History of Salt Lake City, Part 14

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194

USA > Utah > Salt Lake County > Salt Lake > History of Salt Lake City > Part 14

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

his funeral sermon was preached by Jedediah M. Grant, the then Mayor of Great Salt Lake City, and his memory is embalmed in the history of the Mormon Church, as an upright judge and a friend of the community. Yet notwithstand- ing the friendly relations which had existed between the deceased judge and the citizens, his sudden death gave an opportunity for the circulation of a malicious story of his being poisoned, on account of some supposed difficulty with Governor Young.

W. W. Drummond succeeded the lamented Judge Shaver, September 12th, 1854; and Drummond and Associate Justice George P. Stiles were principally instrumental in working up the Buchanan Expedition, or the " Utah war " as it was popularly termed : but we must leave the Federal thread for awhile and re- view events connected with the community, the growth and peopling of Great Salt Lake City, and the colonization of Utah in general, from about the time of the setting up of the Territorial government.

CHAPTER XI.

SOCIOLOGICAL EXPOSITION. SOURCES OF OUR POPULATION. EMIGRATION. POLYGAMY.

For the completeness of the history a sociological exposition of the peopling of Utah should be here presented, with its ethnological elements and methods out of which society first grew in the isolation of these Rocky Mountains; nor should the causes be ignored which have brought so many tens of thousands of souls from Europe to this country, for the very purpose of organizing a new society and creating a State of the American nation.

In the history of Great Salt Lake City, the Mormon emigrations from Eu- rope may be considered as the most relevant to its population ; for, especially at the onset, this city grew out of those emigrations. The American pioneers did no more, in the matter of population, than plant the germs of society in these valleys, nor could they possibly do more with so small a community as that which left Nauvoo in the exodus. A decade must have passed before there could have been any perceptible increase to the population by offspring, had not the emigra- tions from abroad yearly poured into these valleys. vitalizing a community almost exhausted by repeated exterminations. Thus replenished, by a new fusion from the dominant parent races, from which the pioneers had themselves descended. population was increased ten-fold within the first decade. Great Britain and Scandinavia gave the bulk of this population, by their tens of thousands of emi- grants, and next by their prolific increase of offspring ; but the American pio- 13

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

neers were the originators of that emigrational movement of the Mormon people from Europe to this country.

The following general epistle from the Twelve, dated at Winter Quarters, Omaha Nation, December 23d, 1847, will be of interest in this connection :

" To the Saints in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and adjacent islands and countries, we say, emigrate as speedily as possible to this vicinity, looking to and following the counsel of the Presidency at Liverpool : shipping to New Or- leans, and from thence direct to Council Bluffs, which will save much expense. Those who have but little means, and little or no labor, will soon exhaust that means if they remain where they are, therefore it is wisdom that they remove without delay; for here is land on which, by their labor, they can speedily better their condition for their further journey. And to all Saints in any country bor- dering upon the Atlantic, we would say. pursue the same course, come immedi- ately and prepare to go west,-bringing with you all kinds of choice seeds, of grain, vegetables, fruit, shrubbery, trees, and vines-everything that will please the eye, gladden the heart, or cheer the soul of man, that grows upon the face of the whole earth ; also the best stock of beast, bird, and fowl of every kind ; also the best tools of every description, and machinery for spinning, or weaving, and dressing cotton, wool, flax, and silk, etc., etc., or models and descriptions of the the same, by which they can construct them ; and the same in relation to all kinds of farming utensils and husbandry, such as corn shellers, grain threshers and cleaners, smut machines, mills, and every implement and article within their knowledge that shall tend to promote the comfort, health, happiness, or prosper- ity of any people. So far as it can be consistently done, bring models and drafts, and let the machinery be built where it is used, which will save great ex- pense in transportation, particulary in heavy machinery, and tools and imple- ments generally."

And here must be noticed the covenant of the emigration. Previous to leaving Nauvoo President Young prompted the Mormons to enter into a solemn covenant in the temple, that they would not cease their exertions until every individual of them who desired and was unable to gather to the valley by his own means was brought to that place. No sooner were they located in the Rocky Mountains, than the Church prepared to fulfill this covenant, extending its application to the Saints in all the world. The subject was introduced at the October Conference, in 1849, by President Heber C. Kimball, and a unainmous vote was there and then taken to raise a fund for the fulfillment of the promise. A committee was appointed to raise money, and Bishop Edward Hunter sent to the frontiers to purchase wagons and cattle, to bring the poor Saints from Pottowatomie lands. About $5,000 were raised that season. The fund was designated " The Perpetual Emigration Fund," and the method of its application is well set forth in the following from a letter to Apostle Orson Hyde, who was at the time presiding at Winter Quarters :

GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, October 16th, 1849.

President Orson Hyde :- Beloved brother, we write to you more particularly at this time, concerning the gathering, and the mission of our general agent for

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

the Perpetual Emigration Fund for the coming year, Bishop Hunter, who will soon be with you, bearing the funds already raised in this place.

In the first place, this fund has been raised by voluntary donations, and is to be continued by the same process, and by so managing as to preserve the same and cause it to multiply.

As early in the Spring as it will possibly do, on account of feed for cattle, Brother Hunter will gather all his company, organize them in the usual order, and preside over the camp, travelling with the same to this place, having previously procured the best teamsters possible, such as are accustomed to driving, and will be kind and attentive to their teams.

When the Saints thus helped arrive here, they will give their obligations to the Church to refund to the amount of what they have received, as soon as cir- cumstances will permit ; and labor will be furnished, to such as wish, on the public works, and good pay; and as fast as they can procure the necessaries of life, and a surplus, that surplus will be applied to liquidating their debt, and thereby in- crease the perpetual fund.

By this it will readily be discovered that the funds are to be appropriated in the form of a loan rather than a gift; and this will make tha honest in heart re- joice, for they have to labor and not live on the charity of their friends, while the lazy idlers, if any such there be, will find fault and want every Inxury furnished them for the journey, and in the end pay nothing. X

"Brother Hunter will return all the funds to this place next season, when the most judicious course will be pursued to convert all the cattle and means into cash, that the same may be sent abroad as speedily as possible on another mission, together with all that we can raise besides to add to it; and we antici- pate that the Saints at Pottowatomie and in the States will increase the fund by all possible means the coming winter, so that our agent may return with a large company.

" The few thousands we send out by our agent at this time is like a grain of mustard seed in the earth; we send it forth into the world, and among the Saints -a good soil-and we expect it will grow and flourish, and spread abroad in a few weeks: that it will cover England, cast its shadow on Europe, and in process of time compass the whole earth; that is to say, these funds are destined to in- crease until Israel is gathered from all nations, and the poor can sit under their own vine, and inhabit their own house, and worship God in Zion.

"We remain your brethren in the gospel,

BRIGHAM YOUNG, HEBER C. KIMBALL, WILLARD RICHARDS."

A similar epistle was written to Orson Pratt, President of the British Mis- sion, saying at the close :

" Your office in Liverpool is the place of deposit for all funds received either for this or the tithing funds for all Europe, and you will not pay out only upon our order, and to such persons as we shall direct."

These instructions and general epistles are the more important in the emi-

100

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

grational history, as they are substantially the basis upon which all the emigra- tions and business thereof have been conducted from that time to the present.

Donations in England were made straightway. The first received was 2s. 6d. from Mark and Charlotte Shelley, of Woolwich, on the 19th of April, 1850. The next was £1, from George P. Waugh, of Edinburgh, on the 19th of June ; but in time the various emigration funds of the British Mission alone became immense.

The mode of conducting the emigrations from Europe was as patriarchal as the Church itself. As the emigration season came round, from every branch and conference the Saints would be gathered and taken to Liverpool by their elders, who saw them on shipboard in vessels chartered for their use. Not a moment were they left to the mercy of "runners" and shipping agents. When on board, the companies, which in some cases have amounted to more than a thou- sand souls per ship, were divided into wards, each ward being under its president or bishop, and his two councilors, and each company under its president and councilors ; and besides these were the doctor, steward, and cook, with their assistants. During the passage, regular service was daily observed,-morning and evening prayers, preaching meetings and councils. Besides these were numerous entertainments, concerts, dances, etc., so that the trips across the Atlantic were like merry makings, enjoyed by the captains and their officers as much as by the Saints. Reaching America a similar system was pursued up the rivers, on the railroads, and across the plains until the Saints arrived in the val- leys, when they were received, in the old time, by Brigham and " the authorities in Zion," and sent by Bishop Hunter to the various settlements where they were most needed to people the fast-growing cities of Utah.

It may be here suggestively noted that, at the date of this emigrational cir- cular, there were not in all Utah more than eight thousand souls ; while, at about the same date, in the British mission there were thirty thousand members of the Mormon Church. The resources of population the community possessed abroad ; at home the resources were not sufficient to people Great Salt Lake City. The colonizing genius of this "peculiar people" was now greatly in demand ; and it soon began to manifest itself in gigantic efforts to populate these valleys, and to found the hundreds of cities and settlements which Utah possesses to-day, and which the Mormon leaders designed to people when they laid off the City of the Great Salt Lake in 1847. This genius of colonization the community had mani- fested from the beginning, as was observed in the opening chapter, but it had hitherto operated chiefly abroad, in creating a population for the " building up of a Zion " on the American continent. True there had sailed a few ship loads of Mormons from the shores of Great Britain for Nauvoo; but only a few thou- sand of the British people were mixed in the actual society problem of the Mor- mons in America, until after the settlement in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. Indeed, it had not been possible for the Mormon leaders to have emigrated a large European population to any of the eastern States, for the form- ation of a community. As it was, the American Mormon population was too large for both Missouri and Illinois. But in Utah, with a Territory given them

101

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

by the United States, that they might people with their fruitful resources of pop- plation from foreign missions, the Mormons for the first time found full aim and scope for their colonizing genius and religion. From that moment Mormonism meant the peopling of Utah and the building of cities and settlements, and that too, chiefly at the onset, by yearly emigrations of converts from Europe; Great Salt Lake City being the initial society work.

Accordingly at the October Conference of 1849, held in this city, after establishing the Provisional Government of the State of Deseret, and the organ- ization of the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company, "for the gathering of Israel from the nations," as set forth in the circular, the Presidency and Twelve Apostles set apart John Taylor, for France, to open a mission in that country ; Lorenzo Snow for a similar purpose to Switzerland and Italy ; Franklin D. Rich- ards for England, to start the operations of the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company in Europe; while Apostle Erastus Snow was sent to open the "new dispensation" to the Scandinavian races.

In 1849, there was not a branch of the Mormon Church in all Scandinavia ; to-day (1883) nearly one-third of the Mormon population of Utah, including their offspring, is Scandinavian. In 1849, the emigrations from Great Britain, direct for Utah commenced ; from that date to their suspension for awhile, in consequence of the Buchanan expedition, with which we shall presently deal, the Mormon emigrations to America embraced about thirty. thousand souls, the majority of whom became compounded in the population of Utah ; and still on, down to the present time, the British mission, though greatly depleted by her supplies has continued emigrations to this Territory. During this time a large accession to the population also poured in from every State of the Union, sus- taining the native American element.

In connection with this subject of population, it is proper that polygamy should be considered, as a social factor of this Territory. Polygamy as a system of family relations was published in 1851. With it as a religious institution the historian has nothing to do, nor is it his province either to question or approve of the special legislation passed against it; but sociologically and ethnologically history has much to do with it in the peopling of Utah. The population of this Territory, in fact, has grown largely out of Mormon polygamy; and instead of deteriorating the race it has, in this case, replenished and im- proved it. Emigrations from Europe pouring in yearly, bringing a surplus of females from the robust snd fruitful races of Scandinavia and Great Britain, their marriage with a dominant pioneer element of the American stock has given stamina to families and population to the country. Indeed, Mormon polygamy has done nearly as much for the population of Utah as emigration itself; and with it, further than the statement of its facts, the writer has nought to do in a sociological exposition. Thus it will be seen that, having planted the germs of society in these valleys, the American portion of the population united in marriage with the emigrants-and the whole became one people in the coloniza- tion of Utah-one people very much in race as they were already in faith. The exposition will further show that though the population a quarter of a century

102

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

ago was largely foreign, to-day it must naturally be chiefly native American, for while the emigrant parents have by thousands passed away by death, their children born in these valleys have grown up to manhood and womanhood, and are themselves parents to-day.

CHAPTER XII.

PICTURES OF MORMON SOCIETY IN THE FOUNDING OF UTAH. LIFE AMONG THE SAINTS. THEIR SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES AND CUS- TOMS. ECSTACY OF THE GOLD-HUNTERS WHEN THEY CAME UPON " ZION." VIEW'S BY STANSBURY, GUNNISON, AND NOTED ENGLISH TRAV- ELERS, OF THE MORMONS AND THEIR INSTITUTIONS. PETITION FOR A RAILROAD. GENERAL EVENTS.

It is thought that a few pictures of the early days of Utah, and of Mormon society in its primeval forms, may have a special interest to visitors of to-day, who go up to the New Jerusalem of the West in luxurious palace cars. They shall be the pictures which struck the fancy, or the judgment, of the intelligent " Gentile" who first came upon the peculiar people, just settled in the valleys of Utah, yet they described them in wonderment, much as they would have done had they come upon the strange habitation and inhabitants of another world. There is a graphic life-touch in some of those sketches-mere letters though they were -that the imagination of the best artist could not equal. They are realistic pictures of what was; romances of social life, so to speak, that were not dreams.

Here is a graphic sketch from the artistic pen of a gold digger, a correspon- dent of the New York Tribune, under date of July 8th, 1849:

" The company of gold diggers which I have the honor to command, arrived here on the 3d instant, and judge our feelings when, after some twelve hundred miles travel through an uncultivated desert, and the last one hundred miles of the distance through and among lofty mountains, and narrow and diffi- cult ravines, we found ourselves suddenly, and almost unexpectedly, in a compar- ative paradise. At first sight of all these signs of cultivation in the wilderness, we were transported with wonder and pleasure. Some wept, some gave three cheers, some laughed, and some ran and fairly danced for joy, while all felt inexpressibly happy to find themselves once more amid scenes which mark the progress of advancing civilization. We passed on amid scenes like these, expecting every moment to come to some commercial centre, some business point in this great metropolis of the mountains, but we were disappointed. No hotel, sign post, cake and beer shop, barber pole, market house, grocery. pro- vision, dry goods, or hardware store distinguished one part of the town from another ; not even a bakery or a mechanic's sign was anywhere discernible.

103

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

" Here, then, was something new : an entire people reduced to a level, and all living by their labor-all cultivating the earth, or following some branch of physical industry. At first I thought it was an experiment, an order of things established purposely to carry out the principles of 'socialism' or 'Mormonism.' In short, I thought it very much like Owenism personified. However, on in- quiry, I found that a combination of seemingly unavoidable circumstances had produced this singular state of affairs. There were no hotels because there had been no travel ; no barber shops, because every one chose to shave himself, and no one had time 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 mechanic's 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. Beside their several trades, all must culti- vate the land or die, for the country was new, and no cultivation but their own within a thousand miles. Every one had his own lot, and built on it; every one cultivated it, and perhaps a small farm in the distance.

" And the strangest of all was, that this great city, extending over several square miles, had been erected, and every house and fence made, within nine or ten months of the time of our arrival; while at the same time, good bridges were erected over the principal streams, and the country settlements extended nearly one hundred miles up and down the valley.

"This Territory, State, or, as some term it, 'Mormon empire,' may justly be considered one of the greatest prodigies of our time, and, in comparison with its age, the most gigantic of all Republics in existence-being only in its second year since the first seed of cultivation was planted, or the first civilized habita. tion commenced. If these people were such thieves and robbers as their enemies represented them to be in the States, I must think they have greatly reformed in point of industry since coming to the mountains.

"I this day attended worship with them in the open air. Some thousands of well dressed, intelligent-looking people assembled ; a number of them on foot, some in carriages, and some on horses. Many were neatly and even fashionably clad. The beauty and neatness of the ladies reminded me of some of our best congregations of New York. They had a choir of both sexes, who performed exceedingly well, accompanied by a band, playing well on almost every musica! instrument of modern invention. Peals of the most sweet, sacred and solemn music filled the air; after which, a solemn prayer was offered by Mr. Grant (a Latter-day Saint), of Philadelphia. Then followed various business advertise- ments, read by the clerk. * After this, came a lengthy dis- course by Mr. Brigham Young, President of the Society, partaking somewhat of politics, much of religion and philosophy, and a little on the subject of gold ; showing the wealth, strength and glory of England, growing out of her coal mines, iron and industry, and the weakness, corruption and degradation of Span- ish America, Spain, etc., growing out of their gold and silver, and idle habits.

" He further observed that the people here would petition to be organized into a Territory under the American Government, notwithstanding its abuses.

104

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

and that, if granted, they would stand by the the constitution and laws of the United States; while, at the same time, he denounced their corruption and abuses.

" ' But,' said the speaker, 'we ask no odds of them, whether they grant our petition or not ! We will never ask any odds of a nation that has driven us from our homes. If they grant us our rights, well ; if not, well; they can do no more than they have done. They, and ourselves, and all men, are in the hands of the great God, who will govern all things for good ; and all will be right, and work together for good to them that serve God.'

"Such, in part, was the discourse to which we listened in the strongholds of the mountains. The Mormons are not dead, nor is their spirit broken. And, if I mistake not, there is a noble, daring, stern and democratic spirit swelling in their bosoms, which will people these mountains with a race of independent men, and influence the destiny of our country and the world for a hundred generations. In their religion they seem charitable, devoted and sincere; in their politics, bold, daring and determined ; in their domestic circle, quiet, affectionate and happy, while in industry, skill and intelligence they have few equals, and no superiors on earth.

"I had many strange feelings while contemplating this new civilization, growing up so suddenly in the wilderness. I almost wished I could awake from my golden dream, and find it but a dream; while I pursued my domestic duties as quietly, as happily, and contentedly as this strange people."

" These Mormons," says Gunnison, " are certainly the most earnest religion- ists I have ever been among. It seems to be a constant self-sacrifice with them, which makes me believe that the masses of the people are honest and sincere.

" While professing a complete divorce of Church and State, their political career and administration is made subservient to the theocratical or religious ele- ment. They delight to call their system of government a 'theo-democracy,' and that, in a civil capacity, they stand as the Israelites of old under Moses. For the rule of those not fully imbued with the spirit of obedience, and sojourners not of the faith, as well as for things purely temporal, tribunals of justice and law-making assemblies are at present rendered necessary.

" The influence of their nomenclature of 'brethren and sisters' is apparent in their actions, and creates the bond of affection among those who are more fre- quently thrown together. It is impressed on infantile minds by the constant repetition, and induces the feeling of family relationship. A little boy was asked the usual question, 'whose son are you?' and he very naively replied, ' I am Brother Pack's son;' a small circumstance, truly, but one that stamps the true mark of Mormon society. The welfare of the order becomes, therefore, paramount to individual interest ; and the union of hearts causes the hands to unite in all that pertains to the glory of the State ; and hence we see growing up and prospering the most enterprising people of the age-combining the ad- vantages of communism, placed on the basis of religious du y and obedience to what they call the law of the gospel-transcending the notion of socialistic

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Salt Lake City, Part 14

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company Number of Pages: 1194

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194