LATER FROM THE UTAH EXPEDITION
The Army Safe in Winter Quarters
EVERYTHING PROSPEROUS IN THE CAMP.
THE WEATHER MILD AND FOOD PLENTY.
COL. JACK HAYS A PRISONER AMONG THE MORMONS.
BRIGHAM YOUNG'S SALT REJECTED.
OPENING OF THE TERRITORIAL COURT.
A Volunteer Battalion Enlisted.
From our Special Correspondent.
CAMP SCOTT, U. T. (two miles west from Fort Bridger), Dec. 2, 1857.
I have made mention in my previous letters of the satirical embassies which Brigham Young dis-patched to Col. Alexander's camp during the month of October, bearing files of The Deseret News, copies of his proclamation, strings of onions, volumes of the territorial laws of Utah, &c.; but to-day another deputation came into camp from Salt Lake City, with a letter from Brigham, ad- dressed to "Col. Johnston, if he has arrived on "Black's Fork; if not, to Col. Alexander" and with four mules packed with salt.
The letter, dated Nov. 26, is such a singular mix-ture of arrogance and impudence, that I am in doubt whether it ought to excite amusement or in-dignation. Brigham begins by stating that he has received reliable information that there is a defi-ciency of salt in the army and the merchant trains which accompany it, and that he therefore dis-patches Messrs. Henry Woodard and Jesse J. Earl, with eight hundred pounds, which may be received as a present, or for which pay may be tendered; but if the latter, he requires a memoran-dum of the weight of salt taken, and of the amount and kind of compensation, to be inclosed in an en-velope, sealed, and directed to himself. He adds that Messrs. Woodard and Earl do not come to spy out the position, intentions or movements of the army, but that the commanding officer, should there be any "dubiety" on that point, is "at liberty" to detain them outside the camp during the brief period necessary for the execution of their mission. Should there be any suspicion that the salt contains deleterious ingredients or substance foreign to its normal composition, he states that such doubts may be removed by allowing Mr. Liv-ingston, Mr. Gerrish, or Mr. Perry, his acquaint-ances, to taste it, or by submitting it to the "doctors" to be analyzed.
He then drops the topic of salt abruptly, and says that he has to inform the Commander-in Chief that the demonstrations which have been made upon the animals and trains of the army have been made solely with the intention of showing that the Mor-mons are earnest in their "determination to assert, "freemen-like, their Constitutional and inalienable "rights." If, says Brigham, you have been sent here by the President of the United States, of which I have no official information, he has sent you on pretexts founded upon lies long since ex-ploded, and with as little regard for the Constitu-tion, laws and rights of citizens of the United States as he has for the constitution, laws and rights of subjects of the Kingdom of Beelzebub.
With regard to the Mormon prisoners, he states "that he knows nothing about two men from Oregon, who, he has been informed, are in the hands of the troops. As to Elder Almairon Grow, he expresses his obligation for the "reasonable kindness" with which he has "probably" been treated, inasmuch as it has saved him (Brigham) the trouble and ex-pense of paying his board. Respecting Stowell, he adds, that if pleasure is hoped to be taken in keeping, injuring, or killing him, future experience may convince the Commander-in-chief of the con-trary—as much as to say, I have prisoners, too, and life shall answer life. This seems to confirm a ru-mor which reached me a fortnight ago, but which I considered too vague to deserve mention in my let-ters by the last mail, that a civil officer of the Gov-ernment, having funds to a considerable amount in his possession, had arrived at Salt Lake City from California, during the month of October, and been taken prisoner. It seems incredible that it should be Col. Jack Hays.
The remainder of Brigham's letter is addressed to Col. Alexander specially. Among the animals received at Salt Lake City from the army, he writes, is a little white mule, very lean, said to be a favorite of the Colonel. Out of compassion for the beast and regard for Col. Alexander, he has ordered it to be placed in his own stables, where it will be well fed, and where it awaits its owner's order, but he advises the Colonel not to send for it before the expiration of the Winter, since by that time it will be in good condition for him to be-straddle on his return East in the Spring.
After an expression of hope that Messrs, Wood and and Earl may be treated with politeness, he signs himself "Brigham Young, Governor of Utah Territory."
The salt was conveyed in a wagon for upward of thirty miles from Salt Lake City. But it was found impossible to transport it in that manner through the snow which had blown down from the mountains and filled the kanyons to the depth of three or four feet in some places. The wagon was therefore unloaded and its contents packed on mules. An escort of five men was furnished by Lieut.-Gen. D. H. Wells, or "Squire Wells" as. Heber C. Kimball calls him.
Messrs. Woodard and Earl were admitted to a conference with Col. Johnston, but the escort were excluded from the tent, and behaved in a very un seemly manner during the interview.
After examining Brigham Young's letter, Col. Johnston requested the persons in charge of the salt to pack it back again to the place from which they had brought it, since he declined to receive it either as a gift or in the way of trade. He desired Messrs. Woodard and Earl to understand distinct-ly the ground on which he rejected it. He con-sidered Brigham Young and his associates as trai-tors and rebels, with whom it was unbecoming any patriotic citizen to interchange acts of courtesy. When they have laid down their arms, and the re-bellion is suppressed, there may be room for such an interchange, but certainly not until then. As for the intimation in Brigham Young's letter that he might suspect that the salt was poisoned, he con-sidered that it reflected discredit upon the writer. For his part, he would not believe that any Ameri-can citizen could be guilty of so infamous an act.
With regard to the allusion made in that letter to the probability of a return of the army to the States in the Spring, he had to tell the gentlemen that this that this will not retrace one single onward step which it has taken; that when it gets ready to advance, it will advance, to execute it's orders and do its duty; and those orders and that duty do not require it to molest the peaceable citizens of Utah any more than those of New York. No peaceful citizen of Utah need be molested by his soldiers, nor even see them; , but if a body of rebels oppose themselves to the march of the army, they will be fired upon and dispersed. The Mormons must un-derstand that if the horrors of war are brought on there at all, they are brought upon them by Brig-ham Young and his associates. The Army of Utah will molest no peaceable and loyal citizen.
He then informed them of the arrival within the Territory of Gov. Cumming, their civil Chief Magistrate, and of his presence in camp, and added that it was not within his province to prescribe the manner in which they might communicate with his Excellency; but if they desired to hold any further intercourse with the Army of Utah, the proper mode of doing so, in their present attitude of re-bellion, was by the dispatch of a respectful messen-ger, bearing a flag of truce, and not by a party in charge of an impudent letter, escorted by a squad of men who were endeavoring to skulk about his camp.
He then dismissed them, and they traveled west-ward, during the afternoon, pack-mules, salt, escort and all; and unless Brigham Young's impudence becomes gigantic—it is surely great already—I think that the day for onion, and salt, and proclam-ation-missions is over.
CAMP SCOTT, U. T., Dec. 3,1857.
Messrs. Woodard and Earl brought into camp a late copy of The Deseret News of Wednesday, Nov. 18, which Lieut.-General D. H. Wells sent to Col. Johnston. It contains nothing piquant except two sermons, the only interesting passages in which, I have copied and subjoin. The first, by Brigham Young, was delivered in the Tabernacle on October 25; the second, by Heber C. Kimball, in the same place, on November 8. One thing is certainly sig-nificant, in both harangues—the reiteration of ap-peals for domestic concord. It will also be ob-served that Kimball has a lively appreciation of the merits of the "Campaign at Ham's Fork."
The Mormon Legislature is advertised to meet in Social Hall, at Salt Lake City, on Dec. 14. Its sessions have always hitherto been secret and with closed doors. The following law indicates the quality of its previous products, which is not likely to improve at the present session:
AN ACT containing provisions applicable to the Laws of the Ter-ritory of Utah.
SEC. 4. Be it enacted, &c. Words used in one tense may in-clude either; and words used in one gender may include either; the singular may be read plural, and the plural singular.; "person" may include a partnership, and a body corporate and politic; &c., &c. (Approved Jan. 14, 1834.)
CAMP SCOTT, U. T., Dec, 13, 1857.
The December term of the United States Dis-trict Court for this county was opened by Judge Eckels last Monday, in a log-cabin belonging to the Attorney-General and the Marshal. The panel of Grand Jurors is as follows:
John D. Radford (Foreman),
John Finch,
Thomas D. Pitt,
James Bridger,
Charles Mogo,
Jacob Forney,
Andrew Wilson,
Dudley Harper,
Joseph C. Irwin,
John Baker,
John McDonald,
Hiram K. Morrell,
Epps Hardy,
E. M. Scott.
John Owens,
William Moore,
The following constitute the Traverse Jury:
D. A. Burr (Foreman)
Thomas Lyons,
Joseph L, Brooks,
Asa Johnson,
Roland Butcher,
George Kronk,
Powhatan C. Lallie,
James Petty,
William Draper,
Washington Haller,
James Beasemann,
John Gibbs.
The Territorial laws, among their caprices, pro-vide also for Juries of six, and of three, and for the rendering of verdicts according to the will of a ma-jority of jurors. The Constitution of the United States and the decisions of the Supreme Court are shut out from the court room by the following sec-tion of a law I have once already quoted, which was approved on Jan. 14, 1854:
SECTION 1. Be it enacted, &c., That "no laws nor parts of laws shall be read, argued, cited or adopted in any Court, during any " 'trial, except those enacted by the Governor and Legislative As-sembly of this Territory, and those passed by the Congress of " 'the United States when applicable; and no report, decision or " 'doings of any Court shall be argued, cited or adopted as prece- " 'dent in any other trial."
Another peculiarity in Utah practice is set forth in the following section of an act, approved Feb. 18, 1852, entitled "An act for the regulation of attor-neys:"
SEC. 5. Any attorney, or person otherwise assuming to ap-pear before any Court in this Territory in any cause whatever shall present all the facts in the case, whether they are calculated to make against his client or not, of which he is in possession," &c.; "and for a failure to do so, or to comply with all the re-quirements of this act, shall be liable to all the penalty hereinbe-fore provided for, and the further penalty of not less than one dollar, at the discretion of the Court."
I might multiply illustrations of the extraordinary laws of this Territory touching the Courts and legal practice; but the statutes are as accessible to you as to myself, and it requires no prompting and little ingenuity to discover the knavery and foolishness which contribute, in about equal, proportions, to each act.
The usual order of business in the Court was dis-pensed with, of necessity, and it has proceeded to dispose of cases, whether civil or criminal, arising under Territorial or under National laws, just as if they presented themselves. Among such a multi-tude of teamsters and laborers as belong to the trains which accompany the army, it was impossi-ble that instances of petty criminal offenses should not be frequent, and the chief "employment of the Court during the week has been the trying of cases of larceny, assault and battery, &c. The Grand Jury have not yet presented indictments against either Howard or Stowell, the Mormon prisoners, who are charged with treason.
The civilians have christened their settlement "Eckelsville" after the Chief Justice, and their cluster of log cabins, under that name, is recog-nized by his Excellency as the temporary seat of government.
Four companies of volunteers have been organ-ized and equipped up to this date, and it is possible that one or two more may be added to the number. "With the assent of the Commander-in-Chief, they lave been consolidated into a separate battalion, and have elected Capt. Barnard E. Bee, of Com-pany D, 10th Infantry, to be their commander. He has accepted the position, with the temporary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. His staff consists of Lieut. James H. Hill, Adjutant, and James Desh-ler, Quartermaster, both also of the 10th. By this transference of Capt. Bee, the command of D Company falls upon Lieut. John McNab.
This battalion, when properly drilled, is likely to do good service. Most of the men are thoroughly acclimated, and all of them are burly, hardy fellows, who came from the States as ox- drivers. It is rather an abuse of language, however, to call their enlistment voluntary. I was walking with an offi-cer down the bottom toward Fort Bridger, a day or two ago, when we met half a dozen men loaded with blankets, bake-ovens, frying-pans, tin dippers, and rifles, traveling in the opposite direction. Sup- posing them to have just arrived in camp, we hailed them, and asked who they were, and where they were going. "Oh" said one of them, "my name is 'Zekel Thompson. I came out a drivin' a bull-team for Russell & Waddell, and now that they've turned us out, we can't get anything to eat, and so we're a goin' up to volunteer. I s'pose there's no choice 'cept between volunteerin' and starvin'."
With regard to the future movements of the array I can add nothing to the information which you already possess. Expresses have been sent in various directions toward Oregon, to Laramie and to New Mexico, with the intention, it is presumed, of securing reinforcements, supplies, animals and corn from every quarter as early as possible in the Spring. Meanwhile the Winter wears smoothly-away. The weather has been comparatively mild ever since this camp was formed, and there is rea-son to hope that it will continue moderate. The last three Winters on this portion of the Pacific slope are said to have been very severe, and it is contrary to the experience of every mountaineer to believe that they will be followed by a fourth of equal rigor. The present disposition of the troops is as follows: Seven companies of the 2d Dragoons on Henry's Fork, 30 miles from headquarters, in charge of the principal herd of the array; the 8th company of dragoons and a company of the 10th Infantry, forming a battalion under Lieut.-Colonel Canby, on Smith's Fork, 5 miles from headquarters, in charge of a mule herd; the volunteer battalion on Black's Fork, 2 miles above headquarters; the 10th and 5th regiments, the artillery batteries, and the fatigue party at Fort Bridger, in the same posi-tions as at the beginning of the month. Log-cabins have been constructed for storing the jerked beef; bake-houses have been built, and the expence of carrying them on will be defrayed by the Commis-sary department in consideration of the diminished ration of flour. The Quartermaster's department has been directed to purchase all the boots, shoes and stockings which can be procured from the sut-lers' and merchant trains, and to issue them to the troops at Government prices.
Ben Simons, the Delaware Indian, returned to our camp a few days ago from his ranche on Weber River, with a mule packed with salt. He was ac- companied by the Snake chief Little Soldier, whose band, several hundred in number, is camped about a hundred miles north-west from this point. Little Soldier's son was Ben's companion on his previous visit. On the way out they were encountered by Col. Bishop West, who allowed them to proceed, probably lest he might give offense to the Snake chief. The salt has been sold for $3 50 per pound. Before it arrived I knew of an instance in which $15 was paid for a quart.
The November mail from the States has not reached us, and an expressman who arrived last night from Fort Laramie, having taken seventeen days and used up four horses in making the trip, reports that nothing had been heard of it there up to the day he started. The mail which left us on Dec. 1, for the East, had to abandon its wagons near the Rocky Ridge, on account of the depth of the snow-drifts, and the letter-bags were packed on mules.
The health of the army continues remarkably good, and no case of scurvy, to my knowledge, has yet made its appearance.
To the general instructions of the Marshal of this Territory, to which I have alluded in previous let-ters, Mr. Thompson, the Secretary of the Interior, it now appears, added special instructions, to this effect: that no portion of the funds intrusted to the Marshal should be appropriated to defray any man-ner of expenses of any Court, incurred while that Court was transacting business other than that strict-ly arising under the laws of Congress. In the present state of affairs, such a restriction as this is inappro-priate. The people of the Territory being in a state of rebellion, it is impossible to execute the local laws without the pecuniary assistance of the National Government, unless the Judges imitate the Napole-onic principle of making war self-supporting, and impose fines upon convicts, of sufficient magnitude to meet all expenses of the Court. The only possi-ble mode of reinstating social order in Utah, is by giving the civil officers great latitude of discretion in the conduct of their offices and the disposition of funds; or else by placing both civil and military supremacy in the hands of a single man, and giving him dictatorial authority. If the National Admin-istration is satisfied that it has selected the best men for the best places of civil trust in the government of this Territory; if it can honestly declare that no one of these civil appointments is the result of par tisan intrigue, but all were dictated by regard for the public welfare; then there is no reason why it shall not adopt the former alternative. The invest-ment of one man, however, with both civil and mili-tary command, would secure order more speedily and effectually.
