History of Salt Lake City, Part 15

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

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philosophers, that human regulations can improve and perfect society, irrespective of the revealed word of God.

" Right or wrong, in the development of the principle, and in its applica- tion, they have seized upon the most permanent element of the human mind in its social relations-not yielding fully to the doctrines of earnestness and univer- sal intention, and making man his own regenerator, as the fountain head of truth, and passing thence into mysticism, pantheism and atheism, neither endeavoring to cure the ills of society by political notions of trade and commerce, nor by educating in the sentiment of honor, and by political inculcation of high thoughts and noble images, independent of being ' born of the water and of the spirit.'

"Nor must we look upon all as ignorant and blindfolded, guided along the the ditch of enthusiasm by self-deluded leaders. Indeed, almost every man is a priest, or eligible to the office, and ready armed for the controversial warfare. His creed is his idol. And while among the best proselytes we class many that are least versed in literary attainments, still among them we find liberally edu- cated men, and those who have been ministers in other denominations-in fact there seems to be as fair a sample of intelligence, moral probity, and good citi- zenship, as can be found in any nominal Christian community.

" Sincerity and simplicity of purpose mark the masses, which virtues have been amply proved by the sacrifices and suffering endured. And among the peo- ple, so submissive to counsel, are those who watch with eagle eye that first prin- ciples are adhered to, and stand ready to proclaim apostacy in chief or laymen, and scrutinizing all revelations to discover whether they are from the Lord, or given, through his permission, by Satan, to test the fidelity and watchfulness of the disciples of truth. Litigation is much discouraged, and it is specially thought improper for brother to go to law with brother, and that before unbelievers; so each bishop is a sort of county court judge between man and man, with an appeal to the whole ' bench,' and a final resort to Brigham, who does good practical jus- tice without any embarrassment from statute or common law.

" This people are jealous of their rights, and feel themselves entitled to en- force order by their own laws, and severely punish contempt of them. The ad- ministration of justice is of the most simple kind, and based on the equity and the merits of the question, without reference to precedents and technicalities."

Another correspondent writing to a New York paper said :

" It is now three years since the Mormons arrived in Salt Lake Valley, and their energy in laying out a city, building, fencing farms, raising crops, etc., is truly wonderful to behold, and is but another striking demonstration of the inde- fatigable enterprise, industry, and perseverance of the Anglo-Saxon race.

" The Mormons, take them as a body, I truly believe are a most industrious people, and, I confess, as intelligent as any I have met with when in the East or West. It is true they are a little fanatical about their religious views, which is not at all strange when compared with the majority of religious denominations in the East. But let no man be deceived in his estimation of the people who have settled here. Any people who have the courage to travel over plains, rivers

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and mountains, for twelve hundred miles, such, probably, as cannot be traveled over in any other part of the world, to settle in a region which scarcely ever re- ceived the tread of any but the wild savages and beasts who roam the wilderness, must be possessed of an indomitable energy that is but rarely met with."

W. Kelly, in his "Excursions in California in the Early Days," says :

" The houses are small, principally of adobies, built up only as temporary abodes, until the more urgent and important matter of inclosure is 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 artizans of all descriptions, but no regular stores or work- shops, except forges, Still, from the shoeing of an ox to the mending of a watch, there was no difficulty experienced in getting it done as cheap and as well put out of hand as in any other city in America. Notwithstanding the oppress- ing temperature, they were all hard at work at their trades, and abroad in the fields, weeding, moulding, and irrigating ; and it certainly speaks volumes for their energy and industry, to see the quantity of land they have fenced in, and the breadth under cultivation, considering the very short time since they founded the settlement in 1847.

" After bathing, we dressed in our best attire, and prepared to attend the Mormon service, held for the the present in the large space adjoining the in- tended Temple, which is only just above the foundations, but will be a structure of stupendous proportions, and, if finished according to the plan, of surpassing elegance. I went early, and found a rostrum in front of which there were rows of stools and chairs for the townfolks; those from the country, who arrived in great numbers, in light wagons, sitting on chairs, took up their stations in their vehicles in the background, after unharnessing the horses. There was a very large and most respectable congregation ; the ladies attired in rich and becoming costumes, each with parasol ; and I hope I may say, without any imputation of profanity, a more bewitching assemblage of the sex it has rarely been my lot to look upon."

A still more important authority on Mormon society, in the early days of Utah, was Captain Stansbury. He says in his official report ;

"The founding, within the space of three years, of a large and flourishing community npon a spot so remote from the abodes of men, so completely shut out by natural barriers from the rest of the world, so entirely unconnected by water-courses with either of the oceans that wash the shores of this continent-a country offering no advantages of inland navigation or of foreign commerce, but, on the contrary, isolated by vast uninhabited deserts, and only to be reached by long, painful, and often hazardous journeys by land-presents an anomaly so very peculiar, that it deserves more than a passing notice. In this young and pros- perous country of ours, where cities grow up in a day, and States spring up in a year, the successful planting of a colony, where the natural advantages have been such as to hold out the promise of adequate reward to the projectors, would have excited no surprise ; but the success of an enterprise under circumstances so much

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at variance with all our preconceived ideas of its probability, may well be con- sidered one of the most remarkable incidents of the present age.

Their admirable system of combining labor, while each has his own prop- erty, in lands and tenements, and the proceeds of his industry, the skill in divid- ing off the lands, and conducting the irrigating canals to supply the want of rain, which rarely falls between April and October; the cheerful manner in which every one applies himself industriously, but not laboriously ; the complete reign of good neighborhood and quiet house and fields, form themes for admiration to the stranger coming from the dark and sterile recesses of the mountain gorges into this flourishing valley ; and he is struck with wonder at the immense results, produced in so short a time, by a handful of individuals.

" This is the result of the guidance of all those hands by one master mind ; and we see a comfortable people residing where, it is not too much to say, the ordinary mode of subduing and settling our wild lands could never have been applied.

" Nothing can exceed the appearance of prosperity, peaceful harmony, and cheerful contentment that pervaded the whole community. Ever since the first year of privation, provisions have been abundant, and want of the necessaries and even comforts of life are unknown. A design was at one time entertained (more, I believe, as a prospective measure than anything else) to set apart a fund for the purpose of erecting a poor-house ; but, after strict inquiry it was found that there were in the whole population but two persons who could be considered objects of public charity, and the plan was consequently abandoned.

This happy external state of universally diffused prosperity, is commented on by themselves as an evidence of the smiles of heaven, and of the special favor of the Deity ; but I think it may be most clearly accounted for in the admirable discipline and ready obedience of a large body of industrious and intelligent men, and in the wise counsels of prudent and sagacious leaders, producing a oneness and concentration of action, the result of which has astonished even those by whom it has been effected. The happy consequences of this system of united and well directed action, under one leading and controlling mind, is most prominently apparent in the erection of public buildings, opening of roads, the construction of bridges, and the preparation of the country for the speedy occu- pation of a large and rapidly growing population, shortly to be still further aug- mented by an immigration even now on its way, from almost every country in Europe.

" In their dealings with the crowds of immigrants that passed through their city, the Mormons were ever fair and upright, taking no advantage of the neces- sitous condition of many, if not most of them. They sold them such provisions as they could spare, at moderate prices, and such as they themselves paid in their dealings with each other. In the whole of our intercourse with them, which lasted rather more than a year, I cannot refer to a single instance of fraud or ex- tortion to which any of the party was subjected ; and I strongly incline to the opinion that the charges that have been preferred against them in this respect, arose from interested misrepresentation or erroneous information. I certainly never experienced anything like it in my own case, nor did I witness or hear

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of any instance of it in the case of others, while I resided among them. Too many that passed through their settlements were disposed to disregard their claim to the land they occupied, to ridicule the municipal regulations of their city, and to trespass wantonly upon their rights. Such offenders were promptly arrested 'by the authorities, made to pay a severe fine, and in some instances were impris- oned or made to labor on the public works ; a punishment richly merited, and which would have been inflicted upon them in any civilized community. In short, these people presented the appearance of a quiet, orderly, industrious, and well-organized society, as much so as one would meet with in any city of the Union, having the rights of personal property as perfectly defined and as relig- iously respected as with ourselves ; nothing being farther from their faith or prac- tice than the spirit of communism, which has been most erroneously supposed to prevail among them. The main peculiarity of the people consists in their relig- ious tenets, the form and extent of their church government, (which is a theoc- racy), and in the nature especially of their domestic relations."

Another early writer says :

" The masses are sincere in their belief : if they are credulous, and have been deceived by their leaders, the sin, if any, rests on them. I firmly believe the people to be honest, and imbued with true religious feelings; and when we take into consideration their general character previously, we cannot but believe in their sincerity. Nine-tenths of this vast population are the peasantry of Scot- land, England and Wales, originally brought up with religious teachings at Protestant parish churches. They place implicit faith in their leaders, who, in a pecuniary point of view have fulfilled their promise ; each and all of them are comfortably provided with land and tenements. At first they, of course, suffer pri- vation, until they build their houses, and reap their crops, yet all their neces- sities in the meantime are provided for by the Church, and in a social point of view they are much happier than they could ever hope to have been at their native homes. From being tenants at the will of an imperious and exacting landlord, they suddenly became landholders in their own right, free men, living on free soil, under a free and enlightened government.

"Considering, again, how all efforts for the improvement of these advantages must necessarily be self-dependent in such a place, one cannot say they have been tardily developed. Indeed, to me, the manufactures, few as they were, and the products and settlements sprung up so extensively in so short a time, spoke not of a sensual but of a thrifty and industrious population, who, whatever may be their delusions in matters of belief, or the corrupting influence of their customs, at least determined to put their hands to the plow, and, looking forward, to work, out of hardship and adversity, a comfortable, if not an enviable, prosperity. Observe Salt Lake City-not a San Francisco, certainly-but remember that eight years ago not a house stood here, nor a stick, nor a stone to build one of.

"The cheerful happy faces, the self-sacrificed countenances, the cordial saluta- tion of brother or sister on all occasions of address, the lively strains of music pouring forth from merry hearts in every domicile, as women and children sing their "Songs of Zion," while plying the domestic tasks, give an expression of a happy society in the vales of Deseret.

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"They have determined to keep themselves distinct from the vices of civiliza- tion. During a residence of ten weeks in Great Salt Lake City, and my observa- tions in all their various settlements, it is worthy of record that I never heard any obscene or improper language, never saw a man drunk, never had my atten- tion called to to the exhibition of vice of any sort. There are no gambling houses, grog shops, or houses of ill-fame in all their settlements. They preach morality in their churches and from their stands, and, what is as strange as it is true, their people practice it, and religiously believe their salvation depends upon fulfilling the behests of the religion which they have adopted.

" A liquor law, enforced pretty strictly, compels sobriety, which virtue is, therefore, no subject for praise. Swearing, at least blasphemous swearing, in the public streets, is prohibited under pain of a five-dollar fine for each offense ; the fine is scarcely ever imposed, but violation of the law is uncommon, and very rarely in public or private do you hear an oath. Theft, even in petty things, such as vegetables and fuel, is prevented, not by prosecution, but by the known rule, that if a man steals two or three times he is ordered to become honest or leave the country for good. Not that Mormons ever pretend that there are no bad men among them ; nay, agreeable to their principles, they will tell you that a Mormon, if bad, will be worse than other men, because he sins against greater light and knowledge, and after receiving the Spirit of God. Confirmatory of this, I have met at Salt Lake with two or three very proper scoundrels; but, taking the people all around, I consider them as moral, industrious, fair-dealing and hospitable a set as one is apt to fall in with.

"In social parties and lively meetings the Mormons are pre-eminent, and their hospitality would be more readily extended to strangers had they suitable dwellings to invite them into. In their social gatherings and evening parties, patronized by the presence of the prophets and apostles, it is not unusual to open the ball with prayer, asking the blessing of God on their amusements, as well as upon any other engagement ; and then will follow the most sprightly dancing, in which all join with hearty good will, from the highest dignitary to the humblest individual; and this exercise is to become part of the temple-wor- ship, to ' praise God in song and dances.'

" These private balls and soirees are frequently extended beyond the time of cock-crowing by the younger members, and the remains of the evening repast furnish the breakfast for the jovial guests.

" Toward the end of April, in 1854, about ten days previous to the depart- use of Governor Brigham Young, on his annual visit to the southern settlements of Utah, tickets of invitation to a grand ball were issued in his name. I had the honor to receive one of them.

" At the appointed hour I made my appearance, chaperoned by Governor Young, who gave me a general introduction. A larger collection of fairer and more beautiful women I never saw in one room. All of them were dressed in white muslin, some with pink and others with blue sashes. Flowers were the only ornaments in the hair. The utmost order and the strictest decorum pre- vailed. Polkas and waltzes were not danced; country dances, cotillions, quadrilles, etc., were permitted. At the invitation of Governor Young I opened

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the ball with one of his wives. The Governor, with a beautiful partner, stood vis-a-vis. An old-fashioned cotillion was danced with much grace by the ladies, and the Governor acquitted himself wery well on the ' light fantastic toe.' After several rounds of dancing, a march was played by the band, and a procession was formed; I conducted my first partner to the supper room, where I partook of a fine entertainment at the Governor's table. There must have been at least two hundred ladies present, and about one hundred gentlemen. I returned to my quarters at twelve o'clock, most favorably impressed with the exibition of public society among the Mormons."

In 1852 the people had a grand celebration of the Fourth of July. This was the first notable celebration of our national birthday by the Mormons since their arrival in the valley, though it was kept by the Pioneers on the way, both at Winter Quarters and as they approached the haven of their search. They had afterwards, in a manner, blended the idea and spirit of the Fourth with the Twenty-Fourth, which they esteem as the natal day of Utah. On the first cele- bration of the Twenty-Fourth, the Constitution of the United States was, as we have seen, presented to the Governor of the State of Deseret, and the Declara- tion of Independence read, but the honor of the year in 1852, was given to the Fourth of July.

At the first session of the Territorial Legislature, held in 1851-2, in Salt Lake City, memorials to Congress were adopted, praying for the construction of a national central railroad, and also a telegraph line from the Missouri River, via Salt Lake City to the Pacific. The following memorial was signed and approved by Governor Young, March 3d, 1852 :

"To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled :

"Your memorialists, the Governor and Legislative Assembly of the Terri- tory of Utah, respectfully pray your honorable body to provide for the establish- ment of a national central railroad from some eligible point on the Mississippi or Missouri River, to San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, or Astoria, or such other point on or near the Pacific Coast as the wisdom of your honorable body may dictate.

" Your memorialists respectfully state that the immense emigration to and from the Pacific requires the immediate attention, guardian care, and fostering assistance of the greatest and most liberal government on the earth. Your memorialists are of the opinion that not less than five thousand American citizens have perished on the different routes within the last three years, for the want of proper means of transportation. That an eligible route can be obtained, your memorialists have no doubt, being extensively acquainted with the country. We know that no obstruction exists between this point and San Diego, and that iron, coal, timber, stone, and other materials exist in various places on the route ; and that the settlements of this Territory are so situated as to amply supply the builders of said road with material and provisions for a considerable portion of the route, and to carry on an extensive trade after the road is completed.

" Your memorialists are of opinion that the mineral resources of California

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and these mountains can never be fully developed to the benefit of the United States, without the construction of such a road ; and upon its completion, the entire trade to China and the East Indies will pass through the heart of the Union, thereby giving to our citizens the almost entire control of the Asiatic and Pacific trade ; pouring into the lap of the American States the millions that are now diverted through other commercial channels; and last, though not least, the road herein proposed would be a perpetual chain or iron band, which would ef- fectually hold together our glorious Union with an imperishable identity of mutual interest ; thereby consolidating our relations with foreign powers in times of peace, and our defense from foreign invasion, by the speedy transmission of troops and supplies in times of war.

" The earnest attention of Congress to this important subject is solicited by your memoralists, who, in duty bound, will ever pray."

On the 31st of January, 1854, there was another movement of the people for a Pacific Railroad. The citizens of Salt Lake and surrounding country, men and women, gathered en masse to make a grand demonstration in its favor.

As the Salt Lake Temple, when completed, will be one of the finest and most unique architectural piles in America, it will be proper for us to give a synopsis of the laying of the corner stones. We cull the following from the Deseret News:

" Wednesday, April 6th, 1853, could not have dawned a more lovely day, or have been more satisfactory to Saints or Angels. The distant valleys sent forth their inhabitants, this valley swarmed forth its thousands, and a more glori- ous sight has not been seen for generations than at Great Salt Lake City this day.

" The Deseret national flag was unfurled to the breeze. The Nauvoo Brass Band, Captain Ballo's Band, and the Military Band enlivened the air with their sweetest strains. The Silver Greys made a venerable appearance, and the minute men, true to their duty, were at their posts at an early hour. The police, under the efficient management of Captain Hardy, were at their posts at the time ap- pointed ; and the countenances of the Saints were as glad and cheerful as though each had been favored with the visitation of an angel. * * The procession then formed at the vestry door in the following order :

" Ist, Martial music. Colors. 2d, Nauvoo Brass Band. Colors. 3d, Ballo's Band. Colors. 4th, Captain Pettegrew with relief guards. Colors. 5th, Singers. 6th, First President and Counselors, and aged Patriarch. 7th, The Twelve Apostles, first Presidency of the Seventies, and President and Counselors of the Elders' Quorum. 8th, President of the High Priests' Quorum, and Counselors, in connection with the President of the Stake, and the High Council. 9th, Pre- siding Bishop, with his Council, and the Presidents of the lesser Priesthood, and their Council. 10th, Architects and workmen selected for the day, with banner, representing 'Zion's Workmen.' 11th, Captain Merrill, with relief guard, in uniform.

" The procession then marched through the line of guards to the southeast corner of the Temple ground, the singers taking their position in the centre, the Nauvoo Brass Band on the east bank, Captain Ballo's Band on the west bank, and

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the Marshal Band on the mound southwest. Captains Pettigrew, Hardy, and Merrill, with their commands, occupying the front of the bank (which was six- teen feet deep,) and moving from corner to corner with the laying of the several stones, prevented an undue rush of the people, which might, by an excavation, have endangered the lives of many, when Presidents Young, Kimball, and Rich- ards, with Patriarch John Smith, proceeded to lay the southeast corner stone, and ascended the top thereof, when the choir sang; President Young delivered the chief oration, and Heber C. Kimball offered the consecration prayer.

"The procession again formed, and proceeded to the southwest corner, when the Presiding Bishop, Edward Hunter, his counsel, and the various Presi- dencies of the lesser Priesthood, with their associates, laid the southwest corner stone, when, from its top, Bishop Hunter delivered the oration, and Bishop Alfred Cordon offered the consecration prayer.

The procession again formed, and moved to the northwest corner stone, accompanied with martial music, when John Young, President of the High Priests' Quorum, with his Council, and the President of the Stake, with the High Council, proceeded to lay the stone. That being done they ascended the stone, and President John Young delivered the oration, and George B. Wallace offered the consecration prayer.

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History of Salt Lake City, Part 15

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