Utah and the Mormons/Chapter 11

The Territory of Utah is organized as such under an act of Congress, and, theoretically at least, the laws of the United States applicable to territories are therein administered. Under the organic act, a Legislative Assembly was elected in the summer of 1851, and held a session in the following autumn and winter. At this session they passed a small body of laws, embracing the usual range of legislative action—the organization of the courts of justice—the punishment of crime (except bigamy)—the administration of estates—the incorporation of cities—the construction of roads and bridges—the training of the militia, &c., &c.

​Legislative action, both in form and substance, is not very dissimilar from those of other territories, except that it is obviously controlled by the Church. The second Legislative Assembly met on the 13th of December, at the Council House. This building was originally erected for Church purposes, but has been purchased by the Territory, and is now used as a State House, library, &c. The Legislative Assembly is divided into the Council or Upper House, consisting of thirteen members, and the House of Representatives, of twenty-six members. After the organization of the two houses, they came together in joint session to receive the Governor's message. The Governor, on being notified of the hour, came in, and was seated in the speaker's chair. On being asked if he had any communication to make, he handed his message to the president of the Council, who handed it to the clerk of the House, and the same was read. The message is much longer than necessary for the amount of matter contained in it, and, as a literary production, is open to criticism. Take the following ambitious gem as a sample:

"Hence, also, the fanatical bigot, with the spirit of Northern supremacy, seeks to enwrap with sacrilegious flame the altar of his country's liberties, offering an unholy sacrifice, which, arising in encircling wreaths of dark and turbid columns, emitting, in fitful glare, the burning lava, betokens erewhile her consummation."

His excellency must have lapsed suddenly into his ecstatic state as a seer when he penned this "turbid" prophecy.

In reference, however, to the practical sense and ​wisdom of the most of its suggestions, it is a creditable document. He calls the attention of the Legislative Assembly to the most important points of interest, such as making ferries and bridges over the principal rivers; promoting the working of the iron and coal mines in Iron county; encouraging domestic manufactures in all its branches; the necessity of simplicity and precision in legislation, and certainty in the administration of the laws; and the importance of education. He is severe on California and her gold; but it must be remembered that his Mormon excellency has had a difficult task to keep his flock together in the vicinity of the great El Dorado. He raps Congress soundly over the knuckles for President-making, and paying the Utah officers so shabbily. This may seem in bad taste for a mere territory, but the Governor claims that she is "a part of the grand confederacy which has so long embellished the national galaxy;" so there is no more to be said.

In two or three days after the organization of the two houses, the Governor made a speech to them in joint session, in reference to their mode of doing business. This was deemed of so much importance, that one hundred copies were ordered to be printed for the use of the members. Here it is verbatim:

"Previous to opening the business to be considered by this Assembly, and as all the members are not present, I wish to offer a few words for your guidance as members of a law-making department. Men who are not capable of governing themselves—of behaving themselves as gentlemen ought to behave, are utterly unprepared to make laws for others. If you will look ​upon Congressional practices, it is plain that printed rules for the government of legislative bodies have been the most fruitful source of vexatious debate and shameful strife. The second reading of an act by sections is now to be brought before this assembly. We would like to hear any objections that can be made to this act, or to any part of it; which objections must be made at the time the section is read, so that, in the third reading, the bill may not be delayed in its passage. Find no fault until you can make a motion for the betterment of the bill or section. If you can not improve it, let it alone until you can."

The result of these "few words for your guidance" was, that the Legislative Assembly ceased all further talk about rules, and went through the session without them. Nor did this instance of executive interference strike any one of the members as extraordinary or improper. All legislation, in fact, proceeds from the Church—or, more properly, from Brigham Young, who is at the head of the Church. The passage of an act against his known wishes would, in Utah, be considered an idea altogether too preposterous to be for a moment entertained; and such must continue to be the case, so long as the Church is the controlling power in the Territory. In such a community, legislation and the administration of the laws have no force or vigor, except so far as they harmonize with its ecclesiastical policy. They are forms, but forms without life, except such as is breathed into it by the prophet of the Lord. Their forms and proceedings are convenient enough in cases and controversies where there is no particular interest or policy to thwart their operation, and a snug ​little fund is annually drawn from the national treasury to defray the expenses. The Governor, and the secretary, and the judges, and the public prosecutor, and the marshal, are all there in solemn array, like wax figures in a museum; and legislators hold their sessions—and courts are organized—and grand juries are charged to be vigilant in presenting the criminal for trial. But, notwithstanding all this imposing machinery, neither life nor property is any the more secure from the hatred or grasp of the Church. That is above law, and controls the consciences and acts of its members at will.

The members of the Legislative Assembly are elected by the people; but the nominees of the Church are sure to be chosen. To render assurance doubly sure on this point, the following curious provisions are embodied in the act regulating elections, passed January 3, 1853:

"Sec. 5. Each elector shall provide himself with a vote, containing the names of the persons he wishes elected, and the offices he would have them to fill, and present it, neatly folded, to the judge of the election, who shall number and deposit it in the ballot-box. The clerk shall then write the name of the elector, and' opposite it the number of his vote.

"Sec. 6. At the close of the election, the judge shall seal up the ballot-box, and the list of the names of the electors, and transmit the same, without delay, to the county clerk."

By this ingenious contrivance, it is known whom each elector votes for, and the dangers of a free exercise of the rights of suffrage averted.

​In a territory so governed, it will not excite surprise that cases of extortion, robbery, murder, and other crimes, should occur, and defy all legal redress; or that the law itself should be made the instrument of crime. No one can be long a sojourner at Salt Lake City without hearing of persons mysteriously disappearing; of Missourians, supposed to have been engaged in the mobs in Jackson county, being decoyed into cañons, and ruthlessly dispatched. These he would be inclined to treat as bugbear stories, unless confirmed by his own observation, or his previous knowledge of Mormon history. The "Danites," originally organized as a species of secret police, to execute the behests of the Church—by whom suspected persons can be dealt with, and, if need be, put off out the way—are still in existence, and such and such persons are frequently spoken of as members of that notable corps. The Mormon hierarchy has all the efficiency of a secret society: its members are initiated into different degrees; take oaths of allegiance to the Church, of vengeance upon their former persecutors, and of denunciations upon themselves in case of apostacy; and have signs and pass-words by which they recognize each other in any part of the world. A community, so banded together by oaths of fanaticism, combine a vast magazine of the elements of mischief in the hands of a few designing men, and it would be strange if atrocious crimes were not sometimes committed.

A case of violence occurred in December, 1852, in which a mortal wound was inflicted, affording a fair illustration of the subject. Two men, by the name of Hickman and Hatch, members of the Danite band, ​were noted for robberies, and many a deed of reckless and criminal violence. Hatch, for some reason or other, became sick of the trade, and was supposed to have a design of leaving the valley: he became a "suspected person." These men were one day traveling in company on horseback, some miles from the city, and came to one of the creeks which pour down from the mountains, lined with cotton-wood bushes. Hatch plunged in to cross over, and, while in the bed of the stream, received a shot; the bullet passing obliquely through his body, and evidently fired by a person behind him on the bank. Hickman immediately turned his horse, fled to the city, and reported that they had been attacked by Indians, and his companion killed. Hatch, however, had strength enough to make his way back to the city, and stated that he had been shot by Hickman; which account of the transaction was adhered to by him and his family for some weeks, until Hickman called upon, and had a long private interview with him; after which the family contradicted the story, and the victim remained silent when questioned on the subject. Hatch died of the wound in March, and at the last moment told his physician that the shot was fired by Hickman. The latter attended the funeral; and, while officiously engaged in filling up the grave, the father of the murdered man, under the influence of a sudden and uncontrollable paroxysm of vengeance, caught up a spade, and aimed a furious blow at his head, which must have inflicted a fatal wound, had not his arm been arrested by one of the by-standers. What passed at the private interview was only known to the two; but it was believed that Hickman then ​stated to his companion that he had shot him by command of "council;" and that unless he and his family ceased to speak of it, some further punishment would be visited upon them.

No person at Salt Lake City, old enough to form a conclusion from facts stated, ever for a moment doubted of the guilt of Hickman. Not the first step, however, was taken to investigate the matter judicially, or to bring the murderer to justice. The Governor, and the district attorney, and the marshal, were all there, duly commissioned and clothed with power, and had been duly sworn, too, to execute the laws; but in vain. Justice still sleeps, nor is it probable that her slumbers will ever be disturbed in this particular case. Hickman is still at large, and, both before and since the death of his victim, has been frequently seen in that kind of close and intimate relationship with the Governor which is usual between the principal and his confidential agent.

Of course, when such serious crimes can be committed with impunity or by authority, smaller ones can not very much shock the moral sense. Great complaints have been made by emigrants, from time to time, of the loss of their animals, in which the names of some of the twelve apostles are associated.

In the winter of 1850 and 1851, a larger number of emigrants than usual wintered at Salt Lake. In the spring, many of them met in Carson's Valley, on their way to California, and, on comparing notes, made up a grievous list of complaints against the Saints of plunder, by means more or less direct—some under the forms of law, and some otherwise—the most flagrant ​of which were published in a pamphlet, and verified by the oaths of the sufferers. These statements being ex parte, and set forth, doubtless, with a degree of exaggeration natural to persons telling their own story, where smarting under a sense of injury, can not be regarded as conclusive proof upon the subject. But when we reflect that there has ever been a lax morality in their intercourse with the Gentiles, which has its foundation in their religious principles, we are compelled to admit that more cases of oppression, extortion, and direct plunder have been tolerated among the Saints than could be in any other civilized community on the footstool.

A case occurred in 1851, of some notoriety, and which seems to be reasonably well authenticated. A man by the name of Goodyear, a mountaineer, had an Indian wife, and was established on Ogden River, near Salt Lake, when the Mormons first came into the valley. They bought out his possession and improvements, and he went to California. After a time, he returned with a number of superior horses which he had purchased, intending to sell them at a profit. He left sixty of these horses on a range under the charge of one Hayt, a Mormon, and went back to California to pursue the business, where he died. When news came of his death to Great Salt Lake City, letters of administration were taken out by two persons whose names are widely known in that region in connection with questionable transactions, and neither of whom were related to the deceased, or had any claims against his estate. Armed with these powers, these worthies took possession of the horses, turned them over on Antelope ​Island, got up a sham sale, and bought them in for a song. Goodyear's brother went to the Mormon capital in 1851 to look after the property, and called upon the administrators to ascertain how matters stood. As it was difficult to find them together, they kept up a game of battledore with him for some time, in which he had to play the unfortunate part of the shuttlecock. They finally pretended that the mass of the property had been expended in the expenses of administration and in support of the children. Goodyear then appealed to Brigham Young; but he seemed to be very ignorant about the transaction, and, on the whole, concluded that the property ought to remain where the children were. He then searched for the children, of which there were two, and found them with their grandfather, an old Indian, in a state of great destitution, and that not a shilling had been expended for their benefit. After much fruitless and vexatious negotiation, the matter was finally compromised for a small sum, about $200. The horses were worth at least $3000. Was the Governor cognizant of this transaction? Any one acquainted with the thorough system and espionage kept up in Utah could have no doubt on the subject, and he would be exceedingly verdant not to believe that a very liberal tithing of this plunder went into the coffers of the Church.

Gentiles, however, who reside and are engaged in business at Salt Lake City, are sufficiently sharp to protect themselves, and they gain an influence which makes it comparatively easy to enforce their rights. A curious instance occurred, in which Holliday & Warner, a mercantile firm, were interested. They missed a num​ber of cattle from a herd which they were collecting for the California market, and managed to trace the depredation to Joseph Bankhead, one of the faithful. As the most ready means of recovering their property, they laid the matter, with the proofs, before the Governor. Brigham satisfied himself of the facts, and then sent word to Bankhead that he wished to see him on important business. Joe repaired, without delay, to the executive presence, when something like the following amusing scene is said to have occurred. As Joe entered, the Governor regarded him with a frown, and, in a stern voice, thundered out, "Joe Bankhead! Joe Bankhead!"

Joe. "Why, Governor, what is the matter?"

Brigham. "Joe Bankhead, I have had a vision about cattle."

Joe Bankhead's body began to perspire; Joe was dreadfully scared.

Brigham. "Joe Bankhead, go instantly and pay Holliday & Warner for those cattle! Joe Bankhead, begone!"

Joe retired chop-fallen, and thoroughly convinced that Brigham was a true prophet of the Lord. He went straightway and paid for the cattle, greatly wondering that, among his numerous peccadilloes, the celestial councils should remain oblivious of all except this trifling one against the Gentiles, the most venial of all Mormon sins. Had Holliday & Warner been mere wayfarers, and Joe of more conspicuous standing in the Church, it is to be feared the supernal powers would have turned a deaf ear to the complaint. Brigham is usually very accessible in a case like that of Bankhead, ​because it gives him influence with the resident Gentiles, and serves to impress upon the superstitious a belief that he can penetrate their most secret actions, and even thoughts.

These unfortunate propensities of the Saints, in the absence of Gentiles, are often exercised upon each other, something like a collection of spiders made by a Frenchman for the purpose of manufacturing silk from the web, and whose experiment totally failed, because the smaller ones fell a prey to the ferocity of the larger. Under these circumstances, it becomes necessary at times to put the civil law in force, and as there are no prisons in the territory, the convict is ordinarily sentenced to work upon the streets, encumbered with a ball and chain.

The emigrants, too, are treated much better than at first. Their visits to the valley have been found of so much advantage to the Saints, that greater pains have been taken to protect them from the depredations of the most lawless and ungovernable. We would fain believe, also, that, as the recollection of persecutions suffered in the States loses its extreme bitterness by lapse of time, a kindlier feeling is coming into exercise. There certainly have been instances not a few in which sick and worn-down travelers have been treated with brotherly kindness, and sent on their way rejoic ing without fee or reward.

Notwithstanding every effort, however, whether civil or ecclesiastical, thieving is lamentably common, as the following, from a sermon preached by Brigham, published in The Deseret News, May 14th, 1853, will show:

​"How many complaints have been made to me by men who have had their horses stolen out of their stables or out of their corrals; or of clothes being taken from the line. The reason why people lose their property is because they do not watch it. Have I ever complained of any such thing? No! Why? Because I watch my corral. Do I lose any thing out of my barn? No! Because I lock it up, and keep somebody there to watch it. Do I lose any clothing? Not that I know of. I tell my folks not to leave out my clothing. 'Why,' they ask; 'is there any danger of their being stolen?' 'It is none of your business; they will not dry after dark; therefore take them in, and hang them out again in the morning.' All will be peace here this summer if you keep on watching."

If the terrors which surround the name of the prophet of the Lord can not protect his property without the aid of a sentinel at his door, there would seem to be greater numbers who profess Mormonism without sincere faith in its pretensions than has generally been supposed. In what proportion the infidels stand to the true believers, it is not easy to estimate. The Mormon community is curiously made up: it may be divided into four classes.

The first are the leaders, from the prophet down—those high in the priesthood, who are interested in keeping up the delusion, because they live upon the ordinary and extraordinary tithing extracted from the people. These, like the conductor, engineers, brakemen, and switch-tenders on a rail-way, manage and control the whole machinery. They get up revelations, perform sham miracles, talk in unknown tongues, ​and concoct among themselves the various means and modes of imposing upon popular credulity. Not one of these have the least faith in Latter-day theology, except as a species of stock in trade, which enables them to thrive at the expense of others.

Second. Some, "leaving their country for their country's good," have resorted to the new Zion, not only because it afforded an asylum from pursuit, but seemed to offer a safe field for the indulgence of their vicious propensities. These have no faith in any thing except the universal depravity of mankind. They form a floating population: some become leaders and rulers in Israel, and are sufficiently contented; others, not succeeding quite so well, become discontented, and leave. In this same class may be included persons who have been unfortunate in business in the States, and, finding themselves on the very lowest round of the ladder, gather with the Saints under the deceptive inducements held out of being able to better their condition.

Third. Many obey the call to gather themselves in the "tops of the mountains," because they think they are Mormons. They are afloat on religious subjects; discontented with current forms and creeds; and captivated with the ideas that the last days are at hand, and an open communication permitted with heaven. These flock to the new promised land, with high hopes that they have at last found a resting-place. But when they get there, and gain some knowledge of the outrages upon morality and decency so openly practiced, they become thoroughly disgusted, and seek every opportunity to escape from the dreadful thraldom to which they have unwittingly subjected themselves.

​The fourth class is made of the Mormons who believe in all, and are ready to swallow down all the improvements of the system which come from head-quarters. They give credit to every miracle performed, however transparent the imposition, and justify every enormity, however wicked, which is practiced or sanctioned by authority. These people break up their comfortable homes in the States, brave the dangers and difficulties. of the great journey, settle down in contentment in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, look forward in confidence to the speedy wind up of mundane things, and really believe they constitute the grand centre from which radiates all the light by which humanity is to be regenerated. The firm grasp which these fanatical notions have taken of their minds is inconceivable.

Once, on a brief visit to the shores of Utah Lake, I met with hospitable treatment in a squalid hut, tenanted by a man and his wife by the name of Blanchard. They had been Presbyterians in the States, but becoming tired of a religion which had become stationary, as they termed it, and fascinated with the ideas of direct communication with heaven through the medium of a prophet, the performance of miracles by duly authorized apostles, and especially of the "last days" being at hand, they had embraced the new faith, and bid adieu to their old friends and pleasant home in the State of Connecticut. The woman was very voluble, and ready enough to talk on all Mormon subjects except polygamy, and on that she was sore. In one conversation with her, I pointed to a lofty mountain which reared its snowy summit to the sky within a mile of ​the dwelling, and asked her if that would ever literally subside into a plane. "Yes, indeed," was her response; "I expect to see that mountain literally made low, for the last days are at hand, and the Bible says that 'every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain made low,' and the Bible means exactly what it says." Of her sincerity there was no room for doubt.

This class constitutes about two thirds of the entire Mormon community, and furnishes the reliable power—the grand lever—by which the whole is governed. They are generally industrious and honest to an exemplary degree, and manifest on ordinary occasions the kindly instincts and sympathies of humanity. But their fanaticism renders them blind instruments in the hands of "council" for the perpetration of any atrocity, however criminal or revolting.

A community so made up requires the exercise of much adroitness and cunning to keep them under obedient control, and the wits of the leaders are well sharpened in this respect. But, with all the management and chicanery at their command, Mormondom has ever been like a region of moving sand, which loses in a given time on one side as much as it has gained on the other.