Life of Brigham Young : or, Utah and her founders

Preface

That the matters embodied in the chapters of this book are eminently worthy an enduring record will, I think, be cheerfully conceded.

Of myself let me say, if the manner in which I have handled the subject betrays my love for the Mormon people, I confess it. But it must not be forgotten that I have been, for many years, an apostate, and cannot be justly charged with a spirit of Mormon propagandism. Rather have I striven to treat the subject with an artist's fidelity, and with the earnestness of one concerned.

Edward W. Tullidge.

Salt Lake City.

Chapter II. — The Mormon Exodus. Brigham Young as the Modern Moses

Chapter III. — A Law-Giver in the Wilderness. The Mormons the First American Emigrants to California and the Discoverers of the Gold. The Ship "Brooklyn" sails from New York to San Francisco with Six

Hundred Mormons. Propositions of Political Demagogues to Share the Lands of California with the Saints. President Polk a Silent Party to the Scheme. Threat to intercept the Pioneers if they refused. A Noble

Resolve. Petition to the Governor of Iowa Territory. The Monument we Leave.

Chapter IV. — The Mormons on the March. Their Organic Condition. They Move as a Nation. A Prophet and Lieut. -General. Mormon Life on the Tourney. They Praise the Lord in the Song and in the Dance. They Build temporary Cities on the way. A Sensation from the U. S. Government.

Chapter V. — The Call for the " Mormon Battalion." Interviews with President Polk. The Apostles Enlisting Soldiers from their People for the Service of the Nation. The Battalion on the March.

Chapter VI. — The Mormons Settle on Indian Lands. A Grand Council held between the Elders and Indian Chiefs. A Covenant is made between them, and land granted by the Indians to their Mormon Brothers. Characteristic Speeches of famous Indian Chiefs. Winter Quarters Organized. The Government at first Confirms the Indian Permission to the Mormons, and then seeks to eject them. Official Correspondence. Judge Kane and his Son.

Chapter VII. — Sketch of the Life of Brigham Young up to the Martyrdom of Joseph Smith. A View of the Early History of the Church. Founding of the British Mission. Brigham Young in England. Martyrdom of the Mormon Prophet.

Chapter VIII. — Sidney Rigdon. Brigham and the Twelve take their placr and lead the Church. The Disciples recognize the Spirit of Joseph in his Successor. The Last Days of Nauvoo.

ii. CONTENTS

Chatter IX.— The Remnant at Nauvoo. The Great Battle. March of the Mob Army into the Doomed City : Description by Governor Ford. Thomas L. Kane's famous Picture of Nauvoo, after the Fall, and the Scene of Extermination.

Chapter X. — The Journey of the Pioneers to the Mountains. Their First Sight of the Promised Land.

Chapter XI. — The First Sabbath in the Valley. The Pioneers apply the Prophecies to themselves and their location. Zion has gone up into die Mountains. They locate the Temple and lay off the 'City of the Great Salt Lake." The Leaders return to Winter Quarters to Gather the Body of the Church. Their Second Arrival in the Valley. Brigham declared the Leader of Israel.

Chapter XII.— The Mormons in their new " Gathering Place." First Celebration. Growth of their Commonwealth. Founding of the State of Deseret. Congress Establishes a Territorial Organization. Famine and Crickets. A Strange Prophecy by Heber C. Kimball, and a Stranger Fulfillment. The Rush of the Gold-finders to California. Grand Celebrations. Memorial to Congress for a National Railroad to the Pacific in 1852. A Slander Exploded. Grand Railroad Demonstration in TS54.

Chapter XIII. — Pictures of Mormon Society in the Founding of Utah. Life among the Saints. Their Social and Religious Peculiarities and Customs. Ecstacy of the Gold-finders when they came upon "Zion." Views by Stansbury, Gunnison, and Noted English Travelers, of t!«e Mormons and their Institutions.

Chapter XIV. — Views of Brigham Young as Governor. Correspondence of Colonel Kane with President Fillmore. Arrival of Colonel Steptoe and his Regiment. President Tieice tenders the Governorship of Utah to Steptoe : He Refuses, and Petitions the President for the Re-appointmest of Brigham Young. Pierce Re-appoints him.

Chapter XV. — The National Mission of the Mormons. Their Israelitish Genius and Destiny. They Believe in their Constitutional Right to Found a State of the Union. A View Preparatory to the "Utah War."

Chapter XVI. — The Pioneer Jubilee. Celebration of their Tenth Anniversary. Arrival of Messengers with the News of the Coming of an Invading Army. The Day of Jubilee Changed to a Day of Independence,

Chapter XVII. — The Utah Expedition. Mad Policy of Buchanan. The Priests and Journalists Exultant. The Two Governors. How Brigham met the issue. The Saints Resolve to Lay their Cities Waste and take Refuge in the Mountains. Arrival of Captain Van Vliet. The Mormon Leader Sends a Righteous Defiance and Rebuke to the Government. Governor Young's Proclamation. The Territory Placed under Martial Law.

CONTENTS. iii.

Chapter XVIII. — Buchanan coerced by Public Sentiment into sending a Commission of Investigation. He sends Colonel Kane with a Special Mission to the Mormons. Arrival of the Colonel in Salt Lake City. His first interview with the Mormon Leaders. Incidents of his sojourn. He goes to meet Governor dimming, and is placed under arrest by General Johnston. His Challenge to that Officer. He brings in the new Governor in Triumph. Cordial Meeting between the Two Governors. Return of Colonel Kane.

Chapter XIX. — Report of Governor dimming to the Government. The Government Records found not burned as reported by Drammond. The Mormon Leaders justified by the Facts, and the People loyal. Graphic and thrilling description of the Mormons in their Second Exodus. The Governor brings his Family to Salt Lake City. His Wife is moved to Tears at witnessing the Heroic Attitude of the People.

Chapter XX. — The arrival of Peace Commissioners. Extraordinary Council between them and the Mormon Leaders. A singular Scene in the Council. Arrival of a Courier with Despatches. "Slop that army ! or we break up the Conference." "Brother Dunbar, sing Zion!" The Peace Commissioners marvel, but at last find a Happy Issue. Retrospective View of the Mormon Army.

Chapter XXI. — Reflections upon the " Utah War." The Re-action. Current Opinion as expressed by the Leading Journals of Europe and America.

Chapter XXII. — The March of the Troops into Salt Lake City. Return of the People to their Homes. Treachery of the Judges. Malicious Prosecutions. A Requisition made by the Court upon General Johnston for Troops. The Governor Protests. The Military Tower frustrated in the Attempt to Arrest Brigham Young. Courageous Attitude of Governor dimming. Mormon Loyalty. Johnston's Army ordered to the Potomac Evacuation of Camp Floyd.

Chapter XXIII. — Change in the Personnel of the Federal Offices. The Morrisite Tragedy. More Officials. The California Volunteers and Establishment of Camp Douglas. Arrest of President Young. Midnight Alarms. Harmony restored by a Change of Federal Officials.

Chapter XXIV. — The Constitutional Issue raised by the Mormons the Forerunner of the National Controversy resulting in Civil War. Utah and the South Radically Associated in the Chicago Platform. Joseph Smith's Remarkable Prophecy. The Loyalty of the Mormons. Utah Neutral in the Controversy. Brigham Young's Judgment upon the Fratricidal War. How the Mormons regard Secession. Retrospection. Reflection. Predication.

iv. CONTENTS.

Chapter XXV. — The Nation's Grief over the Death of Lincoln finds sympathetic Response in Utah. Visit of the Colfax Party. They are called upon by Brigham Young and the Apostles, and Serenaded by the People. Speeches by Colfax, Bross and Richardson.

Chapter XXVI. — Second Visit of Mr. Colfax. *' Will the Mormons Fight?" " Let us alone with our Problems." He is Informed of an Approaching Schism. The Schism Inaugurated. Excommunicalion of the Apostates. Passing Events. The Railroad and the Man of Destiny. Passage of the Female Suffrage Bill, etc.

Chapter XXVII. — President Grant Bent on the Conquest of" Mormon Theocracy." He appoints Shaffer Governor for that purpose. Sheridan's "Moral Force." Shaffer's Military " Coup de Main." General Wells avoids a Collision. Correspondence between the Lieut. General and the Governor. Death of Shaffer.

Chapter XXVIII. — Congressional History of Utah up to 1870. William H. Hooper. The Settlement of Affairs after the Utah War. Return of Bernhisel to Congress and the Passage of the Anti-Polygamic Bill ; followed by a Gentile Delegate. Hooper Returned again, and the Prestige of Home Delegates Restored. The Cullom Bill. Hooper's great Speech.

Chapter XXIX. — Mormondom Aroused by the Passage of the Cullom Bill. Great Indignation of the People. The Brotherhood and Sisterhood on the Eve of a Constitutional Revolution, or Ready for Martyrdom. President Grant and President Brigham Yuung Moving their Forces from Behind. Memorial and Remonstrance to the Senate of the United States. Newman's Evangelical Raid.

Chapter XXX. — The M'Kean Regime. History of the Protracted Efforts . to judicially Murder the Founders of Utah. The Conspiracy Defeated. Justice Triumphant. M'Kean Removed.

Chapter XXXI. — Congressional Matters subsequent to 1870. Polygamic Theocracy boldly submitted at the National Capital. Delegate Cannon's Congressional Career. General Grant Visits Utah. Meeting of the Presidents.

Chapter XXXII. — Utah Emerges from her Isolation. Transformations incident thereto. Zion Co-operative Mercantile Institution. The Mormon Emigration. Parting View of Brigham Young.

Supplement. — Biographical Sketches.

CHAPTER I.

THE PROPHET AND HIS FULFILLER. A NEW DISPEN- SATION. THE EMPIRE-FOUNDING SAINTS.

At distant periods, as the centuries roll, Providence raises up a rare class of men to found empires and open new dispensations, thereby giving fresh life to the body of society and new forms to its institutions. Most fitly are they called men of destiny. None of the world's great characters stand out bolder in this type than do Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. They show a striking resemblance to Moses and Mohammed, two of the greatest religious empire-founders the world has yet seen. Indeed, in his lifetime, the Mormon prophet was styled the Mohammed of the West; and scarcely had Brigham Young succeeded him in the leadership of the Mormon people, ere he was classed with the immortal law-giver of Israel. Scarcely better does the following, from Thomas Carlyle, on Mohammed and his mission, apply to the Eastern prophet and his followers than to Joseph Smith and his disciples:

"This Mohammed, then, we will in no wise " consider as an inanity and theatricality, a poor "conscious ambitious schemer; we cannot conceive " him so. The rude message he delivered was a " real- one withal ; an earnest confused voice from "the unknown deep. The man's words were not

" false nor his workings here below : no inanity and "simulacrum; a fiery mass of life cast up from the "great bosom of nature herself, to kindle the world; " the world's maker had ordained it so. * * * " This deep-hearted son of the wilderness, with his " beaming black eyes, and open, social, deep nature, " had other thoughts in him than ambition. A silent " great soul ; he was one of those who cannot hit "be in earnest; whom nature herself appointed to "be sincere. While others walk in formulas and " hearsays, contented enough to dwell there, this "man could not screen himself in formulas ; he was "alone with his own soul and the reality of things. " The great mystery of existence, as I said, glared "in upon him, with its terrors, with its splendors. ci * # •* * The word of such a man is as a " voice direct from nature's own heart. Men do "and must listen to that as to nothing else; all " else is as wind in comparison. * * * The "word this man spoke has been the life guidance " of one hundred and eighty millions of men these " twelve hundred years. These hundred and eighty " millions were made by God as well as we. A "greater number of God's creatures believe in Mo- " hammed's word, at this hour, than in any other "word whatever. Are we to suppose that it was " a miserable piece of legerdemain, this which so " many creatures of the Almighty had lived by and "died by? I, for my part, cannot form any such " supposition. I will believe most things sooner " than that. One would be entirely at a loss what " to think of this world at all, if quackery so grew " and were sanctioned here."

Had Carlyle designed this philosophical view for the Mormon prophet and his people it could not have been more happily expressed. True, Mormonism has not yet survived the action of centuries ; it has not yet become a mighty empire; nor yet have countless millions lived and died by the faith ; yet possibly it is destined to quite as markedly affect the world's career. It is the only absolute religion of modern times. No other, except the Mormon apostles, have even attempted, within a thousand years, to open an entirely new dispensation. In this sense it is the first religion that has sprung from the anglo-saxon race. Very properly its prophet arose in America. America may affect to be scandalized by the fact, but the fact will remain, that Joseph Smith is the first and only great national prophet who has arisen in the new world. He is emphatically the prophet of America. Indeed, another like him could not come to-day. In the presence of a wide-spreading infidelistic spiritualism, a prophet, with a divine revelation and a new dispensation, would not even have the potency of a fresh sensation. He came but just in time to come at all ; and by coming before the advent of " modern spiritualism " he found an opportunity for his mission. Nor should America be pained over the event. One of her greatest thinkers has said that Mormonism is the only religion of force of modern times, — the only relieion of force since the rise of Mohammed. Neither did Mohammedanism, nor Christianity, during the first fifty years of their respective careers, accomplish anything more wonderful than has Mormonism accomplished in the first fifty years of its career. It should be remembered, too, that the mission of the latter has been in the nineteenth century, among the superior races, in England and America. In the coming time it may be proven that this age could have well taken some pride in its offspring ; for if there be sound pmlosophy in the maxim that God is in the world's success, God must be in a successful Mormonism.

Of the Mormon people, it should be strongly marked that they are not a sect ; not a mere community of church-builders ; but religious empire founders. This is an extraordinary character-cast, but Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and their disciples have dared to assume it. Hence they have originated and founded new religious and social institutions as startling as they are peculiar. This has naturally provoked antagonism, and brought upon them great persecutions ; yet we should no more blame the a^e for its antagonism to Mormonism than the a^e should blame the Mormons for their fidelity to their mission. Let us accept this " irrepressible conflict " understandingly and without malice. If Mormonism prevail we shall ultimately see its peculiar problems outwrought to solution ; if Mormonism fail, there is no God in it ; let it go to the wall. But let the oppressor beware. Even the United States Government has been no more successful in its crusades against the Mormons than were Missouri and Illinois. President Grant, though he has stretched out his arm all the day long against them, has been as impotent as was President Buchanan, who made war — actual war — upon them, and then begged of them for peace. God was in those successes ! God was not in those failures !

It is impossible to imagine a man more fit to ucceed Joseph Smith than Brigham Young ; and lie was as much a necessity to the Mormon mission and programme as was Joseph himself. They are s two halves of one whole.

It was thought that when Joseph Smith was killed the Mormon work would die out. Not unlikely this expectation helped much to bring about the tragedy of his end. And so, according to ordinary probab'1 ., it would have died out, or been crushed ou and the Mormon church scattered to the four Is, had not a man arisen fully the equal

of Jc Smith; not like him in type, but his

othe ,, — the fulfiller of the prophet. It is

ev that the man required to execute such a

m and work as the Mormon prophet had laid n, was one having the real empire-founding us, and that, too, of an extraordinary cast. It not remarkable that, on the martyrdom of the >het, his chief apostle should take the leaderof the church ; but that he should have been e 1 to the task of holding the communitv together,

o J <z> *

c icting them through their exodus to the Rocky

A tains, consolidating the impetuous forces and

ag es that his predecessor had thrown into the

v. building up a powerful territory of the Union,

lg two hundred and fifty cities, and preserv-

people through a strange and eventful his-

> quite in keeping with the idea of a Western

in in the nineteenth century.

CHAPTER II.

THE MORMON EXODUS. BRIGHAM YOUNG AS THE MODERN MOSES.

The period of his life that seems the most proper in which to introduce Brieham Youngf in action to the reader, is when he succeeded the Mormon prophet and led his people in the famous exodus from Nauvoo. Here we have him at once in the character of the modern Moses. It is no fanciful conceit of the author to thus style him to-day, after he and his people have built up a State fabric, with three hundred cities and settlements, networked with railroads and the electric telegraph ; for at that very period his name rang throughout America, and reverberated in Europe, as the Moses of the " latter days," and the Mormons were likened to the children of Israel in the wilderness.

Finding before his death that the issue had come — that he and his people could no longer remain in the land of the " gentile," — the Prophet planned the removal of the Mormons to the Pacific slope ; but, closing his career in martyrdom, the execution of the design fell upon Brigham Young.

Towards the close of the year 1845, the leaders, in council, resolved to remove at once and seek a second Zion in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. It was too clear that they could no longer dwell among so-called civilized men. The)' knew that they must soon seek refuge with the children of the forest ; and as for humanity, they must seek it in the breasts of savages, for there was scarcely a smouldering spark of it left for them, either in Missouri or Illinois, nor indeed anywhere within the borders of the United States. That this was exactly the case appears from the fact that before the Mormons undertook their exodus, they appealed, but appealed in vain, not only to the President of the United States, but to the Governors of all the States, excepting Missouri and Illinois, addressing to each a personal prayer, asking of them their influence to prevent the ruthless extermination of twenty thousand native-born American citizens, or, at least, their favor in peacefully removing them to Oregon or California. Moreover, they had, during the lifetime of the Prophet, sent a delegation to Washington, — Joseph Smith himself going to ask redress of the wrongs of his people. It was then that President Van Buren made his famous reply : " Gentlemen, your cause is just, but I can do nothing " for you ! "

The appeal thereafter made to President Polk, and to the Governors, will be found in another chapter ; suffice it here to say, that it availed the Mormons nothing. They had now no destiny but in the West. If they tarried longer their blood would fertilize the lands which they had tilled, and their wives and daughters would be ravished within the sanctuary of the homes which their industrious hands had built. Their people were by a thousand ancestral links joined to the pilgrim fathers who founded this nation, and with the heroes who won for it independence, and it was as the breaking of their heartstrings to rend them from their fatherland, and send them as exiles into the territory of a foreign power. But there was no alternative between a Mormon exodus or a Mormon massacre.

Sorrowfully, but resolutely, the Saints prepared to leave ; trusting in the providence which had thus far taken them through their darkest days, and multiplied upon their heads compensation for their sorrows. But the anti-Mormons seemed eager for the questionable honor of exterminating them. In September of the year 1845, delegates from nine counties met in convention, at Carthage, over the Mormon troubles, and sent four commissioners : General Hardin, Commander of the State Militia ; Senator Douglass ; W. B. Warren ; and J. A. Mc Dougal, to demand the removal of the Mormons to the Rocky Mountains. The commissioners held a council with the twelve apostles at Nauvoo, and the Mormon leaders promptly agreed to remove their people at once, a movement, as observed, which they had been considering for several years. Now they were brought face to face with the issue. Brigham Young sought not to evade it ; but, with his characteristic method, resolved to grapple with the tremendous undertaking of the exodus of a people. Knowing well, as everybody to-day knows, that this extraordinary man is no fanatic, nor even a religious enthusiast, but a cool-headed, strong-willed leader, who undertakes nothing but what he feels that he can execute, if faithfully supported by his brethren, this act will be perpetuated in history as one of the marvels in the lives of the world's great

UTAH AND HER FOUNDERS. C,

characters ; for on that exodus hung-, not onlv the future of Brigham Young, but the very destiny of the Mormon people. Probably it was a sensible comprehension of this fact that prompted General Hardin to ask of the twelve apostles, at the council in question, what guarantee they would give that the Mormons would fulfill their part of the covenant ? To this Brigham replied, with a strong touch of common-sense severity, " Yoic have our all as the " guarantee; what more can zue give beyond the '■'guarantee of our names?" Senator Douglass observed, " Mr. Young is right." But Gen. Hardin knew that the people of Illinois, and especially the anti-Mormons, would look to him more than to Douglass, who had been styled the Mormon-made senator ; so the commissioners asked for a written covenant, of a nature to relieve themselves of much of the responsibility, and addressed the following :

" Nauvoo, Oct i st, 1845.

" To the President and Council of the Chiirch at

Nauvoo :

Having had a free and full conversation with you this day, in reference to your proposed removal from this country, together with the members of your church, we have to request you to submit the facts and intentions stated to us in the said conversations to writing, in order that we may lay them before the Governor and people of the State. \Ye hope that by so doing it will have a tendency to allay the excitement at present existing in the public mind.

.O LIFE OF BRIGHAM YOUNG J OR,

" We have the honor to subscribe ourselves, " Respectfully yours,

" John J. Hardin, " W. B. Warren,

" S. A. Douglass, " J. A. McDougal."

The covenant itself is too precious to be lost to history ; here it is :

" Nauvoo, III., Oct. ist, 1845.

" To Gen. J. Hardin, W. B. Warren, S. A. Douglass and J. A. McDougal :

Messrs : — In reply to your letter of this date, requesting us ' to submit the facts and intentions stated by us in writing, in order that you may lay them before the Governor and people of the State,' we would refer you to our communication of the 24th lilt, to the ' Ouincy committee,' &c, a copy of which is herewith enclosed.

In addition to this we would say that we had commenced making arrangements to remove from the country, previous to the recent disturbances ; that we have four companies, of one hundred families each, and six more companies now organizing, of the same number each, preparatory to a removal.

That one thousand families, including the twelve, the high council, the trustees and general authorities of the Church, are fully determined to remove in the Spring, independent of the contingencies of selling our property ; and that this company will comprise from five to six thousand souls.

That the Church, as a body, desire to remove with us, and will, if sales can be effected, so as to raise the necessary means.

That the organization of the Church we represent is such that there never can exist but one head or presidency at any one time. And all good members wish to be with the organization • and all are determined to remove to some distant point where we shall neither infringe nor be infringed upon, so soon as time and means will permit.

That we have some hundreds of farms and some two thousand houses for sale in this city and county, and we request all good citizens to assist in the disposal of our property.

That we do not expect to find purchasers for our temple and other public buildings ; but we are willing to rent them to a respectable community who may inhabit the city.

That we wish it distinctly understood, that although we may not find purchasers for our property, we will not sacrifice it, nor give it away or suffer it illegally to be wrested from us.

That we do not intend to sow any wheat this Fall, and should we all sell, we shall not put in any more crops of any description.

That as soon as practicable, we will appoint committees for this city, La Harpe, Macedonia, Bear Creek, and all necessary places in the county, to give information to purchasers.

That if these testimonies are not sufficient to satisfy any people that we are in earnest, we will soon give them a sign that cannot be mistaken — we

WILL LEAVE THEM.

In behalf of the council, respectfully yours, &c,

Brigham Young, President.

Willard Richards, Clerk.

The covenant satisfied the commissioners, and few a time satisfied also the anti-Mormons.

But their enemies were impatient for the Mormons to be gone. They would not keep even their own conditions of the covenant, much less were they disposed to lend a helping hand to lighten the burden of this thrice-afflicted people in their exodus, that their mutual bond migiit be fulfilled — a bond already sealed with the blood of their prophet, and of his brother their patriarch. So the high council issued a circular to the Church, Jan. 20, 1846, in which -they stated the intention of their community to locate " in some good valley in the neighborhood " of the Rocky Mountains, where they will infringe " on no one, and not be likely to be infringed upon." " Here we will make a resting place," they said, " until we can determine a place for a permanent " location. * We also further de-

" clare, for the satisfaction of some who have con- " eluded that our grievances have alienated us from " our country, that our patriotism has not been " overcome by fire, by sword, by daylight nor by " midnight assassination which we have endured, " neither have they alienated us from the institu- " tions of our country."

Then came the subject of service on the side of their country, should war break out between it and a foreign country, as was indicated at that time by our growing difficulties with Mexico. The anti- Mormons took advantage of this war prospect, and, not satisfied with their act of expulsion, they raised the cry, "The Mormons intend to join the enemy!" This was as cruel as the seething of the kid in its mother's milk, but the high council answered it with the homely anecdote of the Quaker's characteristic action against the pirates in defence of the ship on which he was a passenger, when he cut away the rope in the hands of the boarder, observing: "If " thee wants that piece of rope I will help thee to " it." " The pirate fell," said the circular, " and a " watery grave was his resting place." Their country had been anything but a kind protecting parent to the Saints, but at least, in its hour of need, they would do as much as the conscientious Quaker did in the defence of the ship. There was, too, a grim humor and a quiet pathos in the telling, that was more touchingly reproachful than would have been a storm of denunciations. In the same spirit the high council climaxed their circular thus ■

We agreed to leave the country for the sake of peace, upon the condition that no more persecutions be instituted against us. In good faith we have labored to fulfill this agreement. Governor Ford has also done his duty to further our wishes in this respect, but there are some who are unwilling that we should have an existence anywhere ; but our destinies are in the hands of God, and so are also theirs.

Early in February, 1846, the Saints began to cross the Mississippi in flat boats, old lighters, and a number of skiffs, forming, says the President's Journal, "quite a fleet," which was at work night and day under the direction of the police, commanded by their captain, Hosea Stout.