THE GROWTH OF THE MORMONS IN UTAH.
BRIGHAM YOUNG.
Brigham Young is a venerable, silver-haired man of seventy-six. He has fifteen real wives, not counting Ann Eliza, and is spiritually sealed to several hundred. He has had seventy-five children, forty-five of whom are living, and four or five hundred grandchildren. He says he don't pre-tend to "keep track" of his grandchildren at all.
Are the Mormons increasing?
Yea—rapidly. They now extend from Idaho, through Utah and Arizona down into New Mexico. The Prophet says his people now num-ber 150,000. That they double once in six years. He says there will be 300,000 Mormons in 1882 and 800,000 in 1888.
NEW MORMON TEMPLE.
When I asked the Prophet about the growth of Utah he said:
"Yes, we are a flourishing people. We have now 30 Incorporated cities, 265 school-houses, 7 cotton and woollen factories, 12 newspapers, 200 miles of railroads, many costly temples, among which is our new $1,000,000 temple down at St. George."
"We are, also building," said the Prophet, "a new temple in Salt Lake which will cost, when finished, $9,000,000—the finest, religious temple in the world. It is now 12 feet, high, and it will take us ten or fifteen years to finish it."
The old Mormon Temple, capable of holding 14,000 people, is the one used by the Mormons
OLD MORMON TEMPLE
now. When I was in Salt Lake there was a con-ference going on. The great, temple was packed with Mormon farmers from all over the country. Some would come into the temple with four or five wives. The wives were generally plainly dressed, and looked as if they were very poor. In the temple are three pulpits, one above the other. The largest pulpit is occupied by Brigham Young.
The second pulpit in the temple is occupied by Daniel H. Wells, who, with Brigham and his son, John W. Young, makes up what is called the first quorum of the Mormon Church. Wells is also a sort of Attorney-General for Brigham—a spiritual and temporal adviser. John W. Young.
DANIEL H. WELLS
a handsome young man with three wives, one of whom he is divorced from, will undoubtedly succeed his father in the Mormon Presidency, The second quorum of the Church consists of the twelve disciples. They are John Taylor, who occupies the third pulpit; Erastus Snow, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., Brig-ham Young, Jr., &c. John Taylor is one of the strong preachers of the Mormon Church. Taylor was with Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormon-ism, when he was shot by the mob in the Car-thage Jail, Handcock County, Mo., and he was wounded in three places by the same mob. But they failed to kill him, and he lives to preach almost every Sunday in the great temple and support four wives, who live in different houses about Salt Lake City.
Orson Pratt is the greatest preacher among the Mormons. Pratt was selected to conduct the
JOHN TAYLOR
ORSON PRATT,
great debate in the temple two years ago with Dr. Newman, General Grant's old Washington pastor. Newman spoke against polygamy and Pratt spoke for it, and 12,000 Mormons came up to hear the debate. Pratt took the ground that Solomon, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses, who made the Mosaic law, were polygamists—that the law was polygamous and the law-giver, Moses, a polygamist, too. Granted, said Newman. Then, said Pratt, Christ came to establish the law of Moses, and declared that heaven and earth could sooner pass away than one jot or tittle pass from the law. They all think in Salt Lake that Pratt used up Newman in the argument. Pratt was one of the original disciples of Joseph Smith at
ORSON HYDE.
Nauvoo. He has six wives and about twenty-five children.
Orson Hyde is another of the original disciples of Joseph Smith, at Nauvoo. He is a strong, old-fashioned man, a good preacher, and came origi-nally from Nauvoo, with Brigham, Heber, Kim-ball. (now dead) Lorenzo Snow, &c.
John Shoep is one of the shrewdest business men in Salt Lake. He is President of the 200 miles of railroads belonging to the Mormons, and running from Ogden down to Ophir and Nephi. He is also a director in the Union Pacific Rail-road.
George Q. Cannon is the present delegate to Congress. He is about fifty years old. one of the twelve disciples, and a very handsome man. He
A FEW OF HYRAM CLAWSON'S BABIES.
is one of the best writers in the Mormon ranks, and a very devout man in the tabernacle.
W. H. Hooper was the former delegate to Congress. Brigham Young has the faculty, as soon as any man shows himself to be a man of brains, to immediately give him a position. It is thus that he has been, able to control Cannon and Hooper.
Among Brigham Young's nineteen wives he has had three favorites. His first wife, whom he married m the States, is now called Mother Young. She lives in a beautiful two-story cottage next to her son, John W. His next favorite was Emeline, now dead. Emeline's children are all very bright and beautiful.
JOHN SHARP.
The Prophet's last favorite is Amelia, a woman of commanding presence, charitable habits, and a woman generally beloved by every one, and es-pecially by the Prophet. Amelia is called by the Gentiles "The Queen of the Harem." Brigham Young has recently built her a house, one of the finest residences in Utah, which the Gentiles call the "Amelia Palace."
Brigham's second favorite wife, Emeline, died many years ago. She left several beautiful chil-dren, among them two beautiful daughters. One daughter married Mr. Harris, the present mana-ger of the Salt Lake Theatre. Mrs. Harris often plays in the theatre, and evinces very decided histrionic talents. I presume before many years Mrs. Harris will make her debut in New York as the first actress born in polygamy. Mrs. Harris does not propose to let her husband have a second
GEORGE Q. CANNON
W. H. HOOPER.
wife, though she does not condemn the custom.
Hyram Clawson has twenty-seven children. He has had four wives, two of them being daughters of Brigham Young. Mr Clawson's twenty-seven children make as beautiful a galaxy of babyhood as it is plossible to conceive. The picture given herewith represents seven of his youngest children, ranging from two to five years. Seven beautiful babies—Master Key Clawson and his six baby sisters, Nellie, Ivie, Gay, Jessie, Winnie and Kate. These babies make out a portion of Brigham Young's 500 grandchildren.
Salt Lake will one day be a great National watering-place. It combines the charms of Inter-laken at the foot of the snow-capped Alps, and
THE AMELIA PALACE.
Wiesbaden with its hot sulphur springs. Over
the city the Wasatch Mountains, covered with perpetual snow, seem to hang as if a great wind would blow them over and bury the green city in an avalanche. The street cars almost take you to the salt water, where is the most charming surf-bathing in the world, and a half-mile walk takes you to scalding hot sulphur springs, better than Wiesbaden or the hot springs in Arkansas.
Think of snow-capped mountains, beautiful fruit-laden valleys, hot sulphur springs and the salt sea surf all in one city. The like is not in the whole world. The hot sulphur water comes
MRS. HARRIS
out of the foot of the snow-capped Wasatch, hot enough to boil an egg. It comes in a great stream —enough for fifty bath houses--and it is the same water that flows in Wiesbaden. Salt Lake, I say, is Interlaken, Wiesbaden, Long Branch and Santa Barbara all in one. Analysis of Hot Sulphur Spring:
Chloride of sodium
Chloride of 0.8052
of 0.0288
Chloride of pPium 0.1096
Sulphate of lime 0.0806
Carbonate of lime 0.0180
Selica 0.0180
1.0602
Specific gravity, 1.1454.
MAP OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
What a place to swim in is Salt Lake! The water is so heavy that you cannot sink. Fold your hands and lie on your back, and then you can ride with your shoulders out of water all day. I went in bathing one morning and found that by working my feet fast I could raise my body almost to my waist. I almost had the appearance of walking on the water. The specific gravity of the lake makes it a favorite resort tor the Mor-mon boys and girls, who can swim to the deepest places with no fear of drowning,
Eli Perkins.
THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
