicient to enable them to conquer Independence in Jackson co. , Mis-
souri, which is one of the most fertile, pleasant, and desirable countries on
the face of the earth, possessing a soil unsurpassed in any region. Indepen-
dence they consider their Zion, and there they intend to rear their great tem-
ple, the comer-stone of which is already laid. There is to be the great gath-
142 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
There were now saints everj^where, all over the
United States, particularly throughout the western
portion ; there were isolated believers, and small clus-
ters, and small and great congregations. There were
also many travelling preachers, men full of the holy
ghost, or believing themselves so, who travelled
without purse or scrip, whom no buflPetings, insults,
hunger, or blows could daunt, who feared nothing
that man could do, heaven's door being always open
to them. See now the effects of these persecutions
in Missouri. Twelve thousand were driven from
their homes and set moving by Boggs and his gen-
erals; three fourths of them found new homes at
Quincy, Nauvoo, and elsewhere; but three thousand,
who, but for the persecutions, would have remained
at home and tilled their lands, were preaching and
proselyting, making new converts and establishing
new churches wherever they went. One of their
number, William Smith, was a member of the Illi-
nois legislature. In the very midst of the war they
were preaching in Jackson county, among their old
enemies and spoilers, striving with all their souls to
win back their Zion, their New Jerusalem. From
New York, February 19, 1840, Brigham Young, H.
C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, and Parley P. Pratt indited
a letter to the saints at Commerce, speaking of the
wonderful progress of the faith, and of their own in-
tended departure for England. ^°
Thus, despite persecution, the saints increased in
number year by year. Before the end of 1840 there
were fifteen thousand souls at Nauvoo, men, women,
and children, not all of them exiles from Missouri,
but from every quarter, old believers and new con-
verts from different parts of the United States, from
Canada, and from Europe; hither came they to the
city of their God, to the mountain of his holiness.
ering place for all the saints, and in that delightful country they expect to find
their Eden, and build the New Jerusalem.' Bennett's Mormonism Exp., 192-3.
^"See J. D. Hunter's letter of Dec. 26, 1839, from Jackson county, 111., in
Times and Seasons, i. 59.
CHAPTER VI.
THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
1840-1844.
The City of Nauvoo — Its Temple and University — The Nauvoo Le-
gion — The Mormons in Illinois — Evil Reports — Revelation on
Polygamy — Its Reception and Practice — The Prophet a Candi-
date for the Presidency — The 'Nauvoo Expositor' — Joseph Ar-
rested — Governor Ford and his Measures — Joseph and Hyrum
Proceed to Carthage — Their Imprisonment — The Governor's
Pledge — Assassination of the Prophet and his Brother — Char-
acter of Joseph Smith — A Panic at Carthage— Addresses of Rich-
ards and Taylor — Peaceful Attitude of the Mormon&
To the saints it is indeed a place of refuge, the
city of Nauvoo, the Holy City, the City of Joseph.^
It stands on rolling land, covering a bed of limestone
yielding excellent building material, and bordered on
three sides by the river which here makes a majestic
curve, and is nearly two miles in width. The abo-
rigines were not indifferent to the advantages of the
spot, as the presence of their mounds testifies. In
area it is three miles by four. The city is regularly
laid out in streets at right angles, of convenient width,
along which are scattered neat, whitewashed log cabins,
also frame, brick, and stone houses, with grounds and
gardens. It is incorporated by charter,^ and contains
the best institutions of the latest civilization; in the
^ 'Among the more zealous Mormons, it became the fashion at this time
(1845) to disuse the word Nauvoo, and to call the place the holy city, or tho
city of Joseph.' Machay's The Mormons, 191.
"^ The charter granted by the legislature was signed by Gov. Carlin Sept.
16, 1840, to take effect Feb. 1, 1841. 'So artfully framed that it was found
that the state government was practically superseded within the Mormon cor-
poration. Under the judicial clause its courts were supreme.' McBride in
International Review, Feb. 1882. Charters were also granted to the university
aajd the Nauvoo legion. Times and Seasons, ii. 281.
(U3)
144 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
country are hundreds of tributary farms and planta-
tions. The population is from seven to fifteen thou-
sand, varying with the ebb and flow of new converts
and new colonizations.^
Conspicuous among the buildings, and chief archi-
tectural feature of the holy city, is the temple, glisten-
ing in white limestone upon the hill-top, a shrine in
the western wilderness whereat all the nations of the
earth may worship, whereat all the people may in-
quire of God and receive his holy oracles.* Next in
' The blocks contain ' four lots of eleven by twelve rods each, making all
comer lots . . . For three or four miles upon the river, and about the same dis-
tance back in the country, Nauvoo presents a city of gardens, ornamented
with the dwellings of those who have made a covenant by sacrifice. . .It will
be no more than probably correct, if we allow the city to contain between
700 and 800 houses, with a population of 14,000 or 15,000.' Times and Sea-
sons, iii. 936. A correspondent of the J^ew York Herald is a little wild wher
he writes about this time: 'The Mormons number in Europe and America
about 150,000, and are constantly pouring into Nauvoo and the neighboring
country. There are probably in and about this city and adjacent territories
not far from 30,000.' Fifteen thousand in 1840 is the number given in
Mackay's The Mormons, 115, as I mentioned in the last chapter. A corre-
spondent's estimate in the Times and Seasons, in 1842, was for the city 7,000,
and for the immediate surroundings 3,000. Phelps, in The Prophet, estimates
the population during the height of the city's prosperity in 1844 at 14,000, of
whom nine tenths were Mormons. Some 2000 houses were built the first year.
Joseph Smith in Times and Seasons, March 1842, says: 'We number from six
to eight thousand here, besides vast numbers in the county around, and in
almost every county in the state.'
*The structure was 83 by 128 feet, and 60 feet high. The stone was quar-
ried within city limits. There was an upper story and basement; and in the
latter a baptismal font wrought after the manner of King Solomon's brazen
sea. A huge tank, upon whose panels were painted various scenes, and ascent
to which was made by stairs, was upborne by twelve oxen, beautifully carved,
and overlaid with gold. ' The two great stories, ' says a Mormon eye-
witness, 'each have two pulpits, one at each end, to accommodate the Mel-
chizedek and Aaronic priesthoods, graded into four rising seats, the first
for the president of the elders and his two counsellors, the second for the
president of the high priesthood and his two counsellors, and the third for
the Melchizedek president and his two counsellors, and the fourth for the presi
dent of the whole church and his two counsellors. There are thirty hewn
stone pilasters which cost about §3,000 apiece. The base is a crescent new
moon; the capitals, near 50 feet high; the sun, with a human face in bold re-
lief, about two and a half feet broad, ornamented with rays of light and
waves, surmounted by two hands holding two trumpets. ' All was crowned
by a high steeple surmounted with angel and trumpet. The cost was nearly
$1,000,000, and was met by tithes contributed by some in money or produce,
and by others in labor. The four comer-stones of the temple were laid with
much ceremony on the 6th of April, 1841, on the celebration of the anniver-
sary of the church. Sidney Rigdon delivered the address, and upon the
placing of the first stone, said: * May the persons employed in the erection of
this house be preserved from all harm while engaged in its construction, till the
whole is completed — in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy
I
NAUVOO. 145
the City of Joseph in prominence and importance is
the house of Joseph, hotel and residence, called the
Nauvoo House,^ which is to the material man as the
ghost; even so, amen.' Times and Seasons, ii. 376. A revelation was published
in Jan. 1841. ' Let all my saints come from afar, and send ye swift messen-
gers, yea, chosen messengers, and say unto them: " Come ye with all your gold
and your silver and your precious stones, and with all your antiquities, and with
all who have knowledge of antiquities, that will come, may come; and bring
the box-tree and the fir-tree and the pine-tree, together with all the precious
trees of the earth, and with iron and with copper and with brass and with
zinc and with all your precious things of the earth, and build a house to my
name for the most high to dwell therein."' Smucker's Hist. Mor., 132- For
reference notes on temple: minutes of conference, relating to building a
church, etc. , see Times and Seasons, i. 185-7. Laying the foundation stone, Id.,
ii. 375-7, 380-2; Mackaifs The Mormons, 118-20; Smuckers Hist. Mor., 133.
Laying of the capstone, Times and Seasons, vi. 926. Progress of its building,
Id., iii. 775-6; iv. 10-11; The Prophet, in Mackaifs The Mormons, 189-91.
Description of the temple with cut, Smucker^s Mormons, 129; Ferris' The Mor-
Tnons, 137-9; Pratt's Autobiography, 378; without cut, Smucker's Mormons,
202-4; Bertrand Mem. Morm., 61; Cincinnati Times; Deseret News, March
22, 1876; church claims. Times and Seasons, iii. 735-8; 767-9; v. 618-20; Kim-
ball, in Times and Seasons, vi. 972-3; misappropriation of funds, HaIVs Mor-
monism Exposed, 7-8. ' One of the most powerful levers which he had in-
vented for moving his disciples in temple building was the doctrine of baptism
for the dead... which baptism must be performed in the temple; no other
place would give it the requisite efficacy.' Ferris' The Mormons, 97-8. 'An-
other mode of making the dimes was that of giving the blessing, as it was said,
from heaven. This was the sole province of the patriarch, which office, till
his death, was exercised by Hiram Smith. No blessing could be obtained for
less than one dollar; but he frequently received for this service twenty,
thirty, and even forty dollars. ' HcdVs Mormonism, 22.
^It was ordered by revelation given to Joseph Smith, Jan. 19, 1841, that
a hotel should be built and called the Nauvoo House; that it should be
erected under the supervision of George Miller, Lyman Wight, John Snider,
and Peter Haws, one of whom should be president of a joint-stoclc company
to be formed for the purpose, and tliat stock subscriptions should be for not
less than fifty dollars nor more than fifteen thousand dollars by any one
man, and that only by a believer in the book of Mormon. Vinson Knight,
Hyrum Smith, Isaac Gallaud, William Marks, Henry G. Sherwood, and Will-
iam Law were directed by name to take stock. 'And now I say unto you,
as pertaining to my boarding-house, which I have commanded you to build
for the boarding of strangers, let it be built unto my name, and let my name
bo named upon it, and let my servant Joseph and his house have place therein
from generation to generation.' The Nauvoo House Associaton was incor-
porated Feb. 23, 1841, by George Miller, Lyman Wight, John Snider, and
Peter Haws, and associates. Copy of act in Bennett's Hist. Saints, 204-5.
Plan of city, with cuts of temple, baptismal font, and Nauvoo Legion,
with description, in Bennett's Hist. Saints, 188-91, which is quite erroneous,
the building being then not completed. I have taken this account chieily
from Phelps' description in The Prophet. The Nauvoo House, says Bennett,
'though intended chiefly for the reception and entertainment of strangers
and travellers, contains, or rather when completed is to contain, a splendid
suite of apartments for the special accommodation of the prophet Joe Smith,
and heirs and descendants forever. ' Cut of temple, and best description of
Nauvoo institutions, in Mackaifs The Mormons, 115, 190-1. The Nauvoo
House, in form of an L, had a frontage on two streets of 120 feet each,
by a depth of 40 feet; the estimated cost was $100,000. Times and Seasons,
ii. 369. Another building opened in Nov. 1843 was the Nauvoo mansion.
Hist. Utah. 10
146 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
temple to the spiritual man. Unfortunately both the
one and the other are destined to an occupancy and
enjoyment all too brief in view of the vast labor be-
stowed upon them. Besides these buildings are the
Hall of Seventies, in which is a library, the Masonic
Hall, and Concert Hall; also there a university and
other institutions are established, though having as
yet no separate edifices.
The president of the university and professor of
mathematics and English literature is James Kelly,
a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and a ripe
scholar; Orson Pratt, a man of pure mind and high or-
der of ability, who without early education and amidst
great difficulties had to achieve learning as best he
could, and in truth has achieved it; professor of lan-
guages, Orson Spencer, graduate of Union College
and the Baptist Theological Seminary, New York;
professor of church history, Sidney Bigdon, versed
in history, belles-lettres, and oratory. In the board
of regents we find the leading men of the church;®
connected v/ith the university were four common-
school wards, with three wardens to each.
In 1840 all the male members of the church be-
tween the ages of sixteen and fifty were enrolled in
a military organization known as the Nauvoo Legion,
which eventually numbered some four thousand men,
and constituted part of the state militia. It was di-
vided into two cohorts, and then into regiments, bat-
talions, and companies. Lieutenant-general Joseph
Smith being commander-in-chief. '^ The organization
'Chancellor, John C. Bennett; registrar, William Law; regents, Joseph
Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Hjn-um Smith, William Marks, Samuel H. Smith,
Daniel H. Wells, N. K. Whitney, Charles C. Rich, John T. Barnett, Wilson
Law, John P. Greene, Vinson Knight, Isaac Galland, Elias Higbee, Robert
D. Foster, James Adams, Samuel Bennett, Ebenezer Robinson, John Snider,
George Miller, Lenos M. Enight, John Taylor, Heber C. Kimball. The
tuition fees were five dollars per quarter, payable twice each quarter in ad-
vance.
'Among his generals were Robert D. Foster, George W. Robinson, Charles
C. Rich, W. P. Lyon, Davison Hibbard, Hirum Kimball, A. P. Rock wood;
majors, Willard Richards, Hosea Stout; colonels, John F. Weld, Orson Pratt,
Francis M. Higbee, Carlos Gove, C. L. Higbee, James Sloan, George Schindle,
Amasa Lyman, D. B, Smith, George Coulson, Alexander McRea, J. R. Back-
PROSPERITY AGAIN". 147
was modelled after the Koman legion. The men were
well disciplined, brave, and efficient. These troops
carried their name to Utah, where they were reor-
ganized in May 1857.
Though all are soldiers, there are no dandy warriors
in their midst. Each one returns after drill to his
occupation — to his farm, factory, or merchandise.
Among other workshops are a porcelain factory es-
tablished by a Staffordshire company, two steam saw-
mills, a steam flouring-mill, a foundry, and a tool-
factory. A joint-stock company is organized under the
style of the Nauvoo Agricultural and Manufactur-
ing Association. Just outside the city is a commu-
nity farm, worked by the poor for their own benefit;
to each family in the city is allotted one acre of
ground; the system of community of property does
not obtain.
Most of the people in and about Nauvoo are
Mormons, but not all. The population is made up
chiefly from the farming districts of the United States
and the manufacturing districts of England; though
uneducated, unpolished, and superstitious, they are
for the most part intelligent, industrious, competent,
honest, and sincere.^ With a shrewd head to direct,
enstos, L. Woodworth; captains, D. B. Huntington, Samuel Hicks, Amos Da-
vis, Marcellus Bates, Charles Allen, L. N. Scovil, W. M. Allred, Justus Morse,
John F. Olney, Darwin Chase, C. M. Kreymyer, and others. 'Col. A. P. Rock-
wood was drill-master. Rockwood was then a captain, but was afterward pro-
moted to colonel of tlie militia, or host of Israel. I was then fourth corporal
of a company. The people were regiilarly drilled and taught military tactics,
so that they would be ready to act when the time came for returning to Jackson
county, the promised land of our inheritance.' Lee's 2Iormonisin, 112. 'Re-
views were held from time to time, and flags presented, and Joseph appeared
OQ all those occasions with a splendid stafl", in all the pomp and circumstance
of a full-blown military commander.' Ferris' Utah and the Mormons, 100-1.
'At the last dress parade of the legion, he was accompanied in the field by a
display of ten of his spiritual wives or concubines, dressed in a fine uniform,
and mounted on elegant white horses.' Tucker's Mormonism, 170. After the
force reached Utah it was 'regularly drilled by competent officers, many of
whom ser^-ed in Mexico with the Mormon battalion under Gen. W. Scott.
They are well armed, and perfectly fearless.' Hyde's Mormonism, 183. See
further Times and Seasons, ii. 321-2, 417-18, 435, 517; iii. 654, 700-1, 718,
733-4, 921; Stenhouse's TeU It All, 306; Deseret Kews, April 15 and July 1,
1857, July 6, 1859; Gunnison's Mormons, 133; Smucker'ts Hist. Mor., 149;
Kidder's Mormonism, 182-9.
^Says the St Louis Atlas of September 1841: The people of Nauvoo 'have
148 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
like that of the prophet, a wisdom like his to concen-
trate, a power like his to say to ten thousand men, do
this, and it is done, with plenty of cheap, virgin land,
with a collective knowledge of all arts, and with hab-
its of economy and industry, it were a wonder if they
did not rapidly accumulate property, and some of
them acquire wealth. This they do, though tithed
by the church, and detested by the gentiles, and they
prosper in a remarkable degree. Of course, in po-
litical, as in spiritual and pecuniary affairs, the proph-
et's word is law.
"Nauvoo is the best place in the world!" exclaims
an enthusiastic saint. Nauvoo, the beautiful indeed!
And ''as to the facilities, tranquillities, and virtues of
the city, they are not equalled on the globe." Here
the saints find rest. "No vice is meant to be toler-
ated; no grog-shops allowed; nor would we have any
trouble, if it were not for our lenity in suffering the
world,^ as I shall call them, to come in and trade, and
been grossly misunderstood and shamefully libelled . . . The present population
is between eight and nine thousand, and of coui'se it is the largest town in
Illinois. The people are very enterprising, industrious, and thrifty. They
are at least quite as honest as the rest of us in this part of the world, and
probably in any other. Some peculiarities they have, no doubt. Their relig-
ion is a peculiar one; that is, neither Buddhism, nor Mahometanism, nor
Judaism, nor Christianity, but it is a faith which they say encourages no
vice nor immorality, nor departure from established laws and usages; neither
polygamy, nor promiscuous intercourse, nor community of property ... Ar-
dent spirits as a drink are not iu use among them. . .Tobacco, also, is a weed
which they seem almost universally to despise. We don't know but that the
Mormons ought to be expatriated for refusing to drink whiskey and chew
tobacco; but we hope the question will not be decided hastilj', nor until their
judges have slept off the fumes of their own liquor and cigars.' 'They have
enclosed large farms on the prairie ground, on which they have raised corn,
wheat, hemp, etc., and all this they have accomplished within the short
space of four years. I do not believe there is another people in existence
who could have made such improvements in the same length of time under
the same circumstances. And here allow me to remark, that there are some
here who have lately emigrated to this place, who have built themselves
large and convenient homes in the town; others on their farms on the prairie,
who, if they had remained at home, might have continued to live in rented
houses all their days, and never once have entertained the idea of building
one for themselves at their own expense.' Smucker's Mormonism, 159.
' Gentiles were not excluded from the holy city. In Bennett's Hist. Saints,
158,, is given an ordinance, dated March 1, 1841, running as follows: 'Be it
ordained by the city council of the city of Nauvoo, that the catholics, pres-
byterians, methodists, baptists, latter-day saints, quakers, episcopalians,
universalists, imitarians, mohammedans, and all other religious sects and de-
nominations whatever, shall have toleration and equal privileges in this city;
THEY CATCH AN EEL. 149
enjoy our society, as they say." "They are a wonder-
fully enterprising people," writes a gentile. "Peace
and harmony reign in the city. The drunkard is
scarcely ever seen, as in other cities, neither does the
awful imprecation or profane oath strike upon your
ear; but while all is storm and tempest and confusion
abroad respecting the Mormons, all is peace and har-
mony at home."^*'
About this time there comes to Joseph Smith a
somewhat singular individual making somewhat singu-
lar advances. He is a yankee huckster of the first
class, only for his merchandise, instead of patent
clocks and wooden nutmegs, he offers for sale theol-
ogy, medicine, and a general assortment of political
and military wares. The thing is a fraud, and be-
fore long he openly announces himself as such. As
his manhood is far inferior to his duplicity, so his
name — the Reverend General John C. Bennett, M.
D,, U. S. A., president, chancellor, and master in
chancery — as we may observe, is subordinate to his
titles. He has ability, he has brains and fingers ; but
and should any person be guilty of ridiculing, abusing, or otherwise depre-
ciating another in consequence of his religion, etc., he shall be fined and
imprisoned.' On the 17th of March, 1842, the Female Relief Society of Nau-
voo was organized.
1" In the Salem Advertiser was published an account of the visit to Nauvoo
in 1843 of one Newhall, a lecturer, who says: 'I sought in vain for anything
that bore the marks of immorality, but was both astonished and highly pleased
at my ill success. I could see no loungers about the streets nor any drunk-
ards about the taverns. I did not meet with those distorted features of I'uf-
fians, or with the ill-bred and impudent. I heard not an oath in the place, I
saw not a gloomy countenance; all were cheerful, polite, and industrious.'
Smucker's Mormons, 154^5. 'The mayor of Nauvoo deserves praise for the
stand he has taken in favor of temperance. The retailing of ardent spirits is
not permitted within the bounds of the corporation.' Kidder's Mormons, 189.
For city ordinance prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors in less quantity
than a quart except as a physician's prescription, see Bennett's Hist. Saints, 27.
On the 12th of Nov. 1841, B. Winchester writes from Nauvoo: 'You would
be astonished, if you were here, at the vast improvement made in so short a
space of time . . . You will see nothing like idleness, but will hear the lium of
industry, nay, may I not say more, the voice of merriment. ..Now as to the
morality of the people here: . . .you know if you should throw cold water into
melted iron the scene would be terrific, because the contrast would be so
great; so it is with the saints: if a small portion of wickedness happens among
them, the contrast between the spirit of Christ and that of darkness is so
great that it makes a great upstir and tremendous excitement; this is the case
here; but in other communities the same amount of crime would hardly be
noticed. '
150 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
he has no soul. He comes to Joseph and says,
**Hail, master!" and worships him. He professes all
that the Mormons profess, and more; he does all
that the Mormons do, and more. So the prophet
makes him general of his legion, mayor of the city,
chancellor of the university, not to mention his func-
tions as attorney, doctor, and privy counsellor. All
this is done with quick despatch; and the result
is that the great man soon tires of his greatness,
or thinks to become yet greater by turning rene-
gade, and writing a book against his late friends and
associates."
" Representative of a class of anti-Mormon literature, not altogether
creditable to either its authors or supporters, are the following:
7'Ae History of the Saints; or. An Expos6 of Joe Smith and Mormonism.
By John G. Bennett. (Boston, 1842.)
The Abominations of Mormonism, Exposed; containing many Facts and
Doctrines concerning that singular people daring seven years' membership with
them, from IS40 to 1847. By William Hall. (Cincinnati, 1852.)
Mormonism: Its Leaders and Designs. By John Hyde, Jun., formerly a
Mormon elder and resident of Salt Lake City. (New York, 1857.)
Mormonism Unveiled; or, The Life and Confessions of the late Mormon
bishop, John D. Lee; Written by Himself; Embracing a history of Mormonism
from its inception down to the present time, with an exposition of the secret his-
tory, signs, symbols, and crimes of the Mormon Church; also the true history
of the horrible butchery known as the Mountain Meadow Massacre. (St Louis,
1877.)
The role of traitor is not one which in any wise bricgs credit to the
performer, either from one side or the other. However great the service he
may render us, we cannot but feel that he is false-hearted and vile. Many
of the apostates, though they may not have written books, declare that they
joined the sect only to learn their secrets and then expose them. These are
the most contemptible of all. There may be cases where a young or inex-
perienced person, through ignorance or susceptibility, has been carried away
for a time contrary to the dictates of cooler judgment; but the statements of
such persons are justly regarded with more or less suspicion. Far better is
it, far more honest and praiseworthy, for him who, having unwittingly made
a mistake, seeks to rectify it, to go his way and say nothing about it; for if
he talks of writing a book for the good of others, as a warning, and that
they may avoid his errors, few will believe him. ' If he has proved traitor
once,' they say, 'he will deceive again; and if he is sincere, we cannot more
than half believe him, for such an individual is never sure of himself.' John
C. Bennett, general, doctor, methodist preacher, and quack, is from his own
showing a bad man. He devotes some fifty pages to the vindication of his
character, which would not be necessary were he honest; other fifty are
given to defaming his late worshipful patron Joseph Smith, which would
never have been written were he true. When a man thrusts in your face
three-score certificates of his good character, each signed by from one to a
dozen persons, you may know that he is a very great rascal. Nor are we
disappointed here. This author is a charlatan, pure and simple; such was
he when he joined the Mormons, and before and after. We may credit him
fully when he says, ' I never believed in them or their doctrines;' although
in a letter to Dr Dyer, dated Nauvoo, Jan. 20, 1842, he declares: ' My heart ia
SPECIMENS OF LITERATURE. 151
There is another individual of similar name, and
yet more similar character, James Arlington Ben-
filled with indignation, and my blood boils withia rae, when I contemplate
the vast injustice and cruelty which Missouri has meted out to the great
philanthropist and devout Christian, General Joseph Smith, and his honest
and faithful adherents. ' When, however, he affects patriotism and lofty devo-
tion to the welfare of his fellow-men, pretending to have joined the society
in order to frustrate 'a daring and colossal scheme of rebellion and usurpa-
tion throughout the north-western states, ... a despotic military and religious
empire, the head of which, as emperor and pope, was to be Joseph Smith,'
we know that the writer is well aware that it is all nonsense. Nor do we be-
lieve that he was induced to print his book ' by a desire to expose the enor-
mous iniquities which have been perpetrated by one of the grossest and
most infamous impostors that ever appeared upon the face of the earth.'
We have heard and are still hearing so much of that kind of talk from some
of the worst men in the community that it is becoming somewhat stale, and
if the general really does not know better than this why he wrote his book,
perhaps he will excuse me for telling him that it was, first, for notoriety; sec-
ond, for money; and third, in order to make people think him a better and
greater man than he is. When a man's ambition is pitched so low, it is
a pity that he should not have the gratification of success. Bravely, then, the
general proceeded to offer himself on the altar of his country, 'to overthrow
the impostor and expose his iniquity ' by ' professing himself a convert to hia
doctrines; ' for ' the fruition of his hopeful project would, of course, have
been preceded by plunder, devastation, and bloodshed, and by all the count-
less horrors which invariably accompany civil war.' We are still more im-
pressed when we read: 'I was quite aware of the danger I ran' — that of
being kicked out of some back door — 'but none of these things deten-ed me.'
Without wasting more time and space upon the man, we are well enough pre-
pared to place a proper estimate upon his statements, particularly when we
take into account that, in May of the very year in which his book was pub-
lished, he went before Alderman Wells and made affidavit that Joseph Smith
was an honest, virtuous, sincere, high-minded, and patriotic man. He says
himself that he solemnly swore to be true to the Mormons and not reveal
their secrets, and now in breaking that oath he has the audacity to ask us to
regard him as an honest and truthful man! In some measure, at least, the
statements of such men as this, taken up by the press and people, and reiter-
ated throughout the land, have given the latter-day saints a worse name
than they deserve. Some of his charges are too coarse and filthy for repe-
tition. I will cite a few specimens, however, to show how far mendacity 13
sometimes carried in this direction.
Joseph Smith is a 'monster who is using the power he possesses to gratify
a brutal lust;' 'a Giovanni of some dozens of mistresses;' 'must be branded
as a consummate knave;' one 'of the most heaven-daring liars the world ever
saw;' 'notoriously profane;' 'gets most gloriously drunk,' etc. In the moat
vulgar and licentious language, he goes on to describe what he calls the ' Mor-
mon seraglio,' 'the female inquisition,' 'Joe's cloistered, chambered, and cy-
prian maids. ' He revels in all the wickedness of this kind during past ages
which he can make up, rolling it as a sweet morsel under his tongue, finally
affirming that ' the holy Joe outdoes them all ! ' He says that any woman be-
longing to the society who lapses from virtue is condemned to a life of se-
cret prostitution, the most trustworthy members of the church having knowl-
edge of it; another class indulge in illicit intercourse by special permission of
the prophet; another class are the spiritual wives. All this is said, be it re-
membered, mthia two or three months of the time he made oath that Smith
was one of the besb and purest of men. Next comes an expose of several se-
cret societies, the Danites, Desti'oying Angel, etc., and finally a list of mur-
ders and robberies perpetrated ia that section during a certain time, all of
152 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
nett, also called general, whom Mackay, Smucker,
a reviewer in the Edinburgh, and others have mis-
which are charged to these agencies. Sidney Rigdon is praised by Bennett;
80 much the woi'se for Sidney. Doubtless this book played its part in bring-
ing about the assassination of Joseph Smith. Says John Taylor of John C.
Bennett: 'At one time he was a good man, but fell into adultery, and was
cut off from the church for his iniquity;. . .he was also expelled from the mu-
nicipal court, of which he was a member. ' Public Discussion, 5-6.
William Hall was an old gentleman of simple mind and manners when he
wrote his book; he appears to be earnest and truthful. As he says of the
saints, so I should say of him: he meant well, but he should beware of bad
leaders. Hall was not a great man in the church, like Bennett; nevertheless,
like Bennett he wrote a book, but unlike Bennett's, his book reads like that
of an honest man, although it is full of bitter accusations against the Mor-
mons. All such works should be taken with some degrees of allowance; for
when a person begins to rail against any people or individual, he is apt to be
cai'ried away and misrepresent, intentionally or unintentionally. The period
that Hall's experiences cover is quite an important one, including as it does the
Illinois expulsion and the exodus to Great Salt Lake,
Quite different from any of his brother apostates is John Hyde, Jr, who
cannot by right be placed in the category of vulgar ranter or hypocritical re-
former. I regard him as an able and honest man, sober and sincere. He
docs not denounce the sect as hypocrites. ' I know your sincerity; I know
also your delusion,' he writes. He does not even denounce all the leaders;
even to Brigham Young, whom he mercilessly scourges, he gives credit for
ability and sincerity. 'That you are sincere in your confidence in Joseph
Smith, and in your own pretensions,' he writes to him, 'I believe and ac-
knowledge; but at the same time, that you are leading confiding thousands
to misery and ruin is evident ... I admire your genius, but I deplore its exercise.
... I admire the industry of your people, their notable labors, and their general
eincerity; but I deplore their delusion, and I denounce their deceivers.' His
book is dedicated 'To the honest believers in Mormonism,' and he says to
them: 'In writing the following work I was not actuated by the base design
of helping to malign an unpopular people, nor by the unworthy one of ad-
ministering to a mere idle curiosity. ' John Hyde was bom in England, in
1833, and joined the Mormons there when fifteen years of age. He was al-
most immediately ordained a priest and began to preach. In 1851 he was
ordained one of the seventies, an office of equal power but inferior jurisdic-
tion to that ot one of the twelve, and joined John Taylor in France. With
about 400 Mormon converts he sailed from Liverpool in Feb. 1853, visited Nau-
voo, and thence crossed the plains in company with 2,500 brethren to Salt Lake
City, where he married and began teaching school. In Feb. 1854 he was 'in-
itiated into the mysteries of the Mormon endowment,' became shaken in the
faith, and the following year, having accepted a mission to the Hawaiian Isl-
ands, he threw off Mormonism and preached and wrote against it instead of
for it. In his book he gives a description of Salt Lake City in 1853-4, a chap-
ter entitled 'Practical Polygamy,' and others on Mormon Mysteries, Educa-
tion, Brigliam Young, Book of Mormon, Theoretical Polygamy, and Sup-
pression of Mormonism. Hyde's book would be quite useful were he not so
loose about his dates; it would appear from the way he throws statements
together that in the absence of a date he guessed at it.
Still another style of book is that of John D. Lee, purporting to have
been written by him, but as a matter of fact written for the most part by
W. W. Bishop while Lee was in prison condemned to death. The work, there-
fore, though the story of a Mormon, and of one who under the circumstances
could not be expected to be veiy friendly, is not by a Mormon. The book
is not essentially different from the matter published in the newspapers about
the time of Lee's execution, under the title of ' Confessions.' Lee gives the
SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 153
taken for the original. The quahty of impudence
appears as fully in the second Bennett as in the first. ^^
As I have before observed, the misfortunes of the
saints by no means dampened their ardor, or impov-
erished them as a society. Some lost their all; in
that case the others helped them. Old scores were
story of his life, simply and honestly enough; to this is added an account of
the Mountain Meadow massacre, and of the arrest, trial, and execution of
Lee. He was a native of Illinois, bom in 1812, worked hard and with suc-
cess while a young man, became an enthusiastic Mormon in 1837, and went
to Missouri. With everything there he was highly delighted; he attended
devoutly all the services of the church, and was duly promoted. He was
with his people at Nauvoo, migrated with them to Utah, and was adopted
by Brigham Young. In 1877 he was executed for participation in the Moun-
tain Meadow massacre, excusing himself while cursing others.
Mormonism and the Mormons; A Historical Vieio of the rise and progress
of the sect self-styled Latter-day Saints; by Daniel P. Kidder, is the title
of a 16mo vol. of 342 pages, published in New York, and bearing no date,
though entered for copyright in the year 1842. Mr Kidder certainly wrote
a book on short acquaintance with the subject; as he says up to Nov. 1840,
he knew little about it. On the 13th of that month he found himself
on board a Mormon steamboat called the Fulton City, on the Mississippi River,
bound for Nauvoo. Nearly all the passengers and crew were Mormons.
Desirous of knowing more of them, and holding to the maxim that by teach-
ing most is to be learned, he procured copies of the Book of Mormon, Doc-
trine and Covenants, Howe^s Mormonism Unveiled, and Corr ill's Brief His-
tory, and seating himself before them made his book, which consists chiefly
of extracts from the above sources tied together with occasional remarks
neither startling nor original. In Nauvoo, without date, but probably about
1841, were published two chapters of nonsense about women and their relations
and duties to men, entitled. An Extract from a Manuscript entitled The
Peace-maker, or the Doctrines of the Millennium, being a Treatise on Religion
and Jurisprudence, or a New System of Religion and Politics. For God, my
Country, and my Rights, By Adney Hay Jacob, an Israelite, and a Shepherd
of Israel. Nauvoo, III. J. Smith, Printer. In a preface the reader is told:
' The author of this work is not a Mormon, although it is printed by their press. '
^^In a letter to the prophet dated October 24, 1843, which has become
quite famous, James A. Bennett pretends to have been baptized by Brigham
Young, a ceremony that he alludes to as 'a glorious frolic in the clear blue
ocean' with 'your most excellent and worthy friend. President B. Young.'
'Nothing of this kind,' he goes on to say, 'would in the least attach me to
your person or cause. I am capable of being a most undeviatLng friend,
without being governed by the smallest religious influence . . .Isay, therefore,
go ahead, you have my good wishes. You know Mahomet had his right-hand
man,' etc. Smith replied at length in a religio-philosophic strain. More has
been made of this correspondence than it deserves. It was printed in Times
and Seasons, iv. 371-3, in Cor. betiveen Joseph Smith. .. Wentworth. . .and
. . .Calhoun, as well as in Mackai/'s The Mormons, and Smucker's Hist. Mor.
See also Edinburgh Review, April 1854, 334. Mackay observes: 'Joseph's re-
ply to this singular and too candid epistle was quite as singular and infinitely
more amusing. Joseph was too cunning a man to accept, in plain terms, the
rude but serviceable offer; and he rebuked the vanity and presumption of
Mr Bennett, while dexterously retaining him for future use.' All this
would have some significance if Smith had been in the least deceived, or
had the writer of this letter and the original rascal been one.
154 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
cancelled, old debts forgiven.^^ There were no great
riches among them; yet he who had nothing could
not be called jooor amid such surroundings. Head
over all, temporal and spiritual, was Joseph Smith,
not only prophet and president, but general and
mayor. ^* He had now approached the summit of his
career, and for a brief space was permitted to enjoy
his fame, wealth, and power in some degree of quiet.
They were salutary lessons that the prophet and
his people had received in Missouri, and for a time
their speech and manner were less arrogant than of
old. But soon prosperity was far greater here than
ever before, and as with Israel of old the chastise-
ments of the Lord were soon forgotten. From the
moment they crossed the river from . Missouri into
Illinois their position as men and members of the
commonwealth was changed. In the one state they
were regarded as fanatics, dangerous to the govern-
ment and to the people, having associated assassins to
do their bidding, and holding to a doctrine of divine
inheritance with regard to all that country; in the
" 'At the conference in April 1840, the prophet delivered a lengthy ad-
dress upon the history and condition of the saints. He reminded the breth-
ren that all had suffered alike for the sake of the gospel. The rich and the
Eoor had been brought to a common level by persecution; that many of the
rethren were owing debts that they had been forced to contract in order to
get out of Missouri alive. He considered it was unchristian-like for the
brethren to demand the payment of such debts; that he did not wish to
screen any one from the just payment of his debts, but he did think that it
would be for the glory of the kingdom if the people would, of their own will,
freely forgive each other for all their existing indebtedness, one to the other,
then renew their covenants with almighty God and with each other; refrain
from exal, and live their religion; by this means, God's holy spirit would sup-
port and bless the people. The people were then asked if they were in favor
of thus bruiging about the year of jubilee. All that felt so inclined were
asked to make it known by raising their hands; every hand in the audience
was raised. ' The prophet then declared all debts of the saints, to and from
each other, forgiven and cancelled. He then gave the following words of
advice to the people: 'I wish you all to know that because you were justified
in taking property from your enemies while engaged in war in Missouri,
which was needed to support you, there is now a ditferent condition of things
existing. We are no longer at war, and you must stop stealing. When the
right time comes we will go in force and take the whole state of Missouri. It
belongs to us as an inheritiuce; but I want no more petty stealing.' Lee^a
Mormonhin, 110-11.
^* Smith was first mayor. Feb. 1, 1841, Bennett was elected mayor and
80 continued till May 19, 1S42, when Smith again assumed the office.
BACKSLIDING. 155
other they were esteemed as hard-working and thrifty
American citizens, whose votes, to the party in power,
were worth as much as those of the baptist or the
methodist.
Such was their past and present status in the com-
munity. They were now treated, poHtically and
socially, with consideration, especially by politicians.
Thomas Carlin, governor of Illinois, was their friend,
and granted them all the privileges they asked; Rob-
ert Ijucas, governor of Iowa, was their friend, and
promised them the protection due to every citizen of
the United States, of whatsoever religion, creed,
superstition, fanaticism, craze, or whatever people
might choose to call it.
But soon there came a governor, named Thomas
Ford, who knew not Joseph. He was a well meaning-
man enough, not blood-thirsty like Boggs, nor strong
and cool-headed like Carlin, nor yet a man of positive
action and opinion like Lucas; still, Ford was not a
bad man, and if the saints had conducted themselves
according to the wisdom of the world, they might in
time, perhaps, have overcome the prejudices of the
people. But prosperity seemed as fatal to them as
adversity was profitable. All the best of heaven and
earth was now theirs, and again Jeshurun waxed fat
and kicked, revelations becoming less frequent as the
cares of this world, the lusts of the flesh, and the
pride of life crept in among the people.
The city charter of Nauvoo-^^ allowed the enact-
ment of any laws not in conflict with those of the
state or of the United States, and particularly that a
writ of habeas corpus might be issued in all cases aris-
ing under city ordinance. In the interpretation of this
^^ Describing Nauvoo at this period, Linforth remarks: ' Before the close
of 1842 a vast improvement had taken place. The city, which then extended
3 or 4 miles on the river, and about the same distance back, had been regu-
larly laid off into blocks, containing 4 lots of 11 by 12 rods each, between 700
and 800 houses had been erected, and the population numbered about 15,000.
Two Rteam-mills and 2 printing-presses existed, and buildings for various
manufactures were rapidly gouig up. In the mean time the temple and
Nauvoo House were progressing.' Route from Liverpool to G. S. L. Valley, 62.
156 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
provision the saints allowed themselves rather a wide
latitude, even assuming authority opposed to superior
powers, and sometimes questioning the validity of state
documents not countersigned by the mayor ofNauvoo.
The counties surrounding Hancock, in which was Nau-
voo, were fearful of the prosperity of the saints, and of
their political influence; there were angry words and
bickerings between the opposing societies, and then
blows. The old Missouri feud was kept alive by suits
instituted against Smith and others.-^^ An attempt
made to assassinate Governor Boggs was, of course,
charged to the Mormons, and probably with truth.
In fact, if we may believe their enemies, they did not
deny it. Boggs had unlawfully ordered all the Mor-
mons in Missouri killed if they did not leave the
state: why had not they the same right, they argued,
to break the law and kill him V^
Among the reports circulated, besides those of
assassination and attempted assassination, the follow-
ing will serve as specimens: That the plan of Smith
'^ When on his return from Quincy, to which place he had accompanied
Hyrum Smith and William Law, who were on a mission to the east, Joseph
was arrested the 5th of June, 1841, on a warrant from Gov. Carlin to deliver
him to the Missouri state authorities. In return, Joseph Smith brought suit
against J. H. Re3aiold3 and H. G. Wilson for false imprisonment. This as
well as other affairs of the kind kept up a bitter excitement.
^^On the 6th of May, 1842, Gov. Boggs was fired at through a window,
and narrowly escaped being killed. The crime was charged to 0. P. Rock-
well, ' with the connivance and under the instructions of Joseph Smith. ' Hyde's
Mormonism, 105, 206. Boggs swore he believed Smith a party to the at-
tempted assassination, and instituted legal proceedings. Machay's The Mor-
n>,ons, 139. Bennett, Hist. Saints, 281-2, labors hard to prove that Smith
wanted Boggs killed, and said as much, which it seems to me few would deny,
Bennett states that in 1841 Smith prophesied that Boggs would die by violent
hands within a year. ' In the spring of the year 1842 Smith offered a reward of
$500 to any man who would secretly assassinate Gov. Boggs. ' Joseph O. Boggs,
brother of the governor, writes Bennett, Sept. 12, 1842, 'We have now no
doubt of the guilt of Smith and Rockwell.' Id., 286. Rockwell was arrested,
discharged, and went to Utah. ' Brigham has had him into the pulpit,' says
Hyde, ' to address the meetings.' We read: ' Grin Porter Rockwell, the Islor-
mon confined in our county jail some time since for the attempted assassination
of ex-governor Boggs, was indicted by our last grand jury for escaping from the
county jail some weeks since, and sent to Clay county for trial. Owing, how-
ever, to some informality in the proceedings, he was remanded to this county
again for trial. There was not sufficient proof adduced against him to justify
an indictment for shooting at ex-governor Boggs; and the grand jury, there-
fore, did not indict him for that offence.' Independent Expositor; Nilea' Regis-
ter, Sept. 30, 1843.
LIMITLESS PRETENSIONS. 157
was to take the county, then the state, after that the
United States, and finally the whole world; that any
section making a move against the saints should be
destroyed by the Danites; that Smith declared his
prophecies superior to law, and threatened that if not
let alone he would prove a second Mahomet, and send
streams of blood from the Rocky Mountains to the
sea.
In an address to the saints at Nauvoo, September
1, 1842, Joseph stated that on account of the enemies
in pursuit of him, both in Missouri and in Illinois, he
deemed it best to retire for a time, and seek safety.^^
He ordered his debts paid as they fell due, his prop-
erty to be sold if necessary to meet requirements,
and exhorted all officers to be faithful to their trust.
''When the storm is past I will return," he said; ''and
as for perils, they seem small things to me, for the
envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all
the days of my life." And again: "Verily thus saith
the Lord, let the work of my temple, and all the works
which I have appointed unto you, be continued and
not cease. Let all the records be had in order, that
they may be put in the archives of my holy temple.
I will write the word of the Lord from time to time
and send it to you by mail. I now close my letter for
the present, for the want of more time, for the enemy
is on the alert; and as the savior said, the prince of
this world cometh, but he hath nothing in me."
Five days later the prophet sent an address to the
saints, mainly touching the baptism for the dead, of
which more hereafter. "Now what do we hear in the
gospel which we have received ? A voice of gladness !
A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth
out of the earth, glad tidings for the dead; a voice
of gladness for the living and dead ; glad tidings of
great j oy . And again what do we hear ? Glad tidings
from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from heaven, de-
claring the fulfilment of the prophets — the book to
be revealed. A voice of the Lord in the wilderness
158 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
of Fayette, Seneca county, declaring the three wit-
nesses to bear record of the book. The voice of Mi-
chael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the
devil when he appeared as an angel of light. The
voice of Peter, James, and John in the wilderness be-
tween Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville,
Boone county, on the Susquehanna River, declaring
themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom,
and of the dispensation of the fulness of times. And
again, the voice of God in the chamber of old Father
Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca county, and at sundry
times and in divers places, through all the travels
and tribulations of this church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints."
We come now to a most momentous epoch in the
history of the church, to the most important act of
the prophet during the entire course of his wonderful
life, to the act of all others pregnant with mighty
results, if we except the primary proceedings relative
to the sacred book and its translation.
Twenty years had passed since the plates of Mor-
mon had been revealed to Joseph, during which time
he had suffered divers and continued persecution.
He and his followers had been reviled and spit upon
from the beginning; some of them had been robbed,
and beaten, hunted down, imprisoned, and slain.
Yet they had prospered; the church had rapidly
increased, and its members were blessed with plenty.
Their neighbors spoke much evil of them and com-
mitted many violent acts. The saints were exceed-
ingly annoying; they voted solid and claimed the
whole world as theirs, including Jackson county,
Missouri ; they were wild in their thoughts, extrava-
gant in their pretensions, and by no means temperate
in the use of their tongues; they were not always
prudent; they were not always without reproach.
Just how far certain members or leaders erred,
bringing evil on all, it is impossible at this day to
ADVENT OP POLYGAMY. 159
determine. The evidence comes to us in the form
of rumors, general assertions, and bold statements
from the mouths of men filled with deadly hate, and
cannot be altos^ether trusted. Some of these have said
that the leaders of the church, finding their power
over the minds and bodies of their female associ-
ates so greatly increased, so rapidly becoming abso-
lute, could not resist temptation, but fell into grievous
sins like Jeroboam and David, and were thereby
obliged to adopt some plan either to cover or make
right their conduct.
It was easy for the gentiles to make such a charge
appear plausible, in view of the fact that about
this time the doctrine of plurality of wives as prac-
tised and promulgated in the scriptures attracted
much attention. Most of the other acts, customs,
and ordinances of the old and new testaments had
been adopted in common with those contained in the
book of Mormon by the latter-day church; why
should not this? Wives and concubines without re-
striction had been permitted to the worthy men of
old; the holy scriptures had nowhere condemned the
custom; God had at no time ordered otherwise. On
the contrary, it seemed in the line of example and
duty; it seemed necessary to make the holy fabric
symmetrical and complete. True, it was not now in
vogue with either Jews or Christians; but neither
were miracles nor special revelations. Surely, if God
disapproved, he would have so declared; his com-
mands he makes clear; particularly acts heinous in his
sight he denounces loudly and with many repetitions.
Thus argued the elders. They did not consider, nor
indeed care for, the fact that, viewed from the stand-
point of intellectual progress, the revival of polygamy,
or concubinage, in common with other practices of
the half-savage Hebrews, was a retrogression, a turn-
ing back toward savagism. They found it sanctioned
in the holy book in use by the most civilized nations
of the earth, and they felt themselves able to make
160 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
it appear plausible. If any had the right to adopt part
of the bible as their rule of conduct, accepting it all as
true, they claimed the right to adopt the whole of it
for their rule of conduct if they chose. It was civil-
ization, and not the holy scriptures, that forbade*
polygamy, and they cared very little comparatively
for civilization.
Finally, on the 12th of July, 1843, while the chief
men of the church were thinking the matter over,
though saying little even among themselves, it is
stated that there came to Joseph a revelation, the last
of the prophet's revelations of which there is any
record.
"Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant
Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my
hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord,
justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; as
also Moses, David, and Solomon, my servants, as touch-
ing the principles 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.
"Abraham received concubines, and they bare him
children, and it was accounted unto him for righteous-
ness, 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.
David also received many wives and concubines, as
also Solomon, and Moses, my servant, as also many
others of my servants, from the beginning of creation
until this time, and in nothing did they sin, save in
those things which they received not of me.
"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.
EMMA EXHORTED. 161
"Verily, I say unto you, a commandment I give
unto mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your wife, wiiom
I have given unto you, that she stay herself, and par-
take 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 offer-
ing at your hand by convenant 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 I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to>
abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none
else. And again, verily, I say, let mine handmaid'
forgive my servant Joseph his trespasses, and then
shall she be forgiven her trespasses, wherein she hath;
trespassed against me ; and I, the Lord thy God, will
bless her and multiply her, and make her heart to re-
joice.
"And again, as pertaining to the law of the- priest-
hood: 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 he is justified; he can-
not commit adultery, for they are given unto him;
for he cannot commit adultery with that belonging
unto him, and to none else; and if he have ten virgins
given unto him by this law he cannot commit adultery,
for they belong to him, and they are given unto him ;
therefore he is justified."
It is said that as early as 1831 the will of the Lord
in this respect had been revealed to Joseph. In
translating the bible he had come upon the passages
relating to plural wives and concubines, and had in-
quired of the Lord what he should do. He was told
to wait, and not make the matter public then, the peo-
ple not yet having faith to receive it. It was one of
the severest trials the church had yet been called upon
to undergo, and the wisest circumspection was neces-
sary lest Joseph should be repudiated by his followers
Hist. Utah. 11
162 THE STOHY OF MORMONISM.
as a false prophet. So he approached persons singly,
first the man of the family and then the woman. In
1841 Joseph began to take to himself plural wives,
and his example was followed by some of the others.
Finally, in order that all might know that he was not
acting on his own responsibility alone, the revelation
came, sanctioning and enforcing the system. This, as
I have given it, is the orthodox and authorized ex-
planation of the matter.
Thus came to the saints the doctrine of polygamy,
first to the leaders and for a time kept secret, and
finally to the whole church, as one of its most prom-
inent tenets.-^^ For years it was known only to a few,
and it was not formall}^ promulgated until after the
great exodus, when the church had become well es-
tablished in the valleys of the Yutas.-^^
There were several reasons for adopting this course.
First, the hate and obloquy which would be engendered
by its publication, and the wide-spread and bitter oppo-
sition it would meet. The work of missionaries in the
field would greatly suffer. Many in the church would
oppose it; women would rebel, while their sisters
throughout Christendom would hold them in derision.
It was all so new and strange. Even in theory it
was startling enough; but put it in practice, and who
could foretell the result? The very foundations of
'^ John Hyde mentions a previous revelation. He says that about the
year 1838 'Smith pretended to obtain a revelation from God authorizing him
to practise polygamy, and began to practise it accordingly. ' Mormonism, 20.3.
See also Slater^s Mormonism, 84, and Deseret News, Oct. 22, 1879. There is
no truth whatever in this assertion. And yet John Hyde is regarded as pretty
good authority; but in this loose way thousands of false statements have
been made regarding the secrets of the saints.
^'This revelation was first published in the Deseret News in 1852, and
next in the Millennial Star at Liverpool, England, in 1853. It is given entire
elsewhere in this volume. The Edinburgh Rfview of April 1854, 335, says, 'Nob
many months have yet passed since the Mormon leaders have decided on a
bolder policy and have publicly avowed this portion of the system,' which
shows that the fact of publication was not generally known to the gentile Euro-
pean world until two years after the official notice in Salt Lake City appeared.
Copies of it will also be found in Doc. and Gov., 423-32; Young's Wife No.
19, 77-86; Ferris' Utah and the Mormons, app. ; Burton's City of the Saints,
451-7; Tucker's Mormonism, 172-82; Smith's Rise, Prog, and Travels, 42-8;
Pfarl of Great Price, 64-70; Stenhouse's Tell It All, 135-8; and Stenhouse'a
Expos6 of Polygamy, 207-15.
POLYGAMY AT FIRST SECRET. 163
the church might thereby be broken up. If It must
needs be, then let discretion be used. Let the mat-
ter be broken to the church as it is able to receive it;
let the system be introduced gradually, and practised
secretly; by the chief men at first, and later by all.-''
It was indeed a heavy load that the saints thus took
upon themselves, willingly or unwillingly, in the ser-
vice of God or in the service of Satan. Up to this
^^ It is denied by some that polygamy was practised by the Mormons at
this date. In the Dcscret News of Oct. 22, 1879, are several statements under
oath to the effect that between 1840 and 1843 Joseph taught the doctrine of
celestial or plural marriage, that several women were sealed to him according
to this doctrine, and this with the consent of Joseph's wife, Emma Smith.
On the other hand, it is stated in the Scdt Lake Gilij Tribune, Oct. 3, 1879,
tiiat Emma denied that her husband was ever married to another, or that, so
far as she knew, he ever had improper relations with any woman. Elder Pratt
reported at Piano, 111., in the summer of 1878* several instances of Joseph's
having had wives sealed to him, one at least as early as April 5, 1841. 'Smith
introduced (at Nauvoo) the system of spiritual wifeism, and had largely in-
creased his household by celestial ensealment. This was tlie preliminary step
of polygamy, or its practical adoption, though it had not yet been revealed
as a tenet in the Mormon creed.' Tucker' ti Mornwnlsm, 170. The revelation
was written after he had taken other wives. Stenhotise's Expos6 of Polnqamy,
70. Jos. Smith adopts it and is sealed to Eliza vSnow. TuUidf/e's Life of
Young, Suppl. 22. In a letter to the Desertt Neios, Oct. 22, 1879, Eliza R.
Snow signs her name as 'a wife of Joseph Smith the propliet.' 'Brigham
Young delivered over to Jo Smith all his wives except one, and soon after
Smith had a revelation that Young should be his successor as head of the
clmrch.' Slater's Mormonism, 84. John D. Lee says: *I understood that
Brig. Young's wife Avas sealed to Joseph. After his death Brig. Young told
me that Joseph's time on earth was short, and that the Lord allowed him
privileges that we could not have.' Mormonism, 147. Jos. Smith had taken
some more wives, but the revelation required that he should do it without
publicity (for fear of the mob). Richards' Remimscences, MS., 18. 'Joseph
Smith lost his life entirely through attempting to persuade a Mrs Dr Fostei-,
at Nauvoo, that it was the will of God she should become his spiritual wife;
not to the exclusion of her husband, Dr Foster, but only to become his in
time for eternity. This nefarious offer she confessed to her husband. Some
others of a similar nature were discovered, and Dr Foster, William Law, and
others began to expose Smith. Tlieir paper was burned, type and press de-
molished, for which Smith was arrested, and afterward shot by Missourians,
at Carthage, 111.' Hyde's Mormonism, 85.
' Smith and Noble repaired by night to the banks of the Mississippi, where
Noble's sister was sealed to Smith by Noble, and the latter to another woman
by Smith. These were the first plural marriages, and a son born to Noble
the first child born in polygamy.' Young's Wife No. 19, 72-3. ' That l^olyg-
amy existed at Nauvoo, and is now a matter scarcely attempted to be con-
cealed among the Mormons, is certain.' Gunnison's Mormons, 120. On the
other side, in Times and Seasons, iv. 143 (March 15, 1843), we read, 'The
charge of advocating a plurality of Avives is as false as the many other ridicu-
lous charges brought against us.' In Id., v. 474 (March 15, 1844), Hyium
Smith declares that no such doctrine is taught or practised; and on p. 715 it
is declared that 'the law of the land and the rules of the church do not allow
one man to have more than one wife alive at once.' For additional denials
by Parley Pratt, John Taylor, and others, see S. L. Tribune, Nov. 11, 1879.
164 THE STORY OF MOr.MONISM.
time, though citizens of the commonwealth, they had
not been in sympathy with other citizens; though
rehgionists, they were in deadly opposition to all other
religions; as a fraternity, bound by friendly compact,
not alone spiritually but in temporal matters, in buying
and selling, in town-building, farming, and stock-rais-
ing, in all trades and manufactures, they stood on vant-
age-ground. They were stronger than their immediate
neighbors — stronger socially, politically, and indus-
trially ; and the people about them felt this, and while
hating, feared them.
It is true, that on their first arrival in Zion they
were not wealthy ; neither were their neighbors. They
were not highly educated or refined or cultured;
neither were their neighbors. They were sometimes
loud and vulgar of speech; so were their neighbors.
Immorality cropped out in certain quarters; so it did
among the ancient Corinthians and the men of mod-
ern Missouri; there was some thieving among them;
but they were no more immoral or dishonest than
their persecutors who made war on them, and as
they thought without a shadow of right.
There is no doubt that amongf the Mormons as
among the gentiles, perhaps among the Mormon
leaders as among the gentile leaders, fornication and
adultery were practised. It has been so in other ages
and nations, in every age and nation; it is so now,
and is likely to be so till the end of the world. But
when the testimony on both sides is carefully weighed,
it must be admitted that the Mormons in Missouri
and Illinois were, as a class, a more moral, honest,
temperate, hard-working, self-denying, and thrifty
people than the gentiles by whom they were sur-
rounded. Says John D. Lee on entering the Mis-
souri fraternity and, at the time of this remarking, by
no means friendly to the saints, "The motives of the
people who composed my neighborhood were pure;
they were all sincere in their devotions, and tried to
square their actions through life by the golden rule . . .
POLYGAMY A BURDEN AND A BOND. 165
The word of a Mormon was then good for all it was
pledged to or for. I was proud to be an associate
with such honorable people." And thus Colonel
Kane, a disinterested observer, and not a Mormon:
As compared with the other "border inhabitants of
Missouri, the vile scum which our society, like the
great ocean, washes upon its frontier shores," the
saints were "persons of refined and cleanly habits and
decent language."
Nevertheless the sins of the entire section must be
visited on them. Were there any robberies for miles
around, they were charged by their enemies upon the
Mormons; were there any house-burnings or assas-
sinations anywhere among the gentiles, it was the
Danites who did it. Of all that has been laid at their
door I find little proved against them. The charges
are general, and preferred for the most part by irre-
sponsible men; in answer to them they refer us to the
records. On the other hand, the outrages of their
enemies are easily followed; for they are not denied,
but are rather gloried in by the perpetrators. To
shoot a Mormon was indeed a distinction coveted by
the average gentile citizen of Illinois and Missouri,
and was no more regarded as a crime than the shoot-
ing of a Blackfoot or Pawnee. Of course the Mor-
mons retaliated.
Polygamy was a heavy load in one sense; in another
sense it was a bond of strength. While in the eyes
of the world its open avowal placed the saints outside
the pale of respectability, and made them amenable
to the law, among themselves as law-breakers, openly
defying the law, and placing themselves and their
religion above all law, the very fact of being thus
legal offenders, subject to the penalties and punish-
ments of the law, brought the members of the society
so acting into closer relationship, cementing them as
a sect, and making them more dependent on each
other and on their leaders. It is plain that while
thus bringing upon themselves ignominy and reproach.
166 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
while laying themselves open to the charge of being
law-breakers, and assuming an attitude of defiance
toward the laws and institutions of the country in
which they lived, this bond of sympathy, of crim-
inality if you will, particularly when made a mat-
ter of conscience, when recognized as a mandate from
the almighty, higher than any human law, and in
whose obedience God himself was best pleased, and
would surely afford protection, could but prove in the
end a bond of strength, particularly if permitted to
attain age and respectability among themselves, and
assume the form of a concrete principle and of sacred
obligation.
If instead of falling back upon the teachings of the
old testament, and adopting the questionable practices
of the half-civilized Jews; if instead of taking for their
models Abraham, David, and Solomon, the saints at
Nauvoo had followed the advice of Paul to the saints
at Ephesus, putting away fornication and all unclean-
ness, and walking worthy of their vocation, in all
lowliness and meekness, as children of light, they would
probably have remained in their beautiful city, and
come into the inheritance of their Missouri Zion as
had been prophesied. Had they consulted more
closely the signs of the times, had they been less
orthodox in their creed, less patriarchal in their prac-
tices, less biblical in their tenets, less devoted in their
doctrines — in a word, had they followed more closely
the path of worldly wisdom, and, like opposing chris-
tian sects, tempered religion with civilization, giving
up the worst parts of religion for the better parts of
civilization, I should not now be writing their history,
as one with the history of Utah.
But now was brought upon them this overwhelming
issue, which howsoever it accorded with ancient scrip-
ture teachings, and as they thought with the rights
of man, was opposed to public sentiment, and to the
conscience of all civilized nations. Forever after they
must have this mighty obstacle to contend with; for-
POLYGAMY DENIED. 167
ever after they must live under the ban of the chris-
tian world; though, with unshaken faith in their
prophet and his doctrine of spiritual wedlock, they
might scorn the world's opinion, and in all sincerity
and singleness of heart thank God that they were
accounted worthy to have all manner of evil spoken
of them falsely.
During this period of probation the church deemed
it advisable to deny the charge, notably by Elder
Pratt in a public sermon, and also by Joseph Smith.
''Inasmuch as this Church of Christ has been re-
proached 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."^^ In the Times and Seasons of February 1,
1844, we have a notice signed by Joseph and Hyrum
Smith: "As we have lately been credibly informed
that an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, by the name of Hiram Brown, has been
preaching polygamy and other false and corrupt doc-
trines in the county of Lapeer, state of Michigan, this
is to notify him and the church in general that he
has been cut of from the church for his iniquity."
Notwithstanding these solemn denials and denun-
ciations in high places, the revelation and the prac-'
tices which it sanctioned were not easily concealed. ^'^
As yet, however, the calumny of the gentiles and
the bickering of the saints vexed not the soul of Jo-
seph. He was now in the zenith of his fame and
power; his followers in Europe and America numbered
*^ Doctrine and Covenants, app. 331.
^'^ 'It is believed,' writes Governor Ford not long afterward to the Illinois
legislature, 'that Joseph Smith had announced a revelation from heaven
sanctioning polygamy, by some kind of spiritual-wife system, which I never
could well understand; but at any rate, whereby a man was allowed one
wife in pursuance of the laws of the country, and an indefinite number of
others, to be enjoyed in some mystical and spiritual mode; and that he him-
self, and many of his followers, had practised upon the precepts of this
revelation, by seducing a large number of women.' Message to III. Sen., 14th
Ass. 1st Sess., 6. A copy of Ford's message will be found iu Utah Tracts,
no. 11.
168 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
more than a hundred thousand; his fortune was es-
timated at a milhon dollars; he was commander-
in-chief of the Nauvoo Legion, a body of troops
"which," remarks an artillery officer, from his own
observation, "would do honor to any body of armed
militia in any of the states, and approximates very
closely to our regular forces;" he was mayor of the
city; and now, as the crowning point of his earthly
glory, he was announced in February 1844 as a candi-
date for the presidency of the United States, while Sid-
ney Rigdon was named for vice-president. Whether
this was done for effect or in earnest is somewhat
doubtful, for it appears that the prophet's head was
a little turned about this time; but it is certain that
the people of Illinois and Missouri believed him
to be in earnest. Addressing letters to Clay and
Calhoun, near the close of 1843, he asked each of
them what would be his rule of action toward the
Mormons as a people should he be elected to the
presidency. The reply in both cases was non-com-
mittal and unsatisfactory;^^ whereupon Joseph issues
an address setting forth his views on the government
and policy of the United States, and foreshadows his
own policy, in which we find many excellent features
and many absurdities. "No honest man can doubt
for a moment," he says, " but the glory of American
liberty is on the wane; and that calamity and con-
fusion will sooner or later destroy the peace of the
people. Speculators will urge a national bank as a
savior of credit and comfort. A hireling pseudo-
priesthood will plausibly push abolition doctrines
and doings and 'human rights' into congress, and
into every other place where conquest smells of fame
or opposition swells to popularity."^*
^^ Copies of the correspondence may be found in Times and Seawns, v.
393-6, 544-8; Mackay's The Alormons, 151-62; Olshausen, Geschichte der
Mormonen, 202-19.
^^ 'Now, oh people!' he continues, 'turn unto the Lord and live; and re-
form this nation. Frustrate the designs of wicked men. Reduce congress
at least one half. Two senators from a state and two members to a million of
population will do more business than the ai-my that now occupy the halli
FATAL ASPIRATIONS. 169
The aspirations of the prophet, pretended or other-
wise, to the highest office in the repubhc, together
with renewed, and at this juncture exceedingly dan-
gerous, claims, pointing toward almost universal em-
pire,^^ brought upon him afresh the rage of the
surrounding gentile populace, and resulted in an
awful tragedy, the circumstances of which I am now
about to relate. "The great cause of popular fury,"
writes Governor Ford shortly after the occurrence,
" was that the Mormons at several preceding elections
had cast their vote as a unit; thereby making the
fact apparent that no one could aspire to the honors
or offices of the country, within the sphere of their
influence, without their approbation and votes."
Indeed, a myriad of evils about this time befell the
church, all portending bloody destruction. There were
of the national legislature. Pay them two dollars and their board per
diem, except Sundays; that is more than the farmer gets, and he lives hon-
estly. Curtail the offices of government in pay, number, and power, for
the philistine lords have shorn our nation of its goodly locks in the lap of
Delilah. Petition your state legislature to pardon every convict in their
several penitentiaries, blessing them as they go, and saying to them in the
name of the Lord, Go thy way and sin no more . . . Petition also, ye goodly in-
habitants of the slave states, your legislators to abolish slavery by the year
1850, or now, and save the abolitionist from reproach and ruin, infamy
and shame. Pray congress to pay every man a reasonable price for his slaves
out of the surplus revenue arising from the sale of public lands, and from the
deduction of pay from the members of congress. . .Give every man his con-
stitional freedom, and the president full power to send an army to suppress
mobs; and the states authority to repeal and impugn that relic of folly
which makes it necessary for the governor of a state to make the demand of
the president for troops in cases of invasion or rebellion. The governor him-
self may be a mobber, and instead of being punished as he should be for
murder and treason, he may destroy the very lives, rights, and property he
should protect. Like the good Samaritan, send every lawyer as soon as he
repents and obeys the ordinances of heaven, to preach the gospel to the des-
titute, without purse or scrip, pouring in the oil and the wine ... Were I
the president of the United States, by the voice of a virtuous people, I
would honor the old paths of the venerated fathers of freedom; I would
walk in the tracks of the illustrious patriots, who carried the ark of the gov-
ernment upon their shoulders with an eye single to the glory of the people . . .
When a neighboring realm petitioned to join the union of the sons of liberty,
my voice would be, Come; yea, come Texas; come Mexico; come Canada; and
come all the world — let us be brethren; let us be one great family; and let
there be universal peace. ' A full copy of the address is given in Times and
Seasons, v. 528-533; Mackay^s The Mormons, 141-51; Jiemy's Jour, to O. S.
L. (My, 353-71.
^ Two months after announcing himself a candidate for the presidency,
Joseph again publicly declared that all America, from north to south, consti-
tuted the Zion of the saints, theirs by right of heavenly inheritance.
1^ THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
suits and counter-suits at law ; arrests and rearrests ;
schisms, apostasies, and expulsions; charges one against
another of vice and immorality, Joseph, himself being
imj)licated. Here was one elder unlawfully trying
his hand at revelations, and another preaching polyg-
amy. Many there were whom it was necessar}'" not
only to cut off from the church, but to eradicate with
their evil influences from society. Among the proph-
et's most inveterate enemies were William Law, who
sought to betray Smith into the hands of the Mis-
sourians, and almost succeeded — Doctor Foster and
Francis M. Higbee, who dealt in scandal, charging
Joseph, Hyrum, Sidney, and others with seducing
women, and having more wives than one. Suits of
this kind brought by the brethren against each other,
but more particularly by the leaders against high
officials, were pending in the Nauvoo municipal court
for over two years.
Early in June 1844 was issued the first number of
the Nauvoo Expositor, the publishers being apostate
Mormons and gentiles. ^^ The primary object of the
publication was to stir up strife in the church, and
aid its enemies in their work of attempted extermina-
tion. Its columns were at once filled with foul abuse
of the prophet and certain elders of the church,
assailing their character by means of affidavits, and
charging them with all manner of public and private
crimes, and abusing and misrepresenting the people.
The city council met, and pronouncing the journal
a nuisance, ordered its abatement. Joseph Smith
being mayor, it devolved on him to see the order
executed, and he issued instruction to the city mar-
shal and the policemen accordingly. The officers
of the law forthwith entered the premises, and de-
2® In Remy^s Jour, to G. S. Lalce City, i. 388, it is stated that, among others,
a renegade catholic priest, J. H. Jackson by name, ' conceived the idea of
starting at Nauvoo a newspaper called the Expositor, with the avowed object
of opposing the Mormons.' I find no confirmation of this statement. The
first number of the Nauvoo Neighbor had been issued May 3, 1843, in place
of the Wasp, suspended.
THE COUNTRY IN ARMS. 171
stroyed tbe establishment, tearing clown the presses
and throwing the type into the street."^ For this act
the proprietors obtained from the authorities of the
town of Carthage, some twenty miles distant, a war-
rant for the arrest of Joseph Smith, which was placed
in the hands of the Carthagfe constable to be served.
It was a proceeding not at all to the taste of the
Mormons that their mayor should be summoned for
misdemeanor before the magistrate of another town,
and Smith refused to go. He was willing to be tried
before a state tribunal. Meanwhile the offenders
were brought before the municipal court of Nauvoo,
on a writ of habeas corpus, and after examination
were discharged. The cry was then raised through-
out the country that Joseph Smith and associates, pub-
lic offenders, ensconced among their troops in the
stronghold of Nauvoo, defied the law, refusing to re-
spond to the call of justice; whereupon the men of
Illinois, to the number of two or three thousand, some
coming even from Missouri, rallied to the support of
the Carthage constable, and stood ready, as they said,
not only to arrest Joe Smith, but to burn his town and
kill every man, woman, and child in it.
As the forces of the enemy enlarged and grew yet
more and more demonstrative in their wrath, the town
prepared for defence, the Nauvoo Legion being called
out and placed under arms, by instructions from Gov-
ernor Ford to Joseph Smith, as general in command.
This gave rise to a report that they were about to
make a raid on the neighboring gentile settlements.^^
2' Letter of John S. Fullmer to the New York Herald, dated Nauvoo, Oct.
30, 1844 (but not published until several years later). A copy of it will be found
iu Utah Tracts, ix. p. 7. Smith had been elected mayor on the resignation of
JolinC. Bennett Aprill 9, 1842. Mackay, The Mormons, 168, says: 'A body of
the prophet's adherents, to the number of two hundred and upward, sallied forth
in obedience to this order, and proceeding to the office of the Expositor, speedily
razed it to the ground. ' Remy states that ' an order to destroy the journal signed
by Joseph was immediately put into execution by a police officer, who pi'o-
ceeded the same day to break up the presses.' Journey, i. 389. Ford declares
that the marshal aided by a portion of the legion executed his warrant by de-
stroying the press and scattering the type and other materials of the office.
Message to III. Sen., 14th Ass. 1st Sess., 4.
^^ 'At a meeting of the citizens of Hancock co. held at Carthage, on the
172 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
In consequence of these rumors and counter-rumors
the governor went to Carthage. Previous to this,
frequent communications were sent to him at Spring-
field by Joseph Smith, inf(3rming him of the position
of affairs in and around Nauvoo. The governor in
his History of Illinois, referring to these times, writes:
"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 expul-
sion 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 num-
ber 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."
Thomas Ford, governor of Illinois, was as a man
rather above the average politician usually chosen
among these American states to fill that position.
Not specially clear-headed, and having no brain power
to spare, he was quite respectable and had some con-
science, as is frequently the case with mediocre men.
He had a good heart, too, was in no wise vindictive,
and though he was in no sense a strong man, his sense
of right and equity could be quite stubborn upon oc-
6th inst, it was resolved to call in the people of the surrounding counties and
states, to assist them in delivering up Joe Smith, if the governor of Illinois
refused to comply with the requisition of the governor of Missouri. The meet-
ing determined to avenge with blood any assaults made upon citizens by the
Mormons. It was also resolved to refuse to obey officers elected by the Mor-
mons, who have complete control of the country, being a numerical majority.'
Missouri Reporter, in Niles Register, Ixv. 70, Sept-. 30, 1843.
i
GOVERNOR FORD. 173
casion. Small in body, he was likewise small in mind;
indeed, there was a song current at the time that
there was no room in his diminutive organism for such
a thing as a soul. Nevertheless, though bitterly cen-
sured by some of the Mormons, I do not think Ford
intended to do them wrong. That he did not believe
all the rumors to their discredit is clearly shown in
his statement of what was told him during the days
he was at Carthage. He says : "A system of excite-
ment and agitation was artfully planned and executed
with tact. It consisted in speading 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 con-
sternation, 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 offences committed at
that time, except the stealing of some provisions, and
there was never the least proof that this was done
by a Mormon."
On the morning to which he refers, the report was
brought to him with the usual alarming accompani-
ments of fears being expressed of frightful carnage,
and the like. Hastily dressing, he assured the crowd
collected outside of the house in which he had lodged
that they need have no uneasiness respecting the mat-
ter, for he was very sure he could settle the difficulty
peaceably. The Mormon prophet knew him well,
174 THE STORY OP MORMONISM.
and would trust him. What he purposed doing wag
to demand the surrender of Joseph Smith and others.
He wished them to promise him that they would lend
their assistance to protect the prisoners from violence,
which they agreed to do.
After his arrival at Carthage the governor sent two
men to Nauvoo as a committee to wait on Joseph
Smith, informing him of his arrival, with a request
that Smith would inform him in relation to the diffi-
culties that then existed in the county. Dr J. M.
Bernhisel and Elder John Taylor were appointed as a
committee by Smith, and furnished with affidavits and
documents in relation both to the proceedings of the
Mormons and those of the mob; in addition to the
general history of the transaction they took with them
a duplicate of those documents whicli had previously
been forwarded by Bishop Hunter, Elder James, and
others. This committee waited on the governor, who
expressed an opinion that Joseph Smith and all par-
ties concerned in passing or executing the cit}^ law in
relation to the Dress had better come to Carthao^e:
however repugnant it might be to their feelings, he
thought it would have a tendency to allay public ex-
citement, and prove to the people what they professed,
that they wished to be governed by law. The next
day the constable and a force of ten men were de-
spatched to Nauvoo to make the arrests. The accused
were told that if they surrendered they would be pro-
tected; otherwise the whole force of the state would
be called out, if necessary, to take them.
Upon the arrival of the constable and his posse, the
mayor and the members of the city council declared that
they were willing to surrender. Eight o'clock was the
hour appointed, but the accused failed to make their
appearance; whereupon the constable returned, and
reported that they had fled. The governor was of opin-
ion that the constable's action was part of a plot to
get the troops into Nauvoo and exterminate the Mor-
mons. He called a council of officers and proposed to
TREASON OR NO TREASON. 175
march on the town with the small force under his
command, but was dissuaded. He hesitated to make a
further call on the militia, as the harvest was nigh and
the men were needed to gather it. Meanwhile, ascer-
taining that the Mormons had three pieces of cannon
and two hundred and fifty stand of arms belonging to
the state, the possession of which gave offence to the
gentiles, he demanded a surrender of the state arms,
again promising protection.
On the 24th of Jiine^'' Joseph and Hyrum Smith,
the members of the council, and all others demanded,
proceeded to Carthage, gave themselves up, and were
charged with riot. All entered into recognizances
before the justice of the peace to appear for trial,
and were released from custody. Joseph and Hyrum,
however, were rearrested, and, says Ford, were charged
with overt treason, having ordered out the legion
to resist the posse comitatus, though, as he state°,
the degree of their crime would depend on circum-
stances. The governor's views on this matter are
worthy of note. *' The overt act of treason charged
against them," he remarks, "consisted in the alleged
levying of war against the state by declaring martial
law in Nauvoo, and in orderinof out the leacion to resist
the posse comitatus. Their actual guiltiness of the
charge would depend upon circumstances. If their
opponents had been seeking to put the law in force in
good faith, and nothing more, then an array of a
military force in open resistance to the posse comitatus
and the militia of the state most probably would
have amounted to treason. But if those opponents
merely intended to use the process of the law, the
militia of the state, and the posse comitatus as cat's-
paws to compass the possession of their persons for
the purpose of murdering them afterward, as the
*' Report, ut supra, 10-11. In Times and Seasoiis, v. 560, it is stated that ' on
Monday, June 24tla, after Ford had sent word that eighteen persons demanded
on a warrant, among whom were Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, should be
protected by the militia of the state, they in company with ten or twelve
others start for Carthage. '
176 THE STORY OF MOP.:MOKrSM.
sequel demonstrated the fact to be, it might well be
doubted whether they were guilty of treason."
With the Nauvoo Legion at their back, the two
brothers voluntarily placed themselves in the power of
the governor who, demanding and accepting their
surrender, though doubting their guilt, nevertheless
declared that they were not his prisoners, but the pris-
oners of the constable and jailer. Leaving two com-
panies to guard the jail, he disbanded the main body of
his troops, and proceeding to Nauvoo, addressed the
people, beseeching them to abide by the law. "They
claimed," he says, "to be a law-abiding people; and
insisted that as they looked to the law alone for their
protection, so were they careful themselves to observe
its provisions. Upon the conclusion of my address, I
proposed to take a vote on the question, whether they
would strictly observe the laws, even in opposition to
their prophet and leaders. The vote was unanimous
in favor of this proposition." The governor then set
forth for Carthage, and such in substance is his report
when viewed in the most favorable light. ^^
It is related that as Joseph set forth to deliver
himself up to the authorities he exclaimed: "I am
going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as
a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of
offence toward God and toward all men. I shall
die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me, He was
murdered in cold blood, "^^ Nevertheless, for a moment
he hesitated. Should he offer himself a willing
sacrifice, or should he endeavor to escape out of their
hands? Thus meditating, he crossed the river thinking
^^ Message, ut supra. The above appear to be the facts of the case, so far
as they can be sifted from a lengthy report, which consists mainly of apology
or explanation of what the governor did or left undone.
^^ Smith's Doc. and Cov., app. 335. The same morning he read in the
fifth chapter of Ether, 'And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that
he would give unto the gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it
came to pass that the Lord said unto me, If they have not charity it mattereth
not unto you, thou hast been faithful; wherefore thy garments are clean.
And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even
unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of
my father.'
AT CARTHAGE. 177
to depart. On reaching the opposite bank he turned
and gazed upon the beautiful city, the holy city, his
own hallowed creation, the city of Joseph, with its
shining temple, its busy hum of industry, and its
thousand happy homes. And they were his people
who were there, his very own, given to him of God ;
and he loved them! Were he to leave them now, to
abandon them in this time of danger, they would bo
indeed as sheep without a shepherd, stricken, and
scattered, and robbed, and butchered by the destroyer.
No, he could not do it. Better die than to abandon
them thus! So he recrossed the river, saying to his
brother Hyrum, "Come, let us go together, and let
God determine what we shall do or suffer."
Bidding their families and friends adieu, the two
brothers set out for Carthage. Their hearts were
very heavy. There was dire evil abroad; the air was
oppressive, and the sun shot forth malignant rays.
Once more they returned to their people; once more
they embraced their wives and kissed their children,
as if they knew, alas! that they should never see
them asfain.
The party reached Carthage about midnight, and
on the following day the troops were formed in
line, and Joseph and Hyrum passed up and down in
company with the governor, who showed them every
respect— either as guests or victims — introducing them
as military officers under the title of general. Pres-
ent were the Carthage Greys, who showed signs of
mutiny, hooting at and insulting the prisoners — for
such in fact they were, being committed to jail the
same afternoon until discharged by due course of law.
A few hours later Joseph asked to see the governor,
and next morning Ford went to the prison. "All this
is illegal," said the former. " It is a purely civil matter,
not a question to be settled by force of arms." " I know
it," said the governor, "but it is better so; I did not
call out this force, but found it assembled; I pledge
you my honor, however, and the faith and honor of
Hist. Utah. 12
178 THE STORY OF MOEMONISM.
the state, that no harm shall come to you while un-
dergoing this imprisonment." The governor took his
departure on the morning of the 27th of June.
Scarcely was he well out of the way when measures
were taken for the consummation of a most damning
deed. The prison was guarded by eight men detailed
from the Carthage Greys, their company being in
camp on the public square a quarter of a mile dis-
tant, while another company under Williams, also
the sworn enemies of the Mormons, was encamped
eight miles away, there awaiting the development of
events.
It was a little after five o'clock in the evening. Jo-
seph and Hyrum Smith were confined in an upper
room. With the prisoners were John Taylor and Wil-
lard Richards, other friends having withdrawn a few
moments before. At this juncture a band of a hun-
dred and fifty armed men with painted faces appeared
before the jail, and presently surrounded it. The
guard shouted vociferously and fired their guns over
the heads of the assailants, who paid not the slightest
attention to them.^^ I give what followed from
Burtons City of the Saints, being the statement of
President John Taylor, who was present and wounded
on the occasion.
"I was sitting at one of the front windows of the
jail, when I saw a number of men, with painted faces,
coming around 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
tried to open the door, probably thought it was
'* Littlefield says the Carthage Greys were marched in a body, ' within about
eight rods of the jail, where they halted, in plara view of the whole transac-
tion, until the deed was executed. ' Narrative, 9.
DEATH OP HYRUM. 179
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. 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 Greys, who were placed there
ostensibly for our protection, as the balls from the
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 when 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 after-
ward.
" I shall never forget the deep feeling of sympathy
and regard manifested in the coantenance of Brother
Joseph as he drew nigh to Hyrum, and, leaning over
him, exclaimed, *OhI my poor, dear brother Hyrum!'
He, however, instantly arose, and with a firm, quick
step, and a determined expression of countenance, ap-
proached 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 in-
formed, died.^^ I had in my hands a ''arge, 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
" 'He wounded three of them, two mortally, one of whom, as he
rushed down out of the door, was asked if he was badly hurt. He replied,
••Yes; my arm is shot all to pieces by old Joe; but I don't care, I've got re-
venge; I shot Hyrum ! " ' Id., 11.
180 THE STORY OF MORMOXISM.
as he had discharged it he stepped back, and I im-
mediately took his place next to 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 w^as 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, 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 flames 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, shout-
ing, and demoniacal expressions of those outside the
door and on the stairs, and the firing of the 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
*rotruded thicker and farther into the room, and
TAYLOR BADLY WOUNDED. ISl
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 be
some chance to escape in that direction, 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
Greys, who were stationed some ten or twelve rods
off. The weather was hot, we 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 when struck by a butcher, and lost entirely and
instantaneously all power of action or locomotion. I
fell upon the window-sill, and cried out, *I am shot!'
Not possessing any power to move, I felt myself fall-
ing outside of the window, but immediately I fell
inside, from some, at that time, unknown cause.
When I struck the floor my animation seemed re-
stored, as I have seen it sometimes in 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
182 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
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,
dashinsf the mangled fras^ments of flesh and blood
asfainst the wall.
"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. Im-
mediately 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 Ta3dor, is it possible that
they have killed both Brothers Hyrum and Joseph ?
it cannot surely be, and yet I saw them shoot them;'
and, elevating his hands two or three times, he ex-
claimed, '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, informed me that the mob had
precipitately fled, and at the same time confirmed my
worst fears that Joseph was assuredly dead." It ap-
pears that Joseph, thus murderously beset and in dire
extremity, rushed to the window and threw himself
y.sf^
-■^■^t
ASSASSINATION OF JOSEPH SMITH.
DEATH OF JOSEPH, 183
out, receiving in the act several shots, and with the
cry, "0 Lord, my God!" fell dead to the ground.^
The fiends were not yet satiated; but setting up the
hfeless body of the slain prophet against the well-
curb, riddled it with bullets. ^^
Where now is the God of Joseph and of Hyrum,
that he should permit this most iniquitous butchery?
Where are Moroni and Ether and Christ? What
mean these latter-day manifestations, their truth and
efficacy, if the great high priest and patriarch of the
new dispensation can thus be cruelly cut ofi" by
wicked men? Practical piety is the doctrine ! Prayer
'* Joseph dropped his pistol, and sprang into the window; but just as he
was preparing to descend, he saw such an array of bayonets below, that he
caught by the window casing, where he hung by his hands and feet, with his
head to the north, feet to the south, and his body swinging downward. He
hung in f^a*- position three or four minutes, during which time he exclaimed
two or th^^^ "les, '0 Lord, my God !' and fell to the ground. While he was
hanging in that situation. Col. Williams halloed, 'Shoot him! God damn
him ! shoot the damned rascal ! ' However, none fired at him. He seemed to
fall easy. He struck partly on his right shoulder and back, his neck and
head reaching the ground a little before his feet. He rolled instantly on his
face. From this position he was taken by a young man who sprung to him
from the other side of the fence, who held a pewter fife in his hand, was
barefooted and bareheaded, having on no coat, with his pants rolled above his
knees, and shu't-sleeves above his elbows. He set President Smith against
the south side of the well-curb that was situated a few feet from the jail.
While doing this the savage muttered aloud, 'This is old Jo; I know him.
I know you, old Jo. Damn you ; you are the man that had my daddy shot'
— intimating that he was a son of Boggs, and that it was the Missourians who
were doing this murder. Littlefield' s Narrative, 13.
^^ After President Taylor's account in Burton's City of the Saints, the
best authorities on this catastrophe are: Assassination of Joseph and Ilyrum
Smith, tlie Prophet and the Patriarch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints; also a Condensed History of the Expulsion of the Saints from
Xauvoo, by Elder John S. Fullmer (qf Utah, U. S. A.), Pastor of the Man-
chester, Liverpool, and Preston Conferences. Liverpool and London, 18.55;
Message of the Governor of the State of Illinois, in relation to the disturbancta
in Hancock County, December 23, ISIi-If. Springfield, 1844; Aufxd assassina-
tion of Joseph and Hyrum Smith; the pledged faith of the Stale of Illinois
stained with innocent blood by a mob, in Times and Seasons, v. 560-7o; A
Narrative of the Massacre of Joseph and Hyrum Smith by an Outsider and an
Eye-ioitness, in Utah Tracts, i. ; and The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith, by Apos-
tle John Taylor, a copy of which is contained in Burton's City of the
Saints, 625-67. Brief accounts will be found in Utah Pamphlets, 23; Lee's
Mormoiiism, 152-5; Remy's Jour, to G. S. L. City, 388-96; Hall's Mormoni^m
Exposed, 15-16; Green's Mormonism, 36-7; Tidlidje's Women, 297-300; Ols-
hausen, Gesch. der Mor., 100-3; Tucker's Mormonism, 189-92; Mackay's The
Mormons, 169-72; Smucker's Hist. Mor., 177-9; Ferris' Utah and Mormons,
120-5, and in other works on Mormonism. Li the Atlantic Monthly for Dec.
1869 is an article entitled ' The Mormon Prophet's Tragedy,' which, however
justly it may lay claim to Boston ' smart ' writing, so far as the facts are con-
cerned is simply a tissue of falsehoods.
184 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
and faith must cease not though prayer be unan-
swered ; and they ask where was the father when the
son called in Gethsemane ? It was foreordained that
Joseph and Hyrum should die for the people ; and the
more of murder and extermination on the part of their
enemies, the more praying and believing on the part
of saints, and the more praise and exultation in the
heavenly inheritance.
The further the credulity of a credulous people is
taxed the stronger will be their faith. Many of the
saints believed in Joseph; with their whole mind
and soul they worshipped him. He was to them as
God; he was their deity present upon earth, their
savior from evil, and their guide to heaven. What-
ever he did, that to his people was right; he could
do no wrong, no more than king or popO; no more
than Christ or Mahomet. Accordingly t'ney obeyed
him without question; and it was this belief and
obedience that caused the gentiles to fear and hate.
There are still open in the world easier fields than this
for new religions, which might recommend themselves
as a career to young men laboring under a fancied in-
exorable necessity.
Whatever else may be said of Joseph Smith, it
must be admitted that he was a remarkable man.
His course in life was by no means along a flowery
path; his death was like that which too often comes
to the founder of a religion. What a commentary on
the human mind and the human heart, the deeds of
those who live for the love of God and man, who die
for the love of God and man, who severally and col-
lectively profess the highest holiness, the highest
charity, justice, and humanity, higher far than any
held by other sect or nation, now or since the world
began — how lovely to behold, to write and meditate
upon their disputings and disruptions, their cruelties
and injustice, their persecutions for opinion's sake,
their ravenous hate and bloody butcheries!
'^^eA-A ^2y?TU-
iAjp
RELIGION AS A VOCATION. 185
The founder of Mormonism displayed a singular
genius for the work he gave himself to do. He
made thousands believe in him and in his doctrines,
howsoever good or evil his life, howsoever true or
false his teachings. The less that can be proved
the more may be asserted. Any one possessing the
proper abilities may found a religion and make pros-
elytes. His success will depend not on the truth or
falsity of his statements, nor on their gross absurdity
or philosophic refinement, but on the power and skill
with which his propositions are promulgated. If he
has not the natural and inherited genius for this work,
though his be otherwise the greatest mind that ever
existed, he is sure to fail. If he has the mental and
physical adaptation for the work, he will succeed,
whatever may be his abilities in other directions.
There was more in this instance than any consid-
eration short of careful study makes appear: things
spiritual and things temporal; the outside world and
the inside workings. The prophet's days were full of
trouble. His people were often petulant, his elders
quarrelsome, his most able followers cautious and
captious. While the world scoffed and the neighbors
used violence, his high priests were continually ask-
ing him for prophecies, and if they were not fulfilled
at once and to the letter, they stood ready to apostatize.
Many did apostatize ; many behaved disgracefully, and
brought reproach and enmity upon the cause. More-
over, Joseph was constantly in fear for his life, and
though by no means desirous of death, in moments
of excitement he often faced danger with apparent
indifference as to the results. But without occupy-
ing further space with my own remarks, I will give
the views of others, who loved or hated him and
knew him personally and well.
Of his physique and character. Parley P. Pratt re-
marks: "President Joseph Smith was in person tall
and well built, strong and active; of a light complex-
ion^ light hair^ blue eyes, very little beard, and of an
186 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
expression peculiar to himself, on which the eye natu-
rally rested with interest, and was never weary of be-
holding. His countenance was ever mild, affable,
and beaming with intelligence and benevolence, min-
gled with a look of interest and an unconscious smile
of cheerfulness, and entirely free from all restraint, or
affectation of gravity; and there was something con-
nected with the serene and steady, penetrating glance
of his eye, as if he would penetrate the deepest abyss
of the human heart, gaze into eternity, penetrate the
heavens, and comprehend all worlds. He possessed
a noble boldness and independence of character; his
manner was easy and familiar, his rebuke terrible as
the lion, his benevolence unbounded as the ocean,
his intelligence universal, and his language abounding
in original eloquence peculiar to himself."
And thus a female convert who arrived at Nauvoo
a year or two before the prophet's death: "The first
time I ever saw Joseph Smith I recognized him from a
vision that once appeared to me in a dream. His coun-
tenance was like that of an angel, and such as I had
never beheld before. He was then thirty -seven years
of age, of ordinary appearance in dress and manner,
but with a child-like innocence of expression. His hair
was of a light brown, his eyes blue, and his complex-
ion light. His natural demeanor was quiet; his char-
acter and disposition were formed by his life-work; he
was kind and considerate, taking a personal interest in
all his people, and considering every one his equal. "^^
On the other hand, the author of Mormonism Un-
veiled says: "The extreme ignorance and apparent
stupidity of this modern prophet were by his early
followers looked upon as his greatest merit, and as
furnishing the most incontestable proof of his divine
mission . . . His followers have told us that he could
not at the time he was chosen of the Lord even write
his own name. But it is obvious that all these defi-
^® Another account says that at 36 he weigLed 212 lbs, stood 6 feet in his
pumps, was robust, corpulent, and jovial, but when roused to anger his ex
pression was very severl.
CHARACTERISTICS OF JOSEPH. 187
clencies are fullj supplied by a natural genius, strong
inventive powers of mind, a deep study, and an unusu-
ally correct estimate of the human passions and feel-
ings. In short, he is now endowed with all the re-
quisite traits of character to pursue most successfully
the humbug which he has introduced. His address
is easy, rather fascinating and winning, of a mild and
sober deportment when not irritated. But he fre-
quently becomes boisterous by the impertinence or
curiosity of the skeptical, and assumes the bravado,
instead of adhering to the meekness which he pro-
fesses. His followers, of course, can discover in his
very countenance all the certain indications of a di-
vine mission."
One more quotation will serve to show the impres-
sion that Joseph Smith's doctrines and discourse made
not only on his own followers but on the gentiles, and
even on gentile divines. In 1843 a methodist minis-
ter, named Prior, visited Nauvoo and was present
during a sermon preached by the prophet in the tem-
ple. '*I took my seat," he remarks, "in a conspicu-
ous place in the congregation, who were waiting in
breathless silence for his appearance. While he tar-
ried, I had plenty of time to revolve in my mind the
character and common report of that truly singular
personage. I fancied that I should behold a counte-
nance sad and sorrowful, yet containing the fiery marks
of rage and exasperation. I supposed that I should
be enabled to discover in him some of those thought-
ful and reserved features, those mystic and sarcastic
glances, which I had fancied the ancient sages to pos-
sess. I expected to see that fearful faltering look of
conscious shame which from what I had heard of him
he might be expected to evince. He appeared at last;
but how was I disappointed when, instead of the head
and horns of the beast and false prophet, I beheld
only the appearance of a common man, of tolerably
large proportions.
"I was sadly disappointed, and thought that, al-
188 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
though his appearance could not be wrested to indi-
cate anything against him, yet he would manifest all I
had heard of him when he began to preach, I sat
uneasily and watched him closely. He commenced
preaching, not from the book of Mormon, however,
but from the bible; the first chapter of the first of
Peter was his text. He commenced calmly, and con-
tinued dispassionately to pursue his subject, while I
sat in breathless silence, waiting to hear that foul
aspersion of the other sects, that diabolical disposi-
tion of revenge, and to hear that rancorous denuncia-
tion of every individual but a Mormon. I waited in
vain; I listened with surprise; I sat uneasy in my
seat, and could hardly persuade myself but that he
had been apprised of my presence, and so ordered
his discourse on my account, that I might not be
able to find fault with it; for instead of a 'umbled
jargon of half-connected sentences, and a vclley of
imprecations, and diabolical and malignant denuncia-
tions heaped upon the heads of all who differed from
him, and the dreadful twisting and wresting of the
scriptures to suit his own peculiar views, and attempt
to weave a web of dark and mystic sophistry around
the gospel truths, which I had anticipated, he glided
along through a very interesting and elaborate dis-
course, with all the care and happy facility of one
who was well aware of his important station and his
duty to Grod and man." ^^
No event, probably, that had occurred thus far in
the history of the saints gave to the cause of Mor-
monism so much of stability as the assassination of Jo-
seph Smith. Not all the militia mobs in Illinois, in
Missouri, or in the United States could destroy this
cause, any more than could the roundheads in the
*^ Machay^s The Mormons, 131-3. Of course views as to Joseph Smith's
character are expressed in nearly all the works published on Mormonism.
With the exception, perhaps, of Mahomet, no one has been so much bespat-
tered with praise by his followers and with abuse by his ad\'^rsaries as the
founder of this faith.
AFTER THE MASSACRE. 189
seventeenth century destroy the cause of monarchy.
The deed but reacted on those who committed it.
When two miles on his way from Nauvoo, the gov-
ernor was met by messengers who informed him of the
assassination, and, as he relates, he was " struck with a
kind of dumbness." At daybreak the next morning ail
the bells in Carthage were ringing. It was noised
abroad throughout Hancock county, he says, that the
Mormons had attempted the rescue of Joseph and Hy-
rum ; that they had been killed in order to prevent their
escape, and that the governor was closely besieged at
Nauvoo by the Nauvoo Legion, and could hold out
only for two days. Ford was convinced that " those
whoever they were who assassinated the Smiths
meditated in turn his assassination by the Mormons,"
thinking that they would thus rid themselves of the
Smiths and the governor, and that the result would
be the expulsion of the saints, for Ford had shown a
determination to defend Nauvoo, so far as lay in his
power, from the threatened violence. Arriving at
Carthage at ten o'clock at night, he found the citi-
zens in flight with their families and effects, one of
his companies broken up, and the Carthage Greys also
disbanding, the citizens that remained being in instant
fear of attack. At length he met with John Taylor
and Willard Kichards, who, notwithstanding the ill-
usage they had received, came to the relief of the
panic-stricken magistrate, and addressed a letter to
their brethren at Nauvoo, exhorting them to preserve
the peace, the latter stating that he had pledged his
word that no violence would be used.
The letter of Kichards and Taylor, signed also by
Samuel H. Smith, a brother of the deceased, who a
few weeks afterward died, as the Mormons relate, of a
broken heart, prevented a threatened uprising of the
saints.^^ On the 29th of June, the day after the news
was received, the legion was called out, the letter read,
'^ To the letter was appended a postscript from the governor, bidding the
Mormons defend themselves until protection could be furnished, and one from
190 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
and the fury of the citizens allayed by addresses from
Judge Phelps, Colonel Buckmaster, the governor's
aid, and others. In the afternoon the bodies of
Joseph and Hyrum arrived in wagons guarded by
three men. They were met by the city council, the
prophet's staff, the officers of the legion, and a vast
procession of citizens, crying out "amid the most
solemn lamentations and wailings that ever ascended
into the ears of the Lord of hosts to be avenofed of
their enemies." Arriving at the Nauvoo House, the
assemblage, numbering ten thousand persons, was
again addressed, and " with one united voice resolved
to trust to the law for a remedy of such, a high-handed
assassination, and when that failed, to call upon God
to avenge them of their wrongs. Oh I widows and
orphans ! Oh Americans 1 weep, for the glory of free-
dom has departed!"
Meanwhile the governor, fearing that the Mormons
would rise in a body to execute vengeance, issued an
address to the people of Illinois, in which he attempted
to explain his conduct,^^ and again called out the
militia. Two officers were despatched to Nauvoo,
with orders to ascertain the disposition of the citizens,
and to proceed thence to Warsaw, where were the
headquarters of the anti-Mormon militia, and forbid
violent measures in the name of the state. On arriv-
ing at the former place they laid their instructions
before the members of the municipality. A meeting
of the council was summoned, and it was resolved that
the saints rigidly sustain the laws and the governor,
so long as they are themselves sustained in their
constitutional rights; that they discountenance ven-
geance on the assassins of Joseph and Hyrum Smith ;
that instead of an appeal to arms, they appeal to the
majesty of the law, and, should the law fail, they
General Deming, telling them to remain qniet, that the assassination would
be condemned by three fourths of the people of Illinois, but that they were
in danger of attack from Missouri, and 'prudence might obviate material
destruction.' Times and Seasons, v. 561.
^^ Copies of it will be found in Id., v. 564-5; Mackay's The Mormons, 178-
9; and iHmucker's Hist. Mor., 186-7.
VENGEANCE BELONGS TO GOD. 191
leave the matter with God; that the council pledges
itself that no aggressions shall be made by the citizens
of Nauvoo, approves the course taken by the gov-
ernor, and will uphold him by all honorable means.
A meeting of citizens was then held in the public
square; the people were addressed, the resolutions
read, and all responded with a hearty amen.
The two officers then returned to Carthage and
reported to the governor, who was so greatly pleased
with the forbearance of the saints that he officially
declared them "human beings and citizens of the
state." He caused writs to be issued for the arrest of
three of the murderers — after they had taken refuge
in Missouri.^" The assassins escaped punishment,
however; and now that order was restored, the chief
magistrate disbanded the militia, after what he termed
*'a campaign of about thirteen days."
On the afternoon of July 1st a letter was addressed by
Richards, Taylor, and Phelps to the citizens of Nau-
voo, and a fortnight later, an epistle signed by the same
persons and also by Parley P. Pratt was despatched
to all the saints throughout the world. "Be peace-
able, quiet citizens, doing the works of righteousness;
and as soon as the twelve and other authorities can
assemble, or a majority of them, the onward course
to the great gathering of Israel, and the final con-
summation of the dispensation of the fulness of times,
will be pointed out, so that the murder of Abel, the
assassination of hundreds, the righteous blood of all
the holy prophets, from Abel to Joseph, sprinkled
with the best blood of the son of God, as the crim-
son sign of remission, only carries conviction to the
business and bosoms of all flesh, that the cause is just
and will continue; and blessed are they that hold out
faithful to the end, while apostates, consenting to the
shedding of innocent blood, have no forgiveness in
this world nor in the world to come , . . Let no vain
*" In Message to TIL Legis., 20, it is stated that some of the murderers aftpr-
ward surrendered on the understanding that thej' should be admitted to bail.
There was not sufficient proof to convict them.
192 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
and foolish plans or imaginations scatter us abroad
and divide us asunder as a people, to seek to save our
lives at the expense of truth and principle, but rather
let us live or die together and in the enjoyment of
society and union."^^
At this time the saints needed such words of ad-
vice and consolation. Some were already making
preparations to return to the gentiles; some feared
that their organization as a sect would soon come to
an end. To reassure them, one more address was
issued on August 15th, in the name of the twelve
apostles,*^ and signed by Brigham Young, the presi-
dent of the apostles. The saints were told that
though they were now without a prophet present in
the flesh, the twelve would administer and regulate
the affairs of the church ; and that even if they should
be taken away, there were still others who would
insure the triumph of their cause throughout the
world.
In 1830, as will be remembered, the church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in a
chamber by a few humble men; in 1844 the prophet's
followers mustered scores of thousands. Speedy dis-
solution was now predicted by some, while others
argued that as all his faults would lie buried in the
tomb, while on his virtues martyrdom would shed its
lustre, the progress of the sect would be yet more
remarkable. The latter prediction was verified, and
after the Mormons had suffered another period of per-
secution, Joseph Smith the martyr became a greater
power in the land than Joseph Smith the prophet.
*' The full text of both letters is given in Times and Seasons, v. 568, 586-
7; Mackay's The Mormons, 180-2; Smucker's Hist. Mormons, 189-92.
*"'' Who are thus described in a letter addressed by Phelps to the editor of
the New York Prophet, a small journal established to promulgate the views
of the sect: ' Brigham Young, the lion of the Lord; Heber C. Kimball, the her-
ald of grace; Parley P. Pratt, the archer of paradise; Orson Hyde, the olive
branch of Israel; Willard Richards, the keeper of the rolls; John Taylor,
the champion of right; William Smith, the patriarchal staff of Jacob; Wilford
Woodruff, the banner of the gospel; George A. Smith, the entablature of
truth; Orson Pratt, the gauge of philosophy; John E. Page, the sun-dial;
and Lyman Wight, the wild ram of the mountains. They are good men;
the best the Lord can find.' See Mackay's The Mormons. 186.
CHAPTER VII.
BRIGHAM YOUNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
1844-1845.
The Question op Succession — Biography of Brigham Young — His Early
Life — Conversion — Missionary Work — Made President of thb
Twelve — Hi.s Devotion to the Prophet — Sidney Rigdon and Brig-
ham Young Rival Aspirants for the Presidency — Rigdon's Claims
— Public Meetings — Brigham Elected President of the Church—
His Character — Temple-building — Fresh Disasters — The Affair at
MoRLEY — The Men of Quincy and the Men of Carthage — The Mor-
mons Consent to Abandon their City.
Upon the death of Joseph Smith, one of the ques-
tions claiming immediate attention was, Who shall
be his successor? It was the first time the question
had arisen in a manner to demand immediate solution,
and the matter of succession was not so well deter-
mined then as now, it being at present well established
that upon the death of the president of the church
the apostle eldest in ordination and service takes his
place.
Personal qualifications would have much to do with
it; rules could be established later. The first consid-
eration now was to keep the church from falling in
pieces. None realized the situation better than Brig-
ham Young, who soon made up his mind that he him-
self was the man for the emergency. Then to make
it appear plain to the brethren that God would have
him take Joseph's place, his mind thus works: "The
first thing that I thought of," he says, "was whether
Joseph had taken the keys of the kingdom with him
Hist. Utah. 13 ( 193 )
194 BRIGHAM YOUNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
from the earth. Brother Orson Pratt sat on my
left; we were both leaning back on our chairs. Bring-
ing my hand down on my knee, I said, 'The keys of
the kingdom are right here with the church.'" But
who held the keys of the kingdom ? This was the all-
absorbing question that was being discussed at Nauvoo
when Brigham and the other members of the quorum
arrived at that city on the 6th of August, 1844.
Brigham Young was born at Whitingham, Wind-
ham county, Vermont, on the 1st of June, 1801. His
father, John, a Massachusetts farmer, served as a pri-
vate soldier in the revolutionary war, and his grand-
father as surgeon in the French and Indian war.^ In
1804 his family, which included nine children,^ of whom
he was then the youngest, removed to Sherburn,
Chenango county. New York, where for a time hard-
ship and poverty were their lot. Concerning Brig-
ham's youth there is little worthy of record. Lack
of means compelled him, almost without education,
to earn his own livelihood, a'o did his brothers, finding
employment as best they could. Thus, at the age of
twenty-three, when he married he had learned how
to work as farmer, carpenter, joiner, painter, and
glazier, in the last of which occupations he was an ex-
pert craftsman.
In 1829 he removed to Mendon, Monroe count}'',
where his father then resided; and here, for the first
time, he saw the book of Mormon at the house of his
brother Phineas, who had been a pastor in the re-
formed methodist church, but was now a convert to
Mormonism.^
* Waite''s The Mormon Prophet and his Harem. Linforth, Boute from
Liverpool, 112, note, states that his grandfather was an officer in the revolu-
tionary war; this is not confirmed by Mrs Waite, who quotes from Brigham'a
autobiography. Again, Nabby Howe was the maiden name of Brigham's
mother, as given in his autobiography; while Linforth reads Nancy Howe; and
Remy, Jour, to G. S. L. City, i. 413, Naleby Howe.
^Born as follow: Nancy, Aug. 6, 17S6, Fanny, Nov. 8, 1787, Rhoda, Sept.
10, 1789, John, May 22, 1791, Nabby, Apr. 23, 1793, Susannah, June 7, 179.5,
Joseph, Apr. 7, 1797, Phineas, Feb. 16, 1799, and Brigham, June 1, 1801. Two
others were born later: Louisa, Sept. 25, 1804, and Lorenzo Dow, Oct. 19,
1807.
'In Ibid., it is mentioned that before th3 organization of the latter-day
THE GIFT OF TONGUES. 195
About two years later he himself was converted* by
the preaching of Elder Samuel H. Smith, brother of
the prophet; on the 14th of April, 1832, he was bap-
tized, and on the same night ordained an elder, his
father^ and all his brothers afterward becoming pros-
elytes. During the same month he set forth to meet
the prophet atKirtland, where he found him and
several of his brethren chopping wood. " Here," says
Bfigiiam, **my joy was foil at the privilege of shak-
ing the hand of the prophet of God. . .He was happy
to see us and bid us welcome. In the evening a few
of thel)rethren came in, and we conversed tosrether
upon the things of the kingdom. He called upon me
to pray. In my prayer I spoke in tongues. As soon
as we rose~from our knees, the brethren flocked
around him, and asked his opinion. . .He told them
it was the pure Adamic language;. . .it is of God, and
the^time wilt' come when Brother Brigham Young
will preside over this church." In 1835 he was chosen,
as will be remembered, one of the quorum of the
twelve, and the following spring set forth on a mis-
sionary tour to the eastern states. Returning early
in the winter, he saved the life of the prophet, and
otherwise rendered good service during the great
apostasy of 1836, when the church passed through its
darkest hour.^
Brigham was ever a devoted follower of the prophet,
and at the risk of his own life, shielded him against
the persecutions of apostates. At the close of 1837
he was driven by their machinations from Kirtland,^
church, Phineas had wrought a miracle, 'whereby a young girl on the point of
death had been restored to life. ' Remy does not give his authority.
* At a branch of the church at Columbia, Penn. TuUidge's Life of Young, 78.
* John Young was made first patriarch of the church. He died at Quincy,
III, Oct. 12, 1839. Waiters The Mormon Prophet, 2.
« TuUidge's Life of Brigham Young, 83. In a speech delivered after he
became president, Brigham says: 'Ascertaining that a plot was laid to waylay
Joseph for the purpose of taking his life, on his return from Monroe, Michi-
gan, to Kirtland, I procured a horse and buggy, and took brother William
Smith along to meet Joseph, whom we met returning in the stage-coach.
Joseph requested William to take his seat in the stage, and he rode with me
in the buggy We arrived at Kirtland in safety. '
' 'On the morning of Dec. 22d I left Ivirtland in consequence of the fury
196 BRIGHAM YOUXG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
and took refuge at Dublin, Indiana, where he was soon
afterward joined by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon.
Thence, in company with the former, he went to Mis-
souri, arriving at Far West a short time before the
massacre at Haun's Mill. Once more Brigham was
compelled to flee for his life, and now betook himself
to Quincy, where he raised means to aid the destitute
brethren in leaving Missouri,^ and directed the first
settlement of the saints in Illinois, the prophet Joseph,
Parley P. Pratt, and others being then in prison.
By revelation of July 8, 1838,^ it was ordered that
eleven of the quorum should " depart to go over the
great waters, and there promulgate my gospel, the
fulness thereof, and bear record of my name. Lot
them take leave of my saints in the city Far West, on
the 26th day of April next; on the building spot of my
house, saith the Lord." As the twelve had been ban-
ished from Missouri and could not return with safety,
many of the church dignitaries urged that the latter
part of this revelation should not be fulfilled. "But,"
says Brigham, " I felt differently, and so did those of
the quorum who were with me." The affairs of the
church were now in the hands of the twelve, and their
president was not the man to shrink from danger.
" The Lord had spoken, and it was their duty to obey."
The quorum started forth, and reaching Far West
toward the end of April, hid themselves in a grove.
Between midnig-ht of the 25th and dawn of the 2Gth
of the mob, and the spirit that prevailed in the apostates, who threatened to
destroy me because I would proclaim publicly and privately that I knew, by
the power of the holy ghost, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the most
high God, and had not transgressed and fallen, as apostates declared.' Id., 84.
® ' I held a meeting with the brethren of the twelve and the members of
the church in Quincy, on the 17th of March, when a letter was read to the
people from the committee, on behalf of the saints at Far West, who were
left destitute of the means to move. Though the brethren were poor and
stripped of almost everything, j'et they manifested a spirit of willingness to
do their utmost, offering to sell their hats, coats, and shoes to accomplish the
object. At the close of the meeting $50 was collected in money and several
teams were subscribed to go and bring the brethren. ' Id. , 89-90.
^This is the date given in Doctrine and Covenants, 381 (ed. S. L. City,
1876). See also Linforth's lioute jfoni Liverpool, 112, note. Tullidge gives
July 8, 1836. Life of Brigham Young, 90.
^nSSIONAEY LABORS. 197
they held a conference, relaid the foundation of the
house of the Lord,^*^ and ordained Wilford Woodruff
and George A. Smith as apostles in place of those
who had fallen from grace. "Thus," says Brigham,
"was this revelation fulfilled, concerning which our
enemies said, if all the other revelations of Joseph
Smith came to pass, that one should not be fulfilled."
Upon the excommunication of Thomas B. Marsh,
in 1839, the office of president of the twelve devolved
by right on Brigham by reason of his seniority of
membership. On the 14th of April, 1840, he was
publicly accepted by the council as their head, and at
the reorganization of the church councils at Nauvoo
he was appointed by revelation on the 19th of Janu-
ary, 1843, president of the twelve travelling council.
After the founding of Nauvoo, the president, to-
gether with three others of the quorum, ^^ sailed for
Liverpool, where they arrived on the 6th of April,
1840, the tenth anniversary of the organization of
the church. Here he was engaged for about a year
in missionary work, of which more hereafter. Taking-
ship for New York on the 20th of April, 1841, he
reached Nauvoo on the 1st of July, and was warmly
welcomed by the prophet, who a few days afterward ^^
received the following revelation: "Dear and well-
beloved brother Brigham Young, verily thus saith
the Lord unto you, my servant Brigham, it is no more
required at your hand to leave your family as in times
past, for your oflPering is acceptable to me; I have
seen your labor and toil in journeyings for my name.
I therefore command you to send my word abroad,
and take special care of your family from this time
henceforth and forever. Amen."
Already the mantle of the prophet was falling upon
the president of the twelve; already the former had
'" 'Elder Cutler, the master workman of the house, recommenced laying
the foundation by rolling up a large stone near the south-east corner.' Id., 'J2.
" Heber C.Kimball, George A. Smith, and Parley P. Pratt. Reuben
Hedlock also accompanied them.
'^On July 9th. JJoctriiie and Cove^wits, 409.
198 BRIGHAM YOUNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
foretold his own death ; but notwithstanding the rev-
elation, Brigham was sent as a missionary to the
eastern states, and at Peterborough, New Hampshire,
received news of the tragedy at Carthage jail.
When Governor Ford and bis militia were prepar-
ing to march on Nauvoo for the purpose of forestall-
ing civil war, the only course open to the prophet
and his followers was a removal from Illinois. In 1842
an expedition had been planned to explore the coun-
try toward or beyond the Rocky Mountains; but
when Joseph Smith put himself forward as a candi-
date for the presidency of the United States, all
other matters were for the time forgotten. Brigham
claimed that had he been present the assassination
would never have occurred; he would not have per-
mitted the prophet's departure for Carthage: rather
would he have sent him to the mountains under a
guard of elders. But Brigham had no reason to
complain of the dispensation of providence which was
now to bring his clear, strong j udgment and resolute
will to the front.
Prominent among the aspirants for the presidency
of the church was Sidney Rigdon, one of the first and
ablest to espouse the cause, and not altogether without
grounds for his pretensions. He had performed much
labor, had encountered many trials, and had received
scanty honors, being at present nothing more than
preacher, and professor of history, belles-lettres, and
oratory. By revelation of January 19, 1841, he had
been offered the position of counsellor to the prophet,^^
^^ Doctrine and Covenants, 406. In this same revelation the oflficers of
the priesthood were likewise named: Hyrum Smith, patriarch; Joseph Smith,
presiding elder over the whole church, also translator, revelator, seer, and
prophet, with Sidney Rigdon and William Law as councillors, the three to
constitute a quorum and first presidency. Brigham Young, president over
+he twelve travelling council, who were Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt,
Orson Pratt, Orson Hyde, William Smith, John Taylor, John E. Page, Wilford
Woodruff, Willard Richards, George A. Smith, and some one to be appointed
in place of David Patten; a high council, Samuel Bent, H. G. Sherwood,
George W. Harris, Charles C. Rich, Thomas Grover, Newel Knight, David
Dort, Dunbar Wilson, Aaron Johnson, David Fulmer, Alpheus Cutler, Will
SIDNEY RIGDON. 199
if he would consent to humble himself. But Sidney-
would not humble himself. Soon after Joseph's
death, at which he was not present, he had a revela-
tion of his own, bidding him conduct the saints to
Pittsburgh.^* Visiting that citj, he found the time
not yet ripe for this measure ; and meanwhile return-
ing to Nauvoo, the 3d of August, he offered himself
on the following day as a candidate for the presidency,
aided by Elder Marks.
Sidney now put forth all his strength to gain influ-
ence and secure retainers. He must have Joseph's
mantle; he must have the succession, or henceforth he
would be nothing. It was a momentous question, not
to be disposed of in a day. To substantiate his claim,
Sidney could now have visions with the best of them ;
on various occasions he told how the Lord had throusfh
him counselled the people to appoint him as their guar-
dian. He requested that a meeting should be held
on the following sabbath, the 8th of August, for the
further consideration of the matter. But prior to this
meeting Parley Pratt and two others of the twelve
bade the candidate go with them to the house of John
Taylor, who yet lay prostrate with his wounds. Tay-
lor expostulated with him, but to no purpose." Sidney
continued to press his claims, even assuming the sacred
office, prophesying and ordaining. On the sabbath
named, according to appointment^ Sidney and his sup-
porters met in the grove near the temple; but were
confronted by the apostles, with Brigham at their
head. Standing before them, Sidney addressed the
iam Huntington; president over a quorum of high priests, Don Carlos Smith,
with Amasa Lyman and Noah Packard for counsellors; a priesthood to pre-
side over the quorum of elders, John A. Hicks, Samuel Williams, and Jesse
Baker; to preside over the quorum of seventies, Joseph Young, Josiah But-
terfield, Daniel Miles, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Levi Hancock,
James Foster — this for elders constantly travelling, while the quorum of
ciders was to preside over the churches from time to time; to preside over
the bishopric, Vinson Knight, Samuel H. Smith, and Shadrach Roundy, and
others.
^* See his memorial to- the Pennsylvania legislature, in Times and Seasons,
V. 418-23. Remy says that he was also instructed to pay a, visit to Queen
Victoria, and overthrow her if she refused to accept the gospel. Jour, to G.
8. L. City, i. 411; a statement for which I find no authority.
200 BRIGHAM YOUNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
brethren for nearly two hours. Yet he seemed to
make no impression. "The Lord has not chosen
him," said one to another. The assembly then ad-
journed to two o'clock, when the saints in and about
Nauvoo gathered in great numbers. After singing
and prayer, through the vast assemblage was heard a
voice, strikingly clear, distinct, and penetrating.^^ It
was the voice of Brigham, who said: "Attention, all!
For the first time in my life I am called to act as chief
of the twelve; for the first time in your lives you are
called to walk by faith, your prophet being no longer
present in the flesh. I desire that every one present
shall exercise the fullest liberty. I now ask you, and
each of you, if you want to choose a guardian, a prophet,
evangelist, or something else as your head to lead you.
All who wish to draw away from the church, let them
do it, but they will not prosper. If any want Sidney
Kigdon to lead them, let them have him; but I say unto
you that the keys of the kingdom are with the twelve."^*
It was then put to vote, Brigham meanwhile say-
ing, "All those who are for Joseph and Hyrum, the
book of Mormon, book of Doctrine and Covenants, the
temple, and Joseph's measures, they being one party,
will be called upon to manifest their principles boldly,
the opposite party to enjoy the same liberty." ^^ The
result was ten votes for Sidney, the quorum with
Brigham at their head getting all the rest. Elder
Philips then motioned that all "who have voted for
Sidney Bigdon be suspended until the}'' can have a
trial before the high counciL"^^
The truth is, Sidney was no match for Brigham.
It was a battle of the lion and the lamb; only Brig-
^* 'He [Brigham] said, as he stood on the stand, he would rather sit in sack-
cloth and ashes for a month than appear before the people, but he pitied their
loneliness, and was constrained to step forward, and we knew he was, because
he had the voice and manner of Joseph, as hundreds can testify. ' BeminisceHces
of Mrs F. D. Richards, MS., p. 14.
'* Woodruffs Journal, MS., Aug. 8, 1844.
^T Hist. Brigham Yoimg, 1844, MS., 25.
'^Wilford Woodruff states that Rigdon did not receive a single vote.
Remiaiscences, MS., 2.
BRIGHAM'S CHARACTER. 201
ham did not know before that he was a lion, while
Sidney received the truth with reluctance that he was
indeed a lamb. Something more than oratory was nec-
essary to win in this instance; and of that something,
with great joy in his heart, Brigham found himself in
possession. It was the combination of qualities which
we find present primarily in all great men, in all leaders
of men — intellectual force, mental superiority, united
with personal magnetism, and physique enough to give
weight to will and opinion; for Brigham Young was
assuredly a great man, if by greatness we mean one
who is superior to others in strength and skill, moral,
intellectual, or physical. The secret of this man's
power — a power that within a few years made itself
felt throughout the world — was this : he was a sincere
man, or if an impostor, he was one who first imposed
upon himself He was not a hypocrite; knave, in
the ordinary sense of the term, he was not; though he
has been a thousand times called both. If he was a bad
man, he was still a great man, and the evil that he did
was done with honest purpose. He possessed great ad-
ministrative ability ; he was far-seeing, with a keen in-
sight into human nature, and a thorough knowledge of
the good and evil qualities of men, of their virtues and
frailties. His superiority was native to him, and he
was daily and hourly growing more powerful, develop-
ing a strength which surprised himself, and gaining con-
stantly more and more confidence in himself, gaining
constantly more and more the respect, fear, and obe-
dience of those about him, until he was able to con-
sign Sidney to the buffetings of Satan for a thousand
years, while Brigham remained president and supreme
ruler of the church. ^^
" Sidney had a trial, and was convicted and condemned. Sidney Rigdon
was a native of Saint Clair, Penn., where he was born in 1793. Until his 26th
year he worked on his father's farm, but in 1819 received a license to preach,
from the society known as the regular baptists, being appointed in 1822 to the
charge of the first baptist church iu Pittsburgh, where he became very popu-
lar. In 1824 he resigned his position, from conscientious motives, and joined
the Campbellites, supporting himself by working as a journeyman tanner.
Two years later he accepted a call as a Campbellite preacher at Bainbridge, 0.,
202 BRIGHAM YOUNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
Thus Brigham Young succeeded Joseph Smith.
The work of the latter was done. It was a singular
work, to which he was singularly adapted; the work yet
to be done is no less remarkable, and a no less remark-
able agent is raised up at the right moment. Mat-
ters assume now a more material turn, and a more
material nature is required to master them — if coarser-
grained, more practical, rougher, more dogmatical,
dealing less in revelations from heaven and more in
self-protection and self-advancement here on earth,
so much the better for the saints. ''Strike, but hear
me!" Joseph with Themistocles used to cry; "I will
strike, and you shall hear me," Brigham would say.
No wonder the American Israel received Brigham
as the gift of God, the Lion of the Lord,^" though
the explanation of the new ruler himself would have
been nearer that of the modern evolutionist, who
would account for Brigham's success as the survival
of the fittest. It was fortunate for the saints at this
juncture that their leader should be less prophet than
priest and king, less idealist than business manager,
political economist, and philosopher, Brigham holds
communion with spiritual powers but distantly, per-
haps distrustfully; at all events, he commands the
spirits rather than let them command him; and the
older he grows the less he has to do with them; and
the less he has to do with heavenly affairs, the more
his mind dwells on earthly matters. His prophecies are
eminently practical; his people must have piety that
will pay. And later, and all through his life, his posi-
tion is a strange one. If the people about Nauvoo are
troublesome, God orders him west; and then he tells
and afterward built up churches at Mantua and Mentor in that state. In
1830 he joined the Mormon church, being converted by the preaching of Par-
ley. Further particulars will be found in Times and Seasons, iv. 177-8, 193-4,
209-10; Cohh''s Mormon Problem, MS., 12; Tucker's M or monism, 123-7; Pitts-
burgh Gaz., in S. F. Bulletin, Aug. 4, 1876. Returning to Pittsburgh after
his excommunication, Sidney led a life of utter obscurity, and finally died
at Friendship, Alleghany County, N. Y., July 14, 1876. Lippincott's Mag.,
Aug. 1880.
""See note 41, p. 192, this vol.
BRIGHAM'S POWER, 203
him if roads are opened and canals constructed it will
please him. From these practical visions come ac-
tions, and on a Sunday the great high-priest rises
in the tabernacle and says: "God has spoken. He
has said unto his prophet, 'Get thee up, Brigham, and
build me a city in the fertile valley to the south,
where there is water, where there are fish, where
the sun is strong enough to ripen the cotton plants, and
give raiment as well as food to my saints on earth.
Brethren willing to aid God's work should come to
me before the bishop's meeting.'" "As the prophet
takes his seat again," says an eye-witness, "and puts
on his broad-brimmed hat, a hum of applause runs
around the bowery, and teams and barrows are freely
promised."
To whatsoever Brigham applied himself he directed
his whole strength, proTided his whole strength was
necessary to the accomplishment of his purpose.
There were others in the field against him, aspirants
for the late prophet's place, besides Sidney ; but direct-
ing his efibrts only against the most powerful of them,
the president of the twelve summoned the quorum and
the people, as we have seen, crushed Rigdon and his
adherents by one of the master-strokes which he was
now learning, declared the revelations of Rigdon to be
of the devil, cut him ofi", cursed him, and was himself
elected almost without a dissenting voice, giving all
ostensibly the fullest liberty to act, yet permitting
none of them to do so, and even causing ten to be tried
for dissenting. Henceforth none dared to gainsay his
authority; he became not only the leader of the Mor-
mons, but their dictator; holding authority for a time
as president of the twelve apostles, and finally in the
capacity of the first presidency, being made president
of the whole church in December 1847.
Brigham Young was now in his forty-third year, in
the prime of a hale and vigorous manhood, with ex-
uberant vitality, with marvelous energy, and with un-
swerving faith in his cause and in himself In stat-
204 BRIG HAM YOUNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH,
ure he was a little above medium height; in frame
well-knit and compact, though in later years rotund
and portly; in carriage somewhat stately; presence
imposing, even at that time, and later much more so;
face clean shaven now, but afterward lengthened by
full beard except about the mouth; features all good,
regular, well formed, sharp, and smiling, and wearing
an expression of self-sufficiency, bordering on the su-
percilious, which later in life changed to a look of sub-
dued sagacity which he could not conceal; deep-set,
gray eyes, cold, stern, and of uncertain expression,
lips thin and compressed, and a forehead broad and
massive — his appearance was that of a self-reliant and
strong-willed man, of one born to be master of him-
self and many others. In manner and address he was
easy and void of affectation, deliberate in speech, con-
veying his original and suggestive ideas in apt though
homely phrase.^^ When in council he was cool and
imjDerturbable, slow to decide, and in no haste to act;
but when the time for action came he worked with an
energy that was satisfied only with success.
Like his predecessor, he was under all circumstances
naturally a brave man, possessing great physical
strength, and with nerves unshaken by much excess
or sickness. That he was given to strong drink has
often been asserted by his enemies, but never by his
friends, and rarely by impartial observers. He was
always in full possession of himself, being far too
wise a man to destroy himself through any indiscre-
tion.
He was undoubtedly the man for the occasion,
however, for no other could, at this juncture, save
the Mormons from dissolution as a sect and as a
people. If the saints had selected as their leader a
man less resolute, less confident, less devoted to his
cause and to his people, a man like Sidney Rigdon,
*^ Bowles, Aa'oss the Continent, 86, says that even at 64 he spoke ungram-
matically. This criticism is a fair commentary on the difference between a
Bowles and a Brigham.
THE MORMON LEADERS COMPARED. 205
for example, Mormonism would have split into half a
dozen petty factions, the strongest of which would
hardly be worthy of notice.
Discussing the great Mormon leaders, Hyde, who
though an apostate was one of the most impartial of
writers, says: ''Brigham Young is far superior to
Smith in everything that constitutes a great leader.
Smith was not a man of genius; his forte was tact.
He only embraced opportunities that presented them-
selves. He used circumstances, but did not create
them. The compiling genius of Mormonism w^as
Sidney Rigdon. Smith had boisterous impetuosity,
but no foresight. Polygamy was not the result of his
policy, but of his passions. Sidney gave point, direc-
tion, and apparent consistency to the Mormon system
of theology. He invented its forms and many of its
arguments. He and Parley Pratt were its leading
orators and polemics. Had it not been for the acces-
sion of these two men, Smith would have been lost,
and his schemes frustrated and abandoned. That
Brighara was superior not only to Smith but also to
Bigdon is evident."
Burton says: "His manner is at once affable and
impressive, simple and courteous, . . . shows no sign of
dogmatism,. . .impresses a stranger with, a certain
sense of power; his followers are, of course, wholly
fascinated by his superior strength of brain." Temper
even and placid, manner cold, but he is neither morose
nor methodistic. Often reproves in violent language ;
powers of observation acute; has an excellent mem-
ory, and is a keen judge of character. "If he dis-
likes 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. "'^'^
** City of the Saintx, 292-3; Mormonism, 170. Hyde is by no means one of
Brigham's flatterers, but appears to speak from conviction. Ou the same
page he remarks: ' Brigham may be a great man, greatly deceived, but he
206 BRIGHAM YOUNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
Further: though he made his people obey him, he
shared their privations. Soon we shall find him
rousing his followers from the lethargy of despair,
when their very hearts had died within them, and
when all cheeks blanched but his; speaking words of
cheer to the men, and with his own sick child in his
arms, sharing his scant rations with women and
children who held out their hands for bread.
For a brief space after the election of Brigham the
saints had rest. The city of Nauvoo continued to
thrive;^' a portion of the temple was finished and
dedicated,^* the building of the Nauvoo house and
council-house was progressing rapidly.
Their buildings were erected with great sacrifice
of time, and amidst difficulties and discouragement in
consequence of poverty. Money was exceedingly
scarce.^^ The revelation requiring tithing, made in
1838, was first practically applied in Nauvoo; the
tenth day was regularly given to work on the temple ;
the penny subscriptions of the sisters are mentioned,
which was a weekly contribution, and was intended
for the purchase of glass and nails. Every effort was
made to encourage manufacture, and to utilize their
water-power. At a meeting of the trades delegates
is not a hypocrite;' and on the next page: 'Brigham, however deceived, is
still a bad man, and a dangerous man; and as much more dangerous, being
sincere in thinking he is doing God's work, as a madman is than an impostor. '
In Id., 136-40, we have a short and succinct narrative of Brigham 's career
up to the assassination of Joseph Smith, probably the best that has yet been
written in such brief space.
^^ 'Almost every stranger that enters our city is excited with astonish-
ment that so much has been done in so short a time. ' Likewise there was
always work enough for them among the gentiles, who ' did not know how to
make a short johnny-cake until our girls taught them.' Speech of Elder
Kimball, April 8, 1845, in Id., vi. 973. Says John Taylor: 'When we first
settled in Nauvoo, . . .farming lands out of the city were worth from $1.25 to
$5 per acre; when we left they were worth from $5 to $50 per acre. We
turned the desert into a city, and the wilderness into a fruitful field or fields
and gardens. ' Millennial Star, viii. 1 15. Bennett mentions a community farm
near Nauvoo, which was cultivated in common by the poorer classes. History
of the Saints, 191.
^* It was dedicated May 1, 1846, by Wilford Woodruff and Orson Hyde.
Two days later they held their last meeting there. Woodruff's Rem., MS., 3.
^' 'When corn was brought to my door at ten cents a bushel, and sadly
needed, the money could not be raised.' Utah Notes, MS., p. 6.
J
THE NAUVOO TEMPLE. 2j7
there was intelligent discussion as to the place becom-
ing a great manufacturing centre.^'
In January 1845 it was proposed that a building
for the high-priests should be erected, to cost $15,000,
and the work was cheerfully undertaken. There were
frequent entertainments given in the way of dances
and public dinners in the Nauvoo mansion and in the
bowery six miles out of the city.^^ At their confer-
ence in April, thousands gathered. The temple was
pushed forward, as the people were counselled to re-
ceive their endowments there as early as possible. On
the 24th of May the walls were finished, and the
event was duly celebrated. ^^ On the 5th of October
their first meeting in the temple was held.^^ From
mites and tithings it was estimated that a million dol-
lars had been raised. Brigham, Parley, and others
of the quorum administered in the temples to hun-
dreds of people, the services often continuing all day
and night.^" At the end of December one thousand
of the people had received the ordinances. And all
this was done midst renewed persecutions, and while
the people were making preparations to evacuate the
city.
The masons withdrew the dispensation previously
granted to Nauvoo, and to this day they refuse to
admit Mormons into their order.
*® There was $500 or $600 already collected from the penny subscriptions,
which was drawn by order of Brigham to meet a debt on laud which must be
immediately paid. Ilisi. D. Young, MS., Dec. 5, 1844. John Taylor says it
was intended to establish manufactures at Nauvoo on a large scale, for which
the services of English emigrants were to be secured. At the head of tho
rapids, near Nauvoo, stood an island, to which it was proposed to build a
dam, leaving spaces for water-wheels, and thus securing power for mills.
Rem., MS., 19-20.
"' In Hist. B. Young, MS., July 9, 1845, is a description of a public dinner
for the benefit of the church, where Young, Kimball, Taylor, and others offi-
ciated at the table.
** At six o'clock in the morning the people assembled. The ' Cap-stone
March,' composed for the occasion, was played by Pitt's band; Brigham laid
on the last stone, and pronounced the benediction, and the whole congregation
shouted, ' Hosanna ! hosanna to God and the lamb I amen, amen, and amen !'
Hist. B. Young, MS., 83.
"The first stone was laid April 6, 1841.
'" ' I commenced administering the ordinances of endowment at five o'clock
and continued until half-past three in the morning.' Id., MS., Dec. 10, 1845.
208 BRIGHAM YOUXG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
Fresh disaster now approached Nauvoo. Th"*
whigs and the democrats of Ilhnois had both sought
to secure the Mormon vote, until finally they began
to declare that l^.Iormonism signified a government not
in accord with that of the United States. The city
charter had been repealed in January 1845, and Dan-
iel Spencer, who had been elected to fill the remain-
der of the term of the murdered mayor, was deposed,
as were all the other city ofiScers; a new charter was
before the legislature, but never granted. These and
like measures, followed as they were by the discharge
of Joseph Smith's assassins, imparted to the gentiles
renewed courage. The crimes of the whole country
were laid at the door of the saints. Nauvoo was de-
nounced as a den of counterfeiters, cattle-thieves, and
assassins,^^ the leaders of the gang being men who in the
name of religion outraged all sense of decency. The
saints retaliated in kind ; and shortly it came about that
in sections settled by Mormons gentiles feared to travel,
and in sections settled by gentiles Mormons feared
to travel. In view of this state of affairs, which w^as
more like old-time feudalism than latter-day repub-
licanism. Governor Ford made an inspection of the
city, and declared that fewer thefts were committed
in Nauvoo in proportion to population than in any
other town in the state. The cause of this, however,
may have lain in the fact that the population of Nau-
voo was chiefly Mormon, and whatever might be their
depredations upon the gentiles, the saints were not
accustomed to steal from each other.
At a place called the Morley settlement, in Han-
cock county, in September 1845, the people held a
meeting to devise means for the prevention of thievery.
Though few definite charges were advanced, there
was much said derogatory to Mormon honesty.
Presently the discharge of a gun was heard, once or
twice, perhaps more. It was said the shots were fired
'^ For specimens of the accusations brought against them, see HcdVs Mor-
manism Exposed, 24-34.
THE RIOT AT MORLEY. 209
by Mormons, and that they took aim at the house in
which the meeting was held. Soon the cry went
abroad that the Mormons were in arms, and there
were quickly volunteers at hand to help the men of
Morley. A meeting was held, and it was resolved to
expel the saints. At the time appointed, armed bands
appeared and burned some twenty Mormon dwellings,
driving the inmates into the bushes.^^ The people of
Illinois were evidently now determined to adopt the
previous policy of the men of Missouri. This was not
all. Word had come that forces from Nauvoo were
moving to the aid of the Mormons at Morley, where-
upon the gentiles throughout all that region banded,
threatening to burn and drive out the saints until not
one should remain. As a beginning, Buel's flouring
mill and carding machine, near Lima, the property of
a Mormon, was reduced to ashes. ^^
And now the men of Quincy, their old friends and
benefactors, turned against them; and though not
manifesting the deadly hate displayed in some quar-
ters, were nevertheless resolved that the Mormons
should depart from the state. On the 22d the citi-
zens met and agreed that further efforts to live in
peace with the Mormons were useless.**
Indeed, the saints themselves had reached the
'^ Says the Quincy Whig: ' If the Mormons have been guilty of crime, why,
punish them; but do not visit their sins on defenceless women and children.
This is as bad as the savages. ' Sheriff Backenstos thus testifies: ' It is proper
to state that the Mormon community have acted with more than ordinary for-
bearance, remaining perfectly quiet, and offering no resistance when their
dwellings, other buildings, stacks of grain, etc., were set on fire in their
presence, and they have forborne until forbearance is no longer a virtue.'
Fullmer'' K Expulsion, 19.
*' ' Mobs commenced driving out the Mormons in the lower part of Han-
cock CO. , and burning their houses and property . . . The burning was con-
tinued from settlement to settlement for ten or eleven days without any re-
sistance whatever. The people at Nauvoo sent out wagons and teams to
bring those people in whom the mob had driven out of their homes. ' Wells'
Narrative, MS. , 35-6. ' The mob said they would drive all into Nauvoo, and
all Nauvoo into the Mississippi.' Richards, Rem., MS., 16.
3* ' It is a settled thing that the public sentiment of the state is against
the Mormons, and it will be in vain for them to contend against it; and to
prevent bloodshed and the sacrifice of so many lives on both sides it is their
duty to obey the public will, and leave the state as speedily as possible.
That they will do this, we have a confident hope, and that, too, before the
last extreme is resorted to, that of force.' Fullmer'a Expulsion, 20.
Hist. Utah. 11
210 BRIGHAM YOUNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
same conclusion. It was no new idea to them, seek-
ing a home elsewhere. It was a rough element, that by
which they were surrounded, an element which brought
upon them more of evil than of good. Compara-
tively few additions were made to their number from
the bold border men of Missouri and Illinois, most
of their proselytes coming from other parts of the
United States and from Europe. The whole great
west was open to them; even during the days of
Joseph there had been talk of some happy Arca-
dian retreat far away from every adverse influence;*''^
and in the fertile brain of Brigham the idea assumed
proportions yet broader and of more intensified form,
significant of western empire and isolation somewhere
in California or the Pacific isles, with himself as
leader, and followers drawn from every quarter of
the globe.
A general council was held on the 9th of Septem-
ber, at which it was resolved that a company of fifteen
hundred men be selected to go to Salt Lake Valley,
and a committee of five was appointed to gather in-
formation relative to the subject. ^° There were fre-
quent meetings of the authorities and consultations in
regard to emigratino' to California. ^^
The saints would go, they said, but they must have
a reasonable time in which to dispose of their prop-
^^On the 20th of Feb., 1844, according to the Millennial Star, xxii. 819,
Joseph counselled the twelve to send out a delegation and ' investigate the
locations of California and Oregon, and hunt out a good location where
we can remove to after the temple is completed, where we can build a city
in a day and have a government of our o wn. ' In Taylor's Reminiscences, MS. ,
19, is the following: 'A favorite song in Nauvoo, and of my own composi-
tion, was entitled "The Upper California, that's the land for me!" what
is now Utah being known by that name. Joseph Smith was the first ^;\ho
talked of the latter-day saints coming to this region. As early as August
1842 he prophesied that the saints would be driven to the Rocky Mountains,
and there become a mighty people. '
s^See Hist. B. Young, 1845, MS., 19.
^' F. D. Richards read Fremont's Journal to the twelve, and later Hastings'
account of California was read. Hist. B. Young, MS., 308-16. A letter was
also read to the authorities from Brother Sam Brannan, stating that the secre-
tary of war and others of the cabinet were planning to prevent their moving
west — alleging that it was against the law for an armed body to go from the
U. S. to any other government; that it would not do to let them go to Cali-
fornia or Oregon, but that they must be obliterated. Hist. B. Young, MS., 305.
I
THE MORMONS MUST GO. 211
erty and leave the country.'^ The meeting at Quincy,
notice of which with a copy of the resolutions was sent
to Nauvoo, named six months as the time within
which the Mormons must depart. In answer, the
council of the church replied, on the 24th of Septem-
ber, that they could not set forth so early in the spring,
when there would be neither food for man or beast,
nor even running water, but that it was their full in-
tention to depart as soon as possible, and that they
would go far enough, God helping them, forever there-
a,fter to be free from their enemies. Meanwhile all
they asked was that they should not be further mo-
lested by armed bands or suits at law, but rather
assisted in selling their property and collecting their
effects. ^^
To this the men of Quincy gave assent; at the same
time pledging themselves to prompt action in case of
failure on the part of the saints to keep their promise,
and taking measures to secure a military organization
of the people of Adams county.^
It was not to be expected that Carthage would
remain idle while other towns were actinor. A con-
vention of delegates from nine surrounding counties .
was held there about the end of September, and
four commissioners, among whom were Hardin, com-
mander of the state mihtia, and Douglas, senator,"
were sent to Nauvoo to demand the departure of the
Mormons. The deputation was met by the council
of the twelve with the president at their head, and
answer was promptly made that the removal would
'*One thousand families, including 5,000 or 6,000 souls, would remove in
the spring. Hist. B. Young, MS., 1845, 134. Hundreds of farms and some
2,000 houses were offered for sale in Nauvoo city and county. 'There was
grain enough growing within 10 miles of Nauvoo, raised by the Mormons, to
feed the whole population for two years, if they were to do nothing but gather
it in and feast upon it.' Id., MS., 35.
*^ A lengthy communication to this effect was drawn up and signed by Brig-
ham Young, president, and Willard Richards, clerk. Printed in full in Full-
trier's Expulsion, 20-1.
*" Answer in full in Id., 22.
*^ The other two were W. B. Warren and J. A. McDougal. Tidlidge'i
Life of Young, 8.
212 BRIGHAM YOUNG SUCCEEDS JOSEPH.
take place as speedily as possible. " What guarantee
will you give us?" asked Hardin. "You have our
all as guarantee," answered Brigham. "Young is
right," said Douglas. But this reply would not sat-
isfy all the commissioners, and the twelve were re-
quested to submit their intentions in writing, in order
that they might be laid before the governor and
people of the state. This was done.*^
The commissioners then returned home; but not
even yet were the men of Carthage content. To the
resolutions passed at Quincy were added others of
similar nature, and the whole adopted. A plan of
organization was agreed upon, and arrangements were
made for calling meetings and securing volunteers,
who were to select their own officers and report to the
Quincy military committee. The judge of Hancock
county was requested by this convention not to hold
*^ In answer to the letter of the commissioners, the saints on the same
day said, after referring to their communication of the 24th to the Quincy
committee: ' In addition to this, we would say that we had commenced
making arrangements to remove from the country previous to the recent dis-
turbances; that we have four companies of 100 families each, and six more
companies now organizing, of the same number each, preparatory to a removal.
That 1,000 families, including the twelve, the high council, the trustees, and
general authorities of the church, are fully determined to remove in the
spring, independent of the contingencies of selling our property; and this
company will comiDriae from 5,000 to 6,000 souls. That the church, as a
body, desire to remove with us, and will if sales can be effected so as to raise
the necessary means. That the organization of the church we represent is
such that there never can exist but one head or presidency at any one time.
And all good members wish to be with the organization; and all are determined
to remove to some distant point, where we shall neither infringe nor be
infringed upon, so soon as time and means will permit. That we have some
hundreds of farms and some 2,000 houses for sale in this city and county,
and we request all good citizens to assist in the disposal of our property.
That we do not expect to find purchasers for our temple and other public
buildings; but we are willing to rent them to a respectable community who
may inliabit the city. That we wish it distinctly understood that although
we may not find purchasers for our property, we will not sacrifice it, nor
give it away, or sufiFer it illegally to be wrested from us. That we do not
intend to sow any wheat this fall, and should we all sell, we shall not put in
any more crops of any description. That as soon as practicable we will
appoint committees from the city. La Harpe, Macedonia, Bear Creek, and
all necessary places in the country, to give information to purchasers. That
if these testimonies are not sufficient to satisfy any people that we are in
earnest, we will soon give them a sign that cannot be mistaken — we will
leave them.' In Hist. B. Young, MS., Nov. 1845, it is stated that there
were families organized 3,285: wagons on hand 1,508; wagons commenced
SAMUEL BRANNAN'S PARTY. 213
court during that autumn, for fear of collision between
saints and gentiles, and the governor was recommended
to station in that vicinity a small military force to
keep peace during the winter.
During the height of the troubles at Nauvoo, Orson
Pratt was in New York, where on the 8th of No-
vember, 1845, he addressed a farewell message to the
brethren in the east, calling upon such of them as
had means to sell their property, buy teams, and join
the overland emigration, and those who had none to
take passage in the ship Brooklyn, chartered for the
purpose by Elder Samuel Brannan, and which was to
sail round Cape Horn, via the Hawaiian Islands, for
California. Shortly after, the Broohlyn sailed with
238 emigrants, the price of passage being $50 for
adults, with $25 additional for subsistence. The de-
tails of this expedition, with names of the emigrants,
their doings in California, and the departure for the
Great Salt Lake of a large portion of them, is given
in volume V. chapter XX. of my Histoiy of California.
Upon his return to Nauvoo, Pratt brought $400 worth
of Allen's six-shooting pistols.
CHAPTER VIII.
.XPULSION FROM NAUVOa
1845-1846.
A Busy Citt — Meeting in the Temple — Sacbifioe of Pbopektt — Detach-
ments Move Forward — A Singular Exodus — The First Encampment
— Cool Proposal from Brother Brannan — The Journey — Courage
AND Good Cheer — Swelling of their Numbers — The Remnant ov
THE Saints in Nauvoo — Attitude of the Gentiles — The Mormons
Attacked — Continued Hostilities — The Final Departures — Thb
Poor Camp — A Deserted City.
The holy city now presented an exciting scene.
Men were making ready their merchandise, and fami-
lies preparing to vacate their homes. Hundreds were
making tents and wagon covers out of cloth bought
with anything they happened to have; companies were
organized and numbered, each of which had its own
wagon-shop, wheelwrights, carpenters, and cabinet-
makers, who were all busily employed.^ Green timber
was prepared for spokes and felloes, some kiln-dried,
and some boiled in salt and water. At the Nauvoo
house shops were established as well as at the mason's
hall and arsenal. Iron was brought from different
parts of the country, and blacksmiths were at work
night and day.^
Some three years previous, the prophet Joseph had
ordered that there should not be another general con-
^ Parley Pratt's '^Iculation for an outfit of every family of 5 persons was
1 good wagon, 3 yoke cattle, 2 cows, 2 beef cattle, 3 sheep, 1,000 lbs flour,
20 lbs sugar, 1 rifle and ammunition, a tent and tent-poles, from 10 to 20 lbs
seed to a family, from 25 to 100 lbs tools for farming, and a few other items,
the cost being about $250, provided they had nothing else but bedding and
cooking utensils. Hist. B. Young, MS., 125.
^ In December the drying-house of emigrating company no. 18 was burned
to the ground, consuming $300 worth of wagon timber. Id., MS., Dec. 1845.
(214)
PROPOSED MIGRATION. 216
ference until it could be held in the temple. And
now, on the 5th of October, 1845, five thousand per-
sons assembled, and on the following day began the
great conference, which lasted three days. The saints,
however, were permitted but short enjoyment of their
beautiful structure, a meagre reward for all the toil
and money expended. Holiness to the Lord was the
motto of it; and there was little else they could now
carry hence ; the hewn stone, the wood-work, and the
brass they must leave behind. This building was to
them as a temple "where the children of the last
kingdom could come together to praise the Lord."
As they cast one last gaze on their homes and the
monuments reared to their faith, the}^ asked, "Who is
the God of the gentiles ? Can he be our God ?"^
In the same number of the Times and Seasons in
which appeared a notice of this meeting was pub-
lished a circular signed by Brigham Young, and ad-
dressed to the brethren scattered abroad throughout
America, informing them of the impending change.
" The exodus of the nations of the only true Israel
from these United States to a far distant region of
the west, where bigotry, intolerance, and insatiable
oppression will have lost its power over them, forms
a new epoch, not only in the history of the church,
but of this nation."*
' Kane, with the carelessness usual in his statements, says that the temple
was completed and conseci-ated in May, and that the day after its consecration
its ornaments were carried away. ' For that one day the temple shone re-
splendent in all its typical glories of sun, moon, and stars, and other abound-
ing figured and lettered signs, hieroglyphs, and symbols; but that day only.
The sacred rites of consecration ended, the work of removing the sacrasancta
proceeded with the rapidity of magic. It went on through the night; and
when the morning of the next day dawned, all the ornaments and furniture,
everything that could provoke a sneer, had been carried off; and except some
fixtures that would not bear removal, the building was dismantled to the
bare walls. It was this day saw the departure of the last elders, and the
largest band that moved in one company together. The people of Iowa have
told me that from morning to night they passed westward like an endless
procession. They did not seem greatly out of heart, they said; but at the
top of every hill, before they disappeared, were to be seef looking back, like
banished Moors, on their aoandoned homes and the far-seen temple and its
glittering spire.' The Mormons, 21.
* Times and Seasons, vi. 1018. In this number is a notice, signed by Willard
Richards, cutting off William Smith, the prophet's brother, for apostasy.
8ie EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO.
The arbitrary acts of the people of Illinois in forc-
ing the departure of the saints lays them open to the
grave charge, among others, of a desire to possess
their property for less than its value. Houses and
lots, farms and merchandise, could not be turned into
money, or even into wagons and live-stock, in a moment,
except at a ruinous sacrifice. Granted that the hier-
archy was opposed to American institutions, that the
Mormons wished to gain possession of the United
States and rule the world : no one feared the immediate
consummation of their pretentious hopes. Granted
that among them were adulterers, thieves, and mur-
derers: the gentiles were the stronger, and had laws
by which to punish the guilty. It was not a noble
sentiment which had actuated the people of Missouri ;
it was not a noble sentiment which now actuated the
people of Illinois, thus to continue their persecutions
during the preparations for departure, and drive a
whole cityful from their homes out upon the bleak
prairie in the dead of winter.
In January 1846 the council ordered that a de-
tachment should set forth at once, and that the re-
mainder of the saints should follow as soon as possi-
ble. "Beloved brethren," said their leader, "it now
remains to be proven whether those of our family
and friends who are necessarily left behind for a
season, to obtain an outfit through the sale of prop-
erty, shall be mobbed, burned, and driven away by
force. Does any American want the honor of doing
it? or will any Americans suffer such acts to be done,
and the disgrace of them to remain on their char-
acter, under existing circumstances. If they will,
let the world know it."
The world was soon to know it. Driven almost at
the point of the sword, a large number of the saints,
soon afterward followed by the president, the twelve,
the high council, and other companies, gathered on
the eastern bank of the Mississippi early in February.
There was but little money in circulation through-
SALE OP PROPERTY. 217
out the west at this time. Over vast wild sections
skins were the only currency, and at the settlements
traffic for the most part assumed the form of barter
or exchange of labor. It was, therefore, exceedingly
difficult, as I have said, for the saints to get their
property into portable form, even after selling their
lands at half or quarter their value. The gentiles,
of course, could pay what they pleased, being the only
buyers, and the saints being forced to sell. More-
over, there was more property thrown upon the
market than could be taken at once, and the depart-
ure of so large and thrifty a portion of the popula-
tion was of itself sufficient to depreciate property.
The best they could do was to exchange their lands
for wagons and horses and cattle, and this they did
to as large an extent as possible, scouring the coun-
try for a hundred miles around in search of live-stock.^
And now, putting upon their animals and vehicles
such of their household effects as they could carry, in
small detachments the migratory saints began to leave
Nauvoo.* Before them was the ice-bound river, and
beyond that the wilderness.
There is no parallel in the world's history to this
migration from Nauvoo. The exodus from Egypt
was from a heathen land, a land of idolaters, to a fer-
tile region designated by the Lord for his chosen peo-
ple, the land of Canaan. The pilgrim fathers in flying
to America came from a bigoted and despotic people —
' ' The Mormons went up and down with their furniture, etc., and traded
for anything that cou'.d travel, such as an animal or a wagon . . . Another
company went out in May, but they did not sell their property, leaving it
in the hands of trustees to sell.' Wells' Narraiive, MS., 37. Their two-
story brick house, which they had occupied but three months, and which
they had denied themselves in every way to build, Mrs Richards says was
sold for • two yoke of half -broken cattle and an old wagon. ' Heminiacences,
MS., 20.
6 * When we were to leave Mo. , the saints entered into a covenant not to
cease their exertions until every saint who wished to go was removed, which
was done. . .We are better off now than we were then;. . .he [B. Y.] wants
to see this influence extend from the west to the east sea.' Brigham moved:
' That we take all the saints with us, to the extent of our ability, that is, our
influence and property; seconded by Elder Kimball, and carried unanimously. *
This covenant was entered into Oct. 6, 1845. Times and Seasons, vi. 1011.
218 EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO.
a people making few pretensions to civil or religious
liberty. It was from these same people who had fled
from old-world persecutions that they might enjoy
liberty of conscience in the wilds of America, from
their descendants and associates, that other of their
descendants, who claimed the right to differ from them
in opinion and practice, were now fleeing. True, the
Mormons in various ways had rendered themselves
abominable to their neighbors: so had the puritan
fathers to their neighbors. Before this the Mormons
had been driven to the outskirts of civilization, where
they had built themselves a city; this they must now
abandon, and throw themselves upon the mercy of
savages.
The first teams crossed about the 10th, in flat
boats, which were rowed over, and which plied forth
and back from early dawn until late into the night,
skiffs and other river craft being also used for
passengers and baggage. The cold increased. On
the 16th snow fell heavily; and the river was frozen
over, so that the remainder of the emigration crossed
on the ice. Their first camp, the camp of the congre-
gation, was on Sugar Creek, a few miles from Nauvoo
and almost within sight of the city.^ All their move-
ments were directed by Brigham, who with his family
and a quorum of the twelve, John Taylor, George A.
Smith, Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, Orson
Hyde, Orson Pratt, Parley P. Pratt, and Amasa
Lyman, joined the brethren on Sugar Creek on the
15th. Wilford Woodruff, who had been sent to pre-
side over the mission to England, joined the emigra-
tion later at Mount Pisgah.
On the morning of the 17th, all the saints in camp
being assembled near the bridge to receive their lead-
er's instructions, the president stood upright in his
wagon, and cried with a loud voice, "Attentionl the
' ' We encamped at Sugar Creek, in the snow, while two of my children
were very ill. We slept in our wagons, which were placed close to our tents.*
Uome's Migrations, MS., 16.
DEPARTUEE OP THE SAINTS. 219
whole camp of Israel."^ He then went on to say that
as the Lord had been with them in times past, how-
soever singular had been his method of proving his
presence, so would he be with them in the future.
His empire, the empire of his people, was established,
and the powers of hell should not prevail against it.®
After this, with comparatively light hearts, they
broke camp, and slowly wending their way westward,
disappeared at length beyond the horizon, in pursuit
once more of the ever-mocking phantom of home.
Whither they journeyed they were as yet uncertain.
They knew only that they were to search out, prob-
ably beyond the Rocky Mountains, if not indeed
among them, some isolated spot, where, far away from
the land of boasted freedom, the soil, the skies, and
mind and manners were free. If they were offensive
to the laws, if the laws of the land were offensive to
them, they would go where they might have land and
laws of their own.
Considering their situation, and what they had been
lately called to undergo — ignominy, insult, the loss of
property, the abandonment of home — there was little
complaint. It was among their opponents, and in the
midst of a general recital of their wrongs, that the
saints were accustomed to put on a long face and strike
into a doleful strain. Among themselves there were
^ The camp of Israel was wherever the president and apostles were.
*It has been stated that after dismissing his congregation on the 17th the
president led several of the twelve aside to a valley east of the camp, and held
a council. A letter was then read from Samuel Brannan, a Mormon elder
then in New York, together with a copy of an agreement between him and
one A. G. Benson. Brannan was at that time in charge of a company of saints
bound for the Pacific coast by way of Cape Horn, and the agreement which
he forwarded for Brigham's signature required the pioneers to transfer to A.
G. Benson and company the odd numbers of all the town lots that they might
acquire in the country where they settled. 'I shall select,' writes Brannan,
' the most suitable spot on the bay of San Francisco for the location of a commer-
cial city.' The council refused to take any action in the matter. In case
they refused to sign the agreement, Tullidge soberly relates, Life of Brigham
Young, 19-23, the president, it was said, would issue a proclamation, setting
forth that it was the intention of the Mormons to take sides with either Mex-
ico or Great Britain against tlie United States, and order them to be disarmed
or dispersed ! Further mention of this matter is made in History of Gal for-
Ilia, vol. V. cap. xx., this series.
220 EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO.
few people more free from care, or more light-hearted
and happy.
In the present instance, though all were poor and
some destitute, and though man and beast were ex-
posed to driving rain and hail, and the chill blasts of a
western winter often sweeping down upon them un-
checked from the limitless prairie, they made the best
of it, and instead of wasting time in useless repining,
set themselves at work to make the most of their
joys and the least of their sorrows. On the night of
March 1st, when the first camp was pitched beyond
Sugar Creek, after prayer they held a dance, and
as the men of Iowa looked on they wondered how
these homeless outcasts from Christian civilization
could thus praise and make merry in view of their
near abandoning of themselves to the mercies of sav-
ages and wild beasts.^" Food and raiment were pro-
vided for all; for shelter they had their tents and
wagons, and after the w^eather had spent somewhat of
its ruggedness, no extreme hardships were suffered.
Without attempting long distances in a single day,
they made camp rather early, and after the usual
manner of emigrants, the wagons in a circle or semi-
circle round the camp-fire, placed so as best to shield
them from the wind and wild beasts and Indians,
with the animals at a convenient distance, some staked,
and some running loose, but all carefully guarded.
The country through which they passed was much of
it well wooded ; the land was fertile and afforded abun-
dant pastures, the grass in summer being from one to
ten feet high. Provisions were cheap: corn twelve
cents and wheat twenty-five to thirty cents a bushel,
^° ' In the latter part of March we started for Council Bluffs, 400 miles dis-
tant, and were three months on the way. Crossing a long prairie in a fearful
storm, the mud became so soft that we could not travel, and we were obliged
to encamp; the water was several inches deep all over our camping-ground;
we had no wood for a fire, and no means of drying our soaked clothing. In
the morning everything was frozen fast; and a squirrel was found frozen . . .
Frequently boughs were laid on the ground before the teams could pass . . .
We had to camp in mud until the roads were dry enough to travel.' Home's
Migrations, MS., 18-19.
THE JOURNEY WESTWARD. 2§1
beef two cents a pound, and all payable in labor at
what was then considered good wages, say forty or
fifty cents a day.
Into the wilderness they went, journeying day
after day on toward the setting sun, their hearts
buoyant, their sinews strengthened by a power not of
this world. Forever fades the real before the imag-
inary. There is nothing tougher than fanaticism.
What cared they for wind and rain, for comfortless
couches or aching limbs? — the kingdom of the Lord
was with them. What cared they for insults and in-
justice when the worst this world could do was to
hasten heaven to them ? So on toward the west their
long train of wagons rolled, leaving each day farther
and farther behind the old, cold, fanatical east, with
its hard, senseless dogmas, and its merciless civilization,
without murmurings, without discord, the man above
any other on earth they most loved and feared riding
at their head, or standing with uplifted and extended
hands as his people passed by, blessing and comforting
them. '*We were happy and contented," says John
Taylor, " and the songs of Zion resounded from wagon
to wagon, reverberating through the woods, while the
echo was returned from the distant hills.""
There were brass or stringed instruments in every
company, and night and morning all were called to
prayers ^^ at the sound of the bugle. Camp-fires
drew around theru the saints when their day's work
was finished, and singing, dancing, and story-telling
enlivened the hour.
As they wer<.t on their way their ranks were swelled
by fresh bands, until there were brought together
3,000 wagon's, 30,000 head of cattle, a great number
of mules a\id horses, and immense flocks of sheep.
" * It is trn e,' he writes, ' that in our sojonming we do not possess all the
luxuries and c',elicacic8 of old-established countries and cities, but we have
abundance of the staple commodities, such as flour, meal, beef, mutton, pork,
milk, butter., and in some instances cheese, sugar, cofifee, tea, etc' Letter ia
Millennial I- Jtar, viii. 114.
" Each family had prayers separately. Taylor's Rem., MS., 9.
222 EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO.
Richardson Point ^^ they made their second stationary
camp, the third at Chariton River, the fourth at
Locust Creek, where a considerable time was spent.
Then there were — so named by the saints — Garden
Grove,^* a large timbered tract which had been burned
over, Mount Pisgah/® and finally Winter Quarters, in
Nebraska, on the west side of the Missouri, a little above
the modern Omaha, on the site of the present town
of Florence. ^^ At Garden Grove and Mount Pisgah
were established farming settlements for the benefit
of those who weire to follow. In July the main body
reached the Missouri at the spot now known as Council
Bluffs, and soon afterward many crossed the river in a
ferry-boat of their own construction, and pitched their
tents at Winter Quarters. Other large encampments
Between the Mississippi and Missouri.
^' In Lee County, Iowa, three weeks from itheir starting-point.
^* About 150 miles from Nauvoo, on the east fork of the Grand River.
' Many located there, ploughing and sowing, and preparing homes for their
poor brethren for a longer period.' Home's Migrations, MS., 19. 'On the
morning of the 27th of April the bugle sounded at Garden Grove, and all
the men assembled to organize for labor. Immediately hundreds of men
were at work, cutting trees, splitting rails, making fences, cutting logs for
houses, building bridges, making ploughs, and herding cattle. Quite a num-
ber were sent into the Missouri settlements to exchange horses for oxen, val-
uable featlier-beds and the like for provisions and artici.es most needed in the
camp, and the remainder engaged in ploughing and pilanting. Messengers
were also despatched to call in the bands of pioneers scattered over the coun-
try seeking work, with instructions to hasten them up to'jhelp form the new
settlements before the season had passed; so that, in a sd\arcely conceivable
space of time, at Garden Grove and Mount Pisgah, industrious settlements
Bprung up almost as if by magic' TuUidge's Life of Brighani Young, 41.
^' This site was discovered by Parley, who was sent forwar-'d to reconnoitre
by Brigham. It was situated on a branch of Grand River, aiid for years was
the resting-place for the saints on their way to Utah. Autohiog. P- Pratt, 381.
_^^ Here 700 log cabins and 150 dugouts (cabins half under ground) were
btiilt. A large quantity of hay was cut, and a flouring mill erected. Id., 383.
THE REMNANT AT NAUVOO. 223
were formed on both banks of the river, or at points
near by, where grass was plentiful. In early autumn
about 12,000 Mormons were assembled in this neigh-
borhood, or were on their way across the plains.
Leaving here the advance portion of the emigra-
tion, let us return to Nauvoo and see how it fared
with those who were still engaged in preparations for
their pilgrimage. It had been stipulated, the reader
will remember, that the Mormons should remove from
the state in the spring, or as soon afterward as they
could sell their property, and that meanwhile they
should not be molested. Long before spring, thou-
sands had crossed the Mississippi, among whom were
all the more obnoxious members of the sect. Mean-
while, how had the gentiles kept their faith ?
But passing the cause, what a picture was now
presented by the deserted city and its exiled inhabi-
tants! — the former, as Colonel Kane viewed it — but
which view must be regarded as ideal rather than
strictly historical — with "its bright new dwellings
set in cool green gardens, ranging up around a stately
dome-shaped hill, which was crowned by a noble
marble edifice, whose high tapering spire was radiant
with white and gold. The city appeared to cover
several miles ; and beyond it, in the background, there
rolled off a fair country, checkered by the careful lines
of fruitful husbandry."
To the Nauvoo Eagle Major Warren sent notice
from Carthage, on the 16th of April, that he had been
directed by the governor to disband on the 1st of May
the force which had been kept there ostensibly for
the protection of the saints, as the time appointed for
their departure would expire on that day.^' The day
arrived, and there were yet many Mormons remaining,
many who had found it impossible to remove on ac-
'" 'The removal of the entire population,' the major adds, 'has been looked
forward to as an event that could alone restore peace and quiet to this por-
tion of our state.' FiUlmer's Expulsion y 24.
224 EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO,
count of sickness, failure to dispose of their property,
or other adverse fortune; whereat the men of lUinois
began to bluster and threaten annihilation. Warren,
who had disbanded his troops on the 1st, received an
order from the governor on the following day to mus-
ter them into service again. This he did; for he
would, if possible, see the treaty between the Mor-
mons and the governor faithfully carried out, and
while urging the saints to haste, he endeavored to
stand between them and the mob which now threat-
ened their lives and the destruction of their prop-
erty. ^^
Major Warren appears to have performed his duty
firmly and well, and to have done all that lay in his
power to protect the Mormons. In a letter to the
Quincy Whig, dated May 20th, he writes: "The Mor-
mons are leaving the city with all possible despatch.
During the week four hundred teams have crossed at
three points, or about 1,350 souls. The demonstra-
tions made by the Mormon people are unequivocal.
They are leaving the state, and preparing to leave,
with every means God and nature have placed in
their hands." It was but the lower class of people
that clamored for the immediate expulsion of the
remnant of the saints — the ignorant, the bigoted, the
brutal, the vicious, the lawless, and profligate, those
who hated their religion and coveted their lands.
'* 'Thus while with one hand he pushed the saints from their possessions
across the river to save their lives, with the other he kept at bay the savage
fiends who thirsted for blood, and who would fain have washed their hands
in tlie blood of innocence, and feasted their eyes on the smoking ruins of their
martyred victims.' Id., 24-5. From Nauvoo, May 11, 1846, Warren wTites:
'To the Mormons I would say, Go on with your preparations, and leave as
fast as you can. Leave the fighting to be done by my detachment. If we are
overpowered, then recross the river and defend yourselves and property. The
neighboring counties, under the circumstances, cannot and will not lend their
aid to an improvoked and unnecessary attack upon the Mormons at this time;
and without such aid the few desperadoes in the county can do but little mis-
chief, and can be made amenable to the law for that little. The force under
my command is numerically small; but backed as I am by the moral force of
the law, and possessing as I do the confidence of nine tenths of the respect-
able portion of the old citizens, my force is able to meet successfully any
mob which can be assembled in the county, and if any such force does assem<
ble, they or I will leave the field in double-quick time.'
' MORE TROUBLE AT CARTHAGE. 225
On the 6th of June the people of Hancock county
met at Carthage to arrange for celebrating the 4th of
July. One of the citizens rose and said that since
the Mormons were not all removed they could not
rejoice as freemen. Mormon affairs then took prece-
dence, and another meeting was appointed for the 12th,
an invitation being sent to the gentiles at Nauvoo who
had occupied the deserted dwellings of the saints. It
happened that this was the day appointed for the
assembling of the militia, with a view to raise volun-
teers for the Mexican war; and now, it was thought,
was a good opportunity to show the Mormons the
military strength of the county. The officers con-
ferred, and without authority from the governor,
marched their troops, some three or four hundred in
number, to a place called Golden Point, five miles
from Nauvoo, where they encamped, and opened com-
munication with the city. It happened, however, at
this juncture, that Colonel Markham and others had
returned with teams from Council Bluffs for some of
the church property, and arming a force of six or eight
hundred, prepared to sally forth ; the name of Colonel
Markham was a terror to evil-doers, and the militia
fled, no one pursuing them.
There were yet remaining, as late as August, cer-
tain sturdy saints who, having committed no crime,
would not consent to be driven from their homes or
barred from their occupations. Among these was a
party engaged in harvesting wheat at a settlement eight
miles from Nauvoo, in company with one or two of the
gentiles, although it was forbidden by the men of Illi-
nois that any Mormon should show himself outside the
city, except en route for the west. The harvesters
were seized and beaten with clubs, whereupon the
people of Nauvoo, both Mormons and gentiles, took
up the matter. Some arrests were made, and the
culprits taken to Nauvoo, but by writ of habeas cor-
pus were removed to Quincy, where they met with
little trouble. While in Nauvoo, a gun in the hands
Hist. Utah. 15
226 EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO.
of a militia officer was recognized by William Pickett
as belonging to one of the harvesters. Pickett took
possession of the weapon, and a warrant was issued
against him for theft: when an officer came to arrest
him, he refused to surrender. As the Mormons stood
by him in illegal attitude, the affair caused consider-
able excitement.
In short, from the 1st of May until the final evac-
uation of the city, the men of Illinois never ceased
from strife and outrage. Of the latter I will mention
only two instances: **A man of near sixty years of
age," writes Major Warren in the letter just referred
to, "living about seven miles from this place, was
taken from his house a few nights since, stripped of
his clothing, and his back cut to pieces with a whip,
for no other reason than because he was a Mormon,
and too old to make a successful resistance. Conduct
of this kind would disgrace a horde of savages." In
August a party consisting of Phineas H. Young, his
son Brigham, and three others who were found out-
side the city, were kidnapped by a mob, hurried into
the thickets, passed from one gang to another — men
from Nauvoo being in hot pursuit — and for a fort-
night were kept almost without food or rest, and
under constant threat of death.
Fears are now entertained that, by reason of the
popular feeling throughout the country, Nauvoo city
will be again attacked; the gentile citizens therefore
ask Governor Ford for protection, whereupon Major
Parker is sent to their relief. ^^ All through August
" 'Sir — I have received information that another effort is to be made on
Monday next to drive out the inhabitants of Nauvoo, new as well as old, and
destroy the city. I am informed that it is believed in the surrounding coun-
ties that the new citizens in Nauvoo are all Mormons, and that the remnant
of the old Mormon population are determined to remain there, although I am
assured that the contrary in both particulars is the truth. You are there-
fore hereby authorized and empowered to repair to Nauvoo, and there remain
until you are relieved. You will immediately inquire how many of the in-
habitants are new citizens, and how many of them are Mormons; how many
of the old Mormon population remain, and what the prospect is of their re-
moval in a reasonable time; and in case an attack on the city should be at-
tempted or threatened, you are hereby authorized to take command of such
CONSTABLE CAELIN. 227
troubles continue, the anti-Mormons almost coming
to blows among themselves. ;( Before the end of the
month about six hundred men are assembled at Car-
thage, by order of Thomas Carlin, a special consta-
ble, ostensibly to enforce the arrest of Pickett, but
in reality to enforce the expulsion of the Mormons.
Major Parker orders the constable's posse to dis-
perse, otherwise he threatens to treat them as a mob.
The constable replies that if the major should at-
tempt to molest them in discharge of their duty he
will regard him and his command as a mob and so treat
them. *'Now, fellow-citizens," declares a committee
selected from four counties,^" in a proclamation issued
at Carthage, "an issue is fairly raised. On the one
hand, a large body of men have assembled at Carthage,
under the command of a leofal officer, to assist him in
performing legal duties. They are not excited — they
are cool, but determined at all hazards to execute
the law in Nauvoo, which has always heretofore de-
fied it. They are resolved to go to work systemati-
cally and with ample precaution, but under a full
knowledge that on their good and orderly behavior
their character is staked. On the other hand, in
Nauvoo is a blustering Mormon mob, who have de-
fied the law, and who are now organized for the pur-
pose of arresting the arm of civil power. Judge ye
which is in the right."
Intending, as it seems, to keep his word, Carlin
places his men under command of Colonel Singleton,
who at once throws off the mask, and on the 7th of
September announces to Major Parker that the Mor-
mons must go. On the same day a stipulation is
made, granting to the saints sixty days' extension of
time, and signed by representatives on both sides. ^^
volunteers as may offer themselves, free of cost to the state, to repel it and
defend the city.' FuUmer's Expulsion, 29-30.
■■"• Among the members was the Rev. Thomas S. Brockman, who afterward
took command of the posse.
•"Hostilities to cease; the city to be evacuated in 60 days, 25 men re-
maining to see the stipulation carried out. Id. , 3i-5.
228 EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO.
But to the terms of this stipulation the men of Illi-
nois would not consent. They were sore disgusted,
and rebelled against their leaders, causing Singleton,
Parker, and others to abandon their commands, the
posse being left in charge of Constable Carlin, who
summoned to his aid one Thomas Brockman, a clergy-
man of Brown county, and for the occasion dubbed
general. On the 10th of September the posse, now
more than a thousand strong, with wagons, equip-
ments, and every preparation for a campaign, ap-
proached Nauvoo and encamped at Hunter's farm.
At this time there were in the city not more than
a hundred and fifty Mormons, and about the same
number of gentiles, or, as they were termed, 'new citi-
zens,' capable of bearing arms, the remainder of the
population consisting of destitute women and children
and of the sick. Many of the gentiles had departed,
fearing a general massacre, and those who remained
could not be relied upon as combatants, for they were
of course unwilling to risk their lives in a conflict
which, if successful, would bring them no credit.
Nothing daunted, the little band, under command of
colonels Daniel H. Wells ^^ and William Cutler, took
up its position on the edge of a wood in the suburbs
of Nauvoo, a.nd less than a mile from the enemy's
camp.^^
Before hostilities commenced, a deputation from
Quincy^* visited the camp of the assailants, and in
vain attempted to dissuade them from their purpose.
No sooner had they departed than fire was opened on
the Mormons from a battery of six-pounders, but
without effect. Here for the day matters rested.
At sunrise the posse changed their position, intending
to take the city by storm, but were held in check by
*^ Who afterward became lieut-gen. of the Nauvoo legion in Utah.
*' There were about 300 Mormons and new citizens who could then bear
arms against the mob, but on the day of the fight no more than 100 could
be found to go, as the Mormons were continually leaving.' Wells^ Narrative,
MS., 39.
"* John Wood, the mayor, Major Flood, Dr Conyers, and Joel Rice. See
Wells' Narrative, MS., passim.
FIGHT AT NAUVOO. 229
Captain Anderson ^^ at the head of thirty -five men,
termed by the saints the Spartan band. The enemy
now fired some rounds of grape-shot, forcing the be-
sieged to retire out of range; and after some further
cannonading, darkness put an end to the skirmish,
the Mormons throwing up breastworks during the
night. 2'
On the morning of the 12th the demand of uncon-
ditional surrender was promptly rejected; where-
upon, at a given signal, several hundred men who had
been stationed in ambush, on the west bank of the
river, to cut oflP the retreat of the Mormons, appeared
with red flags in their hands, thus portending massacre.
The assailants now opened fire from all their batter-
ies, and soon afterward advanced to the assault,
slowly, and with the measured tramp of veterans,
at their head being Constable Carlin and the Rev-
erend Brockman, and unfurled above them — the
stars and stripes. When within rifle-range of the
breastworks the posse wheeled toward the south, at-
tempting to outflank the saints and gain possession
of the temple square. But this movement had been
anticipated, and posted in the woods to the north of
the Mormon position lay the Spartan band. Leading
on his men at double-quick, Anderson suddenly con-
fronted the enemy and opened a brisk fire from re-
volving rifles.^^ The posse advanced no farther, but
for an hour and a half held their ground bravely
against the Spartan band, the expense of ammunition
in proportion to casualties being greater than has yet
been recorded in modern warfare. Then they re-
treated in excellent order to the camp. The losses
of the Mormons were three killed and a few slightly
wounded; the losses of the gentiles are variously
*' He was more than brave, he was presumptuous. Wells, in Utah Notes,
MS., p. 7.
^® 'Many of our log houses were torn down by the mob, which numbered
1,000 men; we made barricades of corn-stalks stacked up.' Wells, in Utah
Notes, MS., 7.
" Elder John S. Fullmer, then a colonel in the Nauvoo legion, claims that
he directed this movement. Expulsion, 38.
230 EXPULSION" FROM NAUVOO.
stated.^^ Among those who fell were Captain Ander-
son and his son, a youth of sixteen, the former dying,
as he had vowed that he would die, in defence of the
holy sanctuary.
The following day was the sabbath, and hostilities
were not renewed; but on that morning a train of
wagons, despatched by the posse for ammunition and
supplies, entered the town of Quincy. It was now
evident that, whether the men of Illinois intended
massacre or forcible expulsion, it would cost them
many lives to effect either purpose. With a view,
therefore, to prevent further bloodshed, a committee
of one hundred proceeded to Nauvoo and attempted
mediation. At the same time the Reverend Brock-
man sent in his ultimatum, the terms being that
the Mormons surrender their arms, and immediately
cross the river or disperse, and that all should be
protected from violence.^^ There was no alternative.
The armed mob in their front was daily swelling in
number, while beyond the river still appeared the
red flag; their own ranks, meanwhile, were being
rapidly thinned by defection among the new citi-
zens.^°
^* 'But three in all were killed. . .Meetings were held to stop the eflFusion
of blood, . . .but there was no necessity for such action, when no blood was
shed.' Wells, in Utah Notes, 7.
^' ' 1st. The city of Nauvoo will surrender. The force of Reverend Brock-
man to enter and take possession of the city to-raorrow, the 17th of Septem-
ber, at three o'clock P. m. 2d. The arms to be delivered to the Quincy com-
mittee, to be retiirned on crossing the river. 3d. The Quincy committee
pledge themselves to use their iutiuence for the protection of persons and
property, and the officers of the camp and the men likewise pledge them-
selves. 4th. The sick and helpless to be protected and treated with humanity.
5tli. The Mormon population of the city to leave the state or disperse as soon
as they can cross the river. 6th. Five men, including the trustees of the church,
and five clerks with their families (William Pickett not one of the number),
to be permitted to remain in the city for the disposition of property, free from
all molestation and personal violence. 7th. Hostilities to cease immediately,
and ten men of the Quincy committee to enter the city in the execution of their
duty as soon as they think proper.' It will be observed that nothing is said
about the surrender of Pickett. He was not even arrested.
^"'The mob entered the temple, instituted an inquisition, and regardless
of the Mormons or new citizens, went from house to house plundering cow-
yards, pig-pens, hen-roosts, and bee-stands indiscriminately; thus turning some
of their best friends into enemies, bursting open trunks and chests, searching
for arms, keys, etc' p. 343. 'In the temple ringing the bells, shouting, and
I
EVACUATION OF THE CITY. 231
On the 17th of September the remnant of the
Mormons crossed the Mississippi, and on the same
day the gentiles took possession of Nauvoo.^^
It was indeed a singular spectacle, as I have said,
this upon the western border of the Avorld's great
republic in the autumn of 1846. A whole cityful,
with other settlements, and thousands of thrifty agri-
hallooing; they took several to the river and baptized them, swearing, throw-
ing them backward, then on to their faces, saying: "The commandments must
be fulfilled, and God damn you." ' Hist. B. Young, MS., 345.
^^ The best narrative, and indeed the only one that enters circumstantially
into all the details of the expulsion from Nauvoo, is contained in the Assassina-
tion of Joseph and HyTum Smith, the Prophet and the Patriarch of the Church
of Latter-day Saints. Also a Condensed History of the Expulsion of the Saints
from Nauvoo by Elder John S . Fullmer (of Utah, U. S. A.), Pastot of the Man-
chester, Liverpool, and Preston Conferences. Liverpool and London, 1855. The
work is written from a Mormon standpoint, but including as it does copies of
the despatches of Illinois officers and officials, of the stipulations between the
belligerents, and of some comments made by the Quincy Whig, appears in
the main reliable. The author's comments on the gentiles are sufficiently
bitter, and his description of the fight at Nauvoo and the valor of the saints
militant must of course be taken with due allowance. For instance: 'Seeing
our men take possession of some vacant buildings on the line of their ap-
proach, they took a position on an elevated spot of ground, and opened a
heavy cannonade at a distance of something less than half a mile. This was
returned with great spirit on our part from guns made of steam shafts that
carried six-pound balls. Many were the balls that we picked up as they
came rolling and bounding among us, and we sent them back with as much
spirit and precision as they were first sent.' p. 37. Col Kane says: 'A vin-
dictive war was waged upon them, from which the weakest fled in scattered
parties, leaving the rest to make a reluctant and almost ludicrously una-
vailing defence.' The Mormons, 54. In the General Epistle of the Twelve,
Dec. 23, 1847, in Snow's Voice of Joseph, 14-15, we read: ' In September
1846 an infuriated mob, clad in all the horrors of war, fell on the saints who
had still remained in Nauvoo for want of means to remove, murdered some,
and drove the remainder across the Mississippi into Iowa, where, destitute of
houses, tents, food, clothing, or money, they received temporary assistance
from some benevolent souls in Quincy, St Louis, and other places, whose
names will ever be remembered with gratitude. Their property in Hancock
CO., Illinois, was little or no better than confiscated; many of their houses
were burned by the mob, and they were obliged to leave most of those that
remained without sale; and those who bargained sold almost for a song; for
the influence of their enemies was to cause such a diminution in the value of
property that for a handsome estate was seldom realized enough to remove
the family comfortably away; and thousands have since been wandering to
and fro, destitute, afflicted, and distressed for the common necessaries of life,
or unable to endure, have sickened and died by hundreds; while the temple
of the Lord is left solitary in the midst of our enemies, an enduring monu-
ment of the diligence and integrity of the saints.' Mention of the expulsion
from Nauvoo is of course made in most of tlie books published on Mormon-
ism, but in none of them, except perhaps in one or two of the most rabid
anti-Mormon works, which I have not thought it worth while to notice, is
the conduct of the Illinois mob defended.
232 EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO.
culturists in the regions about, citizens of the United
States, driven beyond the border by other citizens : not
by reason of their rehgion alone, though this was made
a pretence; not for breaking the laws, though this was
made a pretence; not on account of their immorality,
for the people of Illinois and Missouri were not im-
maculate in this respect; nor was it altogether on
account of their solid voting and growing political
power, accompanied ever by the claim of general in-
heritance and universal dominion, though this last
had more to do with it probably than all the rest
combined, notwithstanding that the spirit of liberty
and the laws of the republic permitted such massing
of social and political influence, and notwithstanding
the obvious certainty that any of the gentile political
parties now playing the role of persecutors would
gladly and unscrupulously have availed themselves of
such means for the accomplishment of their ends. It
was all these combined, and so combined as to engen-
der deadly hate. It gave the Mormons a power in
proportion to their numbers not possessed by other
sects or societies, which could not and would not endure
it; a power regarded by the others as unfairly acquired,
and by a way and through means not in accord with
the American idea of individual equality, of equal
rights and equal citizenship. In regard to all other
sects within the republic, under guard of the consti-
tution, religion was subordinated to politics and gov-
ernment; in regard to the Mormons, in spite of the
constitution, politics and government were subordi-
nated to religion.
And in regard to the late occupants of the place,
the last of the Mormon host that now lay huddled to
the number of 640 on the western bank of the river
in sight of the city :^^ if the first departures from Nauvoo
escaped extreme hardships, not so these. It was the
** A few mouths before, Nauvoo with the neighboring Mormon settlements
had contained some 20,000 saints, of whom in July about 15,000 were encamped
on the Missouri River, or were scattered through the western states in search
of employment.
POOR CAMP. 23&
latter part of September, and nearly all were pros-
trated with chills and fevers ;^^ thereat the river bank,
among the dock and rushes, poorly protected, without
the shelter of a roof or anything to keep off the force
of wind or rain, little ones came into life and were left
motherless at birth.^ They had not food enough to
satisfy the cravings of the sick, nor clothing lit to
wear. For months thereafter there were periods
when all the flour they used was of the coarsest, the
wheat being ground in coffee and hand mills, which
only cut the grain; others used a pestle; the finer meal
was used for bread, the coarser made into horainy.
Boiled wheat was now the chief diet for sick and well.
For ten days they subsisted on parched corn. Some
mixed their remnant of grain with the pounded bark
of the slippery elm which they stripped from the
trees along their route.
This encampment was about two miles above
Montrose on the Mississippi, and was called the
Poor Camp. Aid was solicited, and within three
weeks a little over one hundred dollars was collected,
mostly in Quincy, with provisions and clothing,
though the prejudice against them was deep and
strong.^^ Some of the people were crowded into
tents, made frequently of quilts and blankets; others
in bowers made of brush ; others had only wagons for
shelter. They suffered from heavy thunder-storms,
when the rain was bailed out with basins from their
beds. Mothers huddled their children in the one
dress which often was all they possessed, and shaking
with ague or burning with fever, took refuge from
the pitiless storms under wagons and bushes.^^
** While at Montrose, Heber C. Kimball writes thus ia his journal of the
condition of his family, his wife having a babe a few days old, and he himself
ill with ague. ' I went to the bed; my wife, who was shaking with the ague,
having two children lying sick by her side;. . .the only child well was little
Heber Parley, and it was with difficulty he could carry a two-quart pail full
of water from a spring at the bottom of the hill. '
^* ' Such deaths occurred from exposure and fright in Nauvoo. The camp
journalist recorded: Effect of persecution by the Illinois mob.'
'^ The trustees from Nauvoo also distributed clothing, and molasses, salt,
and salt pork. Hht. B. Young, MS., 1846, 383.
^^Mrs Clara Young^s Experience, MS., 3.
234 EXPULSION FROM NAUVOO.
" While the people for the most part were ill with
chills and fever," says Wells, "quail fell into camp and
were picked up with ease.^'' This supply was looked
upon as miraculous by the half-famished people. So
long had they been lashed by the fierce winds of
misfortune, that now they accepted with gratitude
this indication of providential care.
Wagons were sent from Winter Quarters for the
removal of the people from Poor Camp; and gradually
all reached the various stations in which the Mormons
had gathered.^
Of their long journey many painful incidents are
recorded. Weakened by fever or crippled with rheu-
matism, and with sluggish circulation, many were
severely frost-bitten. Women were compelled to
drive the nearly worn-out teams, while tending on
their knees, perhaps, their sick children. The strength
of the beasts was failing, as there were intervals when
they could be kept from starving only by the browse
or tender buds and branches of the cotton-wood, felled
for the purpose.^^
At one time no less than two thousand wagons
could be counted, it was said, along the three hundred
miles of road that separated Nauvoo from the Mor-
mon encampments. Many families possessed no wag-
^' ' On the 9th of October, while our teams were waiting on the banks of the
Miss, for the poor saints. . .left without any of the necessaries of life,. . .and
nothing to start their journey with, the Lord sent flocks of quail, which lit
upon their wagons and on their empty tables, and upon the ground within
their reach, which the saints, and even the sick, caught with their hands
until they were satisfied.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1847, 9. This phenome-
non extended some 30 or 40 miles along the river, and was generally observed.
The quail in immense quantities had attempted to cross the river, but it being
beyond their strength, had dropped into the river boats or on the bank. '
Wells, in Utah Notes, MS., 7.
^^ See The Mormons: A Discourse delivered before the Historical Society of
Pennsylvania, March 26, 1S50, hy Thomas L. Kane. Philadelphia, 1850. A
copy of it will be found at the end of Orson PratVs Works, and in Mackay'a
The Mormons, 200-45. The story of the Mor.mon exodus, as handed down
to us by a man of Colonel Kane's powers of observation, would have been a
valuable record were it not plainly apparent that truth is too often sacrificed
to diction. Among Mormon writers we find no detailed narrative of this
exodus, and among others little that is not borrowed from the colonel's dis-
course.
^^S?ioiv's Biography, 89.
THE NAUVOO TEMPLE DESTROYED. 235
ons, and in the long procession might be seen vehicles
of all descriptions, from the lumbering cart, under
whose awning lay stretched its fever-stricken driver,
to the veriest makeshifts of poverty, the wheelbarrow
or the two-wheeled trundle, in which was dragged
along a bundle of clothing and a sack of meal — all of
this world's goods that the owner possessed.
On arriving at the banks of the Missouri, the
wagons were drawn up in double lines and in the form
of squares. Between the lines, tents were pitched at
intervals, space being left between each row for a
passage-way, which was shaded with awnings or a
lattice-work of branches, and served as a promenade
for convalescents and a playground for children.
And what became of Nauvoo? The temple was
destroyed by fire and tempest,^*' and all the wood-work
consumed, while the rock was utilized for miles around
as foundations of houses, for door-steps, and other pur-
poses. A French company coming in later bought the
stone from those in possession, and built wine-vaults.
Foundations of buildings were broken up, and houses
once surrounded by carefully tended flower-gardens,
pillaged of all that was valuable, were now abandoned
by their ruthless destroyers.^^ "At present," writes
Linforth, "the Icarians form the most important part
of the population of Nauvoo . . . They live in a long
ugly row of buildings, the architect of which and of
the school-house was a cobbler." In the house built
for the prophet and his family dwelt in 1854 the
prophet's widow, his mother, and his family.^''
**'The temple was half destroyed by fire ou Nov. 19, 1848. Nauvoo Pa-
triot, in Millennial Star, xi. p. 46; and on May 27, 1850, further damaged
by a tornado. Hancock Patriot, in Mackay^s The Mormons, 210. For cut of
remnants, see Linforth's Route from Liverpool to Q. S. L. Valley, 62, and
Hyde's Mormonism, 140. See also George Q. Cannon, in Juvenile Instrvctor,
vol. ix. no. 5, and Wells' Na^n-ative, MS., 41; Deseret News, Aug. 24, 1850;
Frontier Guardian, July 24, 1850.
*i As James Linforth describes in writing of Nauvoo in 1858.
^"^ Route from Liverpool to G. S. L. Valley, 63.
CHAPTER IX.
AT THE MISSOURI.
1846-1847.
Native Races of the Missouri — The Pottawattamies and the Omahas—
The Mormons Welcomed as Brethren — ^War with Mexico — Califor-
nia Territory — Mexican Boundaries— Application to the United
States Government for Aid — An Offer to Serve as Soldiers Ac-
cepted — Organization of the Mormon Battalion — ^Departure oir
the Battalion — Bounty Money — March across the Continent —
The Battalion in California — Matters on the Missouri.
Among the savages on either side of the Missouri,
the Pottawattamies on the east side and the Omahas
on the west side, the outcasts from Nauvoo were
warmly welcomed. "My Mormon brethren," said
the chief Pied Riche,^ "the Pottawattamie came sad
and tired into this unhealthy Missouri bottom, not
many years back, when he was taken from his beauti-
ful country beyond the Mississippi, which had abun-
dant game and timber and clear water everywhere.
Now you are driven away in the same manner from
your lodges and lands there, and the graves of your
people. So we have both suffered. We must help
one another, and the great spirit will help us both."
Extreme care was taken not to infringe in any way
upon the rights of the Indians or the government.
Brigham counselled the brethren to regard as sacred
the burial customs of the natives; frequently their
dead were deposited in the branches of trees, wrapped
in buffalo robes and blankets, with pipes and trinkets
* Surnamed Le Clerc, on account of his scholarship.
(236)
^NEGOTIATIONS WITH INDIANS.
237
beside them. At Cutler Park there were friendly
negotiations made with Big Elk, chief of the Omahas,
who said: "I am willing you should stop in my coun-
try, but I am afraid of my great father at Washing-
ton."2
As the United States pretended to hold the title
to the land, it was thought that the Pottawattamies
had no right to convey their timber to others; so
Brigham enjoined that there should be no waste of
timber within these limits, but that as much as was
necessary might be used. A permit for passing
through their territory, and for remaining while
About thb Missouri.
necessary, was obtained from Colonel Allen, who
was acting for the United States.'
Although it was late in the season when the first
bands of emigrants crossed the Missouri, some of them
still moved westward as far as the Pawnee villages on
Grand Island, intending to select a new home before
winter. But the evil tidings from Nauvoo, and the
destitute condition in which other parties of the
* ' The Omahas caused them some trouble, as they would steal with one
hand while we fed them with the other.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 4G, Oct. ISth.
^ Hist. B. Young, MS., 1846, 98-9. Maj. Harvey brought the Mormons
at Winter Quarters letters from Washington, expecting them to leave the
Pottawattamie lands in the spring. See cor., Hist. B. Young, MS., 441-52.
238 AT THE MISSOURI.
saints reached the Mormon encampments, forbade
further progress, and all prepared to spend the winter
on the prairie. To the Mormon encampment on the
site of the present town of Council Bluffs was after-
ward given the name of Kanesville.*
While the saints were undergoing their infelicities
at Nauvoo, war had broken out between the United
States and Mexico. At that time New Mexico and
California were a part of Mexico, and Utah and Ne-
vada were a part of California.^ Journeying west
from Nauvoo, California or Oregon would be reached.
The latter territory was already secured to the United
States; people were there from the United States,
composing religious sects and political parties as jeal-
ous of their holdings as any in Missouri or Illinois.
Vancouver Island^ was practically unoccupied, but
the Hudson's Bay Company would scarcely regard
with favor its occupation by a large body of American
citizens whose government was at that moment crowd-
ing them out of the Oregon territory and across the
Columbia River.
But had the Mormons known their destination,
had they known what point among the mountains or
* So called after Thomas L. Kane. Here was first issued on Feb. 7, 1849,
the Frontier Guardian, and its publication was continued till March 22, 1852.
Richards' Narr., MS., 65; Richards' Bibliog. of Utah, MS., 13. The paper
was edited by Orson Hyde, and makes a very creditable appearance. The
subscription was %2 per year. In the second number we read: ' Flour nicely
put up in sacks of from 50 to 100 lbs each will be received in exchange for
tlie Guardian at the rate of $2 per hundred pounds, if good.' The last num-
ber of the Times and Seasons bears date Feb. 15, 1846.
^ I frequently find California and Utah confounded by writers of this early
period. The limits of California on the east were not then defined, and it
was not uncommon, nor indeed incorrect, to apply that term to territory east
of the sierra. I find this written in Snoid's Voice of the Prophet, 15: 'The
pioneers discovered a beautiful valley beyond the pass of the great Rocky
^Its, being a portion of the great basin of Upper California. ' As we shall see
later, the Mormons knew even less about Utah than they did about California.
^ Brigham Young at first suggested Vancouver Island. * There are said
to be many good locations for settlements on the Pacific, especially at Van-
couver Island.' Circular to the brethren, in Times and Seasons, vi. 1019.
In 1845 the report was current that the Mormons of Illinois had chosen V. I.
as their future home, the metropolis to be situated at Nootka. Xiles' Register,
Ixix. 134. The Quincy Whig thinks the Mormons intend to settle at Nootka
Sound. Polynesian, ii. 1846.
I
DESTINATION OP THE MORMONS. 239
"beside the sea was to be their final resting-place, they
would not have told it. When they turned their
back on Nauvoo, the whole western coast was before
them, with its multitudinous mountains and valleys,
its rivers and lakes, and long line of seaboard. Of the
several parts of this immense territory, ownership
and right of occupation were not in every instance de-
termined. The question of the boundary line between
England's possessions and those of the United States
had stirred up no small discussion and feeling, and
out of the present war with Mexico would doubtless
arise some changes,^ It was a foregone conclusion in
the minds of many, before ever the migratory saints
had reached the Missouri River, that when the pres-
ent troubles with Mexico were ended the United
States would have California. But however this might
be, the saints had a firm reliance on an overruling
providence, and once adrift upon the vast untenanted
west, their God and their sagacity would point out to
them their future home. Thus it was that while the
Mormons in the western states took the route over-
land, another portion living at the east took passage
round Cape Horn, the intention being that the two
bodies of brethren should come together somewhere
upon the Pacific slope, which indeed they did.^
The national title to what is now the Pacific United
States being at this time thus unsettled, and the
Mormons having been driven from what was then
^In a letter to Pres. Polk, dated near Council Bluffs, Aug. 9, 1846, the
determination was expressed, 'that as soon as we are settled in the great basin,
we design to petition the U. S. for a territorial govt, bounded on the north by
the British and south by the Mexican dominions, east and west by the sum-
mits of the Rocky and Cascade Mts. ' And again elsewhere: ' We told Col Kane
we intended settling in the great basin on Bear River Valley; that those who
went round by water would settle in S. F. That was in council with the
twelve and Col Kane.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 133, 140.
8 In his address to the saints in Great Britain, dated Liverpool, 1849, Elder
John Taylor says: 'When we arrive in California, according to the provisions
of the Mexican gorernment, each family will be entitled to a large tract of
land, amounting to several hundred acres; but as the Mexican and American
nations are now at war, sliould Cal. fall into the hands of the American
nation, there has been a bill before congress in relation to Or., which will
undoubtedly pass, appropriating 640 acres of land to every male settler.'
MiUennicd Star, viii. 115.
240 AT THE MISSOURI.
the Unifed States, it was considered but natural, as
indeed it seemed to be a necessity, that they would
take possession of such unoccupied lands in the region
toward the Pacific as best suited them. But it was
not necessary that they should hold possession of such
lands in opposition to the government of the United
States, as they have been charged with doing.
They now applied to the government at Washing-
ton for work, offering to open roads, transport mili-
tary stores, or perform any other service which the
government might require in this farthest west, even
to assist in fighting its battles. Such occupation
would be of the greatest advantage to them in this
new country, where land was fertile and plenty and
free, and possessing as they did large herds of cattle
and horses and sheep, with no market and but little
money. And on the other hand, being on the ground,
accustomed to work, and having every facility at
hand without long and expensive transportation, they
could give more and better work for the pay than
the government could obtain by any other means.
They even asked for aid direct about the time the
exodus began, being represented at Washington by
Elder Jesse C. Little,^ who, aided by Colonel Kane,
Amos Kendall, and others, brought the matter before
President Polk. While negotiations were yet in
progress, news arrived that General Taylor had al-
ready won two victories over the Mexicans; where-
upon the elder addressed a petition to the president,
stating that from twelve to fifteen thousand Mormons
had set forth from Nauvoo for California, while some
had departed by sea, and in Great Britain alone were
forty thousand converts, all resolved to join the saints
in their promised land. Many of them were without
means; they were compelled to go; they wanted as-
• In the letter appointing and giving instructions to Elder Little is the
following: 'If our government should offer facilities for emigrating to the
western coast, embrace those facilities if possible. As a wise and faithful
man, take every advantage of the times you can,' Tullidge's Life of Brigham
Young, 48.
MORMON VOLUNTEERS. 241
sistance either in the way of work or otherwise. The
Mormons were true-hearted Americans, the memo-
rial went on to say, and if the government would
assist them in their present emergency, the petitioner
stood ready to pledge himself as their representative
to answer any call the government might make upon
them for service on the field of battle.
Elder Little was taken at his word. At a cabinet
meeting, held a day or two after his petition was pre-
sented, the president advised that the elder be sent
at once to the Mormon camps, and there raise a
thousand men to take possession of California in the
name of the United States, while a thousand more
be sent by way of Cape Horn for the same purpose,
on board a United States transport. It was finally
arranged that the elder, in company with Kane, should
proceed westward, the latter bearing despatches to
Kearny, then at Fort Leavenworth, with a view to
raising a corps of about five hundred men.
On the 19th of June, Kearny issued an order to
Captain James Allen of the 1st dragoons to pro-
ceed to the Mormon camp, and there raise four or
five companies of volunteers, to be mustered into the
service of the United States and receive the pay
and rations of other infantry volunteers. They were
then to be marched to Fort Leavenworth, where they
would be armed; after which they would proceed to
California by way of Santa Fe. They were to enlist
for twelve months, after which time they were to be
discharged, retaining as their own property the arms
furnished them.
In pursuance of his orders, Captain Allen proceeded
to Mount Pisgah, where on the 26th he made known
his mission. After a conference with the church
council at that point, Allen went to Council Bluffs,
where on the 1st of July it was determined by
President Young that the battalion should be raised.
In two weeks the corps was enrolled, and mustered
in on the 16th of July, the president of the church
HiBT. Utah. 16
242 AT THE MISSOURI.
promising to look after the wants of the families of
those enlisting.
Though in reality a great benefit to the brethren,
there were some hardships connected with the meas-
ure. ^^ As Brigham and others were on their way from
Council Bluffs to Pisgah to aid in obtaining these
recruits, they passed 800 west-bound wagons. At
their encampments on each side the river there was
much serious illness, and as many of the teamsters
had been withdrawn for this campaign, much heavy
work fell upon the women and children, and the aged
and infirm. ^^
After a ball on the afternoon of the 19th, the vol-
unteers next day bade farewell to their families and
friends, and accompanied by eighty women and chil-
dren,^^ set forth on their march, ^^ on the 1st of August
arriving at Fort Leavenworth. Here the men re-
^° So ingrafted in their minds was the idea of persecution, and so accus-
trtmed were they now to complaining, that when the government acceded to
their request, there were many who believed, and so expressed themselves,
that this was but an act of tyranny on the part of the United States, whose
people, after drivuig them from their borders, had now come upon them to
make a draft on their healthiest and hardiest men, forcing them to separate
from their wives and children now in the time of their extremest need, under
penalty of extermination in case of refusal. And this idea, which was wholly
at variance with the facts, is present in the minds of some even to this day.
Li order to facilitate enlisting, or for some other cause best known to himself,
Brigham deemed it best to preserve this idea rather than wholly disabuse
their minds of it; for in his address to the brethren on the 15th of July he
said: ' If we want the privilege of going where we can worship God accord-
ing to the dictates of our consciences, we must raise the battalion.' In his
address at the gathering of the pioneers on the 24th of July, 1880, Wilford
Woodruff said: 'Our goverument called upon us to raise a battalion of 500
men to go to Mexico to fight the battles of our country. This draft was ten
times greater, according to the population of the Mormon camp, than was
made upon any other portion of our nation . . . Whether our government ex-
pected we would comply with the request or not, is not for me to say. But
I think I am safe in saying that plan was laid by certain parties for our de-
struction if we did not comply.' Utah Pioneers, S3d Ann., 20.
" ' Most of our people were sick ; in fact, the call for 500 able-bodied men
from Council Bluffs for Mexico, by the government, deprived us of about all
our streugth.' Richards' Rem., MS., 25.
^''Compare oiScial report in U. S. House Ex. Doc, no. 24, 31st Cong.,
1st Sess., and Tylej-'s Hist. Mormon Battalion, and note discrepancies in regard
to numbers enlisted and discharged. The names of those who reached Cali-
fornia will be found in my pioneer register. Hist. Cal., this series.
*' ' The members started upon their pilgrimage cheerfully, ' says Woodruff,
* understanding that they occupied the place of a ram caught in a thicket, and
were making a sacrifice for the salvation of Israel. ' Utah Pioneers, 20.
J
MARCH OF THE BATTALION. 243
ceived their arms and accoutrements, and to each was
given a bounty of forty dollars, most of the money be-
ing sent back to the brethren by the hands of elders
Hyde, Taylor, and others, who accompanied the bat-
talion to that point, and there bade them God speed. ^*
About the middle of August the corps resumed its
march toward Santa Fe, a distance of seven hundred
miles, arriving at that place in tv/o parties on the 9th
and 12th of October. There eighty-eight men were
invalided and sent back to Pueblo for the winter, and
later a second detachment of fifty-five, being found
unfit for service, was also ordered to Pueblo. ^^ Many
of them found their way during the following year to
the valley of Great Salt Lake.
From Santa Fe the remainder of the troops set
forth for San Diego, a journey of more than eleven
hundred miles, the entire distance between that town
and the Mormon camps on the Missouri exceeding
two thousand miles. Much of the route lay through
a pathless desert; at few points could food be obtained
in sufficient quantity for man or beaiit, and sometimes
even water failed. Wells were sunk in the wilderness;
but on one occasion, at least, the men travelled for a
hundred miles without water. ^^ Before leaving Santa
**'Here they received 100 tents, one for every 6 privates.' 'The pay-
master remarked that every one of the Mormon battahon could write his own
name, but only about one third of the volunteers he had previously paid could
do so.' Hial. B. Young, MS., 1846, 18. 'Five thousand eight hundred and
sixty dollars was brought in by Parley Pratt from Ft Leavenworth, being a por-
tion of the allowance for clothing paid the battalion. It was counselled that
this money be expended in St Louis for the families; three prices have to be
paid here;. . .we wish they should all act voluntaril}', so that they may have
no reflections to cast upon themselves or counsellors.' Id., MS., 1846, 150.
' When the goods were bought, prices had advanced and fen-iage was very
high, all of which brought the goods higher than was anticipated, and pro-
duced some grumbling in camp.' Id., MS., 1847, 12.
'* Families accompanying the battalion were ordered to Pueblo for winter
quarters. Hi>it. B. Young, MS., 1846, 260. A detachment was sent to Pueblo
consisting of 89 men and 18 laundresses. Later in this vol., I refer to affairs
at Pueblo as furnished me in a very valuabLs manuscript by Judge Stone of
Colorado.
" In a general order issued at San Diego on Jan. 30, 1847, by command of
Lieut-col St George Cooke, then in charge of the battalion, vice Col Allen, de-
ceased, the men are thus complimented on their safe arrival at the shores of
the Pacitic: ' History may be searched in vain for an equal march of infan-
try; nine tenths of it through a wilderness, where nothing but savages and
244 AT THE MISSOURI.
Fe rations were reduced/' and soon afterward further
reduced to one half and finally to one quarter allow-
ance, the meat issued to the troops being the flesh of
such animals as were unable to proceed further, though
their hides and entrails were eagerly devoured, being
gulped down with draughts of water, when water
could be had/^ While suffering these hardships the
men were compelled to carry their own knapsacks,
muskets, and extra ammunition, and sometimes to
push the wagons through heavy sand, or help to drag
them over mountain ranges.
Passing through a New Mexican pueblo on the
24th of October, some of the men were almost as
naked as on the day of their birth, except for a breech-
clout, or as their colonel termed it, a 'centre-clothing,'
tied around the loins. In this plight, near the middle
of December, the battalion reached the San Pedro
River, some three hundred and forty strong, and here
occurred the only battle which the saints militant
fought during their campaign — an encounter with a
wild beasts are found; or deserts where, for the want of water, there is no
living creature. There, with almost hopeless labor, we have dug deep wells,
which the future traveller will enjoy. Without a guide who had traversed
them, we have ventured into trackless prairies, where water was not found
for several marches. With crowbar and pickaxe in hand, we have worked
our way over mountains which seemed to defy aught save the wild goat, and
hewed a passage through a chasm of living rock, more narrow than our wagons. '
Smith's Rise, Progre.is, and Travels, 10.
" ' Until further orders, three fourths pound of flour, also three fourths
rations sugar and coffee will be issued. Beef, one and a half pounds will be
issued for a day's ration.' Order No. 11, Headquarters Mormon Battalion,
Santa F6. A copy of it will be found in Tyler's Hist. Mor. Battalion, 1 75-6.
'^ During the march from Santa FtS to San Diego a song was composed by
Levi W. Hancock, a musician belonging to company E. It was entitled the
'Desert Route,' and commences:
While here beneath a sultry sky.
Our famished mules and cattle die;
Scarce aught but skin and bones remain.
To feed poor soldiers on the plain.
Otorus: How hard to starve and wear ua out
Upon this sandy desert route.
We sometimes now for lack of bread.
Are less than quarter rations fed,
And soon expect, for all of meat,
Naught else than broke-down mules to eat.
Now half-starved oxen, over-drilled,
Too weak to draw, for beef are killed;
And gnawing hunger prompting men,
To eat small entrails and the skin.
Id., 181-2.
I
ARRIVAL AT SAN DIEGO. 245
herd of wild bulls. Thence, without further adventure
worthy of note, they continued their march, and reach-
ing the Pacific coast on the 29th of January, 1847,
found the stars and stripes floating peacefully over the
town of San Diego.^^
A more detailed account of the career of the Mor-
mon battalion will be found in my History of Cali-
fornia. It remains only to add here that about one
hundred of the men reached Salt Lake City in the
winter of 1847, while some remained on the Pacific
coast. ^
. The alacrity displayed by the Mormon president in
raisino; this battalion has been ascribed to various
causes; to the fear of further persecution should the
levy be refused, and to a desire of showing that, not-
withstanding their maltreatment, the saints were still
^' In A Concise History of th^ Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War, 1S4S
-1S47, by Sergeant Daniel Tlyer, (Salt Lake City,) 1881, 8vo, 376 pp., we
have a most valuable book, and one that forms the leading authority on
this subject. Though written, of course, from a Mormon standpoint, and
marked by the credulity of his sect, the execution of the work is all that its
title-page promises. In the introduction, occupying 109 pages, we have
President John Taylor's account of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, Colonel
Kane's discourse on the Mormons, and a poem by Eliza R. Snow, entitled
The Mormon Battalion, and First Wagon Load over the Great American Desert.
The remainder of the volume consists of original matter. Tyler was a mem-
ber of company C in the battalion, and no doubt speaks the truth when he
says in his preface that ' neither labor, pains, nor expense has been spared in
the effort to make this a just and authentic history.' Among other authori-
ties may be mentioned Hornets Migr. and, Setttem't, L. D. Saints, MS., 32-3;
Neheker's Early Justice, MS., 3; Woodruff's Rem., MS., 76; Henry IF. Big-
lei-'s Diary of a Mormon in California, MS., in which last we have a faithful
and interesting record of the Mormon battalion and !Mr Bigler's account of
the discovery of gold in California. The Conquest of New Mexico and Califor-
nia: an Historical and Personal Narrative, by P. St. George Cooke, Brigadier
and Brevet Major-general U. S. A., N. Y., 1878, 12mo, gives some additional
matter, as do the journal and report of that officer in U. S. Sen. Doc. No. 2,
30th Cong., Special Sess. , and in House Ex. Doc, 30th Cong., IstSess., no. 41,
pp. £49-63. Cooke, it will be remembered, was in command of the battalion.
Items have also been gathered from U. S. House Ex. Doc, 31st Cong., 1st
Sess. , no. 24, p. 22; Apostle Wilford Woodruff's Speech, in Utah Pioneers,
33d ann., 19-22; Smith's Rise, Progress, and Travels, 8-11; Tullidge's Life of
Brigham Young, 41-76; Olshavjien, Gesch. de Mor., 142-4; and Kane's The
Moj-mons, 27-9. Biographical notices of some of the members, and the names
of the women who accompanied the battalion, are given in Tullidge's Women,
427, 432, 443-4.
*°In the Frontier Guardian, March 7, 1849, is a notice copied from the St
Joseph Gazette, stating that the members of the batta ion can at once receive
their extra pay at Fort Leavenworth. The notice ij signed by Paymaster
Thos S. Bryant.
246 AT THE MISSOURI.
unswerving in their loyalty to the United States.
While all this carried weight, the bounty of twenty
thousand dollars was no insignificant consideration,
nor the hope that this battalion might serve as van-
guard to Brigham's host, provided he carried out his
partially formed purpose to settle in California.
At the close of 1846, about twelve thousand souls
had assembled in the Mormon camps, a portion of
them being yet stationed as far eastward as Garden
Grove. Of the rest a few had made their way
to some Atlantic port and taken ship for Califor-
nia; many had dispersed throughout the country,
some of whom were now gathering at the ren-
dezvous. Though the first bands that crossed the
Mississippi encountered no very severe hardships, as
I have said, the sufferings of those who set forth later
have few parallels, even among the pioneers, who, a
year or two afterward, followed their track westward
in search of gold.^^
Mount Pisgah, the next encampment west of Gar-
den Grove, was on the middle fork of Grand River.
Through this winter of 1846-7, which was one of
severest struggle, there was great lack of food and
clothing. They could not go on because they had
no teams, most of them being employed in bringing
forward the emigration from the Mississippi. Many
^' Instance the experiences of Mrs Richards, Reminiscences, MS., passim.
While on their journey toward the Missouri, having parted from her husband
who was about starting on a mission to England, her little daughter was taken
dangerously ill, and the mother was prematurely confined in a wagon with a
son, who died soon after. 'Our situation was pitiable; I had no suitable food
for myself or my child; the severe rain prevented our having any fire; on
the third day we resumed our journey. In ten days we reached Mt Pisgah;
my little girl was very ill, and I was also. We continued our journey till we
reached my mother at Cutler Park, and here, after weeks of almost incred-
ible suffering, my little daughter died. A few days pi'eviously she had asked
for some potato soup, the first thing she had shown any desire for for weeks,
and as we were then travelling, we came in sight of a potato-field. One of the
sisters eagerly a?ked for a single potato. A rough woman impatiently heard
her story throug i, and putting her hands on her shoulders, marched her out
of the house, sayuig, "i won't give or sell a thing to one of you damned Mor-
mons." I turned on my bed and wept, as I heard them trying to comfort
my little one in her disappointment. When she was taken from me I only
lived because I could not die. '
J
THE CAMP AT MOUNT PISGAH. 247
families were entirely out of provisions, and their des-
titute neighbors were sorely taxed. ^^ A fatal sick-
ness swept through the camp, and soon there were
not suflScient persons to nurse the sick; frequently
burials were hastened with little ceremony. In the
spring of 1847, Lorenzo Snow was made president of
the camp. The men were put to work wherever they
could get it. Seed was planted, and the result was
enough not only for themselves, but they were enabled
to send supplies to the camp at Council Bluffs.^
Snow instituted religious ceremonies and amusements
to briofhten and encouraofe them. He describes a dance
in his log cabin, where clean straw was spread over
the ground floor, and the walls draped with sheets.
Turnips were scooped out and in them were placed
lighted candles, which, suspended from the ceiling of
earth and cane, or fastened on the walls, imparted a
picturesque effect. Dancing, speeches, songs, and
recitations varied the exercises, which opened and
closed with prayer.
On each side of the hills where now stands Council
Bluffs could be seen the white canvas tents of a Mor-
mon encampment, from which arose at sunrise the
smoke of hundreds of fires. After the morning meal,
the men employed themselves in tending herds, in
planting grain and vegetables, or in building houses
for winter. Many of them were excellent craftsmen,
and could fell a tree, and split its trunk into boards,
scantling, rails, posts, or whatever were needed, as
*^ It cannot be said that any considerable number died of starvation.
•Only those died of it outright,' says Kane in The Mormon x, ' who fell in out-
of-the-way places that the hand of brotherhood could not reach. . .If but part
of a group were supplied with provisions, the whole went on lialf or quarter
ration.' 'Articles of diet, such as tea, cofifee, sugar, with every species of
clothing, were eagerly stored up, as possibly the last we should ever see. *
Brown's Testimonies, MS., 24. ' When starting from Nauvoo, a gentile neigh-
bor gave me a pound of tea, which through sickness and great suflFering was
about all the sustenance I had for some time.' Mrs Richards' Rem., MS., 20.
^ ' Parties were sent to the gentile settlements to look for work, food, and
clothing, and elders Dana and Campbell collected about §600 from the licii
gentiles in Ohio and elsewhere.' Snow's Biography, 91.
I
248 AT THE MISSOURI.
readily as the most expert backwoodsmen of their
day.2*
During the summer and autumn months of 1846,
the Papillon camp, near the Little Butterfly River,
in common with the others, was stricken with fever,
and with a scorbutic disease which the Mormons
termed the black canker. In the autumn drought, the
streams that discharge into the Missouri at this point
are often little better than open sewers, pestilential
as open cesspools, and the river, having lost more than
half its volume, flows sluggishly through its channel
of slime and sedge. Of the baked mud on either bank
is formed the rich soil on which lay the encampments,
the site being called, in their own phrase. Misery
Bottom. In the year previous the Indians in this
neighborhood had lost one ninth of their number;
and now that the earth was for the first time upturned
by the plough, the exhalations from this rank and
steaming soil were redolent of disease and death. %
In the camp nearest to Papillon more than one
third of the company lay sick at the beginning of
August; elsewhere matters were even worse; and as
the season advanced there were in some of the en-
campments not one who escaped the fever, the few who
were able to stagger from tent to tent carrying food
and water to their comrades. For several weeks it
was impossible to dig graves quickly enough for the
burial of the dead,^^ and one might see in the open
tents the wasted forms of women brushing away the
flies from the putrefying corpses of their children.
Through all these months building was continually
going on at Winter Quarters.'^^ The axe and saw were
^* ' There were among them many skilled mechanics, who could work at forge,
loom, or turning- lathe. A Mormon gunsmith is the inventor of the excellent
repeating rifle that loads by slides instead of cylinders; and one of the neat-
est finished fire-arms I have ever seen was of this kind, wrought from scraps
of old iron, and inlaid with the silver of a couple of half-dollars.' Kane's The
Mormons, 36.
■■'° At the camp situated on the site of the town of Florence, there were over
600 burials. Kam's The Mormons, b\.
'^^ 'Here we suifered terribly from scurvy, for want of vegetables. I was
a victim, and even my little children as young as three years of age. The
WINTER QUARTERS. 249
incessantly at work night and clay. It was a city of
mud and logs; the houses had puncheon floors and
roofs of straw and dirt, or of turf and willows; they
were warm and not unwholesome, but would not en-
dure the thaw, rain, and sunshine.^^
There was a camp at Cutler Park which was moved
to Winter Quarters. Great difliculty was experi-
enced in getting flour and meal; a little grain was
ground at the government mill, and the rest was ob-
tained in Missouri, a hundred and fifty miles distant.'^^
Brigham kept everybody busy, and everything was
well organized and systematically executed.^^ Schools
were soon established, officers of the church appointed,
and men sent on missions. The whole machinery was
apparently in as active operation as it had been at
Nauvoo. The gathering continued through the sum-
first relief experienced was when a bag of potatoes was brought in from
Missouri. . .It was observed that those who had milk escaped the trouble.'
Home's Migrations, MS., 20.
^' ' The buildings were generally of logs from 12 to 18 feet long, a few
were split, and made from lynn and cotton-wood timber; many roofs were
made by splitting oak timber into boards, called shakes, about 3 ft long and
6 in. wide, and kept in place by weights and poles; others were made of
willows, straw, and earth, about a foot thick; some of puncheon. Many
cabins had no floors; there were a few dugouts on the sidehills — the fire-
place was cut out at the upper end. The ridge-pole roof was supported by
two uprights in the centre and roofed with straw and earth, with chimneys
of prairie sod. The doors were made of shakes, with wooden hinges and
string latch; the inside of the log houses was daubed with clay; a few had
stoves.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1846, 534. ' The roofs were made of logs laid
across with flags spread over them, and earth spread over these. This was
partial protection from the rain, but when once it was soaked through in a
heavy storm, we were at the mercy of the rain.' Richards' Rem., MS., 27. In
Dec. 1846, at Winter Quarters there were '538 log houses and 83 sod houses,
inhabited by 3,483 souls, of whom 334 were sick.' Church Chronology, 65.
** ' $8,000 was sent by Whitney to St Louis to purchase stones and machin-
ery for flouring mills; and through A. H. Perkins a carding machine was
ordered from Savannah.' Hist, B. Young, MS., Aug. 30, 1846. 'Sugar and
cofi'ee were 16§ cts per lb. ; domestics and calicoes from 18 to 25 cts; $3 a cwt.
for flour,' etc. ; all of which could be purchased in St Louis for a third of these
rates. Tliese prices seemed exorbitant to the Mormons, though in reality
they were not unreasonable. In transporting the goods from St Louis later,
ferriage became so high and prices were so advanced that the brethren burst
forth : ' Woe unto you, Missourians ! but we are independent of them and
can live without them, for we have thousands of cattle left.'
'* 'At a meeting of the council July 14th, it was voted that colonies be
established on the east side of the river to put in buckwheat, and winter;
that a fort be built on Grand Island and a settlement made there; and that
Bishop Miller and a company go over the mountains.' Hisl. B. Young, MS.,
1846, 50.
SSei AT THE MISSOURI.
mer, but it was deemed inexpedient to move forward
that year. Some twelve hundred cattle were herded
on the rush bottoms, about a hundred miles up the
river.
The building of a water flouring mill was in process
of construction, and Brighara superintended the work.
As the camp journalist writes: "He sleeps with one
eye open and one foot out of bed, and when anything
is wanted he is on hand." The tithing collected was
distributed among the destitute at Mount Pisgah.
To the gentiles who visited their camps such hospitality
was extended as their means permitted, which though
often scant was never stinted.
Within the camp the women attended not only to
their ordinary household duties, but were busily occu-
pied spinning, knitting, making leggings from deer and
elk skins, and in weaving willow baskets for market.^"
With cheerfulness and courage they adapted them-
selves to their many vicissitudes, their faith in their
religion never swerving, and supported by it to a pa-
tient endurance beyond human strength. Most of
them had exchanged their household treasures and
personal effects, even to their table and bed furniture,
for stores of maize or flour, which with milk were
their only articles of diet. As evening approached,
the tinkling of cattle bells announced the return of the
men, when the women went. forth to meet them, and
welcome them back to their log hut and frugal meal.
Then a little later all sounds were hushed, save that on
the still night arose the strains of the evening hymn
and the murmur of the evening prayer, the day
closing, as it had commenced, with a supplication for
the blessing of the Almighty, and with heartfelt
thanksgiving that he had been pleased to deliver his
people from the hands of their persecutors.
During the latter part of the winter and toward
the early spring matters assumed a brighter look.
^^ Several loads of willow baskets were manufactured. Hist. B. Young,
MS.. 534.
FESTIVITIES AMONG THE SAINTS. 251
New-year's day was ushered in at Winter Quarters by
the firing of cannon.^^ There were frequent assem-
bhes for dancing, and in February several picnics
were held. In inaugurating these festivities, Brig-
ham told the people he would show them how to go
forth in the dance in an acceptable manner before the
Lord,^ and to the sound of music led the dance. A
picnic lasting for three days was also given, at which
three hundred of the poor were feasted.^
'1 The thermometer was during that week from 2° to 8° below zero, later
falling several degrees lower.
"^ 'I then knelt down and prayed to God in behalf of the meeting, . . .and
dedicated the meeting and house to the Lord, . . . and led forth in the dance. '
Hint. B. Young, MS., 1847, 27. In an address Brigham said: 'For some
weeks past I could not wake up at any time of the night but I heard the axe
at work, . . .and now my feelings p,re, dance all night if you desire to do so.' p.
48. 'The "Silver Greys " and epectacled dames, .. .some nearly a hundred
years old, . . . dancing like ancient Israel. ' p. 49.
'^ ' There were 117 poor adults, . . . divided into three wards . . . Shortly after
noon I met with 66 of my family, including my adopted children.' Id., p. 53.
I
CHAPTEH X.
MIGRATION TO UTAH.
1847.
Camp Near the Missouri — Preparations at Winter Quarters — Depart-
ure OF the Pioneer Band — Elkhorn Rendezvous — Route and Rou-
tine — Incidents of Journey — Approach to Zion — In the CaSon —
Hosanna! Hallelujah! — Entry into the Valley of the Great
Salt Lake — Ploughing and Planting — Praying and Praising — Sitb
FOR A City Chosen — Temple Block Selected— Return of Companies
TO Winter Quarters — Their Meeting with the Westward-bound
— General Epistle of the Twelve.
In the spring of 1847 we find the saints still in camp
in the vicinity of the Missouri. Considering what
they had been called upon to undergo, they were in
good health and spirits. There is nothing like the
spiritual in man to stimulate and sustain the physi-
cal ; and this result is equally accomplished by the
most exalted piety of the true believer, or by the
most stupid fanaticism or barbaric ignorance; for
all of us are true believers, in our own eyes. There
is nothing like religion to sustain, bear up, and carry
men along under trying circumstances. They make
of it a fight; and they are determined that the world,
the flesh, and the devil shall not conquer.
In the present instance it was of course a miracle
in their eyes that so many of their number were pre-
served; it was to this belief, and to the superhuman
skill and wisdom of their leader, and partly to their
own concert of action, that their preservation was due.
Frequent meetings had been held by the council to
consider plans for further explorations by a pioneer
(252)
DEPARTURE OF THE PIONEER BAIST). 263
band.^ A call was made for volunteers of young and
able-bodied men, and in April a company was or-
ganized, with Brigham Young as lieutenant-general,
Stephan Markham colonel, John Pack major, and
fourteen captains. The company consisted of 143
persons, including three women, wives of Brigham
Young, Lorenzo Young, and Heber C. Kimball. They
had 73 wagons drawn by horses and mules, and loaded
chiefly with grain and farming imj)lements,^ and with
provisions which were expected to last them for the
return journey.
Early in April a detachment moved out of Winter
Quarters for the rendezvous on the Elkhorn, and on
the 14th the pioneer band, accompanied by eight mem-
bers of the council,^ began the long journey westward
in search of a site for their new Zion. If none were
found, they were to plant crops and establish a settle-
ment at some suitable spot which might serve as a
base for future explorations.*
The route was along the north branch of the Platte,
and for more than 500 miles the country was bare of
* The octagon house of Dr Richards in which the council met is described
as a queer-looking thing, much resembling a New England potato-heap in
time of frost. ' Council voted a load of wood for each day they met in his
house.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1S47, 2.
* Woodruff's Journal, MS., Apr. 17, 1847.
' John Taylor, Parley Pratt, and Orson Hyde were engaged in missionary
work abroad. Pratfs AiUoblog., 383.
* The impression was that they would reach as soon as possible * the foot of
the mountains somewhere in the region of the Yellowstone River, perhaps at
the fork of Tongue River, say 2 days' ride north of the Oregon road, and a
week's travel west of Ft Laramie. . .1 informed Bishop Miller that when we
moved hence it would be to the great basin.' Hist. B. Youufj, MS., 79. No
one knew whither they were going, not even the leaders. ' We have learned
by letter to Elder G. D. Watt that a company left Council Bluffs for the
mountains on the r2th of April to seek a location for a stake in Zion.' Mil-
lennial Star, ix. 235. ' The pioneers started for the mountains to seek out a
resting-place for the saints.' Brown's Testimonies for the Truth, 26. In Xiles'
Register, lx.x:ii. 206 (May 29, 1847), we read: 'Their intention is to proceed as
far as possible up to the period of necessary planting-time, when they will
stop and commence a crop. The leaders will make but a short delay at this
point, and will proceed over into California and communicate with or join the
disbanded forces of the Mormon battalion, whose period of service \vill expire
about the 1st of July next.' '^\^len President Young was questioned by any
of the pioneers as to the definite point of our destination, all he could say to
them was, that he would know it when he should see it.' Erastus Snow, in
Utah Pioneers, 33d ami. , 44.
254
MIGRATION TO UTAH.
vegetation. Roused by the call of the bugle at five
o'clock in the morning, they assembled for prayers;
then they breakfasted, and upon a second call of the
bucrle at seven o'clock they started, and travelled
about twenty miles for the day. At night the note
of the bugle sent each to his own wagon to prayers
and at nine o'clock to bed. They rested on Sunday,
giving up the day to fasting and prayer. They were
careful in marching to preserve order, with loaded guns
and powder-horn ready. And the better to present a
compact front, the wagons were kept well together,
usually two abreast where the ground would permit,
and the men were required to walk by the wagons.
They felled cotton-wood trees for their horses and
Route of the Mormons.
cattle to browse upon, and at last were obliged to feed
them from the grain, flour, and biscuit they carried,
subsisting meanwhile themselves on game and fish.
In the valley of the Platte roamed such vast herds of
buflaloes that it was often necessary to send parties in
advance and clear the road before the teams could
pass. At night the wagons would be drawn up in a
semicircle on the bank, the river forming a defence
upon one side. The tongues of the wagons were on
the outside, and a fore wheel of each was placed
against the hind wheel of the wagon before it; all the
horses and cattle were brought inside of the en-
closure. The corral thus formed was oblong, with an
JOURNEY OF THE PIONEERS.
255
opening at either end, where was stationed a guard.
The tents were pitched outside of the corral.^
In crossing the Loup River on the 24th, they used
a leathern boat made for this expedition, and called
The Revenue Cutter. On the 4th of May letters were
sent back to Winter Quarters by a trader named
Charles Beaumont. On the 22d they encamped at
Ancient Bluff Ruins. Here the spirits of the people
reached such high hilarity that their commanding
Corral of Wagons.
officer was obliged to rebuke them, whereupon all
covenanted to humble themselves.*^
Early in June they reached the Black Hills by way
of Forfc Laramie.^ Here they rested for two or three
• Woodruff's Journal, MS., April 19, 1847. On May4tli they 'established
a post-office and guide system for the benefit of the next camp following.
Every ten miles. . .we put up a guide-board.'
^ ' I have told the few who did not belong to the church that they were
not at liberty to introduce cards, dancing, or iniquity of any description.'
Hist. B. Young, MS., 1847, 90.
'Fort John, or Laramie, was occupied by 'James Bordeaux and about
eighteen Fi'ench half-breeds and a few Sioux. . .There had been no rain for
the last two years . . . Two or three of us visited Mr Bordeaux at the fort.
236 MIGRATION TO UTAH.
weeks to build ferry-boats and recruit their animals.
Grass was now plentiful; most of the brethren de-
pended upon their rifles for food, and after having
prepared sufficient dried meat for the rest of the jour-
ney, they continued on their way.
No sooner had they crossed the river than a horse-
man, who had followed their trail from Laramie, rode
up and begged them to halt, as near by was a large
company bound for Oregon, for which he asked con-
veyance over the stream. The pioneers consented,
stipulating that they should receive payment in pro-
visions. Other parties following, the larder of the
saints was replenished.^
Travelling rapidly, and a little to the south of what
was known as the Oregon track,^ the Mormons ar-
rived at South Pass in the latter part of June, about
the time when the tide of emigration usually passed
the Missouri. Thence skirting the Colorado desert
and reaching the Green River country, the monotony
was broken. Here the brethren were met by Elder
Brannan, who had sailed from New York for Califor-
nia in the ship Broohlyn, the previous February, with
238 saints, as before mentioned. He reported that
they were all busy making farms and raising grain on
the San Joaquin River. -^^ As several of the present
We paid him $15 for the use of his ferry-boat. Mr Bordeaux said that this
was the most civil and best-behaved company that had ever passed the fort.'
Id., MS., 1847,91.
8 Snow, in Utah Pioneerx, 44. ' Capt. Grover and eight others of the pion-
eers were left at North Platte ferry and ford to ferry the companies that
should arrive, and especially to ferry the emigration from Winter Quarters.'
Hist. B. Young, MS., 1847.
' ' Making a new road for a majority of more than one thousand miles
westward, they arrived at the great basin in the latter part of July. ' General
Epistle of the Tuoelve, in Millennial Star, x. 82. 'He [Brigham] and the com-
pany arrived on the 24th of July, having sought out and made a new road
650 miles, and followed a trapper's trail nearly 400 miles. Smith's Rise, Prog-
ress, and Travels, 16; see also Tullidge's Life of Young, 161. Remysays that
an odometer was attached to a wheel of one of the wagons, and careful notes
taken of the distances. Jour, to O. S. L. City, i. 433-4. 'As I remember,
there was no trail after leaving Laramie, going over the Black Hills, except
very rarely. For a short distance before reaching the Sweetwater, we saw a
wagon track; it was a great surprise and a great curiosity.' Hist. B. Young,
MS., 1848, 7.
^'>Hist. B. Young, MS., 1847, 95; TulUdge's Life of Young, 166.
APPROACHING THE NEW ZION.
JOURNEY OF THE PIOXEERS. 257
company were ill with mountain fever, they encamped
for a few days. Thirteen battalion brethren who were
out searching for stolen cattle now surprised them,
and Brigham led in three hearty cheers.-*^ Again en
route, passing through the Green River country, they
reached Fort Bridger. Soon after leaving this point
the real difficulties of the journey commenced. Led,
as the saints relate, only by the inspiration of the
Almighty, ^"^ Brigham and his band crossed the rugged
spurs of the Uintah range, now following the rocky
bed of a mountain torrent, and now cleavinsf their
way through dense and gnarled timber until they
arrived at Echo Canon, near the eastern slope of the
Wasatch Mountains, where for a brief space the main
body rested, the president and many others being
attacked with mountain fever.^^
Impatient of the delay, Brigham, after a formal
^^ 'I exclaimed, "Hosanna! hosanna! give glory to God and the lamb,
amen!" in which they all joined.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1S47, 96. 'Left
Phineas Young and four others, who had volunteered to return to guide the
immigrants.'
^^ Smith's Bise, Progress, and Travels, 16. ' For,' says the author, 'no one
knew anything of the country.' Snow, in Utah Pioneers, SSdann., 44, remarks:
'The president said we were to travel "the way the spirit of the Lord should
direct us."' Snow states that James Bridger, who had a trading post which
still bears the name of Fort Bridger, when he met the president on the Big
Sandy River about the last of June, and learned that his destination was the
valley of Great Salt Lake, ofifered §1,000 for the first ear of corn raised tliere.
'Wait a little,' said the president, 'and we will show you.' Again, on p. 4.5 he
says that, being encamped on what is now known as Tar Springs, the pioneers
were met by a mountaineer named Goodyear, who had wintered on the site of
the present city of Ogden, after planting grain and vegetables in the valley, but
with meagre results. The mountaineer's report was very discouraging, but
to him also Brigham replied, 'Give us time and we will show you.' There is
no evidence that as j'et the president knew anything about the Salt Lake
Valley except what he heard from Bridger and Goodyear, or had gleaned
from the reports of Fremont's expedition. 'On the loth of June met James
H. Grieve, Wm Tucker, James Wood rie, James Bouvoir, aud six other French-
K men, from whom we learned that Mr Bridger was located about 300 miles
■ west, that the mountaineers could ride to Salt Lake from Fort Bridger in two
u days, and that the Utah country was beautiful.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1847,
92. 'Half-mile west of Fort Bridger some traded for buckskins, their cloth-
ing being worn out.' Id., 97. Xote also the following: 'Met Capt. Bridger,
I who said he was ashamed of Fremont's map of this country. Bridger con-
sidered it imprudent to bring a large population into the great basin until it
was ascertained that grain could be raised. '
'^ ' We had to stop at Yellow Creek aud again at the head of Echo Canon,
stopping and travelling as the sick were able to endure the journey, until we
reached the Weber at the mouth of Echo Canon, and struck our camp a few
miles below the present railroad station.' Utah Pioneers, 33d ann., 45.
Hist. Utah. 17
I
258 MIGRATION TO UTAH.
meeting, directed Orson Pratt'* to take the strong-
est of their number and cut through the mountains
into the valley, making roads and bridges as they
went. After crossing what were designated as Big
and Little mountains, the party, consisting of some
forty-two men having twenty-three wagons, encamped
in Emigration Canon.^^
Thus the saints are reaching their resting-place.
Their new Zion is near at hand; how near, they are
as yet all unaware. But their prophet has spoken;
their way is plain; and the spot for them prepared
from the foundation of the earth will presently be
pointed out to them. The great continental chain is
penetrated. In the heart of America they are now
upon the border of a new holy land, with its Desert
'* ' Voted, that Orson Pratt take charge of an expedition to go on and make
a road down the Weber River.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1847, 97. 0. Pratt was
appointed to take 23 wagons and 42 men, and precede the main company.
Church Chron., 65. Erastus Snow says, in a discourse on the Utah pioneers,
delivered in the tabernacle July 25, 1880: ' I well remember, as we called at
the wagon to bid the president good-by. Brother Willard Richards. . .asking
if he had any counsel to give to guide our movements . . . Resting his elbow
on the pillow with his head in his hand, he spoke feebly, ..." My impressions
are, "' said he, ' ' that when you emerge from the mountains into the open
country you bear to the northward, and stop at the first conyenient place for
putting in your seed." '
^^ ' The emigration route previous to 1847 was via Laramie through South
Pass to Big Sandy River. Then to avoid a desert stretch, down the Big
Sandy to its junction with Green River, and across, then up Black's Fork to
junction witli Ham's Fork, and thence up Black's Fork to FortBridger. The
Mormons here took the road made by Hastings and the Donner company in
1846, bearing almost due west, crossing Bear River, down Echo Canon to
junction with the Weber. The Mormons here chose the Donner trail, which
passed up the Weber southerly from Echo about twelve miles, then westerly
into Parley's Park, then across the hills northerly to the head of Emigration
Canon, then into the valley. As the Donner company had passed over this
route more recently than any other, it seems to have been followed as
probably the best, and was usually travelled for many years. In 1847, when
the Mormons entered the valley, there were three wagon routes into it. The
first, down Bear River from Soda Springs, through Cache Valley — Capt. Bart-
lett's route in 1841, followed by Fremont in 1843; the second, Hastings'
California emigration through Echo and Weber canons in 1846; and the third,
the Donner route of 1846, described. The Mormons found a plain road into
a fertile, unoccupied country;. . .its isolation alone was the cause of its non-
occupation.' 31cBride's Route of the Mormons, MS. This manuscript, to
■which among other favors I am indebted to Judge McBride, throws fresh
light on the question of passes and routes in early times. The author, one of ,
the first to enter Utah, was second to none in ability and position at a lat
period.
THE NEW ZION. 259
and Dead Sea, its River Jordan, Mount of Olives, and
Gallilee Lake, and a hundred other features of its
prototype of Asia.
Throuofh the western base of the mountains extends
the canon, the two sides of which are serrated by a
narrow stream, which along the last five miles flings
itself from one side to the other a score or two of
times, in places tumbling over bowlders, again quietly
threading its way over a pebbly bottom, but every-
where cutting up the narrow and rugged gorge so as
to make it most difficult and dangerous of passage.
The primeval silence is now broken; the primeval
songs are now disturbed by sounds strange to the
surrounding hills, accustomed only to the music of
running water and the notes of birds and wild beasts.
There is the rumbling of the caravan as it comes
slowly picking its way down the dark ravine, the
tramping of the horses upon the hard ground, and the
grinding of the wheels among the rocks as they plunge
down one bank and climb another, or thread their way
along the narrow ledge overhanging an abyss, the
songs of Israel meanwhile being heard, and midst the
cracking of whips the shouts now and then breaking
forth of a leader in Israel awe-struck by the grandeur
of the scene, "Hosanna to the Lord! hosanna to the
creator of alll hallelujah! hallelujah!"
Emerging from the ravine upon a bench or terrace,
they behold the lighted valley, the land of promise,
the place of long seeking which shall prove a place of
rest, a spot whereon to plant the new Jerusalem, a
spot of rare and sacred beauty. Behind them and
on either hand majestic mountains rear their proud
fronts heavenward, while far before them the vista
opens. Over the broad plain, through the clear thin
air, bathed in purple sunlight, are seen the bright
waters of the lake, dotted with islands and bordered
by glistening sands, the winding river, and along
the creek the broad patches of green cane which look
like wavinof corn. Raisinsr their hats in reverence
260 MIGRATION TO UTAH.
from their heads, again hosannas burst from their lips,
while praise to the most high ascends from grateful
hearts.
It was near this terrace, being in fact a mile and a
half up the canon, that Orson Pratt and Erastus
Snow, with their detach^ment of pioneers, encamped
on the 20th of July, 1847. Next day, the ever-mem-
orable 21st, to reach this bench, whence was viewed
with such marvellous effect the w^arm, pulsating pano-
rama before them, Pratt and Snow crept on their
hands and knees, warned by the occasional rattle of a
snake, through the thick underbrush which lined the
south side of the mountain and filled the canon's
mouth, leaving their companions on the other side of
the brush. After drinking in the scene to the satis-
faction of their souls, they descended to the open
plain, Snow on horseback, with his coat thrown loosely
upon his saddle, and Pratt on foot. They journeyed
westward three miles, when Snow missing his coat
turned back, and Pratt continued alone. After trav-
ersing the site of the present city, and standing where
later was temple block, he rejoined his comrade at the
mouth of the canon. Together they then returned to
camp late in the evening and told of their discoveries.
The following morning the advance company, com-
posed of Orson Pratt, George A. Smith,-^'' and seven
others, entered the valley and encamped on the bank
of Canon Creek. They explored the valley toward
the lake, and about three miles from the camp found
two fine streams with stony bottoms, whose banks
promised sufficient pasturage. Proceeding northward,
they found hot springs at the base of the mountain
spur. Upon their return they were greeted by the
working camp five miles from the mouth of the canon,
at what was subsequently known as Parley Canon
^* Geo. A. Smith says in his autobiography that on this journey he "walked
1,700 miles and rode some 800 miles on horseback. He had 25 lbs of flour,
which he used by the cupful for those who were ill; for six weeks he was
without bread, and like the rest of the company, lived on buffalo meat and
other game.
4
AERIVAL OF BRIGHAM YOUNG. 261
creek.*^ \j On the 23d the camp moved some two or
three miles northward, the site chosen beins: near the
two or three dwarf cotton-woods/^ which were the only
trees within sight, and on the bank of a stream of pure
water now termed City Creek, overgrown with high
grass and willows. Pratt called the men together,
dedicated the land to the Lord, and prayed for his
blessing on the seeds about to be planted and on the
labors of the saints. Before noon a committee re-
turned a report that they had staked off land suitable
for crops; that the soil was friable, and composed
of loam and gravel. The first furrow was thereupon
turned by William Carter, and through the afternoon
three ploughs and one harrow were at work. A dam
was commenced and trenches cut to convey water to
the fields. Toward evening their energetic labors
were interrupted by a thunder-storm.^^ The ground
was so dry that they found it necessary to irrigate it
before ploughing, some ploughs having been broken;
and it was not until after the arrival of Bri^ham that
planting was begun.
The coming of the leader had been impatiently
awaited, althouQ-h in their ambition to have as much
as possible accomplished, the time quickly passed.
Brigham was slowly following with the remainder of
the company, and was still so weak as to be obliged
to be carried on a bed in Wilford Wordruff's carriage.
As they reached a point on Big Mountain where the
view was unbroken, the carriage was turned into
proper position, and Brigham arose from his bed and
surveyed the country. He says: "The spirit of light
rested upon me and hovered over the valle}^ and I
felt that there the saints would find protection and
^^ Parley was always quite popular among the brethren, though his judg-
ment was not always the best.
^^ 'My poor mother was heart-broken because there were no trees to be seen;
I don't remember a tree that could be called a tree.' Cku-a Youivfs Experi-
ence!^, MS., 5.
1' "July 'JSd, 96° Fah. A company commenced mowing the grass and pre-
paring a turnip-patch.' Hht. B. Young, MS., 1847, 99.
262 MIGRATION TO UTAH.
safety."^*' Woodruff in describing the scene says of
Brigham: "He was enwrapped in vision for several
minutes. He had seen the valley before in vision,
and upon this occasion he saw the future glory of
Zion. . .planted in the valley."^^ Then Brigham said:
"It is enough. This is the right place. Drive on."
Toward noon on the 24th they reached the encamp-
ment. Potatoes were planted in a five-acre patch of
ploughed ground, and a little early corn.^
Their first impressions of the valley, Lorenzo Young
says, were most disheartening.^^ But for the two or
three cotton-wood trees, not a green thing was in sight.
And yet Brigham speaks almost pathetically of the
destruction of the willows and wild roses growing
thickly on the two branches of City Creek, destroyed
because the channels must be changed, and leaving
nothing to vary the scenery but rugged mountains,
the sage bush, and the sunflower. The ground was
covered with millions of black crickets which the
Indians were harvesting for their winter food.'^* An
unusual number of natives had assembled for this pur-
pose, and after dinner gathered about the new-comers,
evincing great curiosity as to their plans.
Lumber was made in the canons, or from logs drawn
thence, with whip-saws, through the entire winter;
^^Hist. B. Young, MS., 1847, 99.
" WoodrafiF, in Utah Pioneers, 1S80, 23. See also Woodruff's Journal, MS. ;
Clara Youiv/s Experiences, MS.; Utah Early Becord, MS.; Pioneer Women,
MS.; Taylor's Rein., MS.
2^ ' I had brought a bushel of potatoes with me, and I resolved that I would
neither eat nor drink until I had planted them. ' Woodruff, in Utah Pioneers,
1880, 23. ' I planted the first potato. . .in Salt Lake Valley,' says Geo. A.
Smith in his autobiography.
-^ Mrs Clara Decker Young speaks of the distress she suffered at leaving
"Winter Quarters, where there were so many people and life so social; but that
when she finally reached her destination she was satisfied. ' It didn't look
so dreary to me as to the other two ladies. They were terribly disappointed
because there were no trees, and to them there was such a sense of desolation
and loneliness.' Experience of a Pioneer Woman, MS., 5.
^* ' The Indians made a corral twelve or fifteen feet square, fenced about
with sage brush and grease-wood, and with branches of the same drove them
into the enclosure. Then they set fire to the brush fence, and going amongst
them, drove them into the fire. Afterward they took them up by the thou-
sand, rubbed off their wings and legs, and after two or three days separated
the meat, which was, I should think, an ounce or half an ounce of fat to each
cricket.' Early Experiences of Lorenzo Yoimrj, MS., 4.
''■■-■' 'IP»"='1'!»{«E?
FIRST SABBATH IN THE VALLEY. 263
afterward, on account of alarm at the apparent scarcity
of timber, restrictions were put upon the manner of
cutting and quantity used. Certain fines were im-
posed as a penalty for disobedience; for fuel only dead
timber was allowed, and while there was sufficient,
the restraint excited some opposition.^
The next day was the sabbath; and as had been
the custom at Nauvoo, two services were held, George
A. Smith, followed by Heber C. Kimball and Ezra
T. Benson, preaching the first sermon, and in the
afternoon the meeting was addressed by Wilford
Woodruff, Orson Pratt, and Willard Kichards. One
•cause for thankfulness was that not a man or an ani-
mal had died on the journey. The sacrament was
administered, and before dismissing the saints, the
president bade them refrain from labor, hunting, or
fishing. "You must keep the commandments of God,"
he said,'' or not dwell with us; and no man shall buy
or sell land, but all shall have what they can cultivate
free, and no man shall possess that which is not his
own."
On the 27th,^ the president, the apostles, and six
others crossed a river which was afterward found to
be the outlet of Utah Lake, and thence walked dry-
shod over ground subsequently covered by ten feet of
water to Black Bock, where all bathed in the lake,
Brigham being the first to enter it.^^ The party re-
turned to camp on the following day, when a council
was held, after which the members walked to a spot
midway between the north and south forks of a
neighboring creek, where Brigham stopped, and strik-
ing the ground with his cane, exclaimed, " Here will
*^ ' Taylor and Pratt took the lead; through them this understanding about
the timber occurred.' Nebeker^s Early Justice, MS., 4.
'•^* On Monday, the 26th, the president and his apostles ascended Ensign
Peak, so called on account of a remark made by Brigham : * Here is a proper
place to raise an ensign to the nations.' Ibid. See also Utah Early Records,
MS., 4; Woodruff's Journal, MS.; Nebeker's Early Justice, MS. Woodruff
was the first who stood on the top of the peak.
" On this day was commenced the first blacksmith's shop, the property of
Burr Frost.
264 MIGRATION" TO UTAH.
be the temple of our God."^^ This was about five
o'clock in the afternoon. An hour later it was agreed
that a site should be laid out for a city in blocks or
squares of ten acres, and in lots of an acre and a
quarter, the streets to be eight rods wide, with side-
walks of twenty feet.
At eio^ht o'clock on the same evenino: a meetinof was
held on the temple square, and it was decided by vote
that on that spot the temple should be built/^ and from
that spot the city laid out.
On the 29th of July a detachment of the battal-
ion, which had wintered at Pueblo,^" to the number of
150, under Captain James Brown, arrived in the val-
ley; they were accompanied by fifty of the brethren
who had started the year previous from the Missis-
sippi. On the following evening a praise service for
their safe arrival was held in the brush bowery ,^^ has-
2^ ' This was about the centre of the site of the Temple we are now build-
ing.' Utah Pioneers, o3d ami., 23.
^^ ' Some wished for forty acres to be set apart for temple purposes, but it
was finally decided to have ten acres;. . .the base line was on the south-east
corner, and government officials afterward adopted it as the base meridian
line.' Taijlor's Reminiscences, MS., 21. When the elders arrived from England
they brought with them to Winter Quarters, just before the starting of the
pioneers, ' two sextants, two barometers, two artificial horizons, one circular
reflector, several thermometers, and a telescope.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1847,
82. Th\is Orson Pratt was enabled to take scientific observations. He reported
the latitude of the north line of temple square, which was ten acres in size, to
be 40" 45' 44" n., and its longitude 111° 26' 34" w. From George W. Dean's
observations in 1S69, taken at the temple block, the results were lat. 40" 46'
2", long. 11 r 53' 30". Rept Coast Survey, 1869-70. In taking lunar dis-
tances for longitude, it is usual to have four observers, but Orson Pratt had no
assistant; hence probably the discrepancy. On August 16th it was deter-
mined that the streets around the temple block should be called respectively
North, South, East, and West Temple streets, the others to be named, as re-
quired, First North street, Second North street, First South street, Second
South street, etc.
^"^ Says Mrs Clara Young: 'Before reaclaing Laramie three of the pioneers
were sent to Pueblo to tell the families there to strike their trail and follow
them to their settlement.' Ex. of a Pioneer Woman, MS., 7. ' The men of
this detachment were on their way to San Francisco, but their wagons break-
ing down and their cattle being in very poor condition, they were compelled
to turn aside and await further orders.' Utah Early Records, MS., 8.
^' For many years these boweries of trees and brush had been constructed
when any large number of the peojole needed a temporai-y place of shelter.
This one was 40 X 28 feet. Col Markham reported at this meeting 'that 13
ploughs and 3 harrows had been stocked during the j^ast week, 3 lots of ground
broken up, one lot of 3.5 acres planted in corn, oats, buckwheat, polatjes,
beans, and garden seed.' Hist. B. Yohikj, MS., 1S47, 103-4. 'On the 2Jth
H. G. Sherwood, in returning from an excursion to Cache Valley, brought an
BUILDING OF A STOCKADE. 285
tily constructed for the purpose by the battalion
brethren.
During the next three weeks all were busily at
work, tilling the soil, cutting and hauling timber,
making adobes, and building, ambitious to accom-
plish as much as possible before the main body of
the pioneer band should start on its return journey to
report to the brethren and to promote further emi-
gration. The battalion brethren moved their wagons
and formed a corral between the forks of City Creek.
Brigham exhorted the brethren to be rebaptized, him-
self setting the example, and reconfirming the elders.
On the 8th of August three hundred were immersed,
the services commencing at six o'clock in the morning.
During the month twenty-nine log houses had been
built, either with roofs or read}'' for the usual substi-
tute, a covering of poles and dirt. These huts were so
arranged as to carry out their plan of forming a rect-
angular stockade,^^ the president and Heber C. Kim-
ball being the first to take possession of their dwellings.
On the 17th of August twenty-four pioneers and
forty-six of the battalion set out on their return to
Winter Quarters.^"'^
On the afternoon of the 2 2d a conference was held,
at which it was resolved that the place should be
called the City of the Great Salt Lake. The term
'Great' was retained for several years, until changed
by legislative enactment. It was so named in con-
tradistinction to Little Salt Lake, a term applied
Englishman with him, named Wells, who had been living in New Mexico for
some years.' Hist. B. Yotmg, MS., 1S47, 109. On the 2ist A. Carrington, J.
Brown, W. W. Rust, G. Wilson, and A. Calkins made the ascent of the Twin
Peaks, 15 miles south-east of the stockade, and the highest mountain in the
AVasatch Range, its elevation being, as they reported, 11,219 feet. These
were probably the first white men who ascended this mountain.
^^ They were 8 or 9 feet high, and IG or 17 feet long, by 14 wide. Hid. B.
Young, MS., 1847, 110. 'We were the first to move into the fort; our house
had a door and a wooden window, which through the day was taken out for
light, and nailed in at night. . .There was also a portdiole at the east end of
the fort, which could be opened and closed at j)leasure. . .We had adobe chim-
neys and a fire-place in the corner, with a clay hearth.' Youmfs Pionevr
Women, MS., (5.
^^ '\Viih .34 wagons, 92 yoke of oxen, 18 horses, and 14 mules, in charge of
Shadnich Rcnindy and Tunis Rappelye. Lt Wesley Willis was in charge of
the battalion men.' Ilkhards' Narr., MS., 13-14.
266 MIGRATION TO UTAH.
to a body of water some two hundred miles to
the south, situated in what was later known as Iron
county, near Parowan, and which has since almost
disappeared. The stream connecting the two great
lakes was named the Western Jordan, now called the
Jordan, and the whole region whose waters flow into
the lake was distinguished as the great basin. ^* On
the 26th a second company, consisting of 107 per-
sons,^^ started for Winter Quarters. Brigham Young
and Heber C. Kimball set forth on horseback a little
in advance of the others, but turning back, they waved
their hats with a cheery "Good-by to all who tarry,"
and then rode on.
"We have accomplished more this year," writes
Wilford Woodruff, " than can be found on record con-
cerning an equal number of men in the same time
since the days of Adam. We have travelled with
heavily laden wagons more than a thousand miles,
over rough roads, mountains, and canons, searching
out a land, a resting-place for the saints. We have
laid out a city two miles square, and built a fort of
hewn timber drawn seven miles from the mountains,
and of sun-dried bricks or adobes, surrounding ten
acres of ground, forty rods of which were covered
with block-houses, besides planting about ten acres of
corn and vegetables. All this we have done in a
single month. "^^
At Winter Quarters active preparations had been
making for following the pioneers at the earliest op-
portunity. Throughout the spring all was activity.
Every one who had teams and provisions to last a
year and a half was preparing to move, and assist-
ing those who were to remain to plough and sow.
Parley P. Pratt, having returned'*'' from England short-
'* 'It was also called The Great North American Desert.' Taylor^ Hem.,
MS., 22.
^^ With 36 wagons, 71 horses, and 49 mules.
'^ Woodruff's Journal, MS., 78.
^' ' I found my family all alive and dwelling in a log cabin; they had, how-
ever, suffered much from cold, hunger, and sickness . . . The winter had been
I
PARLEY PRATT'S COMPANIES. 267;
I.
ly before Brigham's departure, was left In charge of
the first companies ordered westward. On the 4th of
July, 1847, they set forth for the Rocky Mountains,
numbering in all 1,553 persons.^^
A complete organization of the people was effected,
according to a revelation of the Lord made through
Brigham on the 14th of January, 1847.^^ They
were divided into companies, each with one hundred
wagons, and these into companies of fifty wagons,
and ten wagons, every company under a captain or
commander. Two fifties travelled in double columns
if practicable. When a halt was called the wagons
were arranged as in the march of the pioneers, form-
ing a temporary fort, with its back opening upon the
corral formed by the two semicircles. The cattle
were then driven into^the corral under charge of the
herdsmen. When ready to march, the captain of
each ten attended to his company, under the super-
vision of the captain of fifty. Advance parties each
day selected the next camping-ground. In the ab-
sence of wood, fires were made from buffalo chips and
sage brush. The wagons had projections extending
over the sides, making the interior six feet wide.
Hen-coops were carried at the end of each wagon,
and a few young pigs were brought for use in the
valley. Great care was used to prevent a stampede
of the animals, as they appeared to recognize the
peculiarities and dangers of the new country and
very severe, the snow deep, and consequently horses and cattle had been lost.
. . .My wagons were overhauled and put in order, tires reset, chains repaired,
yokes and bows arranged in order, wagon bows made and mended.' Pratt's
Autobiog., 397-8. 'The companies were organized by Elder P. P. Pratt and
myself, as near as we could in accordance with instructions left by Pres.
Young. ' Taylor's Rem. , MS. , 7.
^8 This company is distinguished as the first immigration. It was supplied
with 580 wagons, 2,213 oxen, 124 horses, 887 coavs, 358 sheep, 716 chickens, and
35 hogs. Utah Early Records, MS., 17. Smith says about 700 wagons. Rise,
Progress, and Travels, 16. Kearny's and Fremont's parties met Pratt's com-
panies at Loup River; and according to Martin's Narr., '4'2 in Cid., MS.,
122, John Young was appointed president and John Van Cott marshal.
^' This was called ' the word and will of the Lord concerning the camp
of Israel.' Like all revelations, it was in scriptural phraseology, and very
explicit in its directions. It was also read by Brigham to his people in Salt
Lake City on the 1st of August.
268 MIGRATION TO UTAH.
were easily alarmed. The organization and order in
the camp was so perfect that not unfrequentl}^ half
an hour after a halt the people sat down to a com-
fortable meal of fresh bread and broiled meat.^"
At the beginning of their journey, jealousy, bicker-
ing, and insubordination arose among them, and a halt
was called for the purpose of holding a council and
adjusting matters. For several hundred miles they
followed the trail of the pioneers, and now were ap-
proaching the president and his men, who, encamped
between Green River and the Sweetwater, had sent
forward two messengers^^ to ascertain the progress
and condition of the company. Upon hearing of the
difficulties that had arisen, Brigham sent for Pratt
and censured him severely for defects in the manage-
ment of the party at the start, and for misunderstand-
ings on the road. Pratt humbly acknowledged his
faults and was forgiven. While the president and
council were at prayer, the Sioux improved the occa-
sion by stealing a number of horses, which proved a
serious loss.
Pratt now returned to his command, and without
special incident reached the Salt Lake settlement on
the 19th of September; the companies arriving in de-
tachments at intervals of several weeks.
Brigham's band was scantily provisioned for the
journey to Winter Quarters.*^ The number that had
already gathered at Salt Lake had drawn heavily on
the pioneers' resources, and they set out depending for
subsistence on game and fish. They travelled more
rapidly in returning,*' although most of them were
compelled to walk. A few days after the Indian dep-
^'From account of their joumeyings furnished me in Taylor's Rem., 7-12.
" 0. P. Rockwell and E. T. Benson.
*^ Among them was a party of battalion men who were entirely destitute
except for a verj'^ small quantity of beef, which was soon exhausted. General
Epistle of the Twelve, in Mi/feniiial Star, x. 83.
*^ 'Camped on the south side of the Platte. We were 42 days in going to
the valle}^ from this point, and only 23 days in returning. ' Hint. B. Youny,
MS., 18-17, 115.
A DAY OF JUBILEE. 269
redation mentioned during the council, the Mormons
were attacked by a large war party of Sioux, who again
carried off many horses. The meeting of the battal-
ion and pioneer brethren with Parley Pratt's company
was an occasion of rejoicing to all.** On the 7th of Sep-
tember the former arrived at the Sweetwater. Here,
with the assembled companies, a jubilee was held and
a feast of good things prepared. While the men cut
down brush and constructed a bowery^ the women,
with great trouble, unpacked their dishes and table
furniture, delighted at the opportunity of assisting
at such an event. A fat heifer was killed, and what-
ever luxuries were in camp were now produced. A
slight snow fell, but in no degree marred their merri-
ment; the feast was followed by music and dancing,
and by accounts of the pioneers' experiences in en-
tering upon and settling their new Zion; after prayer
the company dispersed.*^ The remnants of the ban-
quet were left with the eastern-bound train, and as
they separated each bade the other God speed. A
fortnight before reaching Winter Quarters a small dele-
gation met Brigham's company with most welcome
supplies. On the 31st of October, when within one
mile of the settlement, Brigham called his men to-
gether, praised them fortheir good conduct, blessed and
dismissed them. They drove into town in order an
hour before sunset. The streets were crowded, and
friends pressed forward, shaking hands as they passed
throuojh the lines. *^
During this season an abundant harvest had been
gathered by the brethren at their encampments near
** 'Met Spencer's advance company Sept. 3d, with 7G wagons; we had a
joyful meeting; on the 4th met encampment of 75 wagons; on the 5th 1G2;
and on the 8th met the last company of saints.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1847.
*° 'Ail felt greatly encoura.ged. We now knew for the first time our des-
tination; wc had tallied of Caluornia, and knew not until now where we should
settle.' Home's Migrations, MS., 22.
^8 ' We were truly rejoiced once more to behold our wives, children, and
old friends, after an absence of six months, having travelled over 2,000 miles . . .
and accomplished the most important mission in this last dispensation.' Hist.
B. Yoany, MS., 1847, 122,
270 MIGRATION TO UTAH.
the Missouri, though sickness was an ever-present
guest; and many of their number who could least be
spared were scattered throughout the world as mis-
sionaries in Europe, and as far westward as the Sand-
wich Islands, as soldiers in California, or as laborers
wherever they could find a livelihood in the western
states. The winter was passed quietly and in content,
most of the saints preparing for their migration in the
spring. Meanwhile, on the 23d of December, 1847,
a general epistle of the twelve was issued to the
brethren and to the gentiles. In this it was stated
that they were at peace with all the world, that their
mission was to extend salvation to the ends of the
earth, and an invitation was extended to " all presi-
dents, and emperors, and kings, and princes, and no-
bles, and governors, and rulers, and judges, and all
nations, kindreds, tongues, and people under the whole
heaven, to come and help us to build a house to the
name of the God of Jacob, a place of peace, a city of
rest, a habitation for the oppressed of every clime."
Then followed an exhortation for the saints to gather
unto Zion, promising that their reward should be a
hundred-fold and their rest glorious. They must
bring " their gold, their silver, their copper, their
zinc, their tin, and brass, and iron, and choice steel,
and ivory, and precious stones; their curiosities of
science, ... or anything that ever was, or is, or is to
be for the exaltation, glory, honor, and salvation of
the living and the dead, for time and for all eternity. "^'^
Such a gathering of saints and gentiles would of
itself have constituted an earthly Zion, especially for
the president and the twelve, who held virtual control
over their brethren's property. Among the gentiles
one would think that such rhodomontade could not
fail to brinof discredit on the Mormon faith and the
Mormon cause, but no such result followed. As will
be mentioned later, their missions were never more
prosperous than during the years when at their new
*' The full text of this epistle is given in the Millennial Star, x. 81-8.
BRIGHAM'S LEADERSHIP. 271
fitake of Zion the saints were employed, not in adorn-
ing their temple with gold, silver, and precious stones,
but in building' rousfh shanties, hewingf timber, hoeingf
corn, and planting potatoes.
The trite maxim commencing jEquam memento was
one which the saints had taken well to heart, and on
few was the mens cequa in arduis more firmly stamped
than on the brow of him who, on christmas eve, the
day after his invitation to the princes and potentates
of all the earth, was appointed president of the church
of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. And while in
adversity there were none more steadfast, it must be
admitted there were few in whom success developed
so little of pride and of vainglory. From this time
forth Brigham Young was to the saints as a prophet
— ^yea, and more than a prophet: one on whom the
mantle had fallen not unworthily. By his foresight
he had saved his people from dispersion, and per-
chance his faith from annihilation. Hounded by a
mob, he had led his followers with consummate tact
throughout their pilgrimage, and in a wilderness as
yet almost untrodden by man had at length estab-
lished for them an abiding-place.
After the departure of Brigham from Salt Lake,
John Smith, the prophet's uncle, was nominally pres-
ident of the camp;*^ but upon the arrival of John
Taylor and Parley P. Pratt their precedence was ac-
knowledged and they were placed in charge.*^ There
were no laws until the latter part of this year, though
certain penalties were assigned for certain crimes and
executed by the people. As there was no jail, the
whipping-post was substituted, but used only two or
three times. In such cases the high council tried the
"Aflfe,!™ were controlled by the high council, consisting of twelve high-
priests. Salt Lake City was a stake of Zion, with president and other officers.
'At the conference on Oct. 3d Father John Smith was elected president of
the stake of Zion and patriarch of the church. Brigham Young was sus-
tained as president of the whole church.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 117.
** A'efteier's Early Justice, MS., 4.
272 MIGRATION TO UTAH.
prisoner, and sentenced him. "President Young was
decidedly opposed to whipping,"^*^ says George Q.
Cannon, "but matters arose that we considered re-
quired punishment at the time."^^
During this period men and women voted by ballot
in matters relating to government. Women had
already voted in religious meetings by the. uplifted
hand, but this is probably the first instance in the
United States where woman suffrage was permitted.
Utah at that time, however, was not a part of the
United States, and before its admission as a ter-
ritory the privilege was withdrawn. ^^
o" ' I had to chastise one in that way for stealing.' Id., MS., 4.
^' ' For instance, one of our best men now, who was then j'oung, was ac-
cnsed of riding on horseback with a girl in front of him. This was looked
upon as indecorous. He and others guilty of the same thing were sevei-ely
reprimanded.' G. Q. Cannon, in Taylor's Rem., MS., 12-1.3.
^'^ Taylo7-'s Bern., MS., 14. Herewith I give a list of the Utah pioneer9
of 1847: Adams, Barnabas L.; Angel, Truman O.; Allen, Rufus; Attwood,
Millen; Badger, Rodney; Barney, Lewis; Barnham, Charles D. ; Benson,
Ezra T. ; Billings, Geo. P.; Boggs, Francis; Brown, Geo.; Brown, John;
Brown, Nathaniel Thomas; Bullock, Thos; Burke, Charles; Burnham, Jacob
D. ; Byard, Robert; Carrington, Albert; Carter, William; Case, James;
Chamberlin, Solomon; Chessley, Alexander P.; Clayton, William; Cloward,
Thos P.; Coltrin, Zebedee; Craig, James; Crosby, Oscar; Curtis, Lyman;
Gushing, Hosea; Davenport, James; Dewey, Benjamin F.; Dixon, John;
Driggs, Starling; Dykes, William; Earl, Sylvester H. ; Eastman, Ozro; Egan,
Howard; Egbert, Josepli; Eldredge, John S.; Ellsworth, Edmund; Empey,
William A.; Ensign, Datus; Everett, Addison; Fairbanks, Nathaniel; Farr,
Aaron; Fitzgerald, Perry; Flake, Green (coloi-ed); Fowler, John S.; Fox,
Samuel; Freeman, John M.; Frink, Horace M. ; Frost, Burr; Gibbons, An-
drews.; Gleason, John S.; Glines, Eric; Goddaixl, Stephen H. ; Grant, David;
Grant, Geo. R. ; Greene, John Y. ; Grover, Thomas; Hancock, Joseph; Hanks,
Sidney A. ; Hanson, Hans C. ; Harmon, Appletou M. ; Harper, Charles A. ;
Henrie, William; Hewd, Simeon; Higbee, John S. ; Holman, John G. ; Ivory,
Matthew; Jackman, Levi; Jacobs, Norton; Johnson, Artemas; Johnson, Luke;
Johnson Pliilo; Kelsey, Stephen; Kendall, Levi N. ; Kimball, Ellen S. (wife
of H. C. K.); Kimball, Heber C. ; King, William A.; Klineman, Conrad;
Lark, Hark (colored); Lewis, Tarlton; Little, Jessie C. ; Losee, John G. ;
Loveland, Chancey; Lyman, Amasa; Marble, Samuel H.; Markham, Stephen;
Matthews, Joseph; Mills, Geoi'ge; Murray, Carlos; Newman, Elijah; Nor-
ton, John W. ; Owen, Seely; Pack, John; Pierce, Eli H. ; Pomeroy, Francis
M. ; Powell, David; Pratt, Orson; Reddin, Jackson; Rappelye, Tunis; Rich-
ards, Willard; Rockwell, Orrin P.; Rockwood, Albert P.; Rolfe, Benjamin
W. ; Rooker, Joseph; Roundy, Shadrach; Schofield, Joseph S. ; Sclioles,
George; Sherwood, Henry G. ; Shumway, Andrew P.; Shumway, Charles;
Smith, George A.; Smoot, Wm C. A.; Snow, Erastus; Stevens, Roswell;
Stewart, Benjamin F.; Stewart, James W.; Stringham, Briant; Summe, Gil-
burd; Taft, Seth; Tanner, Thomas; Taylor, Norman; Thomas, Robert T. ;
Thornton, Horace M.; Thorpe, Marcus B.; Tippitts, John H.; Vance, Will-
iam P.; Walker, Henson; Wardel, George; Weiler, Jacob; Wheeler, John;
Whipple, Edson; Whitney, Horace K. ; XVhitney, Orson K. ; Williams, Al-
mon L.; Woodard, George; Woodruff, Wilford; Woolsey, Thomas; Words-
AT PUEBLO AND ON THE MISSOURI. 273
On the 16th of November, O. P. Rockwell, E. K.
Fuller, A. A. Lathrop, and fifteen others set forth
for California to buy cows, mules, mares, wheat, and
seeds. They bought two hundred head of cows at
six dollars each, with which they started from Cali-
fornia, but lost forty head on the Mojave; being
ninety days on the return trip. During the autumn,
several parties of the battalion men arrived from
California, bringing a quantity of wheat. Captain
Grant came to Salt Lake City from Fort Hall in
December to arrange for opening trade between the
two points. After due discussion, the matter was
referred to the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay
Company.
In regard to affairs at Pueblo and on the Missouri,
I am indebted for further and later information to my
esteemed friends Wilbur F. Stone and William N.
Byers of Colorado. A detachment of the Mormons
that wintered at Pueblo underwent many hardships,
and there have been found relics in that vicinity, in
the shape of furnace and cinders, significant of their
industrial occupation at the time.
9n the Missouri, the Indians, who at first had so
Artily welcomed the saints during the year 1847,
complained to the government that they were intrud-
ing on their domain. The government therefore
ordered away the Mormons, but gave them permis-
sion to occupy lands on the east bank of the river
for five years. There they built a town, named
Kanosville, opposite Omaha, and occupied the best
part of the country up and down the left bank of the
river for a distance of twenty miles in each direction.
Many of them lived in dugouts, that is, artificial
caves made by digging out a space for occupancy in
the bank of the river or on the side of a blufil Most
worth, William; Young, Brigham; Clarissa D. (wife of B. Y.); Young, Har-
riet P. (wife of Lorenzo D.); Young, Isaac P. D. ; Young, Lorenzo D. ; Young,
Lorenzo Z. ; Young, Phineas H.
Hut. Utah. 18
274 MIGRATION TO UTAH.
of them were farmers, and they had three or four
grist-mills and two or three saw-mills.
The first emigrants did not stop on the east side of
the river, but passed over at once on arrival, making
their first settlement, as before mentioned, at Winter
Quarters, situated six miles from the present city of
Omaha, at the north end of the plateau, nearly all of
which they ploughed up in the spring of 1847, and
planted seed corn brought by those who the pre-
vious winter had returned to the Mississippi to work
for wages. Hereabout they built many log houses,
Brigham having a little cluster of them for his wives
in a cosey nook apart from the others.
On their final departure for the west, the Mormons
left a few of their number under A. J. Mitchell, who
was assisted by A. J. Smith. They lived on the east
side of the Missouri at first, and had a ferry across
the river as early as 1851, with other ferries west,
one at Loup Fork, and one on the Elkhorn. A large
emigration up the river from New Orleans set in about
this time. In the spring of 1852 the steamboat Sa-
luda, having six hundred souls on board, was blown
up at the mouth of the Platte.
In 1854 the lands of the Omahas, on the west side
of the river, came into market, through a treaty made
during the summer of that year with the natives, who
ceded that section to the United States. Mitchell
and Smith then moved to the western side, and
changed the name of Winter Quarters to that of
Florence, at the same time selling their interests on
the eastern side to the gentiles, who changed the
name of Kanesville to that of Council Bluffs.
CHAPTER XI.
IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
1848.
Food axd Raisient — Houses — Home Maxufactukes — The Fort — Wild
Beasts — Cannon from Sdtter's Fort — Indian Children for Sale —
Measles — Population — Mills and Farming Machinery — The Plaoub
OF Crickets — They are Destroyed by Gulls — Scarcity of Provisions
— The Harvest Feast — Immigration — Five Thousand Saints Gath-
ered in the Valley — Fencing and Farming — Distribution of Lots —
Organization of County Government — Association for the Exter-
mination OP Wild Beasts.
At the opening of January 1848, the saints were
housed, clad, and fed in moderate comfort, and general
content prevailed.-^ The season was exceptionally
mild; there were occasional light falls of snow, but
not enough to interfere with ploughing and sowing,^
and a large tract of land was partially enclosed and
planted with wheat and vegetables.
So many people were now in the valley that not-
withstanding the abundant crops food at length be-
came scarce. Families weighed out their flour and
allowed themselves so much a day. The wheat was
ground at a mill on Gity Creek, but as there was no
bolting'cloth, the shorts and bran could not be sepa-
rated. The beef was very poor,' as most of the cattle
^ Parley P. Pratt says: ' Here life was as sweet as the holidays, as merry
as in the Christian palaces and mansions of those who had driven us to the
mountains. '
■^ * It was a strange sight to see sometimes furrows on one side and snow
on the other. In Feb. men worked out of doors in their shirt sleeves.' Home's
Migrations, MS., 24.
' ' It was so tough that Brother Taylor suggested we must grease the saw
to make it work.' Home's Migrations, MS., 26.
( 275 )
k
276 DT THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
had been worked hard while driven to the valley and
after their arrival, while those turned out to range did
not fatten quickly. Butter and tallow were needed.
One wild steer, well fattened, was brought in from
Goodyear's rancho. A herd of deer crossing from one
range of mountains to another was startled by the
unexpected obstruction of the fort, and one sprang
into the enclosure and was killed. Wild sago and
parsnip roots constituted the vegetable food of the
settlers. A f)£w deaths occurred from poisonous
roots. The bracing air and hard work stimulated
appetite as stores decreased. For coffee parched bar-
ley and wheat were used, and as their sugar gave out,
they substituted some of home manufacture.* In the
spring thistle tops were eaten, and became an impor-
tant article of diet.^
Anxiety began to be felt about clothing, and the
hand-looms were now busily at work, although wool
was scarce.^ As shoes wore out, moccasins were sub-
stituted, and goat, deer, and elk skins were manu-
factured into clothing for men and women, though
most unsuitable for use in rain and snow.
At the time of Parley P. Pratt's arrival, the city
of Great Salt Lake consisted of a fort enclosing a
block of ten acres, the walls of part of the buildings
beino^ of adobes and lo^s. There were also some
tents.^ As additional companies came in, they ex-
* ' We manufactured our own sugar and molasses from beets, corn-stalks,
and watermelons, and made preserves for winter, which were excellent, by
boiling the rinds of the melons in this molasses.' Jforne'n Migrations, M.S.,
30. ' I attempted to make sugar out of com. A rude apparatus was made
to squeeze the corn stalks, but the manufacture was not altogether a success.
After this, beet molasses followed. The boiler I used this time I made out
of some stove piping and lumber. Brother Cannon and I assisted to saw our
lumber.' Taylor's Eeminincences, MS., 16.
''Geo. Q. Cannon, in Jiiv. I7isi., xix. no. 5, 68.
' ' They collected the hair of the buffalo from the sage brush as they
travelled, and used also the hair of cows.' Hartleys 3Ii(jriitioii8, MS., 35.
From this blankets were woven and used in exchange with the Indians. Mrs
Home remarks that ' in Nauvoo there was a man dressed througliout in a suit
made from the curly hair of his dog, which was sheared annually.'
' It stood on what was later known as the 6th \Vard Square.
SAL.! JLiAJlJi {JLTY.
•277
tended the south divisions, which were connected with
the old fort by gates. Wao^on-boxes were also brought
into line, and served for habitations until better accom-
modations were provided. The houses were built of
logs, and were placed close together, the roofs slanting
inward, and all the doors and windows being on the
inside, with a loop-hole to each room on the outside.
As everything indicated a dry climate, the roofs were
made rather flat, and great inconvenience resulted.
In March the rains were very heavy, and umbrellas
were used to protect women and children while cook-
ing, and even in bed. The clay found in the bottoms
near the fort made excellent plaster, but would not
stand exposure to rain, and quickly melted. All bread-
stuffs were carefully gathered into the centre of the
rooms, and protected with buflalo skins obtained from
the Indians. The rooms in the outer lines all ad-
joined, and many of the families had several rooms.
On the interior cross-lines rooms were built on both
sides, the streets being eight rods wide.
"SOUTH FORTS ' NORTH FORT'
Fort, Great Salt Lake City, 1848.
There were serious depredations committed by
wolves, foxes, and catamounts, an4 great annoyance
occasioned by the howling of some of these animals.^
Further discomfort was caused by innumerable swarms
of mice. Digging cavities and running about under
the earthen floor, they caused the ground to tremble,
and when the rain loosened the stones of the roofs,
* ' One night soon after our an-ival I spread some strychnine about, and in
the morning found fourteen white wolves dead.' Lorenzo Young's Ex., MS., 8.
278 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
scampered off in hordes. Frequently fifty or sixty
had to be caught and killed before the family could
sleep.^
The furniture was home-made, and very little of it
at that. The table was a chest, and the bedstead
was built into thti corner of the house, which formed
two of its sides, rails or poles forming the opposite
sides; pegs were driven into the walls and rails, and
the bed-cord tightly wound around them.^** The chim-
neys were of adobe, and sometimes there was a fire-
place in the corner wioh a clay hearth.
In the early part of the year two brass cannon were
purchased at Sutter's Fort for the church, by the
battalion brethren."
During the winter of 1847-8, some Indian children
were broug^ht to the fort to be sold. At first two
were offered, but the settlers peremptorily refused to
buy them. The Indian in charge said that the chil-
dren were captured in war, and would be killed at
sunset if the white men did not buy them. Thereupon
they purchased one of them, and the one not sold was
shot. Later, several Indians came in with two more
children, using the same threat; they were bought and
brought up at the expense of the settlers.*"^
Measles now appeared for the first time among the
natives, who did not know where the disease came
from or what to do. They assembled in large num-
bers at the warm springs, bathed in the waters, and
died.i^
" ' One contrivance for catching them was a bucketful of water with a board
sloping at each end, greased and balanced on the edge. The first cat and her
progeny were invaluable. The green timber from the mountains was full of
bed-bugs, another serious trouble.' Home's Migrations, MS., 31.
'" This describes the furniture of the first house occupied in the fort by ,
Brigham Young's family. Mrs Clara Young's Pioneer Ex., MS., 8.
" Forty-five of the battalion brethren contributing $ol2 for the purpose.
Hist. B. Young, MS., 1848, 35.
'^ ' Charles Decker bought one of the prisoners, a girl, who was afterward
brought up in President Young's family. She married an Lidian chief
named Kanosh.' WelW Narr., MS., 48.
" ' Some they buried, but not all. We buried thirty-six in one grave.
They killed their dogs when their masters died.' Nebeker's Early Justice,
MS.. 2.
EARLY INDUSTRIES. 279
Public meetings were generally held near the lib-
erty-pole in the centre of the fort; religious and secu-
lar meetings were also held in private houses. In
March 1848 the population of the city was reported
at 1,671, and the number of houses 423.^* Bridges
were built over Mill Creek and Jordan River. Daniel
Spencer was appointed road-master, and authorized
to call on men to assist in making roads. In order
that the burden might fall equally on all, a poll and
property tax were instituted.
There were several mills soon in working order.
A small grist-mill on City Creek was built by Charles
Crismon near the pioneer garden; then there were
Chase's saw-mill and Archibald and Robert Gardiner's
on Mill Creek, and Nebeker, Riter, and Wallace's in
a canon ten miles north of the city. A carding
machine was erected near Gardiner's saw-mill by
Amasa Russell, and a flouring mill during the summer
by John Neff. Leffingwell constructed a threshing
machine and fanning mill on City Creek, with a ca-
pacity of two hundred bushels per day. Mill-stones
cut out of the basalt in the valley were of very good
quality. Mill-irons, mill-stones, printing-presses, type,
paper, and the carding machine were brought by the
first bands of emigrants in 1848.^^
The spring saw everybody busy, and soon there
were many flourishing gardens, containing a good va-
riety of vegetables. In the early part of March plough-
ing commenced. The spring was mild and rain plenti-
ful, and all expected an abundant harvest. But in
the latter part of May, when the fields had put on
their brightest green, there appeared a visitation in
the form of vast swarms of crickets, black and bale-
ful as the locust of the Dead Sea.^^ In their track
^*Juv. Inxt., ix. no. 1, 9.
^^ JJist. B. Young, MS.; Hornets Migrations, MS.; Geo. Q. Cannon, in Juv.
Inst.; Taylor^s Reminiscences, MS.; Woodruff's Journal, MS.; Young's Ex.,
MS.; Wells' Narr., MS.; RicharcW Narr., MS.; Nebeker's Early Justice,
MS.; Jfnuing's Material Progress, MS., passim.
" Utah Early Records, MS., 29-30.
280 m THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
they left behind them not a blade or leaf, the ap^
pearance of the country which they traversed in
countless and desolating myriads being that of a land
scorched by fire/'^ They came in a solid phalanx,
from the direction of Arsenal Hill, darkening the
earth in their passage. Men, women, and children
turned out en masse to combat this pest, driving them
into ditches or on to piles of reeds, which they would
set on fire, striving in every way, until strength was
exhausted, to beat back the devouring host. But in
vain they toiled, in vain they prayed; the work of
destruction ceased not, and the havoc threatened to
be as complete as was that which overtook the land
of Egypt in the last days of Israel's bondage. "Think
of their condition," says Mr Cannon — "the food
they brought with them almost exhausted, their grain
and other seeds all planted, they themselves 1,200
miles from a settlement or place where they could get
food on the east, and 800 miles from California, and
the crickets eating up every green thing, and every
day destroying their sole means of subsistence for the
months and winter ahead."^^
I said in vain they prayed. Not so. For when
everything was most disheartening and all effort
spent, behold, from over the lake appeared myriads
of snow-^5yhite gulls, their origin__and_ their purpose
alike unknown~to the~ne w-comers ! Was this another
scourge God was sending them for their sins? Wait
and see. Settling upon all the fields and every part
of them, they pounced upon the crickets, seizing and
swallowing them. They gorged themselves. Even
after their stomachs were filled they still devoured
them. On Sunday the people, full of thankfulness,
left the fields to the birds, and on the morrow found
on the edges of the ditches great piles of dead crick-
ets that had been swallowed and thrown up by the
^'' Autobiog. P. P. Pratt, 405; Smith's Rise, Progress, and Travels, 17.
^^Juv. Inst., ix. no. 2, 22.
THE CRICKET PLAGUE. 281
greedy gulls. Verily, the Lord had not forgotten to
be gracious!
To escape the birds, the crickets would rush into
the lake or river, and thus milHons were destroyed.
Toward evening the gulls took flight and disappeared
beyond the lake, but each day returned at sunrise,
until the scourge was past.^^ Later grasshoppers
seem to have taken the place of crickets. They were
of a kind popularly called iron-clad, and did much
mischief^^
Though the crops of this year of 1848 were thus
saved from total destruction, fears were entertained
that there would not be food enough for those already
in the valley, and the expected arrival of large
additional numbers was looked upon as a calamity. ^^
The stock of provisions was therefore husbanded
with care, many living principally on roots and
" Kane says that the gulls soon grew to be as tame as poultry, and that the
children called them their pigeons. They had clear, dark eyes, small feet,
and large wings that arched in flight. The Mormons, 67. ' No one is allowed
to kill a gull in Utah, and they are consequently very tame.' Jenning's Ma-
terial Progress, MS., 7. 'I am sure that the wheat was in head, and that it
averaged two or three crickets on every head, bending them down. One
couldn't step without crushing under foot as many as the foot could cover.'
Mrs Clara Young's Experiences of a Pioneer, MS., 9. 'Channels were dug
and filled with water to prevent their travel, but they would throw them-
selves across; it was impossible to fight them back.' Kebeker's Early Justice,
MS., 2. 'In the spring, when thousands of young trees had been started and
were several inches in height, came the crickets. The wheat, too, was well
in head.' Home's Migrations, MS., p. 28.
^''Says Mr Jennings: 'They would devastate hundreds of acres, and as
they would rise and fly high in the air, the air would be darkened with them.
They seemed to be massed together, and to take but one direction, flying eight
or ten miles perhaps, then settling upon another field . . . The only extermi-
nator seems to be the sea-gulls. They gorge themselves on this rich diet;
they suddenly appear in the wake of the grasshoppers, and will swallow them,
throw them up, and swallow them again. . .Sometimes the grasshoppers come
like a cloud, and apparently alighting not knowing where; on one occasion a
quarter of their number perhaps di'opped into the lake, and were blown on
shore by the wind, m rows of sometimes two feet deep for a distance of two
miles.' Material Progres*, MS., 6-7.
*' ' Word was sent back that probably no crops could be raised that year,
and advising that no further emigrations should come in that season.' Mrt
Clara Youmfs Experiencen of a Pioneer, M S. , 9. John Young wished to send an
express to his brother, the president, advising him not to bring any more peo-
ple to the valley, as there was danger of starvation. Utah Early liecords, MS.,
30-2. Parley P. Pratt writes: 'I had a good harvest of wheat and rye with-
out irrigation, but those who irrigated had double the quantity. Wheat
harvest commenced early in July. . .Oats do extremely weU, yielding sixty
bushels for one.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1848, 54.
282 m THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
thistles, to which fare was sometimes added a little
flour or milk. The wheat crop, however, turned out
better than was expected, and pumpkins, melons, and
corn yielded good returns.^^
On the 10th of August, however, the harvest being
then gathered, a feast was held in the bowery, at
which the tables were loaded with a variety of viands,
vegetables, beef, and bread, butter and cheese, with
cakes and pastry. Sheaves of wheat and other grain
were hoisted on harvest poles; "and," says Parley,
"there was prayer and thanksgiving, congratulations,
songs, speeches, music, dancing, smiling faces, and
merry hearts."
The rendezvous for westward-bound brethren in the
spring of 1848 was the Elkhorn River, and thither at
the end of May came the president, who organized the
people and gave them instructions to be observed on
the way. Good order was to be preserved in camp;
there must be no shouting; prayers were to be at-
tended to, and lights put out at 9 o'clock. Drivers
of teams must walk beside their oxen, and not leave
them without permission. Brigham was general super-
intendent of the emigrating companies, with Daniel
H. Wells as aide-de-camp, H. S. Eldredge marshal,
and Hosea Stout captain of the night-guard. Mov-
ing west early in June, on the 14th the emigrants
were fired on by Indians, two being wounded. At
this time also there was sickness in the camp. To
secure grass and water, the emigration was sepa-
rated into divisions, of which there were two principal
**' Wheat harvest good. COi.^ crop good. The worms ate some in the
ear. Price of wheat, $2 a bushel. Population, 1,800; n.aiu fence, 12 miles
long. Had a surplus of bread-stuff this year.' I/i^t. B. Young, MS., Aug.
1, 1848, 52. Parley states that he and his family, in common with many
others, suffered much for want of food. He had ploughed and planted,
in grain and vegetables, nearly 40 acres, nearly every women and child in his
family toiling in the field so far as their age and strength would permit.
Autobiog., 405. 'One family had nothing but milk to live upon;... they
would let a portion thicken, and then roix it with new milk and eat it for
bread. They lived upon it for six weeks, and thrived. ' Eliza Snow, in Utah
NoLea, MS., 6.
J
ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST MAIL. ' 283
ones, under Brigham Young and H. C. Kimball, with
several subdivisions.^
The first letters received at Great Salt Lake City
from Brigham came twelve months after his departure
from the valley, and were sent on in advance from the
encampments. The excitement was great as Taylor
and Green rode into the city and distributed the
letters, without envelopes, tied round and round with
buckskin thongs, and bearing the cheering news that
a large body of brethren was on the way, and bring-
ing plenty of food.^*
In June and July two small parties left the city to
meet the immigration, and another in August. In
September Brigham and the first companies arrived;
and under the organization of the president and his
two counsellors, Willard Bichards and Heber C. Kim-
ball, during the autumn months most ofthelSfe^Iiren
from Winter Quarters and other camps reached the
valley. ^^
Before the expiration of the year, there were nearly
^' The first division consisted of 1,229 persons, with 397 wagons, 74 horses,
91 mules, 1,275 oxen, 699 cows, 184 loose cattle, 411 sheep, 141 pigs, 605
chickens, 37 cats, 82 dogs, 3 goats, 10 geese, 2 hives of bees, 8 doves, and I
crow; the second of 662 persons, with 226 wagons, 57 horses, 25 mules, 737
oxen, 284 cows, 150 loose cattle, 243 sheep, 96 pigs, 299 chickens, 17 cats, 52
dogs, 3 hives of bees, 3 doves, 5 ducks, and 1 squirrel.
*^ As recorded in Mrs Clara Decker Young's very valuable manuscript.
She shows now the first letter received, still tied with buckskin thongs.
"^The first companies under Brigham arrived on Sept. 20th; Kimball's
party reached the valley a few days later. At the beginning of Augu''t
Lorenzo Snow, A. 0. Smoot, and others, with 47 wagons and 124 yoke of oxen,
were sent from Salt Lake City to assist the emigrants. On the 28th of the
same month a party well supplied with wagons and cattle was sent back
to Winter Quarters from the camp of the president, then on the Sweet-
water. Utah Early Records, MS., 33. The companies under Richards
reached their destination toward the end of October. RichariW Narr.,
MS., 38. In relating the incidents of his journey, Richards states that his
was the last party to leave Winter Quarters during that summer. His men
were ill supplied with provisions; feed was scarce, and many of the cattle died
from drinking alkali w ater, so that he was compelled to yoke to the wagons
even his yearlings and his milch-cows. Many families, including the children,
were compelled to walk the entire distance; yet notasingle death occurred. Id.,
34-5. ' The companies behind were kept well informed of the progress of those
in advance. . .Sometimes a copy of the camp journal was written and placed
in a notch in a tree, . . .sometimes in a post stuck in the ground; but whenever
a large buffalo skull or other suitable bone was found, . . .some particulars were
written on them.' Cannon, in Juv. Inst., xix. no. 3, 36.
284 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
three thousand,^^ and including the pioneers, the bat-
taUon men, and the companies that arrived under
Parley, at least five thousand of the saints assembled
in the valley.
Thus about one fourth of the exiles from Nauvoo
were for the present beyond reach of molestation.
That five thousand persons, including a very large
proportion of women and children, almost without
mone}^, almost without provisions, excepting the milk
of their kine and the grain which they had raised near
their own camps, should, almost without the loss of a
life, have accomplished this journey of more than
twelve hundred miles, crossing range after range of
mountains, bridging rivers, and traversing deserts,
while liable at any moment to be attacked by roam-
inof bands of savao^es, is one of the marvels that this
century has witnessed. To those who met them on the
route, the strict order of their march, their coolness
and rapidity in closing ranks to repel assault, their
method in posting sentries around camp and corral,
suggested rather the movements of a well-organized
army than the migration of a people; and in truth,
few armies have been better organized or more ably
led than was this army of the Lord.^^ To the skill
of their leaders, and their own concert of purpose
and action, was due their preservation. And now, at
length, they had made good their escape from the
land of their bondage to the promised land of their
freedom, in which, though a wilderness, they rejoiced
to dwell.
In a private letter written in September 1848,
Parley writes: "How quiet, how still, how free
from excitement we livel The legislation of our
high council, the decision of some judge or court of
*^ White persons 2,393, and 24 negroes, with 792 wagons, 2,527 oxen, about
1,700 cows, 181 horses, 1,023 sheep, and other live-stock. IJtah Early Bee-
ords, MS., 41.
^' ' So well recognized were the results of this organization, that bands of
hostile Indians have passed by comparatively small parties of Mormons to
attack much larger but less compact bodies of other emigrants.' Kane's The
Mormons, 34.
I
DISTRIBUTION OF LANDS. 285
the church, a meeting, a dance, a visit, an exploring
tour, the arrival of a party of trappers and traders, a
Mexican caravan, a party arrived from the Pacific,-^
from the States, from Fort Bridge r, a visit of Ind-
ians, or perhaps a mail from the distant world once or
twice a year, is all that breaks the monotony of our
busy and peaceful life . . . Here, too, we all are rich —
there is no real poverty; all men have access to the
soil, the pasture, the timber, the water power, and all
the elements of wealth, without money or price." ^^
On his arrival in the autumn, Brigham stirred up
the people to the greatest activity. Fencing material
being scarce, and the city lands all appropriated, it was
proposed that a large field for farming purposes adjoin-
ing the city should be selected and fenced in com-
mon. By October there were 863 applications for
lots, amounting to 11,005 acres.
A united effort was made to fence the city, which
was done by enclosing each ward in one field, and re-
quiring the owner of every lot to build his proportion
of the fence.^*' No lots were allowed to be held for
speculation, the intention, originally, being to assign
them only to those who would occupy and improve
them. The farming land nearest the city was sur-
veyed in five-acre lots to accommodate the mechanics
and artisans; next beyond were ten-acre lots, followed
by forty and eighty acres, where farmers could build
and reside. All these farms were enclosed in one
common fence, constituting what was called the 'big
field,' before mentioned.^^
*^ ' In July 1848, William and Nathan Hawks, Sanford Jacobs, and Rich-
ard Slater came from California with copies of Brannan's Star of April 1st,
and tidings that the brethren at San Francisco were doing well, and that
those who had settled on the San Joaquin River had vacated in favor of the
mosquitoes.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1848, 46.
** The letter was afterward published in part in Snow^s Voice of Joseph,
16, and portions copied into Utah Early Pioneers, MS., 34-5.
*" ' Every man is to help build a pole, ditch, or a stone fence. . .in propor-
tion to the land he draws, also a canal on each side for the purpose of irriga-
tion.' Hist. B. Youufj, MS., 1849, 55.
*i 'The fence will be 17 miles and 53 rods long, and 8 ft high.' Hist. B.
Young, MS., 1848, 68-9; Juv. Inst.,ix. no. 3, 34. It had been decided by the
high council in Jan. that fencing be commenced, and that the farm lauds be
286 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
The streets were kept open, but were barely wide
enough for travel, as the owners cultivated the space
in front of their houses. At a meeting on the 24th of
September, permission was granted to build on the lots
immediately, all buildings to be at least twenty feet from
the sidewalk; and a few days later it was voted " that
a land record should be kept, and that $1.50 be paid
for each lot; one dollar to the surveyor and fifty
cents to the clerk for recording." A council-house
was ordered to be built by tithing labor; and it was
suggested that water from the Big Cottonwood be
brought into the city; the toll for grinding grain was
to be increased,^^ and a resolution was passed against
the sale or use of ardent spirits. That all might be
satisfied, the lots were to be distributed "by ballot,
or casting lots, as Israel did in days of old."^'
On the 1st of October Brigham called the battalion
brethren together, blessed them, and thanked them
for the service they had rendered. "The plan of rais-
ing a battalion to march to California," he said, "by a
call from the war department, was devised with a view
to the total overthrow of this kingdom, and the de-
struction of every man, woman, and child. "^*
Winter was now at hand, and there was sore need
that the saints should bestir themselves. The presi-
located as near together as possible, and immediately south of the city. The
line of the fence began at a steep point in the bluffs just south of the warm
springs, thence straight to the north-west corner of the fort, then from the
south-east corner of the fort, east of south, to some distance south of Will
Creek, thence east to the bluffs again, its entire length, including two sides
of the fort, being 3,638 rods. Utah Early Records, MS., 20-1. The entire
tract was 5,153 acres, of which 872 acres were sown with winter-wheat, the
remainder being intended for spring and summer crops.
'^ 'Chas Crismon petitions that it be increased from 1-16 to 1-10; granted.'
Hist. B. Young, MS., 1848, 64.
'''The city plat is already allotted, and many families are at present
without lots; therefore we have deemed it expedient to run off an addition to
the city, commencing at the eastern line of the city and running east as far
as the nature of the land will allow for building purposes. Not only is this
addition necessary, but we are going to lay off a site for a city about ten miles
north, and another site about ten miles to the south of our city.' Hist. B.
Young, MS., 1848, 69.
»*//«■«<. B. Young, MS., 1848, 65. This was not the case. See Hist. Cal.,
vol. V. chap, xviii., this series.
SECOXD WINTER EST THE VALLEY. 287
dent and others of the church dignitaries worked in-
defatigably with their people, carrying mortar and
making adobes, hauling timber and sawing it. There
were but 450 log cabins within the stockade, and
one thousand more well-filled wagons had arrived this
season.
A county government was organized, and John D.
Barker elected sheriff, Isaac Clark judge of probate,
and Evan M. Green recorder and treasurer. ^^ Two
hunting companies in December were formed, under
the leadership of John D. Lee and John Pack, for
the extermination of wild beasts. There were eighty-
four men in all, and their efforts were successfid.^^
From the 1st of December until the end of February
there were heavy snow-storms. On the coldest day
the mercury fell below zero,^^ and on the warmest
marked 21° of Fahrenheit. On account of the snow
in the canons it was difficult to bring in the necessary
fuel. As the previous winter had been warm, the
settlers were unprepared for such cold weather, and
there was much suffering.*^
'5 ' George Coulson, Andrew H. Perkins, and David D. Yearsley, county
commissioners; James Sloan, district clerk; Jacob G. Bigler, William Snow,
Levi Bracken, and Jonathan C. Wright, magistrates.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 77.
^® ' The two hunting companies organized last Dec. report that they have
killed 2 bears, 2 wolrerenes, 2 wild-cats, 7S3 wolves, 409 foxes, .31 minks,
9 eagles, 5.30 magpies, hawks, and owls, and 1,026 ravens.' Hist. B. Youmj,
MS., March 1849.
'' ' To 33° below freezing-point on Feb. 5th. ' General Epistle of the Twelve,
in Frontier Guardian, May 30, 1849.
'^ 'At Fort Bridger the winter had been unusually severe, and the traders,
it was reported, had suffered almost starvation.' It was resolved that no
com should be made into whiskey, and that if any man was preparing to distil
com into whiskey or alcohol, the com should be taken and given to tlie poor.
HLit. B. Young, MS., 1849, 4.
CHAPTER XII.
IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
1849.
Food Supply and Shelter — Building Lots — Cubkency Issue — Bank
Notes and Coinage — Pkivate and Public Buildings — Wide Area of
the City — Second Anniversary of the Pioneers — Festivals and
Amusements — Labor a Duty among the Saints — Effect of the Cali-
fornia Gold Discovery — Immigration — Carrying Company — Cali-
fornia-bound Emigrants — Their Traffic with the Mormons — Prod-
ucts AND Prices — Gold-hunting Frowned upon by the Church.
Throughout the winter of 1848-9 food was scarce
among the settlers. Many still subsisted mainly on
roots, thistles, and even on rawhides.-^ Milk, flesh,
and the small quantity of breadstufis that remained
were, however, distributed among the poor in such
quantities as to prevent actual starvation. On April
1, 1849, each household was required to state the
smallest allowance of breadstuffs that would suffice
until the forth-coming harvest. Some received half
a pound a day, and others four ounces.^
* * Many were necessitated to eat rawhides, and to dig sago and thistle
roots for mouths to subsist upon.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 95.
^ The committee on breadstuffs reported on the 8th of Feb. that there
was iM lb. per capita for the next five months. Utah Early Records, MS., 45.
' In the former part of Feb. the bishops took an inventory of the breadstuff
in the valley, when was reported a little moro than f lb. per day for each
soul, until the 9th of July; and considerable was known to exist which was
not reported. Hence while some were nearly destitute others had abundance.
The price of corn since harvest has been $2; some has sold for $3; at present
there is none in the market at any price. Wheat has ranged from $4 to $5,
and potatoes from $6 to $20, a bushel; and though not to be bought at pres-
ent, it is expected that there will be a good supply for seed by another
year. ' General Epistle of the Twelve, in Frontier Guardian, May 30, 1 849.
' Those persons who had imparted measurably to those who had not, so that
all extremity of suffering from hunger was avoided.' Uist. D. Young, MS.,
1849, 95.
98R>
i
DWELLINGS OF THE SAINTS. 289
Until the first fruits were reaped the famine con-
tinued, but the harvest of 1849 was a bountiful one,^
and for six years thereafter none wanted for bread in
the city of Salt Lake.*
During part of this season many women and chil-
dren were without shelter or fuel. To each family as
it arrived was given a city lot, until the site was
exhausted, as we have seen; but for most a wagon
served for dwelling during the coldest months, and
later an adobe hut, roofed with unseasoned lumber,
and thatched with hay or frozen mud.^ Before sum-
mer all were housed in log or adobe dwellings/ the fort
' It was not injured by crickets. Kane^s The Mormons, 67. ' Our prophet
predicted thg,t if we would exercise patience under our difficulties during
the immediate future, our necessities would be supplied as cheaply as they
could be in the city of St Louis; and this proved to be true, for in 1849 we
raised fair crops.' Smoot's Mormon Wife, MS., 5-6.
* The peculiar chemical formations in earth and water proved of great prac-
tical value when once understood. ' For two years all the saleratus used was
obtained from Saleratus Lake, near Independence Rock; the salt from the
lake became an article of value in local use and among their exports. The
alkali swept down from the mountains, and composed of a great variety of
ingredients, tuch as magnesia, soda, salt, etc., when once subdued, makes the
most durable of soils, which needs no enriching.' Richards, in Utah Notes,
MS., 8.
'' ' Now as regards my beginning at Salt Lake. Soon after my arrival a
city lot was assigned to me for a home and residence, on which I placed my
wagon box or wagon bed, which contained our provisions, bedding, and all
our earthly goods, placed them upon the ground, turned away our stock upon
the winter range, and looked about us. 1 soon disposed of some of my cloth-
ing for some adobes, and put the walls up of a small room, which we covered
with a tent-cloth, that answered us during the winter, until lumber could be
procured next spring.' Richards' Nan:, MS., 38; Early Records, MS., 36-8.
^ On Feb. 18th the people began to move out of the fort to their city lots.
Id., 47. A number of temporary farm buildings had been completed before
this date. Pratt's Autobiography, 406; Millennial Star, x. 370. A correspond-
ent of the New York Tribune, writing from Salt Lake City, July 8, 1849, gives
an exaggerated account of the place, which has been copied by several writers
on Mormonism. ' There were no hotels, because there was no travel; no bar-
bers' shops, because every one chose to shave his neighbor; no stores, because'
they had no goods to sell nor time to traffic; no centre of business, because
all were too busy to make a centre. There was abundance of mechanics'
shops, of dressmakers, milliners, and tailors, etc.; but they needed no sign,
nor had they time to paint or erect one, for they were crowded with business.
I this day attended worship with them in the open air. Some thousands of
well-dressed, intelligent-looking people assembled, some on foot, some in car-
riages, and on horseback. Many were neatly and even fashionably clad.
The beauty and neatness of the ladies reminded me of some of our congre-
gations in New York.' The letter is in Mackay's The Mormons, 282. It is
unnecessary to expose the absurdity of this description, as the reader is well
aware that hundreds of California-bound emigrants passed through the valley
this year. Harvesting began July 9th, and until that date the Mormons were
Hist. Uxah. 19
290 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
being rapidly broken up by the removal of the houses
on to the city lots. The city was divided into nine-
teen bishops' wards ;^ the ten-acre blocks were divided
into allotments of an acre and a quarter, the five-acre
lots in similar proportion, each building facing the
garden of the one adjoining, the space of twenty feet
left between the houses and the surrounding fence
being afterward planted with trees and shrubbery.®
The need of a circulating medium had been felt
ever since the valley had been settled.^ Their cui-
rency was blankets, grain, and seeds; and even after
gold-dust was brought in by the miners great incon-
venience was experienced in its use, and many re-
fused to take it, as there was a waste in weighing it.
To meet this emergency, bank bills for one dollar
often without their daily bread, as we have seen. The following is probably
much nearer the truth: 'The houses are small, principally of brick (adobe),
built up only as temporary abodes, until the more urgent and important mat-
ters of enclosure and cultivation are attended to; but I never saw anything to
surpass the ingenuity of arrangement with which they are fitted up, and the
scrupulous cleanliness with which they are kept. There were tradesmen and
artisans of all descriptions, but no regular stores or workshops, except forges.
Still, from the shoeing of a horse to the mending of a watch there was no dif-
ficulty in getting it done, as cheap and as well put out of hand as in any other
city in America.' Kelly' x Excursion to California, 226.
' The bishops were David Fairbanks, John Lowry, Christopher Williams,
William Hickenlooper, William J. Perkins, Addison Everett, Seth Taft, Da\'id
Pettigrew, Benjamin Covey, Edward Hunter, John Murdock, Abraham 0.
Smoot, Isaac Higbee, Joseph L. Heywood, James Hendrix, Benjamin Brown,
Orville S. Cox, and Joel H. Johnson. Utah Early Records, MS., 47-8, 69.
The valley is settled for 20 miles south and 40 miles north, and divided into
19 wards. Hist. B. Yoiuig, MS., 1849, 67.
^ At a council held Feb. 17, 1849, the committee on fencing reported that
the enclosure termed the big field would include 291 ten-acre lots, 460 five-
acre lots, the church farm of 800 acres, and 17 acres of fractional lots, the
whole requiring 5,240 rods of fencing, of which it was recommended that
3,216 should be of adobes, 663 of adobes or stone, and 1,361 of ditch, posts,
and rails. 'When the Mormons first arrived they did not quarrel for
best lands, but cultivated a whole district in common, dividing the harvest
according to work done, seed supplied, and need of family. On dividing the
town into lots, each received his plat, and so with fields, for south of the town
lay a field of 6 square miles, cultivated in common; this was divided into 5-
acre square lots and given to heads of families, by lot or distributioii, in tracts
of one to eight lots each. After the distribution some began to speculate with
their lots, but to this the church objected, saying that none should sell his
land for more than first cost and improvements, for it belonged to God, and
was merely Iield in use by the holder. Still, secret speculations occurred. '
Olshau.sen's Mormonen, 166-7.
® ' Owing to the absence of small change, the tax collector was instructed
to give due-bills for sums less than a dollar, and redeem them when presented
in sufficient amount.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 23.
GOLD AND PAPER CURRENCY. 291
were issued on the 1st of January, 1849, signed by
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Thomas
Bullock, clerk. In September, Brigham had brought
eighty-four dollars in small change into the valley,
which had been distributed, but was no longer in cir-
culation. On the 6th of January, resolutions were
passed by the council to the effect that "the Kirtland
bank bills be put into circulation for the accommodation
of the people, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Joseph,
that the Kirtland notes would one day be as good as
gold." The first printing was in connection with the
manufacture of paper money. ^"
Previous to the issue of this currency an attempt
was made by John Kay to coin gold-dust, but the
crucibles broke in the attempt. All the dies and
everj^thing connected with the coining were made in
Salt Lake City.^^ Subsequent attempts were more
successful. The coin was made of pure gold, without
alloy, which made it deficient in weight; it was there-
fore sold as bullion. Brigham then proposed the issue
of paper currenc}'- until gold could be coined. ^"^ There
v/as also a paper currency issued some years later
by a company in Salt Lake City known as the Des-
eret Currency Association, its capital being in cattle,
but this was merely a temporary convenience." Cur-
'*• Fifty -cent and one-dollar paper currency was issued. Hist, B. Young,
MS., 1849, 3. On the 22d, type was set for 50-cent bills — the first type-
setting in the city. Id., 42-3; S. L. C. Contributor, ii. 209.
" 'Robert Campbell engraved the stamps for the coin.' Wells' Narr.,
MS., 42. Brigham says, 'I ofifered the gold-dust back to the people, but
they did not want it.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 1. 'Thos L. Smith, a
mountaineer, wrote me from Bear River Valley, offering to sell me §200 or
$300 in small coin. . .and take our currency for the same, and he would trade
his skins, furs, robes, etc., with us.' Id., 79.
'^ 'John Kay coined $2.50, $3, and $20 pieces.' Neheker's Early Justice,
MS., 3. A description is given in Juv. Inst, of coins with beehive and spread
eagle on one side, with inscription 'Deseret Assay Office, Pure Gold,' and at
the base '5 D.' On the reverse is a lion, surrounded by 'Holiness to the
Lord,' in characters known as the Deseret alphabet. Vol. ix. no. 4, p. 39. In
1849 and 1850, coins of the value of $20, $10, $5, and $2.50 were struck off.
Their fineness was 899-1000, and no alloy was used except a little silver. S.
L. C. Contributor, ii. 209. 'The gold-dust was sufficient in quantity for all
ordinary purposes ... In the exchange the brethren deposited the gold-dust
with the presidency, who issued bills or a paper currency; and the Kirtland
safety fund re-signed it on a par with gold. ' Id. , 56.
" See Taylor's Reminiscences, MS. , 23.
202 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
rency, in either gold or paper, was afterward desig-
nated as valley tan, a name synonymous with home-
made or of Utah manufacture, the origin of which
will be explained later. ^^
Of the houses built early in 1849, few had more
than two rooms, many had only board windows, and
some were without doors. Several of the adobe
houses in the fort had fallen down from the effects of
the thaw. When at last they had learned how to make
adobes, they were of the best kind. Alkali at first
was mixed with the clay, which, when exposed to rain,
would expand and burst the bricks. After this year
more commodious structures were erected for public
and private use, the means being supplied in part by
traffic with emigrants for California. Conspicuous
among them was the council-house on East Temple
street, a two-story stone edifice, forty-five feet square, ^^
used originally for church purposes, and afterward
occupied by the state and territorial legislatures. In
front of the council-house was temple block, on the
south-west corner of which stood the tabernacle, built
in 1851-2, on the ground now occupied by the assem-
bly hall, with accommodation for 2,500 persons, ^^ and
consecrated on April 6th of the latter year." Dur-
^* See chap, xix., note 44, this vol.
'^ ' I was appointed superintendent of public works in the fall of 1848.
The first house that was built was a little adobe place that was used for the
church office. . .The little office that was the first place built was one storj',
about 18 by 12 feet, slanting roof covered with boards and dirt. This re-
mained the church office fur about two years . . . The foundation of the council -
house was laid in the spring of 1849, and then the first story put up.' Wells^
Narr., MS., 41-2. Built by tithing. Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 55. At a
meeting held Oct. 1, 1848, it was resolved to build a council-house, and on
the 7th of November masons commenced laying the foundation. Utah Early
Records, MS., 36, 38.
'^ Linforth gives its dimensions at 126 ft by 64, and states that the roof
was arched, without being supported by pillars. Roxite from Liverpool, 109.
In Utah Early Becords, MS., 125, 127, it is stated that the dimensions were
120 by 60 ft, and that work was begun May 21st. See also Deseret News,
May 17, 1851; The Mormons at Home, 112-13, 147-9; Burton's City of the
Saints, 270.
•' At a general conference, the proceedings of which are related in the
Contributor, ii. 333. The conference lasted several days, and at its conclusion
a collection was made to provide funds for a sacramental service, $149 being
given in coin, together with several pounds' weight of silver watch-cases,
spoons, rings, and ornaments. From the silver, cups were made, which are
still in use at the tabernacle.
I
PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 293
ing its construction, the saints in every part of the
world were urged to self-denial, and it was voted to
dispense with the use of tea, coffee, snuff, and tobacco,
the sums thus saved to be also used for the building
of the temple, which was to stand on the same block.
The latter was to be built of stone quarried in the
mountains, and a railroad from temple block to the
quarry was chartered for the conveyance of building
material.
Adjoining the tabernacle was the bowery, 100 by
60 feet, made of posts and boarding, completed three
or four years later, and large enough to contain 8,000
people, a temporary structure having been erected in
1848. Among other buildings may be mentioned the
tithing office, the social hall, and the seventies' hall of
science. Several bridges were also built, which were
paid for by the one per centum property tax.^^
Thus at the western base of the Wasatch Moun-
tains was laid out the city of Great Salt Lake, its
buildings being distributed over a greater area than
that on which stood, in 1850, the commercial metrop-
olis of the United States.-^^ Its site was on a slope,
barely perceptible except toward the north, where it
was enclosed by the Wasatch Range and a spur trend-
ing to the westward. Resting on the eastern bank of
the Jordan, it was watered by several creeks; a canal,
twelve miles long, crossing three streams, being pro-
posed to convey the waters of the Big Cottonwood
to the farm-lands south of the city; and through
each street flowed a rivulet of pure water, which was
thence diverted into the garden plats.
On the 24th of July, 1849, was held the second
anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers.^'' At day-
^* Resolved that a tax of one per ct per annum be assessed on property to
repaii- public highways. Iliist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 5.
i« Kane'.i The Mormons, 74; New York Tribune, Oct. 7, 1849.
'•'''The 4th and 24th of July were at first celebrated together, but on t^e
latter date because bread and vegetables were more plentiful at the end of tbia
montl than at the beginning. Utah Early Records, MS., 91,
294 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
break cannon were fired and bands of music passed
through the city, arousing the citizens for the great
events of the day. A flag brought from Nauvoo was
prominently displayed, and a larger flag was hoisted
from the liberty-pole. A procession was formed of
young men and maidens, who in appropriate costumes,
bearing banners and singing, escorted Brigham to the
bowery. They were received with shouts of "Ho-
sanna to God and the Lambl" While the governor
and the church dignitaries were passing down the aisle
cheers and shouts of " Hail to the governor of Des-
eret!" greeted them on every side. The declaration
of independence and the constitution were then read,
followed by patriotic addresses. The procession was
then re-formed and marched to the feast served on
tables fourteen hundred feet in length. "The tables
were heavily loaded," says Brigham, "with all the lux-
uries of field and garden, and with nearly all the vege-
tables of the world; the seats were filled and refilled
by a people who had been deprived of those luxuries
for years, and they welcomed to their table every
stranger within their border. "^^ A greater variety
was provided, as the saints had exchanged for many
luxuries their flour, butter, potatoes, and other pro-
duce, with passing emigrants.
Not only on the pioneer anniversary but on the
4th of July,^^ at christmas week, and on other occa-
^^ 'The hospitalities of the occasion were not confined to the saints alone,
but included several hundreds of California emigrants who had stopped to
recruit, as well as threescore Indians, ' says Eliza Suow. See Snow's Biographi/,
95-107, for description of the celebration; also Kane's J'he Mormons, 80-1;
Hist. B. Young, MS., 108-116, 143; Mrs Home's Migrations, MS., 30; Frontier
Guardian, Sept. 19, 1849. After dinner four and twenty toasts were drunk, fol-
lowed by volunteer toasts. President Young declared that he never saw such
a dinner in his life. One of the elders remarked that 'it was almost a marvel-
lous thing that everybody was satisfied, and. . .not an oath was uttered, not a
man intoxicated, not a jar or disturbance occurred to mar the union, peace,
and harmony of the day.' Frontier Guardian, Sept. 19, 1849. Among the
guests was the Indian chief Walker, who, accompanied by Soweite, chief of
the Utahs, and several hundred Indians, men, women, and children, had ris-
ited the city in Sept. 1848. Utah Early Records, MS., 33.
^^ For a description of 4th of July festivities, see Frontier Guardian, July
10, 1850, Oct. 3, 1851; Deseret News, July 12, 1851, July 10, 1852; S. L. C.
Contributor, ii. 271.
I
THEATRICALS AND FESTIVITIES. 295
sions festivities were held.'^' Sometimes the guests
contributed toward the expense of the entertainment,
the amount that each one was expected to pay being
stated on the card of invitation.^*
In winter, theatrical performances were given by
the Deseret Dramatic Association at the social hall,
and in summer at the bowery, the parts being well
sustained and the orchestra and decorations well ap-
pointed.^^ At the former, private parties were given
when the gathering was too large for the residence of
the host; in the basement were appliances for cooking,
and adjoining was a dining-room with seats and tables
sufficient for three hundred persons. All entertain-
ments were opened with prayer; then came dancing,
songs, and music, followed by supper, the guests being
dismissed with a benediction at an early hour.
The public festivities of the Mormons were always
conducted under the auspices of the church, and none
were allowed to join in them who were not in good
standing. To sing, dance, and rejoice before the
Lord was regarded almost as a religious duty, but
only those must rejoice w^hose hearts were pure and
whose hands were clean. Thus, toward christmas of
this year, 1849, regulations were issued by the high
council for the observance of the approaching holi-
days. They were to commence on the 20th of De-
cember and last until the council should declare them
at an end, officers being appointed to preside over the
dances. No person who had been disfellowshipped
^^ The-christmas festival of 1851 is described in the Deseret News, Jan.
24, 1852. ' On the 24th,' writes Brigham in regard to another occasion, 'I in-
vited the wives of the twelve apostles, and other elders who were on missions,
with a number of my relatives, to dine at my house. Seventy ladies sat down
at the first table. I employed five sleighs to collect the company; the day
was stormy; near my house the snow drifted three feet deep.' Hist. B. Young,
MS., 1850, 2.
^* Contributions were often made in the shape of eatables, and an in-door
picnic extemporized. Ferris' Utah and the Mormons, 306.
■■'* In May 1851, the second act of ' Robert Macaire' was performed at the
bowery, the performance concluding with the farce of ' The Dead Shot.' Con-
tributor, ii. 271.
296 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
or excommunicated was allowed to go forth to the
dance. Those who had sold liquor for gain, thereby
corrupting the morals of society, were also disquali-
fied. All friends and well-VA^shers to society, all who
remembered the poor and needy,'^^ were invited to
participate, though not members of the church. But
declares the council : "Woe unto them that dance with
guile and malice in their hearts toward their neigh-
bor! Woe unto them that have secretly injured their
neighbor or his or her property! Woe unto them
that are ministers of disorder and of evil ! If these
shall go forth in the dance without confessing and
forsaking their guilt, the faith of the council is that
they seal their doom by it."
After their festivities the people returned, each to
his calling, with renewed zest. It was an article of
faith among them that labor was honorable, and all
who were not missionaries were expected to do their
part. By revelation, Joseph Smith was released from
this obligation, but Brigham Young worked as a car-
penter in his own mills. Labor was regarded as a
duty no less than prayer or temple service, each one
working with his hands at whatsoever he found to
do, and cheerfully contributing his tithes toward the
church revenues, which were expended for public im-
provements, for the support of missions, and the re-
lief of the sick and destitute.^^
^^ ' Bring all your tithes and oflferings to the proper place for the poor,
that there be none hungry among us, and let the poor rejoice; and then you
may rejoice in the dance to your heart's content.' Regulations of the High
Council, in Frontier Guardian, Nov. 28, 1849. Brigham, in an address at the
state-house in 1852, at a party given to the legislature, said: 'I want it
distinctly understood that fiddling and dancing are no part of our worship.
My mind labors like a man logging. This is the reason why I am fond of
these pastimes; they give me a privilege to throw everything off and shake
myself, that my body may exercise and my mind rest.' And again: 'This
company is controlled like the ship by the rudder in a gentle breeze, that can
be turned hither and thither at the will and pleasure of him who com-
mands.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1852, 22.
'^'' Olshausen^s Mormonen, 164—5. On July 28, 1850, the president writes to
Orson Hyde, then at Kanesville. ' Our celebration was well attended. It is
a general time of health with the saints, and peace and plenty of hard work,
as every one has been so busy that they can hardly get time to eat or sleep.
You speak about hurry and bustle at Kanesville; butif you were here, to see,
feel, and realize the burdens, labors, and responsibilities, which are daily.
CALIFORNIA-BOUND EMIGRANTS. 297'
Among the causes that led to the prosperity of the
people of Utah at this period was the migration of
gold-seekers to California. Hundreds of emigrants,
turning aside to Salt Lake City, wearied and dis-
pirited, their cattle worn out and their wagons broken,
were glad to exchange them, together with their tools,
household furniture, and spare clothing, for provisions
and pack animals at very low rates.^^ Many were
glad to remain during winter, and work for their liveli-
hood. Though reports were freely circulated to the
contrary, there is sufficient evidence that as a rule
they were kindly treated, and not a few abandoned
their search for gold to cast in their lot with the
saints.^^
The arrival in November of the first pack-mule train
from California, laden with many luxuries and neces-
sities, was an important event. The people formed
in line, waiting hours for their turn to buy the limited
amount allowed.^^ When a sack of potatoes was
hourly, momentarily, rolling, piling, tumbling, and thundering upon us, you
would at least conclude that there was no danger of our getting the gout
from idleness or too much jollity.' Frontier Guardian, Sept. 18, 1850. Men-
tion of cholera on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in the spring of 1849 is
made by Brigham. ' Many Mormon brethren and sisters emigrating on those
rivers died; 60 died going from St Louis to Kanesville, mostly from England
and Wales, under Capt. Dan. Jones.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 85.
^^ Horses, harnesses, carriages, wagons, etc., were bought of eager emigrants
at one fifth of their cost in the states. Utah Early Records, MS., 113.
^^ In the autumn of 1849 many emigrants, while resting in Salt Lake City,
wrote letters to their friends, in which they acknowledged the kindness and
hospitality shown them by the saints. Extracts from these letters were pub-
lished in newspapers throughout the states. Gunnison, The Mormons, 65,
says: ' Their many deeds of charity to the sick and broken-down gold-seekera
all speak loudly in their favor, and must eventually redound to their praise. '
See also Kane's The Mormons, 76-7; Stansbury's Expedition to O. S. Lake, i.
134. In March 1851, numbers of emigrants were baptized, and most of them
remained in Utah. Id., 123. D. J. Staples, who remained at S. L. City for
two or three weeks with a Boston party bound for California in 1849, says:
• The Mormons showed their kindness in every possible way, supplying all
wants and taking care of the sick.' Incidents and Inform., in Cat., MS., D.
1-3. See also Van Dyke's Statement, in Id., 1. Among later instances may
be mentioned that of John C. Fremont, who with nine white men and twelve
Indians arrived at Parowan Jan. 7, 1854, in a starving condition. He was
supplied with provisions and fresh animals, setting forth eastward on the
20th.
^^ Brown sugar was $1 a lb.; and everything else in proportion. No one
was allowed more than one pound of anything. Mrs Home's Migrations,
MS., 30.
298 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREXt SALT LAKE.
brought into the valley in the spring, they were
eagerly bought at any price. From four small ones,
costing fifty cents, was obtained a bushel of good-sized
potatoes which were saved for seed.
The immigration during the season numbered some
1,400 souls, who were added to the settlers in the
valle}',^^ and who, with the number remaining of
those originally bound for California, made a large
population to clothe, feed, and shelter.
A carrying company was also established^^ in De-
cember for the purpose of conveying passengers and
goods from the Missouri River to the gold regions of
California. In their prospectus, the proprietors set
forth that, residing as they did in the valley, and be-
ing acquainted with the route, they could provide
fresh animals as they were needed and save the loss
of hundreds and thousands of dollars that had been
incurred by former parties through inexperience.
For passengers to Sutter's Fort, the rate was $300, of
which $200 must be paid in advance, and the remain-
der on reaching Salt Lake City. For freight, the
terms were $250 per ton, of which two thirds must
also be paid in advance.
A small company under Captain Lamoreaux left
the valley for Green Kiver, and there established a
ferry and trading post; among them were wagon-
makers and blacksmiths, whose services would be in-
valuable.
When the immigrants of this year arrived in the
valley of the Great Salt Lake, many of them were
'' ' Our cattle stampeded, and at the south pass of the Platte vre were
overtaken by a heavy storm, in which 70 animals were frozen. We made our
journey to Salt Lake City, 1,034 miles, in 145 days, arriving Oct. 27th.' Geo.
A. Smith's Autobiog., in TulUdije's Mag., July 18S4. The cattleof theCalifor-
nia Enterprise Company, under Judge Thos K. Owen of 111., stampeded near
the forks of the Platte and ran back 130 miles in about 26 hours; they were
brought aloi'g by Capt. Allen Taylor's company, which received from their
owners a series of resolutions expressive of their gratitude. Hist. B. Yovwj,
MS., 1849, 157-8.
^'■^ Termed the Great Salt Lake Valley Carrying Company. The proprie-
tors were Shadrach Roundy, Jedediah M. Grant, John S. Fullmer, George
D. Grant, and Russell Homer. Utah Early Records, MS., 101; Hist. B.
Young, MS., 1849, 108.
J
PROSPERITY OF THE SAINTS. 299
almost destitute of clothing,^^ bedding, and household
furniture, such articles as they possessed having been
exchanged for food during their journey. In 1848
it had been prophesied by Heber C. Kimball that the
commodities, known among the brethren as 'states
goods,' would be as cheap in Salt Lake City as in New
York; while Brigham Young, soon after setting forth
from Nauvoo, had made a similar prediction, declaring
that within five years his people would be more pros-
perous than they had ever been. Both prophecies
were fulfilled,^* when, during the first years of the
gold fever, company after company came pouring into
Utah, which might now be termed the half-way house
of the nation. Several hundred California-bound emi-
grants arrived in the valley in 1849, too late to con-
tinue their journey on the northern route, and proposed
to spend the winter in the valley. There was scarcely
provision enough for those already there, and as Jeffer-
son Hunt of the battalion offered to pilot the company
over the southern route, they decided to undertake
the trip, and started on the 8th of October, arriving
in California on the 22d of December. ^^ On the 1st
of December nineteen men came into the city on
foot, nearly famished, having been two days making
their way over Big Mountain. Their wagons had
been left on Echo Creek, and their animals at Wil-
low Springs, where the snow, they said, was six feet
deep on a level. Though many of these adven-
turers were poor, some of the trains were loaded
with valuable merchandise, for which their owners
'^ Parley relates that during 1848 he and his family were compelled to go
barefooted for several mouths, reserving their Indian moccasins for extra
occasions. Autobiog., 405.
'*In the summer of 1849, almost every article except tea and coffee sold at
50 per cent below the prices ruling in eastern cities. Frontier Guardian, Sept.
5, 1849.
^* ' The company became dissatisfied at the continued southern direction.
At Beaver Creek, one Capt. Smith came up with a company of packers, say-
ing that he had maps and charts of a new route, called Walker's cut-olT. All
the packers and most of Capt. Hunter's co. joined Smith. After wandering
about the mountains for a time many turned back and took the southern
route, while Capt. Smith and a few others struggled through and arrived in
California on foot.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 167.
300 m THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
expected to find a ready market on reaching their
destination. But while sojourning in the valley, news
arrived that vessels laden with similar merchandise
had arrived in San Francisco, or were far on their
way, and that already the market was greatly over-
stocked.^® The emigrants were therefore glad to
exchange their costly outfits and their trading goods
for whatever they could get in exchange, a single
horse or a mule, with a small stock of provisions, be-
ing sometimes accepted as an equivalent for property
that had cost the owner thousands of dollars. The
cattle thus obtained by the settlers, in barter, after
being fattened on the nutritious grasses of the valley,
were driven to California, where a sure and profitable
market was found.
As a result of the California-bound migration, there
followed an enormous advance in the price of provi-
sions, flour selling before the harvest of 1850 at one dol-
lar per pound, and after harvest at tw^enty-five dollars
per cental, y' Throughout the autumn of this year the
grist-mills were run to their utmost capacity, grinding
wheat for the passing emigrants, who at any cost
must procure sufficient to carry them to the gold
mines. Some other articles of food were for a time
equally scarce, sugar selling at the rate of three pounds
for two dollars ;^^ though beef was plentiful, and
could be had for ten cents per pound.^^ It is probable,
'* ' Thousands of emigrants. . . have passed through Salt Lake City this sea-
Bon, exchanging domestic clothing, wagons, etc., for horses and mules.' Hist.
B. Young, MS., 1849, 143.
*' Utah Early Records, MS., 112; Contributor, ii. 240. See also Frontier
Guardian, Sept. 18, 1850, where is a copy of an address delivered by Brigham
Young at the bowery, S. L. City. ' I say unto you, farmers, keep your wheat,
for I foresee if you are not careful starvation will be on our heels.' It was
not intended, however, that food should be withheld from the destitute; in
another address from Brigham, published in the same paper, we read: ' I say
to you, latter-day saints, let no man go hungry from your doors; divide with
them and trust in God for more.' 'Emigrants, don't let your spirits be worn
down; and shame be to the door where a man has to go Imngry away.'
^''OnNov. 21, 1849, Mr Vasquez opened a store in Salt Lake City, and
met with ready sale for his sugar at this rate. Utah Early Becordti, MS., 100.
"'Fuel and building material were costly, firewood being worth, in 1850,
ten dollars per cord, adobe bncks a dollar a hundred, and lumber five dollars
the hundred feet. Two years later, 'states goods' had also become scarce
throughout the territory, linen selling for 20 to 30 cents per yard, flannel for
THE GOLD FEVER AMONG THE BRETHREN. 301
however, that these rates represent the prices charged
to passing emigrants, for at this period the wages of
laborers did not exceed $2 per day, and of skilled
mechanics $3. The saints prided themselves upon
their honorable dealings with these strangers, and
the moderate prices demanded, though frequently
charged with swindling.*" They could afford to part
with their produce, because they had learned to dis-
pense with many articles which among other com-
munities were considered necessaries. For men who
had fed during their first winter in the valley on hides
and roots, it was no great hardship to dispense for a
season with a portion of their provisions, their grain,
beef, and butter, their coffee and sugar, in return for
which they received such value.
It was not of course to be expected that while thou-
sands of California- bound emigrants were passing
each year through the Mormon settlements, the saints
should themselves entirely escape the gold fever. In
November 1848, several small parties of the battalion
found their way to Salt Lake City," some of them
bringing considerable quantities of gold-dust, which,
as they relate, had come into their possession in this
wise.
In September 1847 about forty of the battalion
men arrived at Sutter's Fort in search of employment
and were hired by Sutter to dig the races for a flour
mill about six miles from the fort and for a saw-mill
some forty-five miles distant.*'^ The latter work be-
ing completed in January 1848, and the frame of the
30 to 40 cents, prints for 25 to 50 cents, and jeans for 75 cents to $1.25; while
a bottle of ink cost $2, and a ream of writing-paper $10 to $12. Deseret News,
Nov. 6, 1S52, where it is stated that on some classes of goods traders realized
from 200 to 10,000 per cent profit.
*" ' I saved straw that spring and braided forty hats. . .1 made one to order
and sold to an emigrant at the nsnal price, $1. He was surprised at its cheap-
ness, but in all our dealings with emigrants we took no advantage of them.
I took boarders at five or six dollars a week.' Mrs liichards' Rem., MS., 36.
" others had already arrived in June and Sept. of this year. Utah Early
Records, MS., 30-1.
** Their pay was to be 12A cents per cubic yard, with rations and free pasture
for their stock. Tyhr's Hist. Mormon Battalion, 332.
302 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
building erected, water was turned into the flume
on the 24th, and the fall being considerable, washed
out a hole near the base of the mill on reachinof the
tail-race, whereupon Marshall, Sutter's partner, and
superintendent of the party, examined the spot, fear-
ing that the water would undermine the foundations.
While thus engaged, he observed there pieces of yel-
low glistening metal, and picking up a handful put
them in his pocket, not knowing what they were, and
supposing probably that he had found nothing more
valuable than iron pyrites.
They were no iron pyrites, however, that Marshall
had found, but, as it proved, nuggets of gold, the
largest of them being worth about five dollars. The
discovery was revealed in confidence to three of the
saints, who unearthed a few more specimens, and soon
afterward removed to a sand-bar in the Sacramento
river, since known as Mormon Island. Here was gold
in paying quantities, the average earnings of each
man being twenty to thirty dollars per day. But
though dust and nuggets were freely shown to the
brethren, there were few who would believe their
senses, and for weeks the matter caused no excitement.
At length, however, the secret was disclosed, which
soon transformed the peaceful valleys of California into
busy mining camps, changing as if by magic the entire
face of the country. How throughout the settlements
on seaboard and on river the merchant abandoned his
wares, the lawyer his clients, the parson his flock, the
doctor his patients, the farmer his standing grain — all
making one mad rush for the gold-fields, some on
horseback, some with pack-mules, some with wheel-
barrows, some with costly outfits, and some with no
outfit save the clothes on their backs — is fully set forth
in my History of California.
When the disbanded soldiers arrived in the valley
of the Great Salt Lake and displayed their treasures,
a cry was raised among the saints, "To California; to
the land of Ophir that our brethren have discovered!"
J
THE GOLD-SEEKERS REBUKED. 303
But from the twelve came a stern rebuke. "The
true use of gold is for paving streets, covering houses,
and making culinary dishes; and when the saints
shall have preached the gospel, raised grain, and built
up cities enough, the Lord will open the way for a
supply of gold to the perfect satisfaction of his peo-
ple. Until then, let them not be over-anxious, for
the treasures of the earth are in the Lord's store-
house, and he will open the doors thereof when and
where he pleases."*^
President John Smith wrote to the saints in Cali-
fornia in March 1848, urging them to gather at the
Great Salt Lake, "that they might share in the bless-
ings to be conferred on the faithful; and warned them
against settling down at ease in California with an
eye and a half upon this world and its goods, and
half an eye dimly set towards Zion on account of the
high mountains and the privations to be endured by
the saints."
"If we were to go to San Francisco and dig up
chunks of gold," said Brigham to the returned
battalion on the 1st of October, 1848, "or find it in
the valley, it would ruin us." In an address on the
sabbath he said: "I hope the gold mines will be no
nearer than eight hundred miles. . .There is more
delusion and the people are more perfectly crazy on
this continent than ever before... If you elders of
Israel want to go to the gold mines, go and be damned.
If you go, I would not give a picayune to keep you
from damnation."** "I advise the corrupt, and all
who want, to sfo to California and not come back, for
I will not fellowship them. . .Prosperity and riches
blunt the feelings of man. If the people were united,
I would send men to get the gold who would care no
more about it than the dust under their feet, and
then we would gather millions into the church . . .
« Second General Epistle of the Twelve, dated Salt Lake City, Oct. 12,
■(849, in Frontier Guardian, Dec. 26, 1849.
*^llist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 100-2, 123.
301 IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
Some men don't want to go after gold, but they are
the very men to go."*"
Thus the threatened migration was stayed; a few
companies departed/^ and were asked in all kindness
never to return. "If they have a golden god in their
hearts," said Brigham, "they had better stay were
they are." But the majority of the settlers were
well content to abide in the valley, building up towns,
planting farms, and tending stock in their land of
promise.
*5 On the 7th of December, 1848, Brigham writes in his journal: ' Some
few have caught the gold fever; I counselled such, and all the saints, to re-
main in the valleys of the mountains, make improvements, build comfort-
able houses, and raise grain against the days of famine and pestilence with
which the earth would be visited. '
»*The gold fever first broke out in June 1848, news of the discovery be-
ing brought by a party of battalion men that arrived from California in that
month. In March 1849, about a dozen families departed or were preparing
to depart for the mines. Li March 1851, about 520 of the saints were gath-
ered at Payson, Utah county, most of them for the purpose of moving to
California. Utah Early Records, MS., 31, 69, 122.
J
CHAPTER XIII.
SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY.
1847-1852.
Founding of Centreville — Bountiful — Ogden — Ltnne — Easton — Mab-
RIOTS viLLE — San Pete — Provo — Indian War — Walled Cities— Ev-
ANSVILLE — LeHI — BaTTLE CREEK — PLEASANT GROVE — AMERICAN FoRK
— Payson — Nephi — Manti — Chief Walker — Fillmore — Site Chosen
FOR the Capital — Tooele — Gkantsvillh — Kaysyille — Little Salt
Lake — Parowan — Cedar City — Paragoonah — Forts Walker and
Harmony — Box Elder Creek — Brigham City — Willard City —
San Bernardino in California.
In the autumn of 1847 one Thomas Grover arrived
with his family on the bank of a stream twelve miles
north of Salt Lake City, and now called Centreville
Creek. His intention was to pasture stock for the
winter; and for this purpose a spot was chosen where
the stream spreading over the surface forms plats of
meadow-land, the soil being a black, gravelly loam.
Here Grover, joined by others in the spring, resolved
to remain, though in the neighborhood were encamped
several bands of Indians, and this notwithstanding
that as yet there was no white settlement north of
Salt Lake City. Land was ploughed and sown in
wheat and vegetables, the crops being more promising
than those to the south. But in May of the follow-
ing year the settlers were startled, not by the war-
whoop of the Utahs, but by hordes of black monster
crickets, swarming down from the bench-lands, as at
Salt Lake City, and bringing destruction on field and
garden. They turned out to do battle with the foe;
ditches were dug around the grain-fields, and the
Hist. Utah. 20 ( 305 )
306 SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY.
water of the stream diverted into them, while mefn,
women, and children, armed with clubs, checked the
advance of the devouring host. Enough of the crop
was saved to supply the wants of the settlers, and
their energy, on this occasion, coupled with a supposed
Settlements at the End of 1852.
miraculous visitation of gulls, probably saved a fore-
taste of the disaster of 1848.^ A site for a town was
^ After this incident ths water in the creek began to fail, thus for a time
preventing the growth of the settlement. In 1880 there was a good flow of
water, sufficient for the wants of forty families, with their orchards, gardens,
and farm lands. N. T. Porter, in Utah Sketches, MS., 177.
FOUNDING OF OGDEN CITY. 307
surveyed in the autumn of 1849, and the place was
named Centreville.
Near Centreville, in what was afterward Davis
county, a settlement was begun in the spring of 1848
by Peregrine Sessions, the place being called Boun-
tifal.2
As early as 1841 the country round where the city
of Ogden was laid out was held as a Spanish grant by
Miles M. Goodyear, who built a fort, consisting of a
stockade and a few log houses, near the confluence
of the Weber and Ogden rivers.^ On the 6th of
June, 1848, James Brown, of the battalion, coming
from California with $5,000, mostly in gold-dust, pur-
chased the tract from Goodyear.* As it was one of
the most fertile spots in all that region, grain and
vegetables being raised in abundance, not only num-
bers of the brethren from Salt Lake City, but after
a while gentiles from the western states, settled
there. In August 1850 Brigham Young, Heber C.
Kimball, Orson Hyde, and others laid out the city of
Ogden, so called from the name of the river.^ The
* A little to the south of Centreville was a small settlement which at first
went by the name of Call's settlement, afterward taking the name Bountiful
Utah Early Records, MS., 132. In Sloan's Utah Gazetteer, 130-1, it is stated
that there were three settlements of this name — East, West, and South Boun-
tiful — West Bountiful being settled in 1848 by James Fackrell and his fam-
ily. South Bountiful by George Meeyers and Edwin Page. All are now on
the line of the Utah Central railroad. In January of this year Sessions also
founded a settlement which bore his name, about 15 miles north of S. L. City.
Harrison's Crit. Notes on Utah, MS. , 45.
' The tract is described as commencing at the mouth of Weber Canon,
following the base of the mountains north to the hot springs, thence westward
to the Great Salt Lake, along the southern shore of the lake to a point opposite
Weber Canon, and thence to the point of beginning. Stanford's Ogden City,
MS., 1; Richards' Narr., MS., passim.
*Some say for $1,950; others place the amoimt at $3,000. See Richards'
Narr., MS.; Stanford's Ogden City, MS.
'"Utah Early Records, MS., 112. See also S. L. C. Contributor, ii. 240;
and Deseret Neios, Sept. 7, 1850. Stanford's Ogden City, MS., 1-2. The
site was selected as early as Sept. 1849, on the south side of the Ogden River,
at the point of bench-land between the forks of the Ogden and Weber rivers,
80 that water from both streams might be used for irrigation. Utah Early
Records, MS., 94. North Ogden, formerly called Ogden Hole, once the resort
of a noted desperado, was laid out in 1851. Amos Maycock, in Utah Sketches,
MS., 114. 'Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, J. M. Grant, Brigham
Young, and several others ascended a sand hill, Sept. 3d, to discover the l*st
location for a town, which we finally decided should be on the south sicu df
308 SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPATION OP THE COUNTRY.
president urged the people to move at once to their city
lots, and to build for themselves substantial dwellings,
a meeting-house, and a school-house, to fence their
gardens and plant fruit-trees, so that the place might
become a permanent settlement, and the headquarters
of the northern portion of the territory. Before the
end of the year a log structure was finished, which
served for school and meeting house, and soon after-
ward the settlers commenced to build a wall for pro-
tection against the Indians, completing it about three
years later at a cost of some $40,000.^ So rapid was
the growth of the town, that in 1851 it was made a
stake of Zion,'^ divided into wards, and incorporated
by act of legislature.^ •
In 1848 Isaac Morley and two hundred others set-
tled in the southern part of the valley of the San
Pete^ — particulars to be mentioned hereafter.
In the spring of 1849 a stockade was built and log
houses erected by the pioneer settlers of U%ah county,
numbering about thirty families,^" near the Timpano-
gos or Provo River, and below the point where a small
creek issuing from it discharges into Lake Utah. To
Ogden. . .A dance "w&s instituted in the evening.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849,
124.
^Raised by taxation. Stanford's Ogden City, MS., 4.
^Of which Lorin Farrwas appointed president, and R. Dana and David B.
Dillie councillors. Id., 3.
* The first municipal election was held on Oct. 23d, Farr being chosen mayor,
Gilbert Belnap marshal, David Moore recorder, and William Critchellow jus-
tice of the peace. Four aldermen and twelve councillors were also elected.
Id. , 4. According to the statement of John Brown, a resident of Ogden in
1S84, there were 100 families in Ogden in 1852. Brown, a native of York-
shire, England, came to Winter Quarters in 1849, remained in the church for
21 years, and was then cut off at his own request. In 1883 he was the propri-
etor of the hotel which bears his name. Two miles north of Ogden a settle-
ment named Lynne was formed in 1849. Stanford's Weber Co., SiS., 1. Near
Lynne a few families formed a settlement named Slaterville in 1852-3, but
on account of troubles with Indians, moved into Lynne in 1854. Id. , 3. Eight
miles south-east of Ogden, at the mouth of Weber Canon, on the line of the rail-
way, a small settlement named Easton was formed in 1852, a branch of the
church organized, and A. Wadsworth appointed bishop. Three miles north-
west of Ogden a settlement named Marriotsville was formed in 1850 by three
families. The neighborhood was infested with wolves and bears, and near by
were the lodges of 200 Indian warriors. Id., 10.
' So called from the name of an Indian chief. Richards' Narr., MS., 66.
*° Under the leadership of John and Isaac Higbee and Jefferson Hunt of
the battalion. Albert Jones, in Utah Sketches, MS., 54.
J
i
INDIAN TROUBLES. 309
this settlement was given the name of Fort Utah.
Within the space enclosed by the stockade was a
mound, the top of which was levelled, and on a plat-
form built thereon were mounted several twelve-
pounders for the purpose of intimidating the Indians.
But the Indians were not to be thus intimidated. In
the autumn they began to steal the grain and cattle
of the white men, and one of their number being killed
while in the act of pilfering, hostilities broke out and
the fort was soon in a state of siege.
Indeed, ill feeling on the part of the Indians had
begun to show itself the previous year. Vasquez and
Bridger wrote to Brigham on the 17th of April, 1849,
that the Utes were badly disposed toward Americans,
and that chiefs Elk and Walker were urging the Utes
to attack the settlements in Utah Valley. The
brethren were advised to protect themselves, but
if the Indians were friendly, to teach them to raise
grain, and "order them to quit stealing." Brigham
was persuaded that Bridger was his enemy, and ex-
pressed the conviction that he and the other moun-
taineers were responsible for all the Indian trouble,
and that he was watching every movement of the
Mormons and reporting to Thomas H. Benton at
Washington." Alexander Williams and D. B. Hunt-
ington were empowered by the council to trade ex-
clusively with the Indians on behalf of the community.
On the 31st of January, 1850, Isaac Higbee, of
Fort Utah, reported at Salt Lake that the Indians
of Utah Valley had stolen fifty or sixty head of cattle
or horses, threatening further depredations, and asked
permission to chastise them, which was granted. Gen-
eral Daniel H. Wells then called for volunteers from
the militia, and on the 4th of February Captain
George D. Grant started with a company for Utah
Fort, followed soon after by Major Andrew Lytic.
" 'I believe that old Bridger is death on us, and if he knew that 400,000
Indians were coming against us, and any man were to let us know, he M'ould
cut his throat. . .His letter is all bubble and froth. . .Vasijuez is a different
sort of man.' But. B. Young, MS., 1849, 77.
310 SETTLEMENl' AND OCCUPATION OP THE COUNTRY.
The Indians were attacked on the 8th, and took
refuge in a log house, whence they were dislodged
next day, and driven into the thicket along the Provo
River. In this encounter Joseph Higbee was killed,
and Alexander Williams, Samuel Kearns, Albert
Miles, Jabez Nowland, and two men named Orr and
Stevens were wounded.
On the 11th the Indians fled from the thicket to
Rock Canon, whither the volunteers pursued them;
but failing to find them, the white men proceeded to
the west and south sides of Utah Lake, and shot all
they could find there.
During the expedition twenty-seven warriors were
killed. The women and children threw themselves
upon the settlers for protection and support, and were
fed and cared for in Salt Lake City until spring.
Thus Utah Valley was entirely rid of hostile Indians.
Until 1852 there was no further trouble with them
of a serious nature ;^^ and thus ended the first Indian
war of Utah, which like all the others was rather a
tame affair. It was the mission of the Mormons to
convert the Indians, who were their brethren, and not
to kill them.
Later in the year was founded the city of Provo,^'
somewhat to the eastward of Fort Utah, near the
western base of the Wasatch Mountains, on a site
where timber and pasture were abundant,^* and where
the gradual fall of the Timpanogos affords excellent
water-power. In March 1851 it was organized as a
stake of Zion. The settlement was pushed forward
with the energy characteristic of the settlers. Be-
fore the close of 1850 more than twenty dwellings
^ ' I was ordered not to leave that valley until every Indian was out of it.'
Wells' JSTarr., MS., 45-6.
^* At a general conference of the church, held in October 1849, it waa
ordered that a city be laid out in the Utah Valley, and called Provo. Utah
Early Records, MS., 97.
" A heavy growth of cotton- wood and box elder covered the river bottom,
with a large belt of cedar extending some four miles north from the river
and about half a mile in width. Bunch graas was very plentiful. Albert
Jones, in Utah Sketches, MS., 55.
PROVO AND LEHL 311
had been completed ;^^ and before the end of 1851
the place began to wear the appearance of a town,
among the buildings in course of erection being a
flouring-mill and two hotels; manufactures were
started; all were busy the livelong day at farm or
workshop, and in the evening, writes Elder Isaac
Higbee, in February 1852, "We have on Monday
singing-school, on Tuesday lyceum, on Wednesday
seventies' meeting, on Thursday prayer-meeting, on
Friday spelling-school, and on Saturday the meeting
of the lesser priesthood. "^^
On Dry Creek, near the head of Lake Utah and about
sixteen miles northwest of Provo, a settlement was
formed in 1851, named Evansville." The neighbor-
ing lands were surveyed in lots of forty acres, and to
each new settler as he arrived was given a plat of this
size until the tract was exhausted. The soil was rich ;
but here, as elsewhere in the northern part of Utah
county, water was scarce. A supply was obtained by
diverting a portion of the waters of American Fork
creek,^^ and thereafter the affairs of the settlement
prospered so rapidly that, in February 1852, the place
was incorporated under the name of Lehi, or as it is
sometimes written, Lehigh.
South-east of Lehi, on a plain about three miles
east of Lake Utah, was founded, in 1850, a settle-
'^ Deseret News, Jan. 24, 1852. Rosa R. Rogers V uilt the first adobe
house in 1851. Albert Jones, in Utah Sketches, MS., 53. A large building
was erected in 1852 for George A. Smith, the prophet's cousin, then president
of Utah CO. stake. It was afterward used as a school-house and known as
the seminary. In 1851 an adobe wall was commenced, 14 feet in height
and four feet at the base. Three sides of it, with bastions, port-holes, and
gates, were completed in 1855, the finished length being then two and a half
miles. A portion of this wall remained in 1880. Id., 57. These walls
were built about several of the settlements. ' It was usual for our people
to protect themselves by building what we call a fort — a place the people
could get into in the event of a raid- Our wall was a kind of concrete.
In ilount Pleasant their walls were buUt of cobble rock, parts of which
are now standing. At that place they put a grist-mill inside, so the Indians
couldn't cut them oflf. At Nephi the Indians did cut them off from their
grist-miU.' Wells' Narr., MS., 60.
>« Letter in Deseret News, Feb. 21, 1852.
^' A few houses were built on an adjacent site by David Savage and others
in 1850. David Evans, in Utah Sketches, MS., 37.
*8 By a ditch seven miles in length.
312 SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY.
ment first known as Battle Creek, and afterward called
Pleasant Grove. It was here that the first engage-
ment with the natives occurred. Captain Scott with
a band of thirty or forty men started south in pursuit
of Indians who had stolen fourteen horses from Orr's
herd, on Wilson Creek, in Utah Valley, and several
cattle from Tooele Valley. The band was found en-
camped on a creek in the midst of willows and dense
brushwood in a deep ravine. After a desultory fight
of three or four hours, four Indians were killed, but
none of the settlers. As was their custom, the women
and children of the slain followed the victorious party
to their camp.-^^
In the neighborhood of Pleasant Grove were good
farming land, good range for stock, and water-power,
inducements which quickly attracted emigrants, and
caused the place to thrive rapidly. In 1853 the pres-
ent site was laid out,^*' and to this spot were transferred,
on July 24th of that year, the effects of the commu-
nity, then numbering seventy-five families.
Between Lehi and Pleasant Grove the village of
American Por-k was founded in 1850, on a site where
were farming and grazing land of fair quality, a little
timber, springs of fresh water, and a stream that could
be easily diverted for purposes of irrigation. ^^
About twenty miles south of Provo the settlement
of Payson was laid out on the banks of the Peteetneet
Creek ;^^ a few miles to the north-east of Payson was
founded a village named Palmyra, containing, at the
close of 1 852, fifty families; and in 1851, on Salt Creek,
"//is<. B. Young, MS., 1849, 24-5; John Brown, in Utah Sketches, MS.,
30. The first Indian trouble was a little skirmish between some sheep-herdera
and Indians. Wells' Narr., MS., 43.
^"By George A. Smith and Ezra T. Benson.
2" The site was laid out by George A. Smith, assisted by L. E. Harrington,
Arza Adams, Stephen Chipman, William Greenwood, and Stephen Mott. A.
J. Stewart was the surveyor. The first house was built by Adams and Chip-
man in 1850; the first grist-mill by Adams in 1851; and the first store was
opened by Thomas McKenzie in the same year. L. E. Harrington, in Utah
Sketches, MS., 121.
^2 The first settlers were James Pace, Andrew Jackson Stewart, and Johi^
C. Searle. Joseph S. Tanner, in Utah Sketches, MS., 3.
SETTLEMENT OF SAN PETE VALLEY. 313
twenty-five miles to the south, the site of Nephi, in
Juab county, was first occupied by Joseph L. Hey-
wood. Nephi was surveyed in the autumn of 1852,
the spot being selected on account of its beauty and con-
venience. A fort was afterward built, surrounded by
a wall twelve feet in height and six feet at the base.'^
Through this town passed the old California or south-
ern road made by the pioneers in 1849; and here, in
cabins built of mud and willows, lived, at the close of
1852, more than forty families.^*
I have mentioned that Isaac Morley with two
hundred settlers went into the San Pete country in
1848. On the 14th of June, 1849, a council was held
at Salt Lake City, at which were present a Ute chief
named Walker,^^ and twelve of his tribe. After the
pipe of peace had been passed around. Walker declared
himself a friend of the settlers, and asked their sachem
to send a party southward to the valley of San Pete,
where they might teach his people how to build and
farm. "Within six moons," answered Brigham, "I
will send you a company." In the spring of this
year the party sent to explore this valley had already
selected the site of the present town of Manti, on a
branch of the San Pete Creek, though there was little
in the neighborhood to invite the settler, sage brush
and rabbit brush, the red man and the coyote, being
*^ Its length was 420 rods, and its cost $8,400. Portions of it remained in
1880. Geo. Teasdale, in Id., 111.
■■'* The first settler was Timothy B. Foote, who, with his wife and six chil-
dren, took up his abode in this neighborhood in the autumn of 1851. Before
the end of the year he was joined by seven other families. Id., 107; and be-
fore the end of 1852, 35 additional families settled at Nephi. Deseret News,
Dec. 11, 1852.
^ ' Walker was the chief of the Ute Indians . . . Uinta was the great chief
of this region, and Ora was the head chief of the Ute nation . . . Walker's head-
quarters were the Sevier, generally; he would paj' a visit to San Pete once a
year.' Wells' Narr., MS., 48, 56. 'Walker used to go into California to steal
horses; had a place of concealment among the mountains. At one time, while
there, people were so incensed that they turned out to capture hiin and hia
band. In the dead of night he quietly took possession of their horses and
trappings and came into Utah triumphant. He would boast of his proceed-
ings some time later. He never brought stolen goods into the settlementa,
but secreted them among his people.' Utah Notes, MS., 8.
314 SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY.
the principal features. In November the town was
laid out.^^ The name of Manti was suggested by
Brigham, who declared that on this spot should be
raised one of the cities spoken of in the book of Mor-
mon, and here he built with his own hands an adobe
house, which in 1883 was still pointed out to visitors
as one of the curiosities of the place.^^
On Chalk Creek, in Pahvan Valley, south-west of
Manti and about a hundred and fifty miles from Salt
Lake City, a site was chosen by Brigham, in October
1851, for the capital of the territory, and named Fill-
more, in honor of the president. ^^ During 1852 the
foundations of the state-house were laid, and many
private buildings erected, the settlement numbering
about seventy families at the close of the year.
In the autumn of 1849, John Rowberry, Cyrus
Tolman, and others set forth from Salt Lake City to
explore the country west of the Jordan Valley, in
search of grazing lands whereon to pasture their
stock. Crossing the mountain range which forms the
western boundary of Cedar and Jordan valleys,^
they discovered a spot where grass, timber, and water
were abundant, and encamped for the winter on the
banks of a stream now called Emigrant Canon creek.
Returning in the spring, they made their report to
Brigham, who recommended them to form a settle-
ment in that neighborhood. To this the men con-
sented. "By what name will you call it?" asked the
^® Including 110 blocks, each 26 rods square, with eight lota to each block.
Utah Early Records, MS. ,111. The site was surveyed by Jesse W. Fox, un-
der Brigham 's direction. J. B. Maiben, in Utah Sketches, MS., 172.
^' In June 1852 a fort was completed, the walls being eight feet high and
two feet thick. Deseret News, July 10, 1852.
''■^ In the Deseret News of Jan. 24, 1852, is a letter to Brigham from Anson
Call, one of the first settlers, dated Nov. 24, 1851. 'We have had an addi-
tion of three to our camp since you left; have built a corral according to your
instructions, including about two and a half acres of ground. We found, upon
trial, that the ground was so dry and hard, being also rocky, that it was next
to an impossibility to stockade or picket in our houses with the tools we have
to work with; so we have built our houses in close order, having ouf doors or
windows on the outside. '
^ Now called the Oquirrh Mountains, Oquirrh being probably au Indian
word.
I
TOOELE AND KAYSVILLE. 315
■president. Tolman suggested Cedar Valley, a large
belt of cedar having been found there ; but Brigham
recommended Tule, as reeds were plentiful in that
neighborhood. And so it was ordered ; and this word,
spelled Tooele by Thomas Bullock, the president's
private secretary, is still applied to the town, the
site of which was discovered by Rowberry and his
comrades.^"
•In the winter of 1849-50, Edward Phillips and
John H. Green proceeded northward from Salt
Lake City, intending to settle in the neighborhood
of Ogden. When within twelve miles of that place,
the snow-drifts prevented further progress, and turn-
ing aside to Sandy Creek, or as it was later termed,
Kay Creek, where the land was covered with bunch-
grass, they resolved to take up their abode in that
neighborhood. After passing the winter in Salt Lake
City, the two men set forth in the spring of 1850, ac-
companied by William Kay and others, and founded
the settlement of Kaysville.^^ In September it was
organized as a ward, Kay being appointed bishop,
with Green and Phillips as councillors.^^
In the winter of 1849-50, it was ordered by the
first presidency that Parley P. Pratt, with a company
of fifty men, should explore the southern part of the ter-
ritory in the neighborhood of Little Salt Lake. They
found the brethren at Manti well pleased with their
location, there being a good stone quarry and an abun-
'" The site was surveyed by Jesse W. Fox, under Rowberry's direction.
The first house was built by Tolman, who in partnership with Rowberry
erected a saw-mill nine miles north of the settlement. The first grist-mill
was built by Ezaias Edwards, and the first store opened by Isaac Lee. John
Rowberry and F. M. Lyman, in Utah Sketches, MS., 150. A meeting-house
24 feet square had been finished in March 1852. Deseret Neios, April 17, 1852.
Twelve miles to the west of Tooele was a small settlement named Grantsville.
"1 From 5 bushels of club-wheat, planted during this year, 250 bushels
were raised. Edward Phillips, in Utah Sketches, 81-2.
"' A mile and a half south of Sandy Creek was a herd-house, the property
of S. O. Holmes. Near this spot a fort was buUt, surrounded with a mud
wall.
316 SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY.
dance of cedar at hand. At the Sevier River they met
Charles Shumway, James Allred, and EHjah Ward;
also Walker, the Utah war chief, and his people, many
of whom were sick with the measles. They proceeded
to explore the country for some distance round. On
the 1st of January, 1850, they were on Virgen River,
whence they passed up the Santa Clara, and came to
"the valley subsequently named Mountain Meadows,"
One division of the party explored Little Salt Lake.
-Beaver Creek was pronounced an excellent place for
a settlement. In a half-frozen condition they reached
Provo the 30th, and next day some of them were in
Salt Lake.
The report of Parley being favorable, a party of
about one hundred and seventy persons, well sup-
plied with wagons, implements, live-stock, seeds, and
provisions,^^ set forth, in charge of George A. Smith,
on the 7th of December, 1850, toward the south;
and on Centre Creek, in a valley of the Wasatch
Range, about two hundred and fifty miles from Salt
Lake City, built a fort near the site of the pres-
ent town of Parowan.^* Pasture and timber were
plentiful, the soil was of good quality, and in the sea-
son of 1851 a bountiful harvest was gathered from
about one thousand acres of land.^^ The main attrac-
tion, however, was the immense deposits of magnetic
iron ore found in the neighboring mountains. In
May, Brigham and others visited Parowan and ad-
dressed the people in the fort. The Indian name
Parowan was then recommended and adopted. Brig-
^' John Urie, in Utah Sketches, MS., 88, says that there were 119 men
and 48 women and children, with 101 wagons, .368 oxen, 146 cows, and about
22 tons of seed; that they were well supplied with implements, and had 300
lbs of flour per capita. Richards, in Lftah Early Records, MS., 117, men-
tions 1G3 souls, of whom 30 were women.
3* James G. Bleak, in Utah Sketches, MS., 67-8. On the south-east corner
of the fort a meeting-house in the shape of a St Andrew's cross was built of
hewn logs. Utah Early Records, MS., 163. The name was first spelt Paroan.
Frontier Guardian, Aug. 8, 1851. A view of the fort, with Little Salt Lake
iu the distance, painted by W. Majors, was presented by Brigham Young to
the Deseret University in 1870. Contributor, ii. 270.
*''Iu the De-'^eret News of March 6, 1852, is an account of the pioneer anni-
versary celebrated at Parowan on July 24, 1851.
CEDAR CITY. 317
ham urged the people to buy up the Lamanite children
as rapidly as possible, and educate them in the gospel,
for though they would fade away, yet a remnant of
the seed of Joseph would be saved. ^^
At Cedar City — or, as it was then called. Cedar
Fort — seventeen miles to the south-west of Parowan,
a furnace was built in 1852, but at the close of the
year stood idle for lack of hands. ^'^ Here, in May 1851,
coal had been discovered near what was then known
as the Little Muddy, now Coal Creek. In November
of that year the site was occupied ^^ by a company
from Parowan. The winter was passed amid some
privation, mainly from lack of warm clothing; but
on the 30th of January a dry -goods pedler making
his appearance — probably the first who had ventured
so far south into the land of the Utahs — the settlers
were soon clad in comfort.^^ In October it was re-
solved to move the settlement to a point farther to
the west and south, and before the end of the year a
number of iron-workers and farmers arrived from Salt
Lake City.'*^
In 1851 a party under Simeon A, Carter, sent to
explore the country north of Ogden, founded a small
settlement at Box Elder Creek.*^ The soil was of the
*^Hist. B. Young, MS., 1851, 46. On the same page is mentioned the
first use in the country of the stone-coal at Parowan, used in blacksmith
work.
"'George A. Smith, in Frontier Guardian, Aug. 8, 1851, and in Deseret
News, Dec. 11, 1852.
'^This valley had been explored as early as 1847. In December of that
year, a party of the pioneers passed through it, as already mentioned, on
their way to California to purchase live-stock and provisions.
^'Building progressed rapidly, and during the following summer one Burr
Frost, a blacksmith from Parowan, started the manufacture of iron, making
nails enough to shoe a hovse. Deseret News, Nov. 27, 1852.
^''John Urie, in Utah Sketches, MS., 93^. See also Deseret News, July
24, 1852. The scarcity of nails hindered building. Workmen were brough.';
from England to manufacture them from native ore, but the experiment failed;
as the work could not be done on a sufficiently large scale to make it profit-
able, and it was abandoned. Years later, when the soldiers were ordered away
from Camp Floyd, the settlers bought old iron cheap, and nails were manu-
factured to advantage. The price in market then was 30 or 40 cts a lb.;
afterward the railroad brought them in and they were sold at 3 to 5 cents a
pound.
" About 60 miles north of Salt lake City. A. Christensen, in Utah Sketch^^,
MS., 102.
318 SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY.
poorest, but near by were a few spots of meadow and
farm land, on which, with irrigation, a fair crop could
be raised. A number of emigrants, principally Welsh
and Scandinavian, joined the party, and two years
later a new site was surveyed*^ under the direction of
Lorenzo Snow. To the town then laid out was after-
ward given the name of Brigham City.
A few weeks later a small settlement was formed
about five miles south of this point, and in 1853 was
removed to the present site of Willard City.^^
On Red Creek, about twenty miles north of Cedar
City, a small settlement was formed in the autumn of
1852, named Paragoonah, the Pi-Ede name for Little
Salt Lake.** Six miles south of Cedar City, Fort Walk-
er was built, containing at the close of 1851 only nine
men capable of bearing arms; and on Ash Creek, nine-
teen miles farther south, was Fort Harmony, the
southernmost point in the valley occupied by white
men,*^ and where John D. Lee loca4;ed a rancho in
1852.
*'^ In blocks of six acres, each lot being half an acre.
*' The first settlers on the old site were Jonathan S. Wells, who built the
first house, and was the first to commence farming, Elisha Mallory, who wiih
his brother Lemuel built the first grist-mill, M. McCreary, Alfred Walton,
and Lyman B. Wells. George W. Ward, in Utah Sketches, MS., 44-5. The
city was named after Willard Richards. Bichards' Narr., MS., 67.
^* In December, 15 or 20 families had settled there. Deseret Neios, Dec. 11,
1852. On June 12, 1851, a company with a few wagons started for this point
from Salt Lake City. Utah Early Records, MS., 128.
** This settlement was 20 miles north of the Rio Virgen. It was thought
that the route to California might be shortened by way of the fort about 35
miles. Deseret News, Dec. 11, 1852. In addition to those mentioned in the
text, a number of small settlements had been made in various parts of the ter-
ritory. Farmington, now the county seat of Davis co., and on the line of the
Utah Central railroad, was first settled in 1848 by D. A. Miller and four
others. In 1849 it was organized as a ward. Mill Creek, in S. Lake co., was
settled in 1848-9 by John NefFand nine others; Alpine City and Springville,
in Utah co., in 1850, the former by Isaac Houston with ten others, the latter
by A. Johnson and three comrades. Santaquin, in the same county, was set-
tled in 1852; abandoned in 1853 on account of Indian raids, and reoccupied
in 1856 by B. F. Johnson and 23 associates. The site of Harrisville, a few
miles north of Ogden, was occupied in the spring of 1850 by Ivin Stewart,
abandoned the same autumn on account of an Indian outbreak, and resettled
in 1851 by P. G. Taylor and others. In 1883 Taylor was bishop of this ward.
SlaterA'ille, in Weber county, was first settled in the fall of 1850 by Alex,
Kelley, who was soon afterward joined by several families; in 1853 — the year
of the Walker war— it was abandoned, the inhabitants taking refuge in Bing-
ham Fort, but was again occupied in 1854. South Weber, in the same county.
SYSTEM OF COLONIZATION. 319
Thus we see that within less than two years after
the founding' of Salt Lake City, the population there
had become larger than could be supported in com-
fort on the city lots and the lands in their vicinity, and
it had been found necessary to form new settlements
toward the north and south, the latter part of the
territory being preferred, as water, pasture, and land
fit for tillage were more abundant. Instead of merely
adding suburb to suburb, all clustering around the par-
ent centre, as might have been done by other com-
munities, the church dignitaries, while yet Salt Lake
City was but a village, ordered parties of the brethren,
some of them still barely rested from their toilsome
journey across the plains, to start afresh for remote
and unprotected portions of a then unknown country.
As new locations were needed, exploring parties were
sent forth, and when a site was selected, a small com-
pany, usually of volunteers, was placed in charge of an
elder and ordered to make ready the proposed settle-
ment. Care was taken that the various crafts should
be represented in due proportion, and that the expe-
dition should be well supplied with provisions, imple-
ments, and live-stock.
When, for instance, at the close of 1850, it had
been resolved to form a settlement in the neighbor-
hood of Little Salt Lake, a notice appeared in the
Deseret News of November 16th, giving the names of
those who had joined the party, and calling for a hun-
dred additional volunteers. They must take with them
30,000 pounds of breadstuffs, 500 bushels of seed wheat,
34 ploughs, 50 horses, 50 beef-cattle, 50 cows, and 25
pairs of holster pistols; each man must be supplied with
an axe, spade, shovel, and hoe,*® a gun and 200 rounds
was located in 1851 by Robt Watts and nine others. Uintah, at the mouth
of Weber Canon, was settled in 1850 by Dan. Smith and a few others. It
was first called East Weber, and received its present name on the 4th of
March, 1867, at which date the Union Pacific railroad was finished to this
point. Sloan's Utah Gazetteer, 1884, passim. Of the above settlements, those
which became prominent will be mentioned later.
*« The party must also have 17 sets of drag teeth, and of grain and grasa
scythes, sickles, and pitchforks, 50 each.
320 SETTLEMENT AND OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY.
of ammunition. Among them there should be five
carpenters and joiners, a millwright, a surveyor, and
two blacksmiths, shoemakers, and masons. Thus
equipped and selected, the settlers, with their marvel-
lous energy and thrift, made more progress and suf-
fered less privation in reclaiming the waste lands of
their wilderness than did the Spaniards in the garden
spots of Mexico and Central America, or the English
in the most favored regions near the Atlantic sea-
board.
A company was organized in March 1851, at the
suggestion of Brigham, to go to California and form
the nucleus of a settlement in the Cajon Pass, where
they should cultivate the olive, grape, sugar-cane,
and cotton, gather around them the saints, and select
locations on the line of a proposed mail route.*^ The
original intention was to have twenty in this company,
with Amasa M. Lyman and C. C. Rich in charge.
The number, however, reached over five hundred, and
Brigham's heart failed him as he met them at start-
ing. "I was sick at the sight of so many of the
saints running to California, chiefly after the god of
this world, and was unable to address them."*^
*'In Hist. B. Young, MS., 1851, 85, it is stated that, at the next session
of congress, it was expected that a mail route would be established to San
Diego by way of Parowan. At this date there was, as we shall see later, a
monthly mail between S. L. City and Independence, Mo. There was also a
mail to Sacramento, leaving that and S. L. City on the 1st of each month, a
bi-monthly mail to The Dalles, Or., a weekly mail to the San Pete valley, and
a semi-weekly mail to Brownsville.
*" Hist. B. Young, MS., 1851, 14. The object of the establishment of this
colony was that the people gathering to Utah from the Islands, and even
Europe, might have an outfitting post. In 1853, Keokuk, Iowa, on the Mis-
sissippi Kiver, was selected by the western-bound emigrants as a rendezvous
and place of outfitting.
CHAPTER XIV.
EDUCATION, MANUFACTURES, COMMERCE, AGRICULTURE,
SOCIETY.
1850-1852.
BOUKDARIES AND ExTENT OP UtAH— CONFIGURATION AND PHYSICAL FEAT-
URES OF THE Country — Its Lands and Waters — Flora and Fauna
— State University — Curriculum — Educational Ideas — Library —
Periodicals — Tabernacle and Temple — New Fort— Progress of the
Useful Arts — Mills, Factories, and Manufactures— Farm Products
— Traffic— Population — Reyenus — Mortality — Healthful Airs
and Medicinal Springs.
In the year 1850 Utah, bounded on the south and
east by New Mexico, Kansas, and Nebraska, on the
west by CaUfornia, on the north by Oregon, which then
included Idaho, was one of the largest territories in
the United States. Its length from east to west was
650 miles, its breadth 350 miles, and its area 145,-
000,000 acres. The portion known as the great
basin, beyond which were no settlements in 1852,
has an elevation of 4,000 to 5,000 feet, and is sur-
rounded and intersected by mountain ranges, the high-
est peaks of the Humboldt Range near its centre be-
ing more than 5,000 feet, and of the Wasatch on the
east about 7,000 feet, above the level of the basin.
For 300 miles along the western base of the
Wasatch Range is a narrow strip of alluvial land.^
Elsewhere in the valley the soil is not for the most
part fertile until water is conducted to it, and some of
the alkali washed out. Rain seldom falls in spring
* Gunnison's The Mormons, 15.
HiflT. Utah. 21 (*?l)
2SZ EDUCATION AISTD MANUFACTURES.
or summer, and during winter the snow-fall is not
enough to furnish irrigating streams in sufficient num-
ber and volume. Throughout the valley, vegetation
is scant except in favored spots. With the exception
of the Santa Clara River in the south-west, the Green
River in the east, the Grand and other branches of
the Colorado in the south and east, the streams all
discharge into lakes or are lost in the alkali soil of
the bottom-lands. On the hillsides bunch-grass is
plentiful the year round, and in winter there is pas-
ture in the canons. Around Salt Lake the soil is poor ;
in the north and east are narrow tracts of fertile land ;
toward the valleys of the Jordan and Tooele, sepa-
rated by the Oquirrh Range, and on the banks of the
Timpanogos and San Pete, is soil of good quality,
that yielded in places from sixty to a hundred bushels
of grain to the acre.
The Jordan and Timpanogos furnished good water-
power, and on the banks of the latter stream was
built a woollen-mill that ranked as the largest fac-
tory of the kind west of the Missouri River. In
the Green River basin, immense deposits of coal
were known to exist, and the Iron Mountains near
Little Salt Lake were so called from the abun-
dance of ore found in their midst. Other valuable
minerals were afterward discovered, among them being
gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, sulphur, alum, and borax ;
the waters of Great Salt Lake were so densely impreg-
nated that one measure of salt was obtained from five
of brine.^
In the streams were fish of several varieties;' in
' An analysis of the mineral matter forty years ago showed 97.8 per cent
of chloride of sodium, 1.12 of sulphate of lime, .24 of magnesium, and .23
of sulphate of soda. Linforth's Route from Liverpool, 101. The specific grav-
ity of the water is given by L. D. Gale, in Stansbury^s Expedition to O. 8. Lake,
at 1.117. Out of 22.422 parts of solid matter Gale found 20.196 of common
salt, 1.834 of soda, .252 of magnesium, and of chloride of calcium a trace.
See also Sloan's Utah Gazetteer, 1884, 177-8; Hist. Nev., 11, this series. In
chap. i. of that vol. is a further description of the great basin, its topography,
climate, soil, springs and rivers, fauna and flora,
' ' The angler can choose his fish either in the swift torrents of the canons,
where the trout delights to live, or in the calmer currents on the plains,
THE UNIVERSITY OP DESERET. 323
the mountains roamed the deer, elk, antelope, and
bear, and on the marshy flats amid the plains were
smaller game.* Timber was scarce and of poor quality,
except in places difficult of access;^ but with this ex-
ception there was no great lack of resources in the
territory which the saints had made their abode.
During the first years that followed their migration,
while yet engaged in building houses, fencing lands,
planting crops, and tending herds, the Mormons pro-
vided liberally for the cause of education. In the
third general epistle of the twelve, dated the 12th of
April, 1850, it is stated that an appropriation of $5,000
per annum, for a period of twenty years, had been
made for a state university^ in Salt Lake City,
branches to be established elsewhere throughout the
territory as they were needed. In the curriculum the
Keltic and Teutonic languages were to rank side by
side with the Romanic, and all living languages spoken
by men were to be included. Astronomy, geology,
chemistry, agriculture, engineering, and other branches
of science were to be studied; for having sought first
the kingdom of heaven, the saints were now assured
that knowledge and all other things should be added
unto them/ The world of science was to be re vol u-
where he will find abundance of the pike, the perch, the bass, and the chub.
Gunnison's The Mormons, 20.
*Wild ducks and geese were abundant in 1852. Ibid. There were also
quail and herons. In summer, boys filled their baskets with eggs found among
the reeds on the banks of streams or on the islands in the Great Salt Lake.
* ' Hidden away in the profound chasms and along the streams, whose
beds are deeply worn in the mountain-sides, are the cedar, pine, dwarf-maple,
and occasionally oak, where the inhabitants of the vale seek their fuel and
building timber, making journeys to obtain these necessaries twenty to forty
miles from tlieir abodes.' Id., 21.
* Under the supervision and control of a chancellor, twelve regents, a sec-
retary, and a treasurer. Frontier Guardian, June 12, 1850.
' ' But what,' says Phelps in an oration delivered July 24, 1851, 'will all the
precious things of time, the inventions of men, the records, firom Japheth in
the ark to Jonathan in congress, embracing the wit and the gist, the fashions
and the folly, which so methodically, grammatically, and transcendeutaily
grace the liljraries of the 6lite of nations, really be worth to a saint, when our
father sends down his regents, the angels, from the grand libraiy of Zion
above, with a copy of the history of eternal lives, the records of worlds, the
genealogy of the gods, the philosophy of truth, the names of our spirits from
324 EDUCATION AND MANUFACTURES.
tionized ; the theories of gravitation, repulsion, and
attraction overthrown, the motion of atoms, whether
single or in mass, being ascribed to the all-pervading
presence of the holy spirit. The planetary systems
were to be rearranged, their number and relations
modified, for in the book of Abraham it was revealed
that in the centre of the universe was the great orb
Kolob, the greatest of all the stars seen by that pa-
triarch, revoking on its axis once in a thousand years,
and around w hich all other suns and planets revolved
in endless cycles.^
At first, however, education among the settlers
was mainly of an elementary nature. There were
many, even among the adults, who could not write or
spell, and not a few who could not read. A parents'
school was therefore established at Salt Lake City,
for the heads of families and for the training of
teachers, among the pupils being Brigham Young.^
Primary and other schools were opened in all the
principal settlements,^'' and for those who were suflS-
ciently advanced, classes were organized as early as
the winter of 1848-9, for the study of ancient and
modern languages,"
the Lamb's book of life, and the songs of the sanctified?' Deseret News, July
26, 1S51.
* ' I saw the stars that they were very great, and that one of them was
nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones that were
near it; and the Lord said unto me, These are the governing ones: and the
name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord
thy God; I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same
order of that upon which thou standest. And the Lord said unto me. By the
urim and thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according
to its times and seasons in the revolution thereof, that one revolution was a
day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years
according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest.' Reynolds'
Book of A braham, 29. See also Orson Pratt's lecture on astronomy in Deseret
Neiv.% Dec. 27, 1851.
' The parent school is in successful operation in the council-house, and
schools have been built in most of the wards. Hist. B. Young, MS., 1851, .'^2;
Gminison's The Mormona, 80; Utah Early Records, MS., 115. Lyons Collins
was appointed teacher by the chancellor and board of regents.
'"Jesse W. Fox taught the first school at Manti in 1850. Utah Sketches,
MS., 172. The first school at Nephi was opened in 1851, Id., 111. The
best school-house in Utah county was at Palmyra; at Provo, Evan M. Greene
opened a select school in the second ward. Deseret News, Dec. 11, 1852.
'' ' There have been a large number of schools the past winter, in which
the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, German, Tahitian, and English languages
J
THE LIBRARY. 325
In 1850, by vote of congress, twenty thousand dollars
were appropriated for the building of a state-house, and
the sum of five thousand dollars was appropriated for
the foundation of a library in Salt Lake City. The
delegate from Utah was authorized to make a selection
of books, and several thousand volumes were forwarded
from the east during this and the following year.^^
Rooms were prepared in the council-house for their
reception, and many periodicals, both Mormon and
gentile, were added to the stock of reading matter.
Among the former was the Millennial Star, already
mentioned, and the Frontier Guardian, published
bi-monthly at Kanesville, Iowa, between February
1849 and March 1852, and afterward as a weekly
paper under the style of the Frontier Guardian and
Iowa Sentinel}^
have been taught successfully. First General Epistle of the Twelve, in Utah
Early Records, MS., 74, and Frontier Guardian, May 30, 1849. 'German
books were bought in order that the elders naiight learn that language. ' Hist.
B. Young, MS., 1849, 3.
1^ Dr Bernhisel was appointed by the president of the U. S. as special
agent to expend the U. S. appropriation of $5,000. Hist. B. Young, MS., 80.
Many valuable donations of maps, papers, etc., were received. Contributor,
270; Gimnison's The Mormons, S^; Utah Early Eecords, MS., 130; Millennial
Star, xii. 330-1. William C. Staines was appointed librarian. Deseret News,
Feb. 21, 1852.
1* Of the Frontier Guardian, brief mention has already been made. The
first number, published Feb. 7, 1849, with Orson Hyde as editor and proprietor,
will bear comparison with mauy of the leading newspapers in eastern or Euro-
pean cities. In the prospectus Mr Hyde states that 'it will be devoted to the
news of the day, to the signs of the times, to religion and prophecy, both an-
cient and modern; to literature and poetry; to the arts and sciences, together
with all and singular whatever the spirit of the times may dictate.' Published,
as was the Guardian, on the extreme frontier of the states, Mr Hyde was
enabled to furnish the latest news from Salt Lake City, and many valuable
items have been gleaned from its pages. Glancing at them for the first time,
one asks, How did he contrive to bring out his newspaper in such creditable
shape, at a place which one year before was only an encampment of emigrants
en route for the valley? During this year, however, Kanesville— later Flor-
ence — had made very rapid progress, due, in part, to the migration to Califor-
nia. Glancing over the first numbers of the Guardian, we find advertised for
sale dry goods, groceries, provisions, hardware, clothing, and most of the
commodities needed by emigrants. There was a hotel, a fashionable tailor, a
lawyer, a doctor, and of course a tabernacle, which served for ^.ocial parties
and religious worship. Provisions rose to very high rates, tXv ^gh not to the
prices demanded in Salt Lake City. On Feb. 7, 1849, flour, beef, and pork
were selling at Kanesville for about $2 per 100 lbs. On May 1, 1850, flour
was worth $6 to $6.50, beef .$3.50 to $4.50, and pork $5 to $G. Potatoes Iiad
risen meanwhile from 25 cents to $1, corn from 20 cents to $2.25, and wlieat
from 50 cents to $1.75, per bushel. On March 4, 1852, appeared the first num.
326 EDUCATION AND MANUFACTURES.
On the 15th of June, 1850, was published at Salt
Lake City, under the editorship of Willard Richards,
the first number of the Deseret News, a weekly paper,
and the church organ of the saints.^* In this num-
ber, a copy of which I have before me, is a report of
the conflagration which occurred in San Francisco on
Christmas eve of 1849, and of Zachary Taylor's mes-
sage to the house of representatives relating to the
admission of California as a state.
ber of the Frontier Guardian and Iowa Sentinel, the paper having then passed
into the hands of Jacob Dawson & Co.
"Until Aug. 19, 1851, it was issued as an eight-page quarto, the pages
being about 8 J by 6^ in., and without column rules. After that date it waa
suspended for want of paper until Nov. 19th. ' We got short of type, and
I happened to have some stereotyped plates, . . .which we melted down and
used for type. We were short, too, of paper, and all went to work to make it.
We collecte(\ all the rags we could and made the pulp, sifted it through a sieve,
and pressed it as well as we could.' Taylor's Rem., MS., 17. The terms were
$5 per year, payable half-yearly in advance, single copies being sold for fifteen
cents. There seems to have been some difficulty in collecting subscriptions,
for in the issue of November 15, 1851, the editor states that pajrment will be
due at the office on receipt of the first number, ' and no one need expect the
second number until these terms are complied with, as credit will not create
the paper, ink, press, or hands to labor.' In his prospectus, Richards said
that the Deseret News is designed ' to record the passing events of our state,
and in connection refer to the arts and sciences, embracing general education,
medicine, law, divinity, domestic and political economy, and everything that
may fall under our observation which may tend to promote the best interest,
welfare, pleasure, and amusement of our fellow-citizens . . . We shall ever take
pleasure in communicating foreign news as we have opportunity; in receiving
communications from our friends at home and abroad; and solicit ornaments
for the News from our poets and poetesses.' In the first issue is the following,
perhaps by Beta, who afterward wrote a number of papers styled the Chron-
icles of Utah in the Salt Lake City Contributor:
To my Friends in the Valley.
Let all who would have a good paper,
Their talents and time ne'er abuse;
Since 'tia said by the wise and the humored,
That the best in the world is the Newt.
Then ye who so long have been thinking
What paper this year you will choose.
Come trip gayly up to the office
And subscribe for the Deseret News.
And now, dearest friends, I will leave you;
This counsel, I pray you, don't lose;
The best of advice I can give you
Is, pay in advance for the News.
Fortunately for the prospects and reputation of the paper, such effiisions were
rare even in its early pages. The Deseret News was at first less ably edited,
and inferior, as to type and paper, to the Frontier Guardian. It appears,
indeed, to have lacked support, for in the first number are only two adver-
tisements, one from a blacksmith and the other from a surgeon-dentist, who
also professes to cure the scurvy. In Nov. 1851 it appeared in folio and in
gi-eatly improved form; for years it was the only paper, and is still the lead-
ing Mormon journal, in the territory.
INDUSTRIES. 827
At Salt Lake City and elsewhere throughout the
country manufactures began to thrive. Isolated, poor,
having brought little or nothing with them, these set-
tlers were peculiarly dependent for necessaries and
comforts upon themselves, and what they could do
with their hands. And it would be difficult to find
anywhere in the history of colonization settlers who
could do more. Among them were many of the best
of Europe's artisans, workers in wood, iron, wool,
and cotton, besides farmers, miners, and all kinds of
laborers.
At Tooele and several other settlements grist-
mills and saw-mills were established before the close
of 1852.^^ Near Salt Lake City, a small woollen-
mill was in operation.^^ At Parowan and Cedar
City, iron-works were in course of construction;
at Paragoonah, a tannery had been built; and at
Salt Lake City, in addition to other branches of man-
ufacture, flannels, linseys, jeans, pottery, and cutlery
were produced,^^ and sold at lower prices than were
asked for eastern goods of inferior quality. " Produce
what you consume," writes Governor Brigham Young
in his message of January 5, 1852; "draw from the
native elements the necessaries of life; permit no viti-
ated taste to lead you into indulgence of expensive
luxuries which can only be obtained by involving
yourselves in debt; let home industry produce every
article of home consumption,"^^ This excellent advice
"The first grist-mill built at Tooele was erected by Ezaias Edwards; in
1849 a saw-mill was built at Provo by James Porter and Alex. Williams, and
in 1850 a grist-mill, by James A. Smith and Isaac Higbee. At American Fork
Azra Adams built a grist-mill in 1851; at Manti a grist-mill was built by
Brigham Young and Isaac Morley, and a saw-mill by Charles Shumway; in
1848 Samuel Parish built a grist-mill at Centreville. Utah Sketches, MS.,
passim. In Salt Lake county there were, in the autumn of 1851, four grist-
mills and five eaw-mills. Utah Early Records, MS., 158. Near Ogden, Lorin
Farr built a grist-mill and saw-mill in 1850. Stanford's Ogden City, MS., 3.
'"In March 1851 the general assembly appropriated |2,000 for this pur-
pose. Utah Early Records, MS., 123.
"'Our pottery is nearly completed;. . .cutlery establishments are com-
pleted.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1851, 26.
"In Id., Nov. 6, 1852, similar advice is given to the saints: 'Buy noarti
cle from the stores that you can possibly do without. Stretch our means,
akill, and wisdom to the utmost to manufacture what we need, beginning with
S28 EDUCATION AND MANUFACTURES.
was not unheeded; but the supply of home-manufac-
tured goods did not, of course, keep pace with the de-
mand. Such commodities as were not the products
of home industry were, for the most part, obtained by
barter with passing emigrants, or were brought in
wagon trains by way of Kanesville;^^ though already
traffic had been opened with regions far to the west-
ward on either side of the Sierra Nevada.^''
According to the United States census returns for
the year 1850, the population of the valley of Great
Salt Lake mustered 11,354 persons, of whom about
53 per cent were males, and 6,000 residents of Salt
Lake City.^^ There were 16,333 acres under culti-
vation, on which were raised 128,711 bushels of grain.
The value of live-stock was estimated at $546,698,
and of farming implements at $84,288. At the close
of 1852, the total population was variously estimated
at from 25,000 to 30,000,^^ of whom perhaps 10,000
resided in the metropolis. The assessed value of
a shoestring (if we cannot begin higher).' 'When we have manufactured an
article, sell it for cash or its equivalent, as low, or lower, than it can be
bought for at the stores. ' In the fifth general epistle is the following: ' Beach
and Blair have opened a general manufacturiag establishment; . . . are now
making molasses and vinegar. Several grain and lumber mills have been
erected in the various settlements, . . .chairs and various articles of furniture
are multiplying, . . . two or three threshiag-machines have been in successful
operation.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1851, 24. 'We are going in extensively
for home manufactures. My own family alone have this season manufactured
over 500 yds of cloth, and the home-made frequently makes its appearance in
our streets' — a great blessing, 'if it will prove an inducement to the people
to depend and rely upon their own resources for their own supplies.' Id.,
1852, 16.
^' On May 1, 1851, the first train of merchandise for the season arrived in
the city, laden partly with sugar, coflfee, and calicoes. Utah Early Records,
MS., 127.
^"On Nov. 19, 1848, Capt. Grant of the Hudson's Bay Company arrived
from Fort Hall with pack-horses laden with skins, groceries, and other goods.
On April 17, 1851, a small party arrived from Fort Hall in search of provi-
sions and Indian ti^ading goods. On the 10th of the same month. Col Reese
sent ten or twelve wagon-loads of flour to Carson Valley for trading purposes.
Id., 39, 125, 127.
^^ The returns were made under the direction of Brigham Young, who
was appointed census ageut. Utah Early Records, MS., 112; Deseret News,
Oct. 5, 1850.
'* Early in 1853 the Deseret Almanac places the number at 30,000, while
in Orson Pratt's Seer it is given at 30,000 to 35,000. Olshausen's Mormoncn,
192. At this date it was estimated at 25,000 by the gentiles. Burton's City
of the Saints, 3j7. Probably the Mormons exaggerated, as they desired to
A THRIVING COMMUNITY. 329
taxable property at the latter date was $1,160,883.80,
or an average of more than $400 per capita. The
entire revenue amounted to $26,690.58,^^ of which sum
$9,725.87 was expended for public improvements, the
encouragement of industries, or educational purposes.
Little more than five years had elapsed since the
pioneer band entered the valley of Great Salt Lake,
and now the settlers found themselves amidst plenty
and comfort in the land of promise, where until their
arrival scarce a human being was to be seen, save
the Indians whose clothing was the skins of rabbits
and whose food was roasted crickets.^* There was
no destitution in their midst ;^^ there was little sick-
ness.'^® In these and some other respects, the wildest
misstatements have been made by certain gentile
writers, among them Mr Ferris, who, as we shall see,
was appointed secretary for Utah.'^^ In this pure
show as soon as possible a population of 100,000, which would entitle them
to claim admission as a state.
^'Not more than one tenth was collected in cash, payment being usually
made in grain. Contributor, 332. ' Securing a territorial revenue of $23,000,
including merchants' licenses and tax on liquors.* Hist. B. Young, MS., 1852, 2,
** Tlie most exposed parts of the country are annually run over by the
fires set by the Indians to kill and roast the crickets, which they gather in
summer for winter food.' Gu7inison's The Mormons, 21.
** The country was canvassed to ascertain how many inmates there would
be for a poor-house, then projected. Only two were found, and the Mormons
concluded that it was not yet time for such an institution. Id. , 34.
"^The number of deaths in the territory during the year ending June 1,
1850, was 239. IT. S. Census, 1850, 997; and in Salt Lake county, which vir-
tually meant Salt Lake City, 121; in both, the mortality was therefore less
than 20 per thousand, or about the average death-rate in San Francisco dur-
ing recent years. Moreover, the population of Utah included a very large
proportion of infants. Of 64 deaths reported in the Deseret News of March
8, 1851, 34 occurred between the ages of one and ten.
'^ Utah and the Mormons; the History, Oovernment, Doctrines, Customs,
and Prospects of the Latter-day Saints; from personal observation during a
six months' residence at Great Salt Lake City. By Benjamin G. Ferris, late
secretary of Utah Territory, New York, 1854. Mr Ferris is not the tirst one
whom in his own opinion a six months' residence in the west justifies in writ-
ing a book. It was the winter of 1852-3 which he spent there, and while
Erofessing that he writes wholly from an anti-Mormon standpoint, as a rule
e is comparatively moderate in his expressions. The illustrations in this
volume are many of them the same which are found in several other works.
Beginning with the physical features of Utah, he goes through the whole
range of Mormon history, and concludes with chapters on government, doc-
trines, polygamy, book of Mormon proselytizing, and society. While some-
times interesting, there is little original information; and aside from what
the author saw during his residence in Utah, the book has no special value.
330 EDUCATION AND MANUFACTUEES.
mountain air, with its invigorating embrace, the aged
and infirm regained the elasticity of a second youth.
Here was no rank vegetation, here were no stag-
nant pools to generate miasma, no vapors redolent of
death, like those amid which the saints encamped on the
banks of the Missouri. In the valley were mineral
springs, the temperature of which ranged from 36° to
1 50° of Fahrenheit, some of them being prized for their
medicinal properties. From the warm spring ^^ in the
vicinity of Salt Lake City, waters which varied be-
tween 98° in summer and 104° in winter ^^ were con-
ducted by pipes to a large bath-house in the north-
ern part of the city.^°
*^The water was analyzed in 1851 by L. D. Gale. Its specific gravity was
found to be 1.0112; it was strongly impregnated with sulphur, and 100 parts
of water yielded 1.082 of solid matter. The specific gravity of the hot
spring in the same neighborhood was 1.013, and 100 parts yielded 1.1454 of
solid matter. Detailed analyses are given in Stansbury's Expedition to O. S.
Lake, i. 419-20. An analysis of the warm spring given by Joseph T. Kingsbury
in Contributor, iv. 59-GO, differs somewhat from that of Gale. Further in-
formation on these and other springs and mineral waters will be found in Id.,
iv. 86-9; Hist. Nev., 17, this series; Salt Lake Weekly Herald, July 29, 1880;
S. L. C. Tribune, Jan. 5, 1878; Wheeler^s Surveys, iii. 105-17; HoUister's He-
sources of Utah, 83-5; Hardy^s Through Cities and Prairie, 121; Burton^a
City of the Saints, 222; Sac. Union, Aug. 7, I860.
^^ Contributor, iv. 59. One of the brethren, writing to Orson Hyde from
Salt Lake City, Sept. 10, 1850, says that the temperature stands, winter and
summer, at about 92°. Frontier Guardian, Jan. 8, 1851.
^^ On Nov. 27, 1850, the warm-spring bath-house was dedicated and opened
with prayer, festival, and dance. Utah Early Records, MS., 116.
The material for the preceding chapters has been gathered mainly from a
number of manuscripts furnished at intervals between 1880 and 1885. As I
have already stated, to F. D. Richards I am especially indebted for his un-
remitting effort in supplying data for this volume. The period between Feb.
1846 and the close of 1851^ — say between the commencement of the exodua
from Nauvoo and the opening of the legislature of Utah territory — is one of
which there are few authentic printed records. From Kane^s The Mormons,
from FuUmer's Expulsion, and other sources, I have gleaned a little; but as
far as I am aware, no work has yet been published that gives, or pretends to
give, in circumstantial detail the full story of this epoch in the annals of Mor-
monism. In the Utah Early Records, MS., I have been supplied with a brief
but full statement of all the noteworthy incidents from the entrance of Orson
Piatt and Erastus Snow into the valley of the Great Salt Lake to the close
of the year 1851. In the Narrative of Franklin D. Richards, MS.; the Remi-
niscences of Mrs F. D. Richards, MS. ; Inner Facts of Social Life in Utah, MS.,
by the same writer; History of Brig ham Young, MS., which is indeed a con-
tinuation of the History of Joseph Smith, or the history of the church; Mar-
tin's Narrative, MS. — I have been kindly furnished with many details that
it would have been impossible to obtain elsewhere. Some of them I have al-
ready noticed, and others I shall mention in their place.
In Reminiscences of President John Taylor, MS., we have an account of the
migration from Nauvoo to Winter Quarters, the organization of the varioua
MANUSCRIPTS. 331
companies, and much information of a miscellaneous nature, relating to house-
building in Salt Lake City, the first manufactures, the location of the temple,
and other matters. The manuscript also makes mention of his visit to Eng-
land as a missionary in 1846, in company with Parley P. Pratt and Orson Hyde.
The Narrative of General Daniel H. Wells, MS., gives an account of the
disturbances in Hancock county, the troubles at Nauvoo before the exodus,
the journey to Winter Quarters, the organization of the Nauvoo legion, and
of the state of Deseret; but perhaps the most valuable portion is a condensed
narrative of all the Indian outbreaks between 1849 and 1864, a task for which
General Wells, who during this period had charge of the Nauvoo legion and
aided in suppressing some of the disturbances, is specially qualified.
Wilford Woodrvff's Journal, MS., commencing with the claims of Sidney
Eigdon to the guardianship of the church, in 1846, and closing with a sum-
mary of the operations of the pioneers in the following year. Mr Woodruff
gives some valuable details concerning this most interesting period in the an-
nals oi Mormonism. Being himself a pioneer, he furnishes minute particu-
lars as to their journey and their early labors in the valley.
In A Woman's Experiences with the Pioneer Band, by Mrs Clara Decker
Young, MS., we have also some information as to the work accomplished
during the single month that the pioneers remained in the valley, among
other matters being the building of the old fort. Items of interest are also
given concerning those who were left alone in the valley after the pioneers'
departure, until the arrival of Parley Pratt's companies. Clara Decker Young,
a native of Freedom, N. Y., moved with her parents to Daviess co., Mo., in
1837, the family being driven, during the persecutions of that year, to Far
West, whence they removed to Quincy, and later to Nauvoo. When 16 years
of age she became the fifth wife of Brigham Young.
From the Material Progress of Utah, by William Jennings, MS., I have
gathered many details as to the industrial condition of the Mormons from the
earliest settlement of S. L. City up to a recent date, among them being items
relating to manufactures, agriculture, stock-raising, the grasshopper plague,
and the influence of the railroad on the population of Utah.
Early Justice, by John Nebeher, MS., besides describing the punishment of
offenders in the days of 1847, v.'hen, as I have already stated, the whipping-
post was substituted for imprisonment, furnishes other material of value
relating to early times. In his capacity of public complaiuer, Mr Nebeker
prosecuted one culprit before the high council for stealing, and himself ad-
ministered the flogging. Mr Nebeker, a native of Delaware, came to Nauvoo
in the winter of 1846; crossed the plains with the first companies, and left
Winter Quarters with Parley Pratt's detachment.
In The Migration and Settlements of the Latter-day Saints, by Mrs Joseph
H. Home, MS. , is an account of her conversion, her experiences at Far West,
Quincy, and Nauvoo, and the hardships suffered during the migration. Then
follows a description of the first years in S. L. City, the food, dress, and
dwellings of the saints, their make-shifts and privations, with some mention
of the Mormon battalion, and the ill feeling caused by the withdrawal of 500
able-bodied men at this crisis in their affairs. Mrs Home, a native of Rain-
ham, England, moved with her parents to New York (now Toronto, Canada)
when ten years of age. In 1836, the year of her marriage, she was converted
by the preaching of Parley and Orson Pratt, her house being afterward open
to the elders, who frequently held meetings there.
From the Utah Sketches, MS., I have gathered much information as to the
founding of various settlements and their progress up to the year 1880, of
which mention will be made later. Most of them were written by persons
who were themselves among the earliest settlers, and of whom some are still
prominent members of the several communities among which their lot was
cast. In this connection may be mentioned the Brief Historical Sketch of the
Settlements in Weber County, by Joseph Stanford, MS., and the Historical Sketch
of Ogden City, by the same author.
In addition to the manuscripts and journals constituting the vast original
332 EDUCATION AND MANUFACTURES.
sources upon which I have drawn, I would mention also the following printed
and secondary authorities: Millen. Star, iv. 187-90, v. 174-7, vi. 41-2, vii.
71-2, 87-9, 10:3-4, 149-53, viii. 68-71, 97-8, 102-3, 113-21, 149-58, ix. 11-22,
xi. 46-7; Times and Seasons, i. 30-1, 44, 185-7, 517, ii. 273-4, 281-6, 309, 319,
321-2, 336, 355-6, 370-1, 375-7, 380-2, 417-18, 435, 517, 567-70, iii. 630-1,
066, 638, 654, 683-6, 700, 718, 733-4, 743, 767-9, 775-6, 806-7, 831-2, 902-3,
919-21, 936-7, iv. 10-11, 33-6, 65-71, 154-7, 198-9, 241-78, v. 392-6, 418-
23, 455, 471-2, 536-48, 560-75, 584-99, 618-22, vi. 762, 773-80, 926, 972-3;
Beadle, Life in Utah, 58-9, 63-121, 125-54, 161-2, 280; Bennett, Morm. Ex-
posed, 5-10, 140-62, 188-214, 278-302, 307-40; Bertrand, Mem. Morm., 61,
65-70; Bonwick, Morm. and Silv. Mines, 3; Burton, Citi/ of Saints, 183-4, 43.3,
i^■2o-Ql•, Busch, Gesch. Morm., ^Z-o, 97-113, 125-30, 205-17, 254-98; Dialh
of the Prophets, with Offic. Doc, no. 23, in Utah Pamph. Relig.; Deseret News,
1851, Apr. 8, Nov. 29, Dec. 13, 27; 1867, July 24; 1868, July 1, Dec. 16, 30;
1869, Apr. 7, Sept. 1; 1876, Mar. 22; 1877, Nov. 14; Hall, Morm. Exposed, 7-
8, 15-16, 24-7, 28-34, 55-70, 91-9, 106-7; Tucker, Morm., 37, 167-207; Tul-
Itdge, Life of Young, 6-191. 204; Wom^n of Morm., 297-300, 425-32, 443-4,
488-95; Edinburg liev., Apr. 1854, 319-83; Ford ( Thos, Gov. Ill), in Utah
Tracts, no. 11; Ferris, Utah and Morm., 51, 92-107, 114-15, 137-46, 151-4,
120-30; Gunnison, Morm., 133, 115-39; Stansbury, Exped., 135-7; Green,
Morm., 28-9, 36-7, 54-64; Hickman, Destroying Angel, 41-5; Hyde, Morm.,
140, U4-6, 152-3, 155-7, 172-5, 183-5, 189-92; Kidder, Morm., 157-9, 182-
92; Kanesville (la). Front. Guard., 1849, Feb. 7, 21, Mar. 7, June 27, Aug.
8, Nov. U;Id., 1850, May 1, 29, Oct. 2, 30; Id., 1852, Mar. 18, 25; Linforth,
BoiUefrom Liverpool, 61-9, 72-5; Lee, Morm., 109-12, 144-8, 152-5, 167-8,
173-4, 179-80; J/ac/tay, The Morm., 115-206; Mies' Peg., Ixix. 70, 134, Ixx.
208, 211, 327, Ixxii. 206, 370, Ixxiii. 6; Olshausen, Gesch. Mormonen, 59-65,
88-90, 100-3, 144-51, 202-34; Hon. Polynesian, ii. 1846, 91; Pratt (P.), Au-
tohiog., 378, 398-401, 405-6; Remy, Journey to G. S. L. City, i. 336-406, 434-8,
ii. 258-63; Smucker, Hist. Morm., 119-34, 148-276, passim; Snow (Eliza), in
Utah Pioneers, 33d Ann., 41-50, in Times and Seasons, iv. 287; Snow (Lo-
renzo), with Taylor, Govt of God, no. 12, 9-11; Stenhouse, Tell It All, 306;
Crimes of L. D. Saints, 11-15; Dunbar, Romance of Age, 45; Ebberts, Trapper's
Life, MS., 18; Fullmer, in Utah Tracts, no. 9. 1 40; Mather, in LippincotVa
Mag., Aug. 1880; McGlashen, Hist. Donner Party, 34-56; Spence, Settler's
Guide, 268-9; Sa,la, Amer. Revisited, ii. 289; Salt Lake City, (Contributor, ii. 86,
134-7, 195-8, 239, 301, 354-6, 366, iii. passim, iv. 370-6; Salt Lake City, Deseret
News, 1850, July 27; 1851, July 26, Aug. 19; 1852, Feb. 7, Aug. 7, 21; 1854,
July 27, Aug. 3; 1855, Sept. 26; 1857, July 29, Aug. 5; 1858, June 30; Salt Lake
City, Hercdd, 1880, July 3, 29; Salt Lake City, Telegraph, 1868, May 30, Oct.
10, 12-14; Smith, Ris", Progress, etc., 6-18, 314-22, 334-6; Smoot (Margaret
S.), Experience, etc., MS., 4-5; Cal., Its Past Hist., 218-19; Tracy (Mrs N.
N.), Narr., MS., 10-19; Thornton, Or. aiul Cal.., i. 158-9; Utah Pioneer, 33d
Ann., 50-2; Narrative of the Murders of the Smiths, ia Utah Tracts, no. 1,
passim; The Murder of Jos Smith, in Utah Tracts, no. 1, 54-5; Tyler, FW
Morm. Battalion, passim; U. S. Ex. Doc., 24, 31 Cong. 1st Sess.; Fes T^a,^
Adoentures, 313-38; Woodruff (W.), in Utah Pion., 33d ^?i7i., 19-24; Wara,
Mormon Wife, 81-4, 109-40, 165; White ( Mrs G. V.), The Mormon Prophet,
etc., 4-8; Young ( Ann Eliza), Wife No. 19,54-1; Marshall, Through Amer.,
184; Murphy, Mineral Resour., 84-5; Miller (J.), First Families, etc., 65-73;
Martin (Thos S.), Narrative, etc., MS., 42; San Francisco, Alta Cal., 1851,
Aug. 8; Id., Cal. Star, 1848, Feb. 26; Id., Call, 1869, Sept. 5, 1877, Aug. 31;
Id., Chronicle, 1881, Jan. 9; Id., Herald, 1851, Oct. 12, 1859, Nov. 15; Sacra-
mento, Placer Times, 1849, May 26; Id., Union, 1855, Sept. 10, 27, 1859,
Aug. 24; Portland (Dr.), Telegram, 1879, Mar. 15; Salem (Or.), Argus, 1858,
Feb. 13, Aug. 28; Id.. Statesman, 1851, Dec. 23; Or. City (Or.), Spectator,
1846, July 4; Ogden (Utah), Freeman, 1879, May 2; Gold Hill (Nev.), News,
1872, May 1, Oct. 24; Eureka (Nev.), Leader, 1880, July 24; Carson (Nev.),
State Register, 1872, Nov. 24; Roe, Westward by Rail, 125-7.
I
CHAPTER XV.
MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
What is Mormonism ? — Tenets op the Chttech — Sacred Books and Pebsok*
AGES — Organization — Priesthood — First Pbesidenct — Thb Twblvk
Apostles— Patriarchs — Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers, and
Deacons — The Seventies — Stakes and Wards — Marriage — Templk
Building — Tabernacle — Political Aspect — Polygamy as a Church
Tenet — Celestial Marriage — Attitude and Arguments of Civili-
zation — Polygamy's Reply — Ethics and Law — The Charge of Dis-
loyalty — Proposed Remedies.
We are now prepared to ask the question with some
degree of intelligence, What is Mormonism? In for-
mulating an answer, we must consider as well the
political as the rehgious idea. I will examine the
latter first.
Mormonism in its religious aspect is simply the ac-
ceptation of the bible, the whole of it, literally, and
folio wins: it to its logfical conclusions.
As the Christian world has advanced in civilization
and intelligence these two thousand years or so, it has
gradually left behind a little and a little more of its
religion, first of the tenets of the Hebraic record, and
then somewhat even of those of the later dispensation.
Long before religionists began to question as myths
the stories of Moses, and Jonah, and Job, they had
thrown aside as unseemly blood-sacrifice and burnt-
offerings, sins of uncleanness, the stoning of sabbath-
breakers, the killing in war of women, children, and
prisoners, the condemnation of whole nations to per-
petual bondage, and many other revolting customs of
the half-savage Israelites sanctioned by holy writ.
(338)
334 MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
This they did of their own accord, not because they
were so commanded, but in spite of commandments,
and by reason of a higher and more refined culture — a
culture which had outgrown the cruder dogmas of the
early ages. Then came the putting away of slavery
and polygamy, the former but recently permitted in
these American states, and the latter being here even
now. Among the discarded customs taught and en-
couraged by the new testament are, speaking in
tongues, going forth to preach without purse or scrip,
laying on of hands for the healing of the sick, rais-
ing the dead, casting out devils, and all other miracles ;
and there will be further repudiations as time passes,
further ignoring of portions of the scriptures by ortho-
dox sects, a further weeding out of the unnatural and
irrational from things spiritual and worshipful.
The tenets of the Mormon church are these :
The bible is the inspired record of God's dealings
with men in the eastern hemisphere; the book of
Mormon is the inspired record of God's dealings with
the ancient inhabitants of this continent; the book
of Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints consists of revelations
from God concerning the present dispensation to
Joseph Smith, who was inspired to translate the book
of Mormon and organize the church of Christ anew.
Joseph Smith to the present dispensation is as Moses
was to Israel; there is no conflict, either in per-
sonages or books. The statements, assertions, prom-
ises, and prophecies of the books, and the precepts
and practices of the personages, are accepted, all of
them, and held to be the revealed will to man of one
and the same God, whose will it is the duty and en-
deavor of his people to carry out in every particular
to the best of their ability.
There are more gods than one. There are spirit-
ual gifts. Not only must there be faith in Christ, but
faith in the holy priesthood, and faith in continual
CHURCH DOCTRINE. 335
revelation.* Man is a free agent. The laying on of
hands for ordination, and for the healing of the sick,
descends from the early to the later apostles.^ There
will be a resurrection of the body and a second coming
of Christ. Israel is a chosen people; there has been
a scattering of Israel, and there will be a gathering.
Joseph Smith was the fulfiller not only of bible proph-
ecies, but of the book of Mormon prophecies, and of
his own prophecies. Foreordination, election, and
dispensation of the fulness of times are held. There
was an apostasy of the primitive church, and now
there is a return. There was the Jerusalem of the
eastern hemisphere ; on the continent of North Amer-
ica is planted the new Jerusalem. Miracles obtain;
also visions and dreams, signs and tokens, and angels
of light and darkness. There are free spirits and
spirits imprisoned; the wicked will be destroyed, and
there will be a millennial reign. The saints are largely
of the house of Israel, and heirs to the promises made
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The aboriginal in-
habitants of America and the Pacific isles were the
*In 1853, Benjamin Brown, high-priest, and pastor of the London, Read-
ing, Kent, and Essex conferences, published at Liverpool a tract entitled,
Testivwnies for the Truth; a Record of Manifestations of the Power of Ood,
Miraculous and Providential, witnessed by him in his travels and experiences.
The author was a native of New York, and born in 1794. He was a firm be-
liever in latter-day revelations from God, and that the ancient gifts of the
gospel still remained, long before he joined the Mormons. He labored long
and in various places. He held property in Nauvoo when the saints ^vere
driven out, and was obliged to take $250 for what was worth $3,000. After-
ward he underwent all the sufferings and vicissitudes of the overland journey
to Salt Lake. Mr Brown was an earnest and honest man; his book is the
record of his life, and is simple and attractive in style and substance.
* Healing the sick. Joseph early laid it down as a rule that all diseases
and sickness among them were to be cured by the elders, and by tiie use of
herbs alone. Physicians of the world were denounced as enemies to mankind,
and the use of their medicines was prohibited. Afterw, id, anointing with oil,
prayer, and laying on hands were resorted to in addi 'on to the llrst men-
tioned. Says Mrs Richards, ' In all sicknesses we useu no medicines, with
the exception of herb teas that we ourselves prepared, trusting exclusively
to the efficacy of the anointing with oil and prayer.' Reminiscences, MS., 34.
Joseph said, 'AH wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution,
nature, and use of man. Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit
in the season thereof.' The use of flesh was not forbidden, but rather re-
stricted to seasons of cold and famine. All grain was pronounced good for
man, but wheat was particularly recommended, with com for the ox, oats for
the horse, rye for fowls and swine, and barley for all useful animals, and for
mild drinks; aa also other grain. Times and Seasons, v. 736.
k
336 MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
seed of Joseph, divided into numerous nations and
tribes. The Lamanites were of the house of Ma-
nasseli.
We believe, say their articles of faith, in God the
father, in Jesus Christ the son, and in the holy ghost.
For their own sins, and not for any transgression of
Adam, men will be punished; but all may be saved,
through the atonement, by obedience to the ordi-
nances of the gospel, which are : faith in Christ, re-
pentance, baptism by immersion,^ and laying on of
'Baptism, a prerequisite to church membership, as well as to final salva-
tion, to be of avail, must be by immersion, and performed by one of the sect.
The person who is called of God, and has authority from Jesus Christ to bap-
tize, shall go down into the water witli the person to be baptized, and shall say,
calling him or her by name: ' Having been commissioned of jfesus Christ, I
baptize you in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost.
Amen.' Doctrine and Covenants, 115, 118. Baptisms are entered in the gen-
eral church records, giving the name, place, and date of birth, quorum, date
of baptism, first time or re-baptism, by whom baptized, when and by whom
confirmed. Beneret Neivs, Feb. 22, 1851. In 1844, complaints were made that
members of the church, dismissed by the council, had been re-baptized by
elders wlio were themselves excluded, and declaring such baptisms invalid.
I'imes and Seasons, v. 458-9.
In 1836, Joseph introduced the ceremony of anointing with consecrated cil.
He first anointed his father, who, having been blessed by the first presidency,
anointed them in turn, beginning with the eldest. The bishops of Kirtland
and Zion, together with their counsellors, were next anointed, and after-
ward the presiding oflScers of each quorum performed tlie ceremony on their
subordinates, assisted in some instances by the Smith brothers. Joseph de-
scribes the ceremony of consecrating the oil, as follows: ' I took the oil in my
left hand. Father Smith being seated before me, and the remainder of the
presidency encirclud him round about. We then stretched our right hands
towards heaven, and blessed the oil, and consecrated it in the name of Jesus
Christ.' Mil. Star, xv. 620. Olive-oil is commonly used. Mis Richards,
Reminiscences, MS., 34. Many remarkable cures are mentioned. A sea-
man, belonging to H. B. M. ship Terror, was rendered deaf and dumb by
a stroke of lightning, at Bermuda. Several years after, he was baptized
by elders in a canal in England, and instantly recovered both speech and
hearing. Frontier GiLardian, Jan. 23, 1850. In 1840, a young woman then
living at Batavia, N. Y., who had been deaf and dumb for four and one
half years, was first restored to her hearing by the laying on of the
hands of the elders of the church, and a second ministration, some time
afterward, enabled her to speak. Times and Seasons, ii. 516-17. During
the building of Nauv ., nearly every one was attacked with malarial fever,
caused by breaking up the new land, and even the prophet himself suc-
cumbed for a time. But hearing the voice of the Lord calling on him,
he arose and went through the camp healing all to whom he drew near.
WoodrvJ'(Mrs), Autohiog., 2-3. Brigham declares he was among the num-
ber healed at this time. Mil. Star, xxv. 646. While Joseph was in the midst
of his sick, an unbeliever, living a few miles distant, came to him, beseeching
him to come and heal his twin children, who were near death's door. The
prophet was unable to go himself, but sent Wilford Woodruff m his place.
Says the latter, ' He [Joseph] took a red silk handkerchief out of his pocket
and gave it to me, and told me to wipe their faces with the handkerchief
THE MORMON CREED. 337
hands for the gift of the holy ghost. We beheve in
the same organization and powers that existed in
when I administered to thera, and they should be healed.' He also said untc
me: "As long as you will keep that handkerchief, it shall remain a league
between you and me." I went with the man, and did as the prophet com-
manded me, and the children were healed. I have possession of the hand-
kerchief unto this day [1881].' Leaves from Ttiy Journal, 65. F. D. Richards,
who had been sick for several months, was baptized, anointed, and confirmed;
immediately after which he was restored to health. Some time afterward,
being then an elder, he cured a severe toothache by touching the tooth with
his finger. Narrative, MS., 15-16. Mrs Richards' brother, afterward Elder
Snyder, was raised from a sick-bed after having been baptized and adminis-
tered to by Elder John E. Page. Mrs Richards was taken by her brother
from a sick-bed to a lake from the surface of which ice more than a foot thick
had been removed, and there baptized, whereupon she immediately recovered.
Similar cases might be given by the score.
Baptism for the dead is first alluded to by the prophet, who, in a revela-
tion dated Jan. 19, 1841, declares, 'A baptismal font there is not upon the
earth, that they, my saints, may Joe baptized for those who are dead.' It is
intimated that a reasonable time will be allowed in which to build a temple
and a permanent font, and that during this time a temporary substitute
for the font may be employed; but after the completion of the temple, no
baptisms for the dead will be of avail unless conducted within the build-
ing. See Doctrine and Ctyvenants, 392, 395. Brigham says he first heard of
the new doctrine when he was in Europe (1840), and that he believed in it
before anything was said or done about it in the church. Times and Season<,
vi. 954. Daniel Tyler says the doctrine was first taught in Nauvoo, although
Joseph told some of the elders in Kirtland that it was part of the gospel, and
would yet be practised as such. Juvenile Instructor, xv. 56. He also says
that before other provision was made, many were baptized in the Mississippi
River. The first baptismal font, a temporary structure, intended for use only
until the completion of the temple, was erected in the basement of that build-
ing, and dedicated on Nov. 8, 1841, Josej^h being present and Brigham deliv-
ering the address. Joseph thus describes the font: It is constructed of pine
staves, tongued and grooved, and is oval-shaped, 'sixteen feet long east and
west, and twelve feet wide, seven feet high from the foundation, the basin
four feet deep; the mouldings of the cap and base are formed of beautiful
carved work in antique style. The sides are finished with panel-work. A
flight of stairs in the north and south sides lead up and down into the
basin, guarded by a side railing. The font stands upon twelve oxen, four on
each side and two at each end, their heads, shoulders, and fore legs project-
ing out from under the font; they are carved out of oak plank, glued togethoi
and copied after the most beautiful five-year-old steer that could be found in
the country, and they are an excellent striking likeness of the original; the
horns were geometrically formed after the most perfect horn that coultl be
procured. The oxen and the mouldings were carved by Elder Elijah Ford-
ham, from the city of New York, the work occupying eight months. The
whole was enclosed in a temporary frame building.' MU. Star, xviii. 744. On
Sept. 6, 1842, Joseph writes to the church that all baptisms must be re-
corded by a person appointed for the purpose, and whose duty it will be to
note every detail of the ceremony in each case. One of the officials is to
be appointed in each ward, and his returns properly certified to are to be
forwarded to the general recorder, who will enter them on the church records,
together with the names of all witnesses, etc., and finally add his own certifi-
cate as to the genuineness of the signature of the ward recorder. This detail
is necessary for the proper identification hereafter of those baptized, for the
authority for which the prophet quotes Bevelations, xx. 12. 'And I saw tho
HiBT. Utah. 22
838 MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
the primitive church, namely, apostles, prophets, pas-
tors, teachers, evangelists; in the gift of tongues,*
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened,' etc.
He also states that it was revealed to him on Sept. 1, 1842, that a general re-
corder must be appointed. Mil. Star, xx. 5-6; Doctrine and Covenants, 409-
1.3. For the ceremony itself, he finds warrant in 1st Cor., xv. 29. 'Else
what shall they do wlio are baptized for the dead ? If the dead rise not at
all, why are they then baptized for the dead?'
Confirmation follows baptism, with frequently an interval of a few days.
Baptism may take place on any day in the week, and the confirmation be de-
ferred until the church assembles on the following, or even a later, Sunday.
Two or more elders commonly attend, all taking part in the ceremony. Mrs
Stenhouse thus describes her own confirmation: 'Four elders placed their
hands solemnly upon my head, and one of them said: "Fanny, by virtue of
the authority vested in me, I confirm you a member of the church of Jesus
Christ of latter-day saints; and inasmuch as you have been obedient to the
command of God, through his servants, and have been baptized for the re-
mission of your sins, I say unto you that those sins are remitted. And in the
name of God I bless you, and say unto you, that inasmuch as you are faithful
and obedient to the teachings of the priesthood, and seek the advancement
of the kingdom, there is no good thing that your heart can desire that the
Lord will not give unto you. You shall have visions and dreams, and angels
shall visit you by day and by night. You shall stand in the temple in Zion,
and administer to the saints of the most high God. You shall speak iu
tongues and prophecy; and the Lord shall bless you abundantly, both tempo-
rally and spiritually. These blessings I seal upon your head, inasmuch as
you shall be faithful; and I pray heaven to bless you; and say unto you, be
thou blessed, in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost.
Amen."' Englishwoman in Utah, 19-20.
*The gift of tongues is the power to speak in a strange language, but
not to translate. It first appeared about 1830, when it was pronounced of
the devil. Howe says it was revived in the early part of 1833, and that at
one meeting Joseph passed around the room laying his hand upon each one,
and speaking as follows: 'Ak man, oh son, oh man, ah ne commene en holle
goste en haben en glai hosanne en holle goste en esac milkea Jeremiah, eze-
kiel, Nephi, Lehi, St John,' etc. Mormonism Unveiled, 132-6. In this year,
it was suggested that 'no prophecy spoken in tongues should be made public,
for this reason: many who pretend to have the gift of interpretation are liable
to be mistaken, and do not give the true interpretation of what is spoken;. . .
but if any speak in tongues a word of exhortation or doctrine, or the princi-
ples of the gospel, etc., let it be interpreted for the edification of the church.'
Times and Seasons, vi. 865. The gift was not confined to men; many women
were noted for eloquence when thus inspired. Says Mrs Stenhouse of a Sister
Ellis: 'Her hands were clenched, and her eyes had that wild and supernatural
glare which is never seen save in cases of lunacy or intense feverish excite-
ment. Every one waited breathlessly, listening to catch what she might say;
you might have heard a pin drop. They [her utterances] seemed to me chief-
ly the repetition of the same syllables, something like a child repeating la, la,
la, le, lo; ma, ma, ma, mi, ma; dele, dele, dele, hela; followed, perhaps, by
a number of sounds strung together, which could not be rendered in any
shape by the pen.' Englishwoman in Utah, 27-8. Says Orson Hyde: 'We
belie\ e in the gift of the holy ghost being enjoyed now as much as it was in
the apostles' days, and that it is imparted by the laying on of hands of those
in authority; and that the gift of tongues, and also the gift of prophecy,
are gifts of the spirit, and are obtained through that medium.' Frontier
■Guardian, Dec. 12, 1849. Mrs Stenhouse remarks that 'in later days, the exer-
cise of this gift has been discouraged by the elders, and especially by Brigham.'
Going to the Lion House one day, she was blessed by one of Brigham 's wives,
ADMINISTRATION OP JUSTICE. 339
prophecy, revelation, and visions. In the scriptures
is found the law of tithing, which law is now revived,
and the keeping of it made one of the first duties of
the saints. The ten commandments, and all other
commandments, ordinances, promulgations, and possi-
bilities, are in force now as at the time they were
given. Marriage is a sacred and an eternal covenant.
Plural marriage, sanctioned under the old dispensa-
tion and revived under the new, is open to all, and is,
in some instances, commanded, when it becomes a
sacred obligation.
Seldom does a good Mormon appear in a court of
law arrayed against a brother Mormon. And this is
why, as the saints allege, the twenty-five or fifty law-
yers in Utah who are compelled to derive their living
almost entirely from the gentiles, are so bitter against
the saints. When two Mormons disagree, they pre-
sent themselves before the president of the stake, who
with twelve councillors, six facing six, their selection
having been agreed to by the litigants, is ready to try
the case without delay. Plaintiff and defendant, each
with his witnesses, take their places before the pres-
ident, and between the rows of councillors. Prayer
is then offered, almighty aid being asked in bringing
the affair to a righteous and amicable conclusion.
The litigants state the case, each from his own stand-
point; the witnesses are heard; the councillors de-
cide. Prayer is again offered. The adversaries shake
hands; there is nothing to pay. Until the gentiles
came, there were in Utah no police or police courts;
no houses of drinking, or of gambling, or of prostitu-
tion. Of the administration of justice among the
saints I shall speak more at length in a later chapter.
and the blessing interpreted by another wife; the latter, however, cautioned
her not to repeat what had occurred, for 'Brother Brigham does not like to
hear of these things. ' Englishwoman in Utah, 29. TuUidge mentions tlie names
of many women who were distinguished as possessing this gift, and relates an
instance of a party whose wagon was surrounded by Indians, escaping with
their lives and property; the captors being induced to abandon their prize by
Jane Grover, a girl of seventeen, who addressed them in their own language.
Women of Mormondom, 474-8.
810 MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
The doctrine of blood atonement was early inculcated
by the church, as a sacrifice necessary for salvation, and
not, as many have asserted, in order to legalize murder.
There were the altars and the offerings of the old
testament, and the great god-man sacrifice of the
new. Christ made the atonement for the sins of the
world by the shedding of his blood. By the laws of
the land, he who commits murder must atone for it
by his own death.^ There are sins of various de-
* The theory of blood atonement is that for certain sins the blood of the
transgressor must be shed to save his soul. Among these sins are apostasy,
the sliedding of innocent blood, and unfaithfulness to marriage obligations
on the part of the wife. Says Brigham, in a discourse delivered in Salt Lake
City: 'There are sins which men commit for which they cannot receive for-
giveness in this world, or in that which is to come, and if they had their
eyes open to their true condition, they would be perfectly willing to have
their blood spilled upon the ground, that the smoke thereof might ascend to
heaven as an offering for their sins; and the smoking incense would atone for
their sins; whereas, if such is not the case, they will stick to them and re-
main upon them in the spirit world. 1 know, when you hear my brethren
telling about cutting people off from the earth, that you consider it is strong
doctrine; but it is to save them, not to destroy them. . .1 do know that there
aa-e sins committed, of such a nature that if the people did understand the
doctrine of salvation they would tremble because of their situation. And
furthermore, I know that there are transgressors who, if they knew them-
selves and the only condition upon which they can obtain forgiveness, would
beg of their brethren to shed their blood, that the smoke thereof might as-
cend to God as an offering to appease the wrath that is kindled against them,
and that the law might have its course. I will say further: I have had men
come to me and offer their lives to atone for their sins . . . There are sins tliat
can be atoned for by an offering upon an altar, as in ancient days; and there
are sins that the blood of a lamb, of a calf, or of turtle-doves cannot remit,
but they must bo atoned for by the blood of the man.' And at another
time: 'AH mankind love themselves, and let these principles be known by
an individual, and he would be glad to have his blood shed. That would be
loving themselves, even unto an eternal exaltation. Will you love your
brothers or sisters likewise when they have committed a sin that can-
not be atoned for without the shedding of their blood? Will you love
that man or woman well enough to shed their blood ? That is what Jesus
Christ meant ... I could refer you to plenty of instances where men have
been righteously slain in order to atone for their sins. I have seen scores
and hundreds of people for whom there would have been a chance in the
last resurrection if their lives had been taken and their blood spilled on the
ground as a smoking incense to the almighty. . .1 have known a great many
men who have left this church for whom there is no chance whatever for
exaltation; but if their blood had been spilled it would have been better for
them. This is loving our neighbor as ourselves; if he needs help, help liim;
and if he wants salvation, and it is necessary to spill his blood on the eaith
in order that he may be saved, spill it.' Deseret News, Oct. 1, 1856, Feb.
18, 1857. Following Brigham 's lead, Heber C. Kimball and Jedediah M.
Grant taught the same doctrine during the religious revival, or so-called
reformation, in Utah, in 1856-7, of which more later. Grant being the most
vehement of the three. The reader will find these discourses reported at
length in the Deseret News. The doctrine is very clearly explained in Pen-
ORDERS OP PRIESTHOOD. 341
grees of heinousness; some requiring only puLlic con-
fession and promised reformation by way of atone-
ment, whilst others are characterized by an enormity
so vast that pardon on earth is impossible. Of the
first class are all minor offences against church disci-
pline, breach of which has been publicly acknowledged
by nearly every leader, from Joseph himself down to
the humLlest official.
For the proper carrying out of the instructions re-
vealed in the sacred books, an organization has been
effected in these latter days, based upon books and
on former organizations. There are two principal
priesthoods, the Melchisedek and the Aaronic, the
latter including the Levitical. The Melchisedek is the
higher, comprising apostles, patriarchs, high-priests,
seventies, and elders. It holds the right of presi-
dency, with authority to administer in all the offices,
ordinances, and affairs of the church. It holds the
keys of all spiritual blessings, receives the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven, whose doors are ever open,
and holds communion with God the father, Jesus
Christ the mediator, Joseph Smith the prophet, and
all departed saints.®
The Aaronic is a subordinate priesthood, being an
appendage to the Melchisedek, and acting under its
rose's Blood Atonement, passim. See also Lee's Morm., 282-3; Morm. Proph.,
157-60; Young's Wife No. 19, 182-99; Paddock's La Tour, 305-8; Bertrand's
Mem. Morm., 139-72, 250-8, 29G-316.
® In regard to the two priesthoods, the Melchisedek and the Aaronic, or
Levitical, all authority in the church is subordinate to the first, which holds
the right of presidency and has power over all the offices in the church. The
presidency of the high-priesthood of this order has the right to officiate in
all the offices of the church. High-priests are authorized to officiate in any
lower positions in the church, as well as in their own office. Elders are of
this priesthood, and are authorized to officiate instead of high-priests, in the
absence of the latter. The twelve apostles are charged with the duty of or-
daining all the subordinate officers of the church, and also with its missionary
work. Together they form a quorum whose authority equals that of the
first presidency, but action by either body must be unanimous. A majority
may form a quorum when circumstances render it impossible to assemble the
whole body, They also constitute a travelling, presiding high-council, under
the direction of the presidency of the church, and it is their duty to ordain
ministers in all large branches. The seventies are also missionaries — assist-
ants to the twelve, and united they are equal in authority with the twelve.
3ia MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
supervision. It comprises bishops, priests, teachers,
and deacons, who hold the keys of the ministering
angels, having power to administer in certain ordi-
nances and in the temporal affairs of the church, bap-
tizing and sitting as judges in Israel. The bishopric
is the presidency of the Aaronic priesthood. The
office of a bishop is to administer in temporal matters.
First-born sons, lineal descendants of Aaron, and
no others, have a legal right to the bishopric. But
a high-priest of the order of Melchisedek may officiate
in all lesser offices, including that of bishop, when
no lineal descendant of Aaron can be found, and
after he has been ordained to this power by the first
presidency. There is also the patriarchal priesthood,^
^ About 1834, Joseph Smith had a revelation to the effect that it was the
will of the Lord that every father should bless his own children, and that
patriarchs should be set apart to bless those witliout a father in the church.
This revelation ^^■as due to an expressed desire on the part of Brigham Young's
father to bless his own children before dying, after the manner of the patri-
archs of old. Young's Wife No. 19, 581. Several years before this, it had
been dh-ected that every member of the church having children should bring
them to the elders before the church, who were to lay their hands upon them
in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them. Doctrine and Covenants, 72.
During the life of the first patriarch — Jos. Smith, sen. — these blessings were
nominally free to the recipients. A high-council held at Kirtland in Sept.
1835 decided that when the patriarch was occupied in blessing the church,
he should be paid at the rate of ten dollars a week, and liis expenses; also
that Frederick G. Williams be appointed to attend blessing meetings, and
record the proceedings, for which services he should receive the same com-
pensation. The payment of twelve dollars for a book in which to record the
blessings caused discussion in this councU, and brother Henry Green, who
had intimated that a suitable book could be procured for less money, was ex-
cluded from the church for his presumption. Alii. Star, xv. 308-9. In Jan.
1836, Smith, sen., was anointed with oil by the prophet, blessed by each of
the presidency in turn, and was thenceforth known as Father Smith. Id. , 620.
In 1837, the pay of the patriarch was fixed at a doUar and fifty cents a day,
and that of the recorder at ten cents for each 100 words. 3Iil. Star, xvi. 109.
When Hyrum became patriarch, says the author of Young^s Wife No. 19, 581,
the demand for blessings had so increased that one dollar each was charged
for them; and in 1875 the price had advanced to two dollars. Upon the
death of his father in 1840, Hyrum Smith succeeded to the office of patriarch,
pursuant to a revelation entailing it on the eldest son. The revelation is dated
in Jan. 1841. Doctrine and Covenants, 305-6; Mil. Star, xviii. 363. The fol-
lowing notice appears in Times and Seasons, Nov. 1, 1841: 'The brethren are
hereby notified that our well-beloved brother, Hyrum Smith, patriarch of
the church, has erected a comfortable ofiice opposite his dwelling-house [in
Nauvoo], where himself, together with his scribe and recorder, James Sloan,
will attend regularly every Monday, W^ednesday, and Friday, during the
entire day, or upon any other day if urgent circumstances require it, to per-
form the duties of his high and holy calling. A copy of the blessings can be
received immediately after being pronounced, so that the brethren who live
THE HEAD OP THE CHURCH. 343
the patriarch to be the oldest man of the blood of
Joseph or of the seed of Abraham. Likewise there
are mothers in Israel.*
Head over all is the First Presidency of the Church,
known also as the First Presidency of the High-Priest-
hood, and consisting of a president and two council-
lors.® The first presidency presides over and governs
at a distance can have it to take with them. ' Hyrum's successor was his
brother William, who was disfellowshipped in 1845, John Smith, brother to
the prophet, being ordained patriarch over the church, and holding that
office until hia death in 1854. In the following year Hyrum's son John was
ordained patriarch, and since that date has been sustained in his office at
each successive conference. A child is first blessed when eight days old, and
again so soon as the mother is able to present her child on a regular fast-day.
The first Thursday in each month is set apart for fasting. Mrs Richards' Rem-
iniscences, MS., 34-5. The second ceremony is usually attended by both
Earents, and in addition to a blessing, the child receives its name. Each
irthday it is customary for the parents to hold a family gathering, when the
child is again blessed, and prayers oflfered for its welfare. When eight years
old, the child is baptized. See Home's Migrations, MS., 37. The blessings
are not only pronounced, but also written out. Id. , 34. ' These blessings
are rather wonderful affairs; they promise all sorts of things, in a vague, in-
definite way, if only the recipient proves faithful. Some are assured they
shall never taste death, but live until Christ comes, and be caught up to meet
him in the air; others are assured that they are to have the privilege of re-
deeming their dead so far back that there shall not be a broken link in the
chain. Absurd as this all seems, there are hundred of saints who believe that
every word shall be fulfilled.' Young^s Wife No. 19, 581.
^ Hall says there is a class of women, mothers in Israel, whose business
it is to instruct females as to their duty in matters not suitable to be taught
from the stand. Mormonism Exposed, 39-44.
' Early in 1833 the first presidency was established, with Joseph Smith
at the head, his associates in the management of afiairs being Sidney Rigdon
and Frederick G. Williams. The revelation creating this triumvirate is dated
March 8th, and in it Joseph's coadjutors are instructed first to finish the
translation of the prophets, and afterward preside over the afiairs of the
church and the school. Times and Seasons, v. 736-7. William Hall, who was
a member of the church for seven years, erroneously states that the presidency
at first consisted of Smith, E-igdon, and William Law. Abominations, 8. At
a conference held in Sept. 1837, Joseph appealed to the church to ascertain if
he was still regarded as its head, when the vote was unanimous. He then
introduced Rigdon and Williams as his councillors. According to the min-
utes of the conference, Williams was not accepted at first, but this action
appears to have been rescinded afterward. MiL Star, xvi. 56. Oliver Cow-
dery, Jos. Smith, sen., Hyrum Smith, and John Smith were accepted as assist-
ant councillors, and these seven were henceforth to be regarded the heads of
the church. At a general conference of the bra,nch of the churcli at Far
West in Nov. 1837, the action of the Kirtland conference was sustained so
far as Smith and Rigdon were concerned, but Williams was rejected. Hyrum
Smith was unanimously chosen in Williams' place. Mil. Star, xvi. 106-7. At
a conference held at Far West in April 1838, the first presidency was ap-
pointed to sign the licenses of the official members of the church. In Jan.
1841, Joseph had a revelation to the eflect that he was presiding ehler over
all the church, translator, revelator, a seer, and prophet; and tliat his coun-
cillors were Sidney Rigdon and William Law. These three were to coosti-
344 MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
all the affairs of the church, temporal and spiritual;
the first president is the prophet of God, seer, reve-
lator, and translator.
Next in authority are twelve apostles, who are a
travelling presiding high-council, and with whom, on
the death of the president of the church, the supreme
rulership rests until another first presidency is in-
stalled.^'' The president of the twelve, chosen in the
tute a quorum and first presidency, to receive the oracles for the whole
church. Law's selection was to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment
of Hyrum Smith to be patriarch. Mil. Star, xviii. 363. In this same month
Joseph notified the recorder of Hancock county that he (Joseph) had been
elected sole trustee of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints by the
church at Nauvoo, to hold office during life. Id., 373. Smith, E-igdon, and
Law were continued in office by the annual conference, convened in April 1843.
After the murder of the Smiths in 1844, the first presidency lapsed, and for
more than three years the church was governed by the quorum of the twelve
apostles, of which Brigham was president. At a meeting of the twelve apos-
tles, high-council, and high-priests at Nauvoo, in August 1844, Sidney Rigdon
ofl"ered himself as guardian to the church, claiming that his action was in
obedience to revelation. Young opposed Rigdon's claims, and the assembly
decided that the twelve should govern the church, with Young at their head.
Mil. Star, XXV. 215-17, 263-4. In Dec. 1847 Brigham Young, Heber C. Kim-
ball, and VVillard Richards were chosen to constitute the first presidency.
Juv. Inst., xiv. 128. Young died in 1877, and the presidency remained vacant
until October 1880, when John Taylor was chosen, with George Q. Can-
non and Joseph F. Smith as councillors. Marshall, Through America, 161.
This conference lasted five days. S. L. Tribune, Oct. 11, 1880. On the death
of the president the quorum is dissolved, and its members, as a presidency,
have no status. Richards' Narr., MS., 51.
'"On Feb. 14, 1835, the church at Kirtland met for the purpose of choos-
ing and ordaining the twelve apostles. The business occupied several days.
Briefly, the ceremonies were as follows: The assemblage consented to accept
the names presented by the three witnesses who had been appointed to make
the selection. P. P. Pratt says, in his Autobiog., 127-28, the ceremonies were
performed by Smith, Whitmer, and Cowdery, and that they acted in accord-
ance with the revelation of June 1829; but in the history of Jos. Smith, Mil.
Star, Mar. and Apr. 1853, the three witnesses only are mentioned. Martin
Harris' name does not appear in the revelation referred to. See Doctrine
and Covenants, 190-2. In an article by 'R. A.' in the Juv. Inst., xiv. 128,
the selection is accredited to the three witnesses, who are mentioned by
name. As Pratt was one of the ordained, it would seem that his account
should be reliable. Each candidate came forward as summoned, and in re-
turn received a blessing, and a charge from one of the three. The order of
ordination was as follows: On Feb. 14th, Lyman E. Johnson, Brigham
Young, and Heber C. Kimball. On the next day, Orson Hyde, David W.
Patten, Luke Johnson, Wm E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, and William
Smith. On Feb. 21st, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, and Thos B. Marsh, who
were absent on a mission, were ordained upon their return to Kirtland, which
occurred later. 3Iil. Star, xv. 206-12. Shortly after, the names were arranged
according to seniority, when they stood. Marsh, flatten, Young, Kimball,
Hyde, McLellin, P. P. Pratt, Luke Johnson, Smith, 0. Pratt, Boynton, and
L. E. Johnson. Four of the above apostatized in 1838, viz.: McLellin, the
Johnsons, and Boynton; John Taylor, Jolm E. Page, Wilford Woodrufif, and
Willard Richards were appointed instead. Shortly after this, Marsh, the
THE APOSTOLATE. 345
first instance by reason of seniority or ordination,
usually becomes president of the church. The office
of the twelve is to preach and teach throughout the
world, regulating the affairs of the church every-
where under the direction of the first presidency,
calling to their aid therein the seventies.
An apostle may administer in the several offices of
the church, particularly in spiritual matters.-^^ The
office of a patriarch is to give patriarchal blessings;
the office of a member of a seventy is to travel and
preach the gospel; but a patriarch, a high-priest, a
president of the twelve, apostatized, and in 1838 Patten was killed, which
left Young at the head of the list, and he became president of the twelve.
Geo. A. Smith was ordained in 1839, and Lyman Wight not long after. In
1844, according to Elder Phelps, the following names were on the roll:
Young, Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Hyde, Richards, Taylor, William Smith,
Woodruff, George A. Smith, Orson Pratt, Page, and Wight. During this
year Wm Smith and Page apostatized, and were replaced by Amasa M.
Lyman and Ezra T. Benson. Early in 1845, Young, Kimball, and Rich-
ards were chosen to the first presidency, and Weight was disfellowshipped
for apostasy; the vacancies thus caused were filled by appointing Chas C.
Rich, Lorenzo and Erastus Snow, and Franklin D. Richards. In 1857, Geo.
Q. Cannon was appointed, vice P. P. Pratt, deceased. In 1867, Lyman was
cfropped and Jos. F. Smith appointed. In 1868, Geo. A. Smith became one
of the first presidency, and Brigham Young, jun., succeeded him. Albert
Carrington M^as appointed in 1869 in place of Benson, deceased, and Moses
Thatcher in 1879, vice Hyde, deceased in 1878; which left the twelve in the
following order: John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, Chas C. Rich,
Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon,
Brigham Young, Joseph F. Smith, Albert Carrington, Moses Thatcher, Pratt
being the only remaining member of the original twelve. Juv. Inst., xiv.
128-9. The vacancies caused by the elevation of John Taylor to the presi-
dency in 1880, with George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith as councillors,
were partially filled by the appointment of Francis M. Lyman and John
H. Smith. S. L. Tribune, Oct. 11, 1880. Orson Pratt died Oct. 1881, and a
year later Geo. Teasdale and Heber J. Grant were elected. Hand-book of lief.,
89-90. Up to 1877, the twelve received no pay for their services; but the con-
ference of Oct. voted $1,500 a year to each apostle. ' This is the first sum
that has ever been publicly appropriated to any council of the church for the
performance of their duties to the people. When I went to Europe in 1806, I
borrowed the means and gave my note; on my return I had to pay back my
indebtedness.' Richards* Narr., MS., 59-60.
" In 1845 was issued at New York and Liverpool, Proclamation of the
Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; to all the
Kings of the World; to the President of the United States of America; to the
Governors of the several states, and to the riders and people of all nations.
Greeting, ' Know ye that the kingdom of God has come,' etc. The tract goes
on to say that 'Jehovah has been pleased once more to speak fi'om the
heavens,' by which means the apostleship of Christ has been restored, in
preparation for his coining, which is now near at hand. Then are recited the
leading points of faith, with allusions to the history of the church, and calls
to repentance.
346 MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
member of a seventy, and an elder may, in common
with an apostle, administer in other spiritual offices.
All superior officers are frequently called elders.
Thus an apostle is an elder; and he may baptize, and
ordain other elders, priests, teachers, and deacons.
It is his calling to administer bread and wine, or bread
and water, emblems of the flesh and blood of Christ;
to confirm the baptized by the laying on of hands for
the baptism of fire and the holy ghost; to teach, ex-
pound, exhort, and to lead in meetings as he is led by
the holy ghost.
A bishop who is a first-born and a lineal descend-
ant of Aaron may sit as a common judge in the church
without councillors, except in the trial of a president
of the high-priesthood. But a bishop from the high-
priesthood may not sit as a judge without his two
councillors. Over all the bishops in the chm^ch there
is a presiding bishop.
The duties of a priest are to preach, baptize, ad-
minister the sacrament, and visit families and pray
with them. The duties of a teacher are to watch over
and strengthen the church, and see that no iniquity
creeps into it, and that every member performs his
obligations and conducts himself without guile. The
duties of the deacon are to assist the teacher and the
bishop, attending to the temporal affairs of the church,
looking after the houses of worship and the necessities
of the poor. Teachers and deacons may instruct and
exhort, but they are not authorized to baptize, lay on
hands, or administer the sacrament. No one can hold
office except by authoritative call and ordination, or
by special appointment of God.
The seventies are organized into various councils of
seventy, commonly called quorums. Each council of
seventy has seven presidents, chosen out of the seven-
ty, one of the seven presiding over the others and over
the whole seventy. The seven presidents of the first
council of seventies also preside over all the councils
COUNCILS. 847
of seventies.^'^ According to Elder John Jaques, to
whose little book on the priesthood I am indebted for
this information, there were in 1882 seventy-six coun-
cils of seventies, with seventy members in each council
when complete. Elders are organized in councils of
ninety-six, each council having a president and two
councillors. Priests are organized in councils of
forty-eight, each with a president — who must b 
TVNews
OpenLibrary