Later from Utah.
Correspondence of the N. Y. Times.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Saturday, July 10, 1858.—The week closing to-day has been a busy one in the valleys. I informed you in my last that the people were beginning to return to their homes, abandoned upon the approach of the ar-my by order of their Prophet and Priest. Day and night they have continued to pour in, and the roads to the Southward are literally swarm-ing with people, their wagons and herds. The principal road, that to Provo, may be seen from the city for a distance of 25 miles—its whole length absolutely covered with the great family procession. The weather being very dry the roads are shockingly dirty, and the travelers are almost smothered in the clouds of dust, the more annoying and uncomfortable because com-posed in considerable parts of particles of alka-li, which fill the nostrils, excoriate the face and lips and nearly blind the eyes. Nevertheless, the population is crowding in, the streets are lively with children, shops of all kinds are pre- paring for work, and business signs going up on every hand. It will take a month, however, at least, to enable the people to get back again with their limited means of transportation. The experience we are now having upon this point, by the by, is suggestive of the utter folly of Mormon statements, prior to the peace, that they could move their households and three years provisions faster than the army could fol-low. They have an abundance of oxen and mules, but are deficient in wagons ; and if they were fleeing before an army would be compel-led to abandon everything except the small amount of provision necessary for a few weeks travel.
The scenes among the returning refugees upon the road confirm all you have already heard of the extreme poverty of many of the people. Any number of females, old and young, are seen pas-sing along bare foot, with scarcely enough of clothing upon them to cover their persons, and the few rags they have of the coarsest material. Many are entirely without even a calico gown, wearing a coarse petticoat, sometimes made of a scant pattern of old carpet, or a worn out coverlet, and a calico or muslin waist, which their best efforts cannot coax up to the require-ments of modesty. An Army offieer who was in town the other day, on his return to camp, passed over a road on the west side of the Jor-dan, which is less frequented than the direct road from Provo on this side; suddenly he came upon a company of a dozen or more females, walking along the road on their return from Pro-vo, in company with two or three male "Pro-tectors," who were mounted, something after the fashion of herders driving cattle. These fe-males were so destitute of clothing that some of them had blankets wrapped around them after the fashion of Indian squaws. They had, pro-bably, taken the by road to avoid observation, and, upon meeting a stranger, fled affrighted from the road, evidently conscious that they were not in suitable condition for a stranger's gaze. This is the officer's story, and in view of what I have myself seen here, I have no difficul-ty in realizing its truth.
Brigham Young has brought up all his fami-lies, and his mansion, freed from the board window coverings, begins to look less like the house of pestilence. His gates, however, are carefully closed, and not a female is seen to leave the premises. Passing towards dusk last evening, I saw two females of his household leaning pensively upon the lion's figure sur-mounting the front porch of the Lion House ; but an opportunity to speak with any of them is out of the question. The apostacy of one of Brigham's wives would be most dangerous to the reputation of the man, and the greatest care is observed to prevent so startling a catastrophe. Judging by appearances, Brigham must himself be aware that some of his spirituals are chafing under the bonds which bind them, and aching for the opportunity to go free. Brigham, I am informed privately, has an armed guard quar-tered within his walls both day and night, but whether to protect his harem, or to save the Prophet himself from personal danger, we are unadvised.
The Peace Commissioners left here quite sud-denly on Sunday last, on their return to Wash ington. They had been much annoyed prior to their departure by flying rumors, industriously circulated by leading Mormons, to the effect that they had agreed to conditions of peace which had been violated by the army. Governor Powell had been waiting two or three weeks for the report of his speeches in the conferences with the church leaders. When he obtained it at last, a week ago, he found it so badly muti-lated as to be quite beyond recognition—whole paragraphs ascribed to him which he had never uttered, and many things which he did say were lost altogether. By a strange fatuity, Mr. Car-rington, editor of the Deseret News, who had charge of the reporting, had only it day or two before quite publicly intimated his expectation that Gov. Powell would leave out of his speech, in revising it, his expressions pledging the Govern-ment to certain conditions of peace. Upon look-ing over the report, he refused to attempt its revision, but repudiated it altogether deter-mined not to leave matters here in such shape that disagreeable "fire in the rear" might be successfully directed against him. Gov. Powell addressed a note to Brigham desiring an inter-view This he sent by the hands of Major Clarkson, of California, with the request that he would deliver it in person. The Major pro-ceeded to Brigham's palace, stated that he had a note for him, and, after waiting some time for the return of the servant who carried in his name, was requested to send the note in. The Major replied that he was no lacquey, and that he desired to deliver the note in person. Upon the return of the servant a second time, he was requested to go around to the back gate, and replied that gentlemen were in the habit of en-tering at the front door, and he saw no reason why he should depart from the rule. He suc-ceeded at last in obtaining an interview, and arranging for a meeting between Brigham and the Commissioners, at which the parties drew up a paper, all joining in its signiture—Brigham included. This paper, I am informed, sets forth in brief the chief facts in connection with the Peace Conferences, stating them almost in the precise language of the Report which the Commissioners had already made to the Presi-dent. This, of course, effectually sets at rest the story that the Commissioners had agreed to conditions of peace, other than the acceptance by the rebels of the President's pardon and their agreement to receive the federal officials and held obedience to the laws of the Union.—As a fair example of the truthfulness of the leaders in the Mormon Church, let me say that only the evening before one of the most intelli-gent and respectable of them came to me in the presence of a witness, boldly declared a state of facts directly the reverse of that set forth in the document above alluded to, requested me to adopt his statement, in my correspondence, and make it the basis of an attack upon the Com-missioners. I then suggested that he might be in error, but be assured me that he had the evi-dence in the handwriting of Governor Powell himself, but, of course, he was not at liberty to show me the correspondence !
The Commissioners presented a dignified si-lence while here in regard to their own impres-sion of the people; but if I am skilled in observing the teachings of an emotional face, they both left this city with sentiments of pro-found disgust. I predict that in their personal report to the President, they will assure him that the present peace is fallacious, and that this community is not likely ever to make good and safe citizens of the United States. They know full well that the people here have a higher regard for the law of the Church than that of the Union, and that all their protestations of love for the Constitution are idle whenever Brig-ham's edict stands in the way. They could not investigate specifically the many charges laid to the door of this people—but I do not doubt that if they are induced to express themselves at all upon the subject they will admit their belief that they are capable of the Jesuitical system of crime, long laid to their charge. It will be re-membered, however, that I speak not by au-thority, but express only my own convictions as to the views of the Commissioners.
You will remember that last Autumn, just after the treasonable burning of the trains on Green River, Gen. Johnston addressed a des-patch to the War Department, in which he suggested that this act had relieved the Mormon question of its difficulty, and rendered it "easy of solution." The General's policy, of course, was a rigid exertion of the Civil and Military power until the treason should be properly punished, and the rebels be compelled to suc-cumb humbly before the law. He was much abused for his suggestion by partizan presses and politicians, as well as the mock philanthro-pists of the country; but experience has shown that the old soldier's common sense and practi-cal view of the question was sound. This will be the more apparent within a few months, when we see the very forms of law availed of by this community to destroy its spirit—when Mor-mon juries perjure themselves rather than find verdicts according to the facts elicited by Gentile evidence, and when Mormon witnesses ease their consciences by "mental reservations," and fail utterly to remember anything tending to the in-jury of the "Church and Kingdom," or any of its human pillars. That they will do this, I am free to predict, for any other course would be inconsistent with the entire spirit of their con-duct and conversation. Nor am I alone in this opinion; every Gentile here, who is not silent upon the subject, takes the same view of the case, and especially those who have had largest experience among this people. In short, the President, by his volunteered pardon, has thrown away the only opportunity for an "easy solu-tion" of the difficulty, and the country will necessarily rest under the disgrace attaching to the anomalous condition of affairs here, until some accidental brand shall have fired the maga-zine before the cunning of the Church leaders is able to prevent it.
Gov. Cumming coutinues in high feather with the Mormons, and is treated by them with the utmost cordiality. This conduct towards him is the more marked in contrast with the treatment which other Gentiles have received. The Peace Commissioners were compelled to occupy their ambulances as bed chambers for a fortnight af-ter their arrival, and then, by Brigham's con-sent, secured a single room, without other furniture than a small table and two chairs.—Judge Eckels, a gentleman against whose reputation no charge has ever been suggested, was utterly unable to obtain shelter on his ar-rival here, and was compelled to sleep upon the ground between two wagons. At last he suc-ceeded in renting a small house from a man then in good standing in the Church, who at once became an object of suspicion and hate, so much so, that his wife's friends told her frankly that they dared not entertain her. This man and his family are now living out of doors and sleeping in his own wagon in the rear of the Judge's house, feeling that they cannot safely go beyond the Judge's protection.
The Governor, his Secretary and Dr. Forney, the Indian Superintendent—all of whom, as I have already informed you, seemed to become satisfied at once that the Mormons are about as good people as the Lord makes—have been well cared for, but all other Gentiles, no matter how careful not to give expression here to a word calculated to offend, have been served, general-ly, with a cold freezing politeness suggestive of genteel strangling. We have been quite unable to obtain rooms in which to lodge, and are com-pelled to sleep out of doors, and leave our per-sonal effects to the mercy of any passer-by, whose appreciation of the relative law of meum and tuum may be eccentric or indistinct. There are houses enough vacant, but their owners dare not, or do not choose to, rent them to us, avow-edly because the church do not wish it. A few days since the Church turned over to the Army a portion of the cattle stolen last Fall from the merchants by Mormons. The number thus re-stored was 198 head. Of these Gilbert & Ger-rish got one steer out of 145 stolen, John Rad-ford, sutler, received one mule out of 159 animals lost, and Russel & Waddell 196 out of 1,000 taken from their trains.
In my last I told you that the Mormon lead-ers steadily deny the existence of the order of Danites. A well known Mormon, named Wm. L. Lynch, was over in the camp of the Army last week. Getting his tongue loose by frequent draughts of whiskey, he boasted that he was a Danite, and declared that if Brigham Young directed him to observe the position of any of-ficer's bed in his tent and to go there at night and assassinate him, he would not hesitate to obey him implicitly. He stated, also, that a good many soldiers and Gentiles that he knew of, had been "sent to the Lord's pocket," that he had worked Gates' horse repeatedly and that he knew who wore Gates' boots. Gates was the name of the man supposed to have been mur-dered last fall, for selling his stock of powder to Colonel Alexander, under compulsion.
I forwarded you some time since, Gov. Cum-ming's denial that Col. Kane is a Mormon.—Here the leaders of the church deny that he is or ever was a member of their Church—but some of the more simple minded claim him, while there are Gentiles who assert that they heard the Colonel say at Bridger, this Spring, that he was a Mormon, but not a Salt Lake Mormon.
Brigham Young don't like to be reported by Gentiles—and it is publicly stated that he does not intend to preach any more while the Gen-tile reporters are in town.
The army moved from its camp, on West Creek, on Tuesday last, and has gone to Cedar Valley, thirty-five miles from here, and only from six to ten miles from Provo, where winter quarters will probably be established. The Val- ley contains an abundance of grass, water and wood, though not much timber—and the soldiers will be obliged to live in tents. There is little news from the camp. On Saturday, 3d inst., 13 guns were fired in honor of the memory of the late Gen. Smith. On Sunday, the anniver-sary of American Independence, a salute was fired by Capt. Phelp's Battery, of 32 guns, one for each State, including Minnesota.
The Mormons are busing Gen. Johnston for letting his animals eat up all the grass in the valleys. As Uncle Sam owns every foot of land in this country, and the citizens not one, the latter seem to think the old man's cattle ought to starve.
