Before entering upon the subject of the Mormons I would fain offer to the reader a few words of warning. During my twenty-four days at head-quarters, ample opportunities of surface observation were afforded me. I saw, as will presently appear, specimens of every class, from the Head of the Church down to the field-hand, and, being a stranger in the land, could ask questions and receive replies upon subjects which would have been forbidden to an American of the States, more especially to an official. But there is in Mormondom, as in all other exclusive faiths, whether Jewish, Hindoo, or other, an inner life into which I can not flatter myself or deceive the reader with the idea of my having penetrated. At the same time, it is only fair to state that no Gentile, even the unprejudiced, who are raræ aves, however long he may live or intimately he may be connected with Mormons, can expect to see any thing but the superficies. The writings of the Faithful are necessarily wholly presumed. And, finally, the accounts of Life in the City of the Saints published by anti-Mormons and apostates are venomous, and, as their serious discrepancies prove, thoroughly untrustworthy. I may therefore still hope, by recounting honestly and truthfully as lies in my power what I heard, and felt, and saw, and by allowing readers to draw their own conclusions, to take new ground.
The Mormons have been represented, and are generally believed to be, an intolerant race; I found the reverse far nearer the fact. The best proof of this is that there is hardly one anti-Mormon publication, however untruthful, violent, or scandalous, which I did not find in Great Salt Lake City.[129] The extent of the subjoined bibliographical listBIBLIOLOGY. would deter me from a theme so used up by friend and foe, were it not for these considerations. In the first place, I have found, since my return to England, a prodigious general ignorance of the “Mormon rule;” the mass of the public has heard of the Saints, but even well-educated men hold theirs to be a kind of socialistic or communist concern, where, as in the world to come, there is no marrying nor giving in marriage. Even where this is not the case, the reader of travels will not dislike to peruse something more of a theme with which he is already perhaps familiar; for in this department of literature, as in history and biography, the more we know of a subject, the more we want to know. Moreover, since 1857, no book of general interest has appeared, and the Mormons are a progressive people, whose “go-a-headitiveness” in social growth is only to be compared with their obstinate conservatism in adhering to institutions that date from the days of Abraham. Secondly, the natural history of the New Faith—for such it is—through the several periods of conception, birth, and growth to vigorous youth, with fair promise of stalwart manhood, is a subject of general and no small importance. It interests the religionist, who looks upon it as the “scourge of corrupted Christianity,” as much as the skeptic, that admires how, in these days of steam-traveling, printing, and telegramming, when “many run to and fro,” and when “knowledge” has been “increased,” human credulity will display itself in the same glaring colors which it wore ere the diffusion of knowledge became a part of social labor. The philosophic observer will detect in it a notable example of how mens agitat molem, the “powerful personal influence of personal character,” and the “effect that may be produced by a single mind inflexibly applied to the pursuit of a single object;” and another proof that “it is easier to extend the belief of the multitude than to contract it—a circumstance which proceeds from the false but prevalent notion that too much belief is at least an error on the right side.” The statist will consider it in its aspect as a new system of colonization. In America the politician will look with curiosity at a despotism thriving in the centre of a democracy, and perhaps with apprehension at its future efforts, in case of war or other troubles, upon the destinies of the whilom Great Republic. In England, which principally supplies this number of souls, men, instead of regarding it as one of many safety-valves, will be reminded of their obligations toward the classes by which Mormonism is fed, and urged to the improvement of education, religion, and justice. And I hope to make it appear that the highly-colored social peculiarities of the New Faith have been used as a tool by designing men to raise up enmity against a peaceful, industrious, and law-abiding people, whose whole history has been a course of cruel persecution, which, if man really believed in his own improvement, would be a disgrace to a self-styled enlightened age. The prejudice has naturally enough extended from America to England. In 1845, when the Mormons petitioned for permission to retire to Vancouver’s Island, they met with nothing but discouragement. And even in 1860, I am told, when a report was raised that Mr. Brigham Young would willingly have taken refuge with his adherents in the valley of the Saskatchawan, the British minister was instructed to oppose the useful emigration to the utmost of his power.
[129] A list of works published upon the subject of Mormonism may not be uninteresting. They admit of a triple division—the Gentile, the anti-Mormon, and the Mormon.
Of the Gentiles, by which I understand the comparatively unprejudiced observer, the principal are,
1. The Exploration and Survey of the Great Salt Lake by Captain Stansbury, who followed up Colonel Frémont’s flying survey in 1849, or two years before the Mormons had settled in the basin, and found the young colony about 2-3 years old. Anti-Mormons find fault with Captain Stansbury for expending upon their adversaries too much of the milk of human kindness.
2. The Mormons or Latter-Day Saints, by Lieutenant J. W. Gunnison, of the U. S. Topographical Engineers. This officer was second in command of the exploration under Captain Stansbury, and has recorded, in unpretending style and with great impartiality, his opinions concerning the “rise and progress, peculiar doctrines, personal conditions and prospects” of the Mormons, “derived from personal observation.” Like his commanding officer, Lieutenant Gunnison is accused of having favored the New Faith, and yet, with all the inconsistency of the odium theologicum, the Faithful are charged with his subsequent murder; the only motive of the foul deed being that the Saints dreaded future disclosures, and were determined, though one of their number had been sent to accompany Captain Stansbury as assistant, to prevent other expeditions. Upon Lieutenant Gunnison’s volume is founded “Les Mormons” of M. Étourneau, first printed in the “Presse,” and afterward republished, Paris, 1856.
3. The Mormons; a Discourse delivered before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, March 26th, 1850, by Colonel T. L. Kane (U. S. Militia): this gentleman, an eye-witness, who has touchingly, and, I believe, truthfully related the details of the Nauvoo Exodus, is called by anti-Mormons an “apologist,” and is suspected of being a Latter-Day Saint—baptized under the name of Dr. Osborne—in Christian disguise. Arrived at Fort Bridger in 1857, he found assembled there the three heads of departments, Governor Cumming, Chief Justice Eccles, and General Johnston. According to the Saints, he was watched, spied, treated as a Mormon emissary, and nearly shot by a mistake made on purpose; he was, however, supported by the governor against the general, and the result was a coolness most favorable to the New Faith. Colonel Kane is said to have preserved an affectionate and respectful remembrance of his friends the Mormons.
4. History of the Mormons, by Messrs. Chambers, Edinburgh.
5. An Excursion to California, over the Prairies, Rocky Mountains, and Great Sierra Nevada, by W. Kelly, Esq., J.P. Mr. Kelly, whose work shared at the time of its appearance the interest and admiration of the public with Messrs. Hue and Gabet’s Travels in Tartary, Tibet, and the Chinese Empire, visited Great Salt Lake City in 1849, an important epoch in the annals of the infant colony, and leaves the reader only to regret that he devoted so little of his time and of his two volumes to the history of the Saints.
6. The Mormons or Latter-Day Saints, with Memoirs of the Life of Joseph Smith, the American Mahomet. Office of the National Illustrated Library, 198 Strand, London. This little compilation, dealing with facts rather than theories, borrows from the polemics of both parties, and displays the calmness of judgment which results from studying the subject at a distance; though Gentile, it is somewhat in favor with Mormons because it shows some desire to speak the truth. This solid merit has won it the honor of an abridged translation with the title “Les Mormons” (292 pages in 12mo, Messrs. Hachette, Paris, 1854), by M. Amédée Pichot, and a brilliant review by M. Prosper Mérimée in the “Moniteur,” and reprinted in “Les Mélanges Historiques et Littéraires” (p. 1-58, Michel Levy, 1855).
7. A Visit to Salt Lake, and a Residence in the Mormon Settlements at Utah, by William Chandless. London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 1857. Mr. Chandless, about the middle of July, 1855, crossed the prairies in the character of a “teamster for pay,” spent the end of the year at Great Salt Lake City, and thence traveled viâ Fillmore and San Bernardino to California. The book is exceedingly lively and picturesque, combining pleasant reading with just observation, impartiality, and good sense.
8. Voyage au Pays des Mormons, par Jules Remy (2 vols., E. Dentu, Paris, 1860). The author, accompanied by Mr. Brenchley, M.A., traveled in July and the autumn of 1855 from San Francisco along the line of the Carson and Humboldt Rivers to Great Salt Lake City, and returned, like Mr. Chandless, by the southern road. The two volumes are more valuable for the observations on the natural history of the little-known basin, than for the generalisms, more or less sound, with which the subject of the New Faith is discussed.
Not a few anomalies appear in the judgments passed by M. Remy upon the Saints: while in some places they are represented as fervent and full of faith, we also read: “Le Mormonisme n’a pas caractère de spontanéité des religions primitives, ce qui va, du reste, de soi, ni la naïveté des religions qui suivirent, ni la sincérité des révélations ou des réformes religieuses qui, durant les siècles derniers, out pris place dans l’histoire;” and while Mr. Joseph Smith is in parts tenderly treated, he is ruthlessly characterized in p. 24 as un fourbe et un imposteur, a “savage and gigantic Tartuffe.” An excellent English translation of this work has lately appeared, under the auspices of Mr. Jeffs, Burlington Arcade, but an account of Great Salt Lake City in 1855 is as archæological as a study of London life in A.D. 1800.
9. Incidents of Travel and Adventure in the Far West, by M. Carvalho, who accompanied Colonel Frémont in his last exploration. According to anti-Mormons, the account of the Saints is far too favorable (1856).
10. Geological Survey of the Territory of Utah, by H. Englemann. Washington, 1860.
The principal anti-Mormon works are the following, ranged in the order of their respective dates. The Cons, it will be observed, more than treble the Pros.
1. A brief History of the Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly called Mormons), including an Account of their Doctrine and Discipline, with the reason of the Author for leaving the said Church, by John Corrill, a member of the Legislature of Missouri (50 pages, 8vo, St. Louis, 1839). I know nothing beyond the name of this little work, or of the nine following.
2. Addresses on Mormonism, by the Rev. Hays Douglas (Isle of Man, 1839).
3. Mormonism weighed in the Balances of the Sanctuary and found Wanting, by Samuel Haining (66 pages, Douglas, Isle of Man, 1839).
4. The Latter-Day Saints and Book of Mormon. By W. J. Morrish, Ledbury.
5. An Exposure of the Errors and Fallacies of the Self-named Latter-Day Saints. By W. Hewitt, Staffordshire.
6. Tract on Mormonism. By Capt. D. L. St. Clair. (1840.)
7. Mormonism Unveiled. By E. D. Howe. (1841.)
8. Mormonism Exposed. By the Rev. L. Sunderland. (1841.)
9. Mormonism Portrayed; its Errors and Absurdities Exposed, and the Spirit and Designs of its Author made Manifest. By W. Harris (64 pages, Warsaw, Illinois, 1841).
10. Mormonism in all Ages; or, the Rise, Progress, and Causes of Mormonism; with the Biography of its Author and Founder, Joseph Smith, junior. By Professor J. B. Turner, Illinois College, Jacksonville. (304 pages, 12mo, New York, 1842.)
11. Gleanings by the Way. By the Rev. John A. Clark, D.D. (352 pages in 12mo, Philadelphia, 1842), Minister at Palmyra in New York at the time when the New Faith arose.
12. The History of the Saints, or an Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism. By John C. Bennett (344 pages, 12mo, Boston, 1842). This is the work of a celebrated apostate, who for a season took a prominent propagandist part in the political history of Mormondom. Defeated in his hopes of dominion, he has revenged himself by a volume whose title declares the character of its contents, and which wants nothing but the confidence of the reader to be highly interesting. The Mormons speak of him as the Musaylimat el Kazzáb—Musaylimat the Liar, who tried, and failed to enter into partnership with Mohammed—of their religion.
The four following works were written by the Rev. Henry Caswall, a violent anti-Mormon, who solemnly and apparently honestly believes all the calumnies against the “worthless family” of the Prophet; unhesitatingly adopts the Solomon Spaulding story, discovers in Mormon Scripture as many “anachronisms, contradictions, and grammatical errors” as ever Celsus and Porphyry detected in the writings of the early Christians, and designates the faith in which hundreds of thousands live and die as a “delusion in some respects worse than paganism, and a system destined perhaps to act like Mohammedanism (!) as a scourge upon corrupted Christianity” (sub. the American?). The Mormons speak of this gentleman as of a 19th century Torquemada: he appears by his own evidence to have combined with the heart of the great inquisitor some of the head qualities of Mr. Coroner W—— when insisting upon the unhappy Fire-king’s swallowing his (Mr. W.’s) prussic acid instead of the pseudo-poison provided for the edification of the public. Mr. Caswall went to Nauvoo holding in his hand an ancient MS. of the Greek Psalter, and completely, according to his account, puzzled the Prophet, who decided it to be “reformed Egyptian.” Moreover, he convicted of falsehood the “wretched old creature,” viz., the maternal parent of Mr. Joseph Smith, called a mother in Israel, looked upon as one of the holiest of women, and who, at any rate, was a good and kind-hearted mother, that could not be reproached, like Luther’s, with “chastising her son so severely about a nut that the blood came.” It is no light proof of Mormon tolerance that so truculent a divine and opponent par voie de fait should have been allowed to depart from among a people whom he had offended and insulted without loss of liberty or life.
13. The City of the Mormons, or three Days in Nauvoo in 1842 (87 pages, Messrs. Rivingtons, London, 1843).
14. The Prophet of the 19th Century; or, the Rise, Progress, and Present State of the Mormons (277 pages, 8vo, published by the same, London, 1843).
15. Joseph Smith and the Mormons. Chapter xiii. of America and the American Church (John and Charles Mozley, Paternoster Row, London, 1851).
16. Mormonism and its Author; or, a Statement of the Doctrines of the Latter-Day Saints. London: Tract Society, No. 866 (16 pages, 1858).
17. Narrative of some of the Proceedings of the Mormons, giving an Account of their Iniquities, with Particulars concerning the Training of the Indians by them; Descriptions of their Mode of Endowment, Plurality of Wives, &c. By Catharine Lewis Lynn (24 pages, 8vo, 1848). As will presently appear, when the fair sex enters upon the subject of polygamy, it apparently loses all self-control, not to say its senses.
18. Friendly Warnings on the Subject of Mormonism. By a Country Clergyman (London, 1850).
19. The Mormon Imposture: an Exposure of the Fraudulent Origin of the Book of Mormon (8vo, Newbury, London, 1851).
20. Mormonism Exposed. By Mr. Bowes. (1851.)
21. Mormonism or the Bible; a Question for the Times. By a Cambridge Clergyman (12mo, Cambridge and London, 1852). According to Mormon view, the title should have been Mormonism and the Bible.
22. History of Illinois. By Governor Ford (Chicago, 1854). The author was a determined opponent of the New Faith, and gives his own version of the massacres at Carthage and Nauvoo: it is valuable only on the venerable principle “audi alteram partem.”
23. Mormonism. By J. W. Conybeare, first printed in the “Edinburgh Review” (No. ccii., April, 1854, and reprinted in 112 pages, 12mo, by Messrs. Longman, London, 1854).
24. Utah and the Mormons; the History, Government, Doctrines, Customs, and Prospects of the Latter-Day Saints, from Personal Observations during a Six-months’ Residence at Great Salt Lake City. By Benjamin G. Ferris, late Secretary of Utah Territory (347 pages, 12mo, Messrs. Harper, New York, 1854). The author being married, appears to have lived among them to as little purpose—for observation—as possible. Every thing is considered from an anti-Mormon point of view, and some of the accusations against the Saints, as in the case of the Eldridges and the Howards, I know to be not founded on fact. The calmness of the work, upon a highly exciting subject, contrasts curiously with the feminine violence—the natural result of contemplating polygamy—of another that issued under the same name.
25. Mormonism Unveiled; or, a History of Mormonism to the Present Time (235 pages, 8vo, London, 1855).
26. Mormonism Examined: a few Kind Words to a Mormon (8vo, Birmingham, 1855).
27. Female Life among the Mormons, published anonymously for the demand of the New York market, and especially intended for the followers of Miss Lucy Stone and of the Rev. Miss Antoinette Brown, but known to be by Mrs. Maria Ward, who subsequently edited another work. The authoress, who professes to have escaped from the Mormons, was manifestly never among them. This “tissu de mensonges et de calomnies,” as M. Remy somewhat ungallantly, but very truthfully styles it, has had extensive currency. M. Révoil has given a free translation of it, under the name of “Les Harems du Nouveau Monde” (308 pages, Paris, 1856). Its success was such that its writeress was in 1858 induced to repeat the experiment.
28. The Mormons at Home; in a Series of Letters, by Mrs. Ferris, wife of the late United States Secretary for Utah Territory (Dix and Edwards, Broadway, New York, 1856). The reasons for this lady’s rabid hate may be found in polygamy, which is calculated to astound, perplex, and enrage fair woman in America even more than her strong-opinioned English sister, and in the somewhat contemptuous estimation of a sex—which is early taught and soon learns to consider itself creation’s cream—conveyed in these words of Mr. Brigham Young: “If I did not consider myself competent to transact business without asking my wife, or any other woman’s counsel, I think I ought to let that business alone.”
Accordingly, Mrs. Ferris finds herself in the hands and of a “society of fanatics,” controlled by a “gang of licentious villains”—an unpleasant predicament pour cette vertu—in fact, for virtue at any time of life—characterizes the land as a “Botany Bay” for society in general, and a “region of moral pestilence;” and while she lavishes the treasures of her pity upon the “poor, poor wife,” holds her spiritual rival to be tout bonnement a “concubine,” and consigns the wretches assembled here (scil. in Zion on the tops of the Mountains) to the “very hottest part of the infernal torrid zone.” Tantæne animis cœlestibus iræ?
The Mormons declare that they incurred this funny amount of feminine wrath and suffered from its consequent pin-pricks by their not taking sufficient interest in, or notice of the writer, especially by the fact that on one occasion—it is made much of in the book—some rude men actually did walk over a bridge before her. But coming direct from the land of woman’s rights’ associations, lecturesses on propagandism and voluntary celibatarians, whose “mission” it is to reform, purify, and exalt the age, especially our wicked selves, what else could be expected of outraged delicacy and self-esteem? Not being “vivisectors,” we can not, however, quite join with Mrs. Ferris in the complacency with which she relates her “probing the hearts” of her Mormon guests and visitors “with ruthless questions” about their domestic affairs; and we remark with pleasure that in more than one place she has most unwillingly confessed the kindness and civility of the Latter-Day Saints.
29. Adventures among the Mormons, by Elder Hawthornthwaite, an Apostate Missionary. (1857.)
30. The Mormons, the Dream and the Reality; or, Leaves from the Sketchbook of Experience. Edited by a Clergyman. W. B. F. (8vo, London, 1857).
31. The Husband in Utah; or, Sights and Scenes among the Mormons. By Austin N. Ward. Edited by Mrs. Maria Ward, Author of “Female Life among the Mormons” (212 pages, 8vo, Derby and Jackson, Nassau Street, New York, 1857). It is regretable that a respectable publisher should lend his name to a volume like this. The authoress professes to edit the MS. left by a nephew of her husband, who lived among the Mormons en route to California, went on to the gold regions and died. I can not but characterize it as a pure invention. The writer who describes markets where not one ever existed, and “the tall spires of the Mormon temples glittering in the rich sunlight” (p. 15), there being no spires and no temples at Utah, can hardly expect to be believed, even when, with all the eloquence of Mr. Potts, of the “Eatanswill Gazette,” she dwells upon the “fanaticism and diabolism that ever attends (?) the hideous and slimy course of Mormonism in its progress over the world.” The imposture, too, is not “white;” it is premeditatedly mischievous. Although Brother Underwood is a fancy personage, Miss Eliza R. Snow, with whose name improper liberties are taken, is no myth, but a well educated and highly respectable reality.
32. Fifteen Years among the Mormons, being the Narrative of Mrs. Mary Ettie V. Smith, late of the Great Salt Lake City, a Sister of one of the Mormon High-Priests, she having been personally acquainted with most of the Mormon leaders, and long in the confidence of the Prophet Brigham Young. By Nelson Winch Green. (Charles Scribner, Broadway, New York, 1858, and unhappily republished by Messrs. Routledge, London.) This work, whose exceedingly clap-trap title is a key to the “popular” nature of the contents, is, par excellence, the most offensive publication of the kind, and bears within it marks of an exceeding untruthfulness. The human sacrifices and the abominable rites performed in the Endowment House are reproductions of the accounts of hidden orgies in the Nauvoo Temple, invented and promulgated by Mr. Bowes. The last words placed in the mouth of Mr. Joseph Smith, “My God! my God! have mercy upon us, if there is a God!”—a palpable plagiarism from Lord P——’s will—may be a pious fraud to warn stray lambs from the fold of Mormonism, but as a history shows, it is wholly destitute of fact. The murder in Mr. Jones’, the butcher’s house, so circumstantially related, never took place. Colonel Bridger, who is killed off by the Danites at the end of the book, still lives; and a dream (ch. xxxviii.) seems to be the only proof of Lieutenant Gunnison having been slaughtered by the Latter-Day Saints, not, as is generally supposed, by the Indians. “Milking the Gentiles,” coining “Bogus-money,” “whistling and whittling” anti-Mormons out of the town, the dangers of competition in love-matters with an apostle, and the imminent peril of being scalped by white Indians, are stock accusations copied from book to book, and rendered somewhat harmless by want of novelty. But nothing will excuse the reckless accusations with which Mrs. Smith takes away the characters of her Mormon sisters, and the abominations with which she charges the wives of the highest dignitaries. Among those thus foully defamed is Miss Snow, who also appears as a leading actress in Mrs. Ward’s fiction. The “poetess of the Mormons,” now married to the Prophet, has ever led a life of exceptional asceticism—cold in fact as her name. The Latter-Day Saints retort upon Mrs. Smith, of course, in kind, quoting Chaucer (but whether truthfully or not I can not say):
33. Mormonism; its Leaders and Designs, by John Hyde, Jun., formerly a Mormon Elder, and resident of Great Salt Lake City. (385 pages, 8vo, W. P. Fetridge & Co., Broadway, New York, 1857.) This is the work of an apostate Mormon, now preaching, I believe, Swedenborgianism in England: it has some pretensions to learning, and it attacks the Mormons upon all their strongest grounds. It is also satisfactory to see that in the circumstantial description of the mysteries of the Endowment House, Mrs. Smith and Mr. Hyde, whose account has apparently been borrowed by M. Remy, disagree, thus justifying us in doubting both; and it is curious to remark, that while the lady leans to the erotic, the gentleman dwells upon the treasonous and mutinous tendency of the ceremony. According to Mr. Hyde, he left the Mormons from conscientious motives. The Mormons, who, however, never fail thoroughly to denigrate the character of an enemy, especially of an apostate, declare that the author, when a missionary at Havre de Grâce, proved useless, always shirking his duty; and that, since dismissal from the ministry, he has left a wife unprovided for at Great Salt Lake City.
The now almost forgotten polemical and anti-Mormon works are,
M. Favez. Fragments sur J. Smith et les Mormons. A methodistical brochure.
Mr. Gray. Principles and Practices of Mormons.
M. Guers. L’Irvingisme et le Mormonisme jugés par la parole de Dieu.
Dr. Hurlburt’s Mormonism Unveiled. This work first set on foot the story of “Solomon Spaulding” having composed the Book of Mormon, concerning which more anon.
Mormonism a Delusion. By the Rev. E. B. Chalmers.
Mormonism Unmasked. By R. Clarke.
Mormonism, its History, Doctrine, etc. By the Rev. S. Simpson.
Mormonism an Imposture. By P. Drummond.
The Latter-Day Saints and their Spiritual Views. By H. S. J.
Tracts on Mormonism. A brochure by the Rev. Edmund Clay.
A Country Clergyman’s Warning to his Parishioners. (Wertheim & M‘Intosh, London.)
The Materialism of the Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, Examined and Exposed. By S. W. P. Taylder.
The Book of Mormon Examined, and its Claims to be a Revelation from God proved to be False. (12mo, Anonymous.)
The principal notices of Mormonism in periodical literature are,
Archives du Christianisme: articles de MM. Agénor de Gasparin et Monod sur le Mormonisme. Nos. of the 11th of December, 1852, and 14th of May, 1853, quoted in the “Bibliographie Universelle” of MM. Ferdinand Denis, Pinçon et De Narbonne, under the article “Utah.”
Sectes religieuses au xixme siècle; Les Irvingiens et les Saints du Dernier Jour, par M. Alfred Maury. Revue des Deux-Mondes. Vol. iii. of the 23d year (A.D. 1853), 1st of September, pages 961-995.
History and Ideas of the Mormons. “Westminster Review,” vol. iii., pages 196-230. (1853.)
Le Mormonisme et sa valeur morale—La Société et la Vie des Mormons, by M. Émile Montégut, “Revue des Deux-Mondes,” vol. i. of the 26th year, pages 689-725, 15th of February, 1856.
Visite aux Mormons du Lac Salé par Jules Remy. Articles in the “Echo du Pacifique,” San Francisco, January and February, 1856.
L’Illustration, Journal Universel. Vols. xv. and xxi. Articles by M. Depping, “Sur les Mormons” (1858).
Biographie Genérale du Dr. Hæfer, publiée chez MM. Didot frères: a long article upon Mr. Brigham Young, by M. Isambert (1858).
Une Campagne des Américains contre les Mormons. By M. Auguste Laugel. “Revue des Deux-Mondes,” 1er Septembre, 1859, pages 194-211.
Magasin Pittoresque. Several articles upon the Great Salt Lake, by M. Ferdinand Denis. Vol. xxvii., pages 172-239. Vol. xxviii., page 207. (1859-1860.)
Le Mormonisme et les Etats-Unis. “Revue des Deux-Mondes,” 15th April, 1861, signed by M. Elisée Reclus; an article formed chiefly upon the work of M. Remy. It is an able article, but written by one who, unfortunately, was never in the country—a sine quâ non for correct description. The “Revue” had already undertaken the subject in the number of the 1st of September, 1853, the 15th of February, 1856, and the 1st of September, 1859.
The foreign works omitted in the catalogue at the end of this note are,
Mormonismen och Swedenborgianismen. Upsala (8vo, 1854).
Geschichte der Mormonen, oder Jüngsten-Tages-Heiligen in Nord-Amerika, von Theodor Olshausen. (Göttingen, 244 pages, 8vo, 1856.)
Geographische Wanderungen. Die Mormonen und ihr Land, von Karl Andree. Dresden, 1859.
The Mormons have published at their General Repository only one purely laical book, “The Route from Liverpool to Great Salt Lake Valley,” illustrated with steel engravings and wood-cuts, from sketches made by Frederick Piercy. Edited by James Linworth. It is a highly creditable volume, especially in the artistic department, but the letter-press is uninteresting, and appears a mere peg upon which to hang copious notes and official returns. The price varies from £1 to £1 3s., and the three first parts, containing an accurate history of the Latter-Day Saints’ emigration from Europe up to 1854, may be had separately, 1s. each.
So good a theme for romance could not fail to fall into the hands of Captain Mayne Reid, who is to Mormonism what Alexander Dumas was to Mesmerism. In his pages the exaggerated anti-Mormon feeling attains its acme; the explorer Stansbury, who spoke fairly of the Saints, is thus qualified: “the captain is at best but a superficial observer”—quite a glass-house stone-throwing critique. Mr. Brigham Young is a “vulgar Alcibiades;” the City of the Saints is a “modern Gomorrah,” and the Saints themselves are “sanctified forbans;” the plurality wife is a “femme entretenue.” In the tale of the “Wild Huntress,” a young person married by foul means to Josh. Stebbing, the Mormon, and rescued mainly by a young hero—of course a Mexican volunteer—we have a sound abuse of the many-wife-system, despotism, theocracy, Danites, tithes, “plebbishness,” and the “vulgar ring which smacks (!) of ignoble origin.” On the other hand, the rascal Wakara, an ignoble sub-chief of the Yutas, known mainly as a horse-thief, contrasts splendidly by his valor, by his “delicate attentions” to the pretty half-caste, and by his chivalry and hospitality, which make him a very “Rolla of the North!” And this is “fact taught through fiction!”
The Mormon Scriptures, corresponding with the Old Testament, the Evangels, and the epistles of Christianity, consist of the following works: purely bibliographical notices are here given; the contents will be the subject of a future page.
1. The Book of Mormon, an Account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the Plates of Mormon. Translated by Joseph Smith, Jun. The first edition was printed in 1830, at Palmyra, New York, and consisted of 5000 copies. Since that time it has frequently been republished in England and America: it was translated into French in 1852 (Marc Ducloux, Rue Saint Benoît 7, Paris, 1852), and versions have appeared in the German, Italian, Danish, Welsh, and Hawaïan tongues.
2. The Book of Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus of Latter-Day Saints, selected (!) from the Revelations of God. By Joseph Smith, President (336 pages, 12mo). The first American edition was printed in 1832, or ten years after the Book of Mormon, and was published at Mr. Joseph Smith’s expense. Many translations of this important work have appeared.
3. The Pearl of Great Price; being a Choice Selection from the Revelations, Translations, and Narratives of Joseph Smith (56 pages, 8vo, Liverpool, first published in 1851). This little volume contains the Book of Abraham, “translated from some records that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt, purporting to be the writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand on papyrus. With a fac-simile of three papyri.”
4. The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star, begun in 1839, Manchester, United States, and now published 42 Islington, Liverpool, every Saturday. It has reached its 21st volume. The periodical is a single sheet (16 pages), and the price is one penny. It is an important publication, embracing the whole history of Mormonism; the hebdomadal issue now contains polemical papers, vindications of the Faith, with a kind of appendix, such as emigration reports, quarterly lists of marriages and deaths, varieties, and money lists.
5. Journal of Discourses by Brigham Young and others. First published in 1854 (8vo, Liverpool). It now appears in semi-monthly numbers, 1st and 15th, costing 2d., making up one volume per annum. The above-mentioned and the writings of “Joseph the Seer and Parley P. Pratt, wherever found,” are considered by the authorities of the Church as direct revelations.
The Mormons do not hold the “Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet and his Progenitors, for many Generations, by Lucy Smith, mother of the Prophet,” to be entirely trustworthy. Beyond its two pages of preface by Orson Pratt, it is deep below criticism. This work, 18mo, of 297 pages (including “Elegies” by Miss E. R. Snow), was first printed in 1853.
The Controversialist works, not usually included in the London catalogue, are the following. They are characterized by abundant earnestness and enthusiasm, and are purposely written in a style intelligible to the classes addressed:
The Word of our Lord to the Citizens of London, by H. C. Kimball and W. Woodruff (1839).
The Millennium, and other Poems; to which is annexed a Treatise on the Regeneration and Eternal Duration of Matter, by Parley P. Pratt, New York, 1840.
A Cry out of the Wilderness, by Elder Hyde. This hook was first published in Germany and in German (120 pages, in 1842).
Three Nights’ Public Discourse at Boulogne-sur-Mer, by Elder John Taylor (46 pages in 8vo, Liverpool, 1850).
Three Letters to the “New York Herald,” of James Gordon Bennett, Esq., from J. M. Grant (Mayor and President of the Quorum of Seventies), of Utah, March, 1852. These epistles have been reprinted in pamphlet form; they chiefly set forth Mormon grievances, especially the injury done by the federal officials.
History of the Persecutions endured by the Church of Jesus of Latter-Day Saints in America, compiled from Public Documents and drawn from Authentic Sources, by C. W. Wandell, Minister of the Gospel (without date, but subsequent to the 64 pp. 8vo edition, printed at Sydney).
Journal of the House of Representatives, Council and Joint Sessions of the First Annual Special Sessions of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah, held at Great Salt Lake City, 1851-1852. (Printed by Brigham Young, 175 pages 12mo, 1852.)
Defense of Polygamy, by a Lady of Utah (Mrs. Belinda Marden Pratt) to her Sister in New Hampshire (11 pages, 8vo, first printed at Great Salt Lake City in 1854, and subsequently republished in the “Millennial Star” of the 29th of July in the same year). I shall presently quote this curious work.
Acts and Resolutions of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah, Great Salt Lake City, 40 pages, 12mo. First printed in 1854, and now published for every Annual Session (that of ’60-’61 being the 10th) at Great Salt Lake City. Printed at the “Mountaineer” Office, by John S. Davis, Public Printer.
Acts, Resolutions, and Memorials passed at the several Annual Sessions (the 9th in 1859-60) of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah. Published by virtue of an Act approved January 19th, 1855, Great Salt Lake City, Joseph Cain, afterward J. S. Davis, Public Printer, 1855-1860. 460 pages, 12mo. It contains the Territorial Code of Deserét, and is purely secular.
Report of the First General Festival of the Renowned Mormon Battalion, Great Salt Lake City. 39 pages in 8vo.
Discourses delivered by Joseph Smith (30th of June, 1843) and Brigham Young (18th of February, 1855) on the Relations of the Mormons to the Government of the United States. Great Salt Lake City, 16 pages.
Marriage and Morals in Utah, by Parley P. Pratt. 8 pages, 8vo, Liverpool, 1856.
Twenty-four Miracles, by O. Pratt. Liverpool, 16 pages, 8vo, 1857.
Latter-Day Kingdom; or, the Preparation for the Second Advent, by O. Pratt. Liverpool, 16 pages, 8vo, 1857.
Spiritual Gifts, by Orson Pratt. Liverpool and London, 80 pages, 8vo, 1857.
Universal Apostasy; or, the Seventeen Centuries of Darkness, by O. Pratt, Liverpool, 16 pages in 8vo, 1857.
Compendium of the Faith and Doctrines of the Church of Jesus of Latter-Day Saints, compiled from the Bible, and also from the Book of Mormon, Doctrines and Covenants, and other publications of the Church; with an Appendix, by Franklin D. Richards, one of the Twelve Apostles of said Church. 42 Islington, Liverpool, 243 pages, long 18mo. (1857.) A concordance and compilation of the chief doctrinal works and seven sermons.
The following is the Catalogue of English Works published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and for sale by Orson Pratt, at their General Repository and “Millennial Star” Office, 42 Islington, Liverpool, and removed from 35 Jewin Street, City, to 30 Florence Street, Islington, London.
Hymn-Book, first edition in 1851. Morocco extra, 4s.; calf, gilt edges, 2s. 6d.; calf grained, 2s.; roan embossed, 1s. 6d.
The Harp of Zion. Poems by John Lyon. Published for the benefit of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund. First printed in 1853. Morocco extra, 6s. 6d.; cloth, gilt extra, 3s. 6d.; cloth embossed, 2s. 6d.
Poems, Religious, Historical, and Political. By Eliza R. Snow. Vol. I. Morocco extra, 6s. 6d.; calf gilt, 5s.; cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.; cloth embossed, 2s. 6d.
The Government of God, by John Taylor, one of the Twelve Apostles. First printed in 1852. Stiff covers, 1s. 9d.
Latter-Day Saints in Utah. Opinion of Judge Snow upon the Official Course of His Excellency Gov. B. Young—Trial of Howard Egan on Indictment, for the Murder of James Monroe, verdict—A Bill to Establish a Territorial Government for Utah. The Territorial Officers, etc. 9d.
One Year in Scandinavia. Results of the Gospel in Denmark and Sweden, by Erastus Snow, one of the Twelve Apostles. 3d.
Reports of Three Nights’ Public Discussion in Bolton, between William Gibson, H. P., Presiding Elder of the Manchester Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the Rev. Woodville Woodman, Minister of the New Jerusalem Church. First published in 1851. 6d.
Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith; also a condensed History of the Expulsion of the Saints from Nauvoo, by Elder John S. Fullmer, Pastor of the Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston Conferences. First printed in 1856. 5d.
Testimonies for the Truth; a Record of Manifestations of the Power of God—miraculous and providential—witnessed in the travels and experience of Benjamin Brown, H. P., Pastor of the London, Reading, Kent, and Essex Conferences. It is a list of the Miracles performed by the first Mormons. Printed in Liverpool, 1853. 4d.
Works by Parley P. Pratt, one of the Twelve Apostles.
Key to the Science of Theology; designed as an Introduction to the First Principles of Spiritual Philosophy, Religion, Law, and Government, as delivered by the Ancients, and as restored in this Age, for the Final Development of Universal Peace, Truth, and Knowledge. First published in 1855. It is a volume far superior in matter and manner to the average run of Mormon composition. Morocco extra, 5s. 6d.; calf grained, 3s. 6d.; cloth embossed, 2s.
The Voice of Warning; or, an Introduction to the Faith and Doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This work has been translated into French. Morocco extra, 4s.; calf, gilt edges, 3s.; calf grained, 2s. 6d.; cloth embossed, 1s. 6d.
Works by Orson Pratt, A.M., one of the Twelve Apostles.
Absurdities of Immaterialism; or, a Reply to T. W. P. Taylder’s Pamphlet, entitled “The Materialism of the Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, Examined and Exposed.” First edition in 1849. 4d.
Great First Cause; or, the Self-moving Forces of the Universe. 2d.
Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, in 6 parts. Each part 2d.
Divine Authority, or the Question, was Joseph Smith sent of God? First published in 1848. 2d.
Remarkable Visions. First published in 1849. 2d.
The Kingdom of God, in 4 parts. First edition in 1849. Parts 1, 2, 3, each 1d. Part 4, 2d.
Reply to a Pamphlet printed at Glasgow, with the approbation of Clergymen of different denominations, entitled, “Remarks on Mormonism.” First edition in 1849. 2d.
New Jerusalem; or, the Fulfillment of Modern Prophecy. First published in 1849. 3d.
Title and Index to the above Works, 1⁄2d.
The Seer. Vol. I., 12 numbers; II., 8 numbers. Each number 2d. The two volumes bound in one, in half calf, 5s.
A Series of Pamphlets, now being published on the first Principles of the Gospel.
The following numbers are already out: Chap. 1, The True Faith. Chap. 2, True Repentance. Chap. 3, Water Baptism. Chap. 4, The Holy Spirit. Chap. 5, Spiritual Gifts. First printed in 1857. Each number, 2d.
Works by Lorenzo Snow, one of the Twelve Apostles.
The Voice of Joseph. A brief Account of the Rise, Progress, and Persecutions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with their present Position and Prospects in Utah Territory; together with American Exiles’ Memorial to Congress. First published in 1852. 3d.
The Only Way to be Saved. An Explanation of the First Principles of the Doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 1d.
The Italian Mission, 4d.
Works by Elder Orson Spencer, A.B.
Letters exhibiting the most prominent Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in reply to the Rev. William Crowel, A.M., Boston, Mass., U. S. A. First printed in 1852. Morocco extra, 4s.; calf grained, 2s. 6d.; cloth embossed, 1s. 6d.
Patriarchal Order, or Plurality of Wives. (Being the Fifteenth Letter in Correspondence with the Rev. William Crowel, A.M.) 2d.
The Prussian Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Report of Elder Orson Spencer, A.B., to President Brigham Young. 2d.
Works by Elder John Jacques.
Catechism for Children. Cloth, gilt edges, 10d.; stiff covers, 6d.
Exclusive Salvation, 1d.
Salvation. A Dialogue in two parts. Each part 1d.
I will conclude this long enumeration with Catalogue of the principal Works in foreign languages.
Works in French.
Le Livre de Mormon (Book of Mormon), 3s. 6d.
Une Voix d’Avertissement (Voice of Warning). Par Parley P. Pratt. Morocco, gilt edges, 4s.; roan, 1s. 9d.; cloth, 1s. 6d.; paper covers, 1s. 3d.
Les Mormons et leurs Enemis (The Latter-Day Saints and their Enemies). Par T. B. H. Stenhouse, President des Missions Suisse et Italienne. 1s. 6d.
Autorité Divine (Divine Authority). Par L. A. Bertrand, Elder. 4d.
De la Nécessité de Nouvelles Révélations prouvée par la Bible. Par John Taylor, un des Douze Apôtres. 4d.
Aux Amis de la Vérité Religieuse. Par John Taylor, Elder. 2d.
Epitre du President de la Mission Française à l’Eglise des Saints des Derniers-jours en France et dans les Iles de la Manche (Epistle of the President of the French Mission, etc.), 11⁄2d.
Traité sur le Baptême. Par John Taylor, un des Douze Apôtres. 2d.
Works in German.
Das Buch Mormon (The Book of Mormon), 3s. 6d.
Eine Gottliche Offenbarung; und Belehrung uber den Ehestand (Revelation on Marriage; and Patriarchal order or Plurality of Wives). Stiff covers, 6d.
Zion’s Panier (Zion’s Pioneer). No. 1, 3d.
Works in Italian.
Il Libro di Mormon (The Book of Mormon). Morocco extra, 6s. 6d.; grained roan, 4s. 6d.
Works in Danish.
Mormons Bog (The Book of Mormon). Grained roan, 4s.
Works in Welsh.
Llyfr Mormon (Book of Mormon). Grained roan, 4s.; roan, gilt edges, 4s. 6d.
Athrawiaeth a Chyfammodau (Doctrine and Covenants). Grained roan, 3s. 6d.; roan, gilt edges, 3s. 6d.
Llfyr Hymnau (Hymn Book). Marble calf, 2s.; grained roan, 2s. 3d.; calf, gilt edges, 2s. 6d.
Y Perl o Fawr Bris (Pearl of Great Price), 1s. 2d.
Priodas a Moesau yn Utah, gan Parley P. Pratt (Marriage and Morals in Utah, by Parley P. Pratt), 1d.
Prophwyd y Jubili (The Millennial Prophet), Vol. III. unbound, 2s. 01⁄2d.
By Elder Dan Jones.
Yr Eurgrawn Ysgrythyrol (Casket, or Treatises on upward of 100 subjects). Half calf, 3s. 3d.; unbound, 2s. 6d.
Pwy yw Duw y Saint? (Who is the God of the Saints?), 21⁄2d.
Yr Hen Grefydd Newydd (The old Religion anew), 6d.
Annerchiad i’r Peirch, etc. (Proclamation to the Reverends, etc.), 11⁄2d.
Gwrthbrofion i’r Spaulding Story am Lyfr Mormon (Spaulding Story, etc., refuted), 2d.
Anmhoblogrwydd Mormoniaeth (Unpopularity of Mormonism), 1d.
Arweinydd i Seion (Guide to Zion), 11⁄2d.
Pa beth yw Mormoniaeth? (What is Mormonism?), 1⁄2d.
Pa beth yw gras Cadwedigol? (What is saving Grace?), 1⁄2d.
Dadi ar Mormoniaeth? (Discussion on Mormonism), 2d.
Anffyddiaeth Sectyddiaeth (Skepticism of Sectarianism), 1d.
Amddiffyniad rhag Cam-gyhuddiadau (Replies to False Charges), 1d.
Y Lleidr ar y Groes (The Thief on the Cross), 1⁄2d.
“Peidiwch a’u Gwrando” (“Don’t go to hear them”), 1⁄2d.
Egwyddorion Cyntaf a Gwahoddiadau (First Principles and Invitations), 1⁄4d.
Ai duw a Ddanfonodd Joseph Smith (Divinity of Joseph’s Mission), 1d.
Llofruddiad Joseph a Hyrum Smith (Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith), 1d.
Tarddiad Llfyr Mormon (Origin of the Book of Mormon), 1d.
Dammeg y Pren Ffrwythlawn (Parable of the Fruitful Tree), 1⁄2d.
Darlun o’r Byd Crefyddol (The Religious World Illustrated), 1⁄2d.
Traethodau D. Jones, yn rhwyn mewn hanner croen llo (D. Jones’ Works bound in half calf), 6s. 4d.
By Elder John Davies.
Yr hyn sydd o ran, etc. (That which is in part, etc.), 1d.
Epistol Cyffredinol Cyntaf (First General Epistle of the first Presidency), 1d.
Traethawd ar Wyrthiau (Treatise on Miracles), 1d.
Etto Adolygiad, etc., Chwech Rhifyn (Do. in reply to Anti-Mormon Lectures). Six Nos. (Each No. 1d.)
Pregethu i’r Ysbrydion yn Ngharchar, etc. (Preaching to the Spirits in Prison, etc.), 1d.
Ewch a Dysgwch (Go and Teach), 1⁄4d.
Darlithiau ar Ffydd, gan Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith’s Lectures on Faith), 4d.
Y Doniau Ysbrydol yn Mrawdlys y Gelyn (The Spiritual Gifts before their Enemies’ Tribunal), 2d.
Traethawd ar Fedydd (Treatise on Baptism), 1d.
Corff Crist, neu yr Eglwys (The Body or Church of Christ), 1d.
Ffordd y Bywyd Tragywyddol (The Way of Eternal Life), 1d.
Yr Achos Mawr Cyntaf, gan O. Pratt (Great First Cause, by O. Pratt), 2d.
Profwch Bob Peth, etc. (Prove all things, etc.), 1⁄2d.
Athrawiaeth Iachus (Sound Doctrine), 1⁄2d.
Ymddyddanion yn Gymraeg a Saesonaeg (Dialogues in Welsh and English), 1⁄2d.
Llythyron Capt. Jones o Ddyffryn y li. H. Mawr, yn desgrifio arderchawgrwydd Seion (Beauties of Zion described by Captain Jones, in a Series of Letters from Great Salt Lake Valley), 2d.
On the evening of our arrival Lieutenant Dana and I proceeded to the store of Messrs. Livingston, Bell, and Co.—formerly Livingston and Kinkhead—the sutlers of Camp Floyd, and the most considerable Gentile merchants in Great Salt Lake City; he to learn the readiest way of reaching head-quarters, I to make inquiries about the San Francisco road.SAN FRANCISCO ROAD. We were cordially received by both these gentlemen, who, during the whole period of my stay, did all in their power to make the place pleasant. Governor Bell, as he is generally called, presently introduced me to his wife, a very charming person, of English descent, whose lively manners contrasted strongly and agreeably with the almost monastic gloom which the régime of the “lady-saints” casts over society. Lieutenant Dana was offered seats in Mr. Livingston’s trotting-wagon on the ensuing Monday. I was less fortunate. Captain Miller, of Millersville, the principal agent and director at this end of the road, informed me that he had lately ceased to run the wagon, which had cost the company $15,000 a month, returning but $30,000 per annum, and was sending the mails on mule-back. However, my informants agreed that a party would probably be starting soon, and that, all things failing, I could ride the road, though with some little risk of scalp. We ended with a bottle of Heidseck, and with cigars which were not unpleasant even after the excellent “gold-leaf tobacco” of the States.
On the next day, Sunday, we walked up the main street northward, and doubling three corners of Temple Block, reached the large adobe house, with its neat garden, the abode of the then governor, Hon. Alfred Cumming.GOVERNOR CUMMING. This gentleman, a Georgian by birth, after a long public service as Indian agent in the northern country, was, after several refusals, persuaded by the then president, who knew his high honor and tried intrepidity, to assume the supreme executive authority at Great Salt Lake City. The conditions were that polygamy should not be interfered with, nor forcible measures resorted to except in extremest need. Governor Cumming, accompanied by his wife, and an escort of 600 dragoons, left the Mississippi in the autumn of 1857, at a time when the Mormons were in arms against the federal authority, and ended his journey only in April of the ensuing year. By firmness, prudence, and conciliation, he not only prevented any collision between the local militia and the United States army, which was burning to revenge itself for the terrible hardships of the campaign, but succeeded in restoring order and obedience throughout the Territory. He had been told before entering that his life was in danger; he was not, however, a man to be deterred from a settled purpose, and experiment showed that, so far from being molested, he was received with a salute and all the honors. Having been warned that he might share the fate of Governor Boggs, who in 1843 was shot through the mouth when standing at the window, he enlarged the casements of his house in order to give the shooter a fair chance. His determination enabled him to issue, a few days after his arrival, a proclamation offering protection to all persons illegally restrained of their liberty in Utah. The scrupulous and conscientious impartiality which he has brought to the discharge of his difficult and delicate duties, and, more still, his resolution to treat the Saints like Gentiles and citizens, not as Digger Indians or felons, have won him scant favor from either party. The anti-Mormons use very hard language, and declare him to be a Mormon in Christian disguise. The Mormons, though more moderate, can never, by their very organization, rest contented without the combination of the temporal with the spiritual power. The governor does not meet his predecessor, the ex-governor, Mr. Brigham Young, from prudential motives, except on public duty. Mrs. Cumming visits Mrs. Young, and at the houses of the principal dignitaries, this being nearly the only society in the place. As, among Moslems, a Lady M. W. Montague can learn more of domestic life in a week than a man can in a year, so it is among the Mormons. I can not but express a hope that the amiable Mrs. Cumming will favor us with the results of her observation and experience, and that she will be as disinterested and unprejudiced as she is talented and accomplished. The kindness and hospitality which I found at the governor’s, and, indeed, at every place in New Zion, is “ungrateful to omit,” and would be “tedious to repeat.”
We dined with his excellency at the usual hour, 2 P.M. On the way I could dwell more observantly upon the main features of the city, which, after the free use of the pocket-compass, were becoming familiar to me. The first remark was, that every meridional street is traversed on both sides by a streamlet of limpid water, verdure-fringed, and gurgling with a murmur which would make a Persian Moollah long for improper drinks. The supplies are brought in raised and hollowed water-courses from City Creek, Red Buttes, and other kanyons lying north and east of the settlement. The few wells are never less than forty-five feet deep; artesians have been proposed for the benches, but the expense has hitherto proved an obstacle. Citizens can now draw with scanty trouble their drinking water in the morning, when it is purest, from the clear and sparkling streams that flow over the pebbly beds before their doors. The surplus is reserved for the purposes of irrigation, without which, as the “distillation from above” will not suffice, Deserét would still be a desert, and what is not wanted swells the City Creek, and eventually the waves of the Jordan. The element, which flows at about the rate of four miles an hour, is under a chief water-master or commissioner, assisted by a water-master in each ward, and by a deputy in each block, all sworn to see the fertilizing fluid fairly distributed. At the corners of every ward there is a water-gate which controls the supplies that branch off to the several blocks, and each lot of one and a quarter acres is allowed about three hours’ irrigation during the week. For repairs and other expenses a property tax of one mill per dollar is raised, and the total of the impost in 1860 was $1163 25. The system works like clock-work. “The Act to Incorporate the Great Salt Lake City Water-works” was approved January 21, 1853.
Walking in a northward direction up Main, otherwise called Whisky Street, we could not but observe the “magnificent distances” of the settlement, which, containing 9000-12,000 souls, covers an area of three miles.THE HOLY CITY. This broadway is 132 feet wide, including the side-walks, which are each twenty, and, like the rest of the principal avenues, is planted with locust and other trees. There are twenty or twenty-one wards or cantons, numbered from the S.E. “boustrophedon” to the N.W. corner. They have a common fence and a bishop apiece. They are called after the creeks, trees, people, or positions, as Mill-Creek Ward, Little Cotton-wood, Denmark, and South Ward. Every ward contains about nine blocks, each of which is forty rods square. The area of ten acres is divided into four to eight lots, of two and a half to one and a quarter acres each, 264 feet by 132. A city ordinance places the houses twenty feet behind the front line of the lot, leaving an intermediate place for shrubbery or trees. This rule, however, is not observed in Main Street.
The streets are named from their direction to the Temple Block. Thus Main Street is East Temple Street No. 1; that behind it is State Road, or East Temple Street 2, and so forth, the ward being also generally specified. Temple Block is also the point to which latitude and longitude are referred. It lies in N. lat. 40° 45′ 44″, W. long. (G.) 112° 6′ 8″, and 4300 feet above sea level.
Main Street is rapidly becoming crowded. The western block, opposite the hotel, contains about twenty houses of irregular shape and size. The buildings are intended to supply the principal wants of a far-Western settlement, as bakery, butchery, and blacksmithery, hardware and crockery, paint and whip warehouse, a “fashionable tailor”—and “fashionable” in one point, that his works are more expensive than Poole’s—shoe-stores, tannery and curriery; the Pantechnicon, on a more pretentious style than its neighbors, kept by Mr. Gilbert Clements, Irishman and orator; dry-goods, groceries, liquors, and furniture shops, Walker’s agency, and a kind of restaurant for ice-cream, a luxury which costs 25 cents a glass; saddlers, dealers in “food, flour, and provisions,” hats, shoes, clothing, sash laths, shingles, timber, copper, tin, crockery-ware, carpenters’ tools, and mouse-traps; a watch-maker and repairer, a gunsmith, locksmith, and armorer, soap and candle maker, nail-maker, and venders of “Yankee notions.” On the eastern side, where the same articles are sold on a larger scale, live the principal Gentile merchants, Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Nixon, an English Saint; Mr. R. Gill, a “physiological barber;” Mr. Godbe’s “apothecary and drug stores;” Goddard’s confectionery; Messrs. Hockaday and Burr, general dealers, who sell every thing, from a bag of potatoes to a yard of gold lace; and various establishments, Mormon and others. Crossing the street that runs east and west, we pass on the right hand a small block, occupied by Messrs. Dyer and Co., sutlers to a regiment in Arizona, and next to it the stores of Messrs. Hooper and Cronyn, with an ambrotype and daguerrean room behind. The stores, I may remark, are far superior, in all points, to the shops in an English country town that is not a regular watering-place. Beyond this lies the adobe house, with its wooden Ionic stoop or piazza (the portico is a favorite here), and well-timbered garden, occupied by Bishop Hunter; and adjoining it the long tenement inhabited by the several relicts of Mayor Jedediah M. Grant. Farther still, and facing the Prophet’s Block, is the larger adobe house belonging to General Wells and his family. Opposite, or on the western side, is the well-known store of Livingston, Bell, and Co., and beyond it the establishment now belonging to the nine widows and the son of the murdered apostle, Parley P. Pratt. Still looking westward, the Globe bakery and restaurant, and a shaving saloon, lead to the “Mountaineer Office,” a conspicuous building, forty-five feet square, two storied, on a foundation of cut stone stuccoed red to resemble sandstone, and provided with a small green-balconied belvidere. The cost was $20,000. It was formerly the Council House, and was used for church purposes. When purchased by the Territory the Public Library was established in the northern part; the office of the “Deserét News” on the first story, and that of the “Mountaineer” on the ground floor. This brings us to the 1st South Temple Street, which divides the “Mountaineer” office from the consecrated ground. In this vicinity are the houses of most of the apostles, Messrs. Taylor, Cannon, Woodruff, and O. Pratt.
Crowds were flocking into Temple Block for afternoon service; yet I felt disappointed by the scene. I had expected to see traces of “workmen in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work,” reposing from their labors on the Sabbath. I thought, at any rate, to find