FROM THE MISSOURI TO THE PACIFIC...IX.
The Mormons and the Polygamy Law—A Sermon by Brigham Young—Leaving Utah—The Desert—Indian Curiosity—Meeting Coaches—Eight Miles in 30 Minutes—Reaching Austin—Appear-ance of the City—Features of Life on the Pacific Coast—Quartz Mills and Mining—Hints About Investment.
From Our Special Correspondent.
AUSTIN, Nevada, Saturday, June 24, 1865.
In my last Utah letter I hinted at the difficulty of enforcing the anti-Polygamy law. The cases must usually be tried before Mormon juries. The offense must always be proved by Mormon witnesses, for their marriages are never solemnized in the pres-ence of Gentiles, and no records of them are kept out-side of the Church. But the Government can at least throw its moral weight against this "relic of barbar-ism." The Federal offices in Utah may continue to be filed by Mormons—we have no quarrel with their re-ligion—but they should not, as some important ones now are, be filled by practical Polygamists.
In a few years, by natural laws, the introduction of a large mining population will settle the question. Al-ready—perhaps in view of another possible removal—the Church has bought a large tract in the Sandwich Islands and sent colonists thither. One of our stage-drivers expressed a sentiment which will find many ad-vocates among the future miners. "By and by,” said he, “I shall take one of these second Mormon wives myself. Only the first marriage is good in law; none of the latter ones are worth a cuss."
On Sunday we again attended the Bowery and heard Brigham Young preach to five thousand people. A suit of solemn black, which had taken the place of his gray homespun, gave him the clerical air, despite his sleek, portly form and his enormous neck. He claimed as a distinctive feature of the Latter Day Saints that they believe implicitly every word of the Bible; said that God created Adam "by the only process known to na-ture—just as men now create children;" cited history to prove that Polygamy had been sanctioned both by Martin Luther and the Church of England; and declared that an English husband, dissatisfied with his wife, could even now lead her to the public market and sell her!
The presence of our party must have had something of the wet-blanket effect upon him; for his remarks were rather tame and disjointed. Indeed an Elder assured us that it was the poorest effort he ever heard from the President of the Mormon Church. But we had at least an ebullition of naturalness. He said: "The Latter-Day Saints are the happiest people in the world, the most industrious, the most peaceable among themselves. At least they would be, but for a few miserable, stinking lawyers who open offices on Whis-key-st., and for $5 will prove that black is white!" Thus spoke Brigham!
In the evening, from the same platform, Mr. Colfax repeated his eulogy upon President Lincoln, to fully 6,000 people. The great audience had an excellent op-portunity to see the contrast between the two speakers, and their applause was very warm and frequent.
On Monday we continued our journey westward. Twenty-two miles out, looking back through the clear atmosphere upon the beautiful city of the Latter Day Saints, we could see its buildings and shade-trees with great distinctness. We passed Lake Utah, shining among the mountains in quiet beauty; crossed the Jor-dan—the last stream for 400 miles—and rolled out upon the treeless, ashen desert, where the fine alkaline dust constantly enveloped us in “a pillar of cloud."
At one lonely adobe station we encountered a Go-shoot Indian, who had been waiting for two days to look at Mr. Colfax. He asked which was the "Great Capitan," then bestowed upon the Speaker a long stare of curiosity and seeming approval, for he concluded by a grunt of "Good!" and the request for a little "tobac." This Indian has been a steadfast friend of the whites, yet during the hostilities two years ago, through a mis-take, our soldiers killed his wife and children in their own lodge. When speaking of it he sometimes throws himself upon the ground, beating his head in the agony of remembrance. I should sympathize more with the general frontier feeling that the Indians ought to be exterminated, had I not known many cases of these lamentable "mistakes," to say nothing of some gross and premeditated barbarities. I am no believer in the Noble Savage. If he ever existed outside of Mr. Coop-er's romances, he was long ago extinct. The Indian is cruel, bloodthirsty and treacherous; but in proportion to his intelligence, he often behaves quite as well as the pale-face.
Twice each day we met a coach going East. For a moment the panting horses would stop, and the two great clouds of dust blend into one. "What news from the States?" "Give us some San Francisco papers." "Did you have any trouble with the Indians?" "All let; go on driver." The whips crack, and the two cars of the desert—pioneers from the advancing cara-vans of civilization—go rolling forward. Now it is only the rattle of the coach, but ere long it will he the screech of the locomotive. Here on the astonished plains, New-York and California, London and China, will meet to exchange greetings and newspapers while respective trains are stopping for breakfast.
A line drawn from Baltimore to San Francisco will Intersect or pass within a very few miles of Cincinnati, St. Louis, Leavenworth and Atchison, Denver, Salt Lake, Austin and Virginia City. It is by no mere chance that this row of great cities is springing up, almost as the bird flies, across the continent. Nature has ordained it. Here is the line of travel, the grooves of commerce, the pathway of Empire.
Along plains, over hills, and down steep, winding canons our horses came leaping at their utmost speed. One rout of eight miles we traveled in thirty minutes! I wonder if that was ever beaten in the palmiest days of the stage-coach! Reaching Austin, as we whirled around the last street corner, our vehicle ran for several yards poised upon two wheels, while the other two were more than a foot from the ground. But it righted again, and with this neat finishing stroke of the driver, ended our ride of four hundred miles, accomplished in fifty-one hours.
Like most mining towns Austin struggles for two or three miles down a deep, crooked canon. On each side of its narrow principal street, ashen, treeless hills rise abruptly for several hundred feet. They are excavated like a mammoth prairie-dog town. Hundreds and hundreds of apertures surrounded by piles of reddish earth attest the industry of searchers for silver ore. The fortifications of McClellan on the Peninsula, the fifty miles of breastworks which commemorate Hal-leck's stupendous failure before Corinth, dwarf in com-parison. The proverb assures us truly that it requires a gold mine to work a silver mine, and often to find one.
The population of Austin is from three to four thou-sand. Far up the hillsides little dwellings of stone, brick, wood, and adobe are curiously nicehd and scat-tered. In this thin air, 6,000 feet above the sea, to climb to them is no light labor. Along the ravine huge quartz mills thunder incessantly; and some of the business blocks are large and substantial. At night the brilliantly lighted drinking and gaming saloons, with open fronts, are filled with a motley crowd. Women conduct the game at several monte tables, shuffling the cards and handling the piles of silver coin with the unruffled serenity of professional gamblers; while men of all classes "fight the tiger" with the un-asual earnestness of that infatuating pursuit.
Here we first encounter several features of the Pa-cific coast. 1. In lieu of hotels on the American plan are only lodging houses, with restaurants quite distinct and usually in another part of the town. 2. The cur-rency is specie. "Greenbacks" are seldom seen, though current at San Francisco rates—just now 75 cents on the dollar. 3. Chinamen. Signs over the doors of little shanties inform you that Sam Sing or Chin Kong will wash your clothing at the lowest rates, with no extra charge for sewing on the buttons. Blessed retreat for bachelors! 4. A very deep feeling on the Mexican question, with strong proclivities toward en-forcing the Monroe Doctrine at the point of the bayo-net. Just now Pacific Coast is a glaring misnomer; it ought to he called the Belligerent Coast.
Austin is the metropolis of the Reese River district. It is the most eastern region of Nevada where mining is carried on to any considerable extent, though one quartz mill is already in operation and doing well in Egon Canon, 165 miles nearer Salt Lake. It is also the young portion of Nevada. Virginia City, the original Washoe region, boasts a hoary antiquity of five years. But only two years and a half ago the first pick was struck, the first vein opened, and the first cabin erected here.
Machinery and supplies of all kinds come from San Francisco, hauled by mules 300 miles through the Sier ras and over the desert, at a cost of from 10 to 12 1/2 cents per pound. Laborers receive from $4 to $5 per day; mechanics, $6 to $8. Board for laboring men commands $10 per week. Home lumber, $103 per thousand; Sierra Nevada lumber, $200; bricks in the wall, $24 per thousand; wood, $16 per cord.
It is claimed that the Reese River region is now turn-ing out bullion to the amount of $100,000 per month. The mills already built contain in the aggregate about 100 stamps, of which little more than half are now in active operation. The others are stopped to remedy bad locations or defective machinery. Many more mills are being erected, chiefly by Eastern companies, and will be completed during the present season. Just now times are dull, and all interests depressed. I must re-serve for another letter details concerning the prospects, special advantages and disadvantages of the Reese River mines. But these general conclusions are the re-sult of my observations thus far:
I. There seems to be no doubt that is ex-ceedingly rich in silver ores of a high II. East-ern capitalists should not invest a dime in mines with-out sending out an intelligent and trustworthy agent to examine the property. If in too much haste to do this, let them telegraph to San Francisco to obtain a trust-worthy and disinterested inspection of it from that point. III. New mining companies should be in no haste to erect mills. It is better first to open and develop the mines and take out considerable quantities of ore. The expenses of crushing will decrease steadily and new pro-cesses be introduced requiring new machinery. IV. They must not expect that dividends will necessarily commence, when mines are purchased and a mill erect-ed. Unexpected difficulties and obstacles will often arise afterward requiring a considerable outlay of capi-tal. V. Too much care cannot be exercised in selecting a superintendent. The success of a mining enterprise will hinge upon his fidelity, judgment and perseverance. In brief, if capitalists will exercise in these opera-tions the same circumspection and good judgment requisite to success in other legitimate enterprises, they may hope for good, and often rich, returns. But those who rush in blindly will be likely to find their invest-ments very permanent indeed. A. P. B.
