UTAH UNVEILED
Interviews with a Number of Brigham Young's Wives,
WHAT THEY THINK OF POLYGAMY.
The Old Wives Pleased and the Young Wives Disgusted.
STORY OF MRS. AMELIA YOUNG.
Her Spunk in Response to Brigham's Infidelity.
A SUPPER IN THE ROYAL HAREM
Visit to Brigham's First Wife, and to One Who was the "Light of the Harem,"
&c., &c., &c.
[CORRESPONDENCE OF THE WORLD.]
SALT LAKE CITY, November 4.
Knowing the great curiosity felt by every one concerning the interior arrangements of Brigham Young's harem, the every-day life of his numerous wives, &c., I accepted an invitation extended to me by a Gentile lady somewhat intimate with a member of Brigham's family, and, in company with her, paid a visit to Brigham's seraglio. I was intro-duced, but before I had gone half through the list I became completely bewildered. I never was intro-duced to so many Mrs. Youngs at once in my life before, and I never wish to be again. Brigham is accused of obscure origin, but whatever may be said of him in this respect, it certainly cannot be denied that he is a man of family now. As the bell of the City Hall clock tolled the hour of two, we entered the gate in the fortress-like enclosure of cobble-stones which surrounds the collection of buildings known as Brigham's resi-dence, and ascended the steps leading to the front door of the "Lion House." This house takes its name from the effigy of a crouching lion which rests upon the roof over the main entrance. It was originally placed there as emblematical of Brigham Young as the lion of the Lord. Our summons was quickly answered by a servant girl, who conducted us into a large, handsomely furnished parlor on the left of the hall, and asked whom we wished to see. "Amelia," answered my companion, and the do-mestic withdrew to announce our arrival.
A VIEW OF THE PARLOR.
During the interval between her departure and re-turn I took a survey of the apartment. The floor was covered with a velvet tapestry carpet of rich pattern, the furniture was rosewood and of the best manufacture, lace and damask curtains shaded the windows, and a fine large piano occupied a position upon one side of the room. A large center-table stood in the middle, upon which were arranged books, photographic albums, and vases of flowers. Two fine chandeliers hung from the ceiling, in which were placed lamps tor the purpose of burning kero-sene oil, gas being unknown in this country. Every article in the room had been imported with the ex-ception of the flowers, and I could not help thinking that this was a room in the house of a man who was urging his people to patronize home manufactures exclusively, and to buy nothing of the “Gentiles." My reflections were cut short by the return of the girl, who informed us that Miss Amelia would be pleased to see us in her own room. This was better than I had expected, for I would now have an opportunity to see the inner arrange-ments of the sanctum sanctorum. Following our conductress through the hall, up a wide staircase, and along another hall to the front of the house, we were ushered into a room, and stood face to face with “Amelia, the pale," who, at the present time, owns about one-thirtieth of an interest in Brigham's heart.
ABOUT AMELIA.
She is tall, of prepossessing appearance, with fine features, but deathly pale. Two years ago she was Brigham's last acquisition, and the favorite of the harem, but since that time she has been cast aside for another and that other for still a third one, who in her turn winsome day probably occupy the position of her lees fortunate sisters. The story of Amelia's past life, as briefly related to me by my friend, is this: Amelia, when a young girl, resided at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Here she became acquainted with a young man named Hills, upon whom she poured out the warmth of her young heart's affections. Finally, her parents removed to Salt Lake City, for they were Mormons, and here young Hills, now her affianced husband, followed her. But her father, an architect and builder, was of an aspiring turn of mind. He aimed to become the Church Architect, and for the accomplishment of his purpose he wished a power behind the throne, a friend at court, whose influence would procure for him the desired office; and how could he better accomplish his object than by marry-ing his daughter to Brigham. He brought them to-gether. Brigham came, saw, and was conquered. The bright, pretty, bewitching Amelia, as she then was, completed turned Brigham's brain and capti-vated the thirtieth portion of his withered old heart, and he asked her father for her hand in marriage. But the father was a shrewd man; he would be doubly dear to Brigham, and therefore demanded as the price of his consent, the hand of one of Brig-ham's daughters. As the girl he desired was already engaged to a young man well liked by Brigham, he put off his would be son-in-law and desired-to-be father-in-law with one of his servant girls, whom, after some demur, he accepted. But Amelia's consent had yet to be obtained, and when she heard the disposition which had been made of her heart and hand, she raved, entreated, wept, and implored; but all to no purpose. Her own father and the powerful Brigham were more than a match for the weak, helpless girl and her lover. The latter was threatened with a four years mis-sion if he dared to interpose any objection. Yield-ing at last to continued persecution from her father, and the persistent importunities of Brigham, which were wearing her life away, she became one of the prophet's concubines. Thus the gay, laugh-ing, handsome Amelia was converted into a cold, passive, pale, and sometimes morose woman. Brigham soon found that he had introduced a bombshell into his harem, in the person of the gentle Amelia, now gentle no lon-ger. She snubbed him, scolded him, bullied him, and sometimes even went so far as to pull his hair—to all of which Brigham submit-ted with meek and becoming resignation; for, although a veritable tyrant to his people, he is an abject slave to his women, and acknowledges that the only thing in Mormondom he cannot control is a woman's tongue.
A QUEER STORY.
A story is told by the servants of the house and the gossips of the town (the truth of which I am not pre-pared to vouch for), that one morning, a few months ago, Brigham entered the apartments of Amelia early in the morning, for the purpose of breakfasting with her in her own room. It appears, however, that Brigham had spent the night previous in com-pany with a rival mistress of the establishment, of which fact Amelia was aware, and with which she was not altogether suited. As Brigham entered he was received with a flashing eye and a look fore-boding of the storm which was about to burst upon him. Quickly subsiding into a chair, he said meekly, “Good morning, Amelia. I hope you are well this morning;" to which she replied never a word, out continued her sewing, not even deigning to look at him. Finally, Brigham, who sat watching her in silence for some time, seeing no preparation for the morning meal, ventured to inform her that he had come to take breakfast with her, and to ask when it would be ready. Amelia raised her head, and, with a look calculated to annihilate a less portly man than Brigham, said, “Go where you staid last night and get your breakfast; you can't have any here." Brigham remonstrated, entreated, cajoled, coaxed, flattered, and endeavered to point out to her the wrong of the course she was taking, but all to no purpose, until, finally, Amelia, as she expressed it, "to get rid of the old fool," rang the bell, ordered the girl to set the table and bring up the breakfast. A solemn silence now prevailed until breakfast was an-nounced, when Brigham and Amelia took their places, he at the side and she at the end of the table. Under the genial influence of a cup of tea, the icy Amelia began to thaw, becoming more so-ciable and communicative. Now, thought Brigham, was the time to lecture her a little for her conduct during the past hour. He commenced cautiously and carefully, but warming as he proceeded, and occupied with his breakfast, he did not notice Amelia's flashing eye or the cloud gathering upon her brow. At last, as he was informing her that by this sin, the sin of disobedience, the angels fell, and all would fall who followed their example, Amelia pushed back her chair, and raising her foot upset the table, scattering everything upon it over the floor, de-positing the tea-urn bottom side up in Brighams's lap in company with the milk jug, the contents of which forever ruined his "Sunday-go-to-meeting" inex-pressibles. After performing this feat with her foot, she flounced out of the room, leaving Brigham gaz-ing in dismay upon the general wreck and his ruined attire. He was recalled to his senses by suddenly discovering that the tea in the urn was hot, although the milk had somewhat reduced its caloric proper-ties, and hurriedly leaving the room, sought his own apartment to repair damages. BRIGHAM'S WIVES.
My friend introduced Amelia to me as Mrs. Ame-lia Young. Brighams's wives are all introduced to strangers by the name of Young, although com-monly they are known by their maiden names, as Amelia Folsom, Harriet Barney, Clara Decker, &c. The children of the different wives call their step-mothers aunt; as Aunt Harriet, Aunt Zina, or Aunt Clara.
THE INTERVIEW.
Amelia first inquired of my friend concerning the health of her family, and then turning to me, asked how I liked Salt Lake City, and what my impressions were of the Latter Day Saints.
To the first question, I replied that I was much pleased with the beauty and location of the city, and that it appeared to me, after travelling so far over sage-brush plains and through barren mountains, like a veritable paradise in the desert; but that I had been in the city so short a time, that I had not been able to make any observations or form an opinion with regard to the people.
She replied: "Yes, our city is much admired by strangers, but they all go away with various opin-ions, some good, some bad, and some indifferent. It depends altogether upon the company they are in, as to the impressions they receive. If they con-verse altogether with our leading men, as George Francis Train and several other prominent men did, they are very favorably impressed with our institutions and religious belief; if, however, they associate with the Gentiles and Federal officers, a contrary opinion is formed."
"Then," I replied, "the best way is to converse with each party, and, by comparing the statements made on both sides, draw correct inferences."
“That is impossible," said Amelia, ''for the statements on both sides are often greatly exagger-ated. The only way is to live here a few years, and see for yourself the truth or falsity of the state-ments."
"I am told that Gentiles residing here a few years become completely disgusted with Mormon in-stitutions and the conduct of Mormon officials."
"And sometimes not without cause, for I am sorry to say that I cannot always defend the acts of our church officers. But what do the people in the East think of George Francis Train's lecture in our theatre? He said some pretty hard things about you Gentiles, and some pretty flattering ones about the Mormons. We have hopes that he will prove a pow-erful ally in the "Gentile camp," as he calls it. Brigham thinks he may have political influence suf-ficient to turn the scale in our favor, and enable us to retain some of our institutions which the govern-ment is seeking to overthrow."
"Train," I replied, "is a man of little or no in-fluence in the United States. His great forte is in boasting what he can do, and no one believes any-thing that he says of himself. All of his movements have a money object in view, and whatever he says about the Mormons, as of the Irish people, is simply designed for effect, that he may gain notoriety and make money out of it. The Irish people now say that when Train went over to Ireland he was incar-cerated in an English prison for the purpose of gain-ing their sympathies, and that, after his release, he was entrusted with a large sum of money for the benefit of the Irish Republic, not one cent of which was devoted to the object for which it was designed."
“Some of our people," said Amelia, “have dis-trusted Train, and suppose that his remarks were only made for effect while here, and that he was not really sincere in his views regarding our institutions. Indeed I think, myself, that it is utterly impossible for a person to remain here only three or four days, and understandingly speak either for or against our system. Miss Anna S. Dickinson has given us the benefit of a lecture, in which she portrays the evils of our system, as though she had lived here for years, although it is well known that she did not re-main a week.
I replied that Miss Dickinson was a woman of close observation, with clear perceptive faculties, and that she would, by devoting herself to the business, ac-quire as much information in a few days as some people would in years, besides which I presumed that she relied a great deal upon information ob-tained through conversations, which of course she accepted or rejected as she deemed it reliable or not."
AMELIA'S ROOM.
At this stage of the conversation Amelia was called from the room for a few moments, which event I improved by taking a view of the situation. We were in the sitting-room, and, through a half-opened door to the left, I saw a plain but neatly fur-nished bed-room, in which were a French bedstead, several chairs, a dressing-table, looking-glass, and bureau. The floor was covered with an ingrain car-pet. The room in which we were sitting was also plainly furnished as an ordinary sitting-room, with lace curtains and shades to the windows, and an ingrain carpet upon the floor. I was about to make some remark to my friend upon the appearance of the room, when Amelia returned and informed my companion that Emeline had sent word she wished to see her, and would be pleased to have her call that afternoon. As Emeline resided opposite the Post-office, on Main street, word was sent that we could not "come around " for an hour or so.
AUNT ZINA.
We were then invited to pay “Aunt Zina" a visit. We were accordingly conducted by Amelia to the apartments of the lady, and, upon entering were introduced to a tall, thin lady, apparently about fifty years of age. “Aunt Zina" has been in Mor-monism from its infancy, and has passed through many vicissitudes. Her maiden name was Zina Hunting-don, and at Nauvoo she was the wife of a man named Jacobs, whom she dearly loved and was loved in return. In an evil hour Joe Smith saw her and was smitten with her charms, for she was good-looking. Smith approached her with a revelation, informing her that it was the will of the Lord that she should be sealed to him as a spiritual wife. Be-lieving implicitly in the divine inspiration or Smith, and that he was truly a “prophet," she obeyed his requirements, but, counselled by Smith, she kept her new relations a secret from her husband. Jacobs finally discovered that something was wrong, and left his wife, refusing ever after to live with her. He is still a Mormon, and resides in the southern part of the Territory. After Smith's death Mrs. Zina Jacobs was sealed to Brigham, and had by him one child, a daughter, who recently narrowly es-caped becoming the third wife of T. B. H. Sten-house, editor of the Telegraph. Aunt Zina spends most of her time in attending to the sick, and is truly a Mormon Sister of Mercy. She greeted me with a pleasant smile and a cordial shake of the hand, and asked the usual questions as to how I liked Salt Lake City and what I thought of the Saints, both of which I answered In the same manner that I had before when asked by Amelia. After becoming seated, I said to her:
"I suppose, Mrs. Young, that you have seen a great deal of Mormonism."
“Nearly thirty years," she replied, “I have been in this church, and I think I shall die, as I have lived, in it. My trials and sorrows have been truly great, but they are the preface to a better life be-yond the grave."
She gave utterance to these words with a fervor which convinced me at once that she was possessed of an enthusiasm approaching almost to monoma-nia, upon the subject of the Mormon religion.
I ventured to hint that perhaps when too late she might find herself mistaken with regard to that re-ligion, in the service of which she had spent the most of her life. She cut me short by assuring me that she knew Joseph Smith to be a prophet, and that Brigham was his rightful successor. To this remark Amelia laughingly responded: “That is more than I can say, aunt Zina."
The latter's only answer was a look of mute re-proach.
Wishing to broach the subject of polygamy, I re-marked that they all seemed to live very comfort-ably together, and evidently had plenty of room. Aunt Zina replied that they were furnished with everything that they needed, and they generally made their own clothing and that of their children. Some of the wives, she said occupied themselves in spinning the yarn of which homespun cloth was woven for their winter's wear.
I asked her if they wore homespun altogether in winter, to which she replied that some of the wives did, and some did not. The girls were the most difficult to manage; for, since Gentile fashions had been introduced into Salt Lake City, they would have fashionable bonnets, hats, dresses, and cloaks, by hook or by crook. In fact, it was getting now so that a young man would hesitate to marry a young girl for fear he could not supply her wants in that line, as it now cost more than double what it did to keep a wife, and bachelors and old maids were on the increase among the Saints. Here I saw an op-portunity of recurring to the subject of polygamy, so I remarked: “Under your peculiar institution, Mrs. Young, which permits your men to take several wives, I presume that you do not have as many old maids in Utah, in proportion to those elsewhere?"
"I do not know how that is," she replied, “but they are certainly increasing all the time in num-bers. The girls born and brought up here seem to have a great aversion to the system, and although some do go into polygamy, through parental in-fluence or a conviction that the principle is right and they should aid in carrying it out, yet the great ma-jority will not willingly submit to it, and as the boys do not feel able to take the responsibility of a wife, the girls finally become old maids."
“Would they not," I asked, “be unhappy in polygamy, and is it not better that they should be-come old maids than polygamous wives? "
“I think," she replied, “that much of the unhappiness found in polygamous fami-lies is due to the women themselves. They expect too much attention from the husband, and because they do not obtain it, or see a little at-tention bestowed upon one of the other wives, they become sullen and morose, and permit their ill-tem-per to finally find vent. Then perhaps they think they must have fine dresses and fashionable hats from the dress-maker and milliner, instead of mak-ing those articles themselves; and because the means of the husband will not permit it, they are ready to quarrel with him about it. When one wife has anything new and pretty, all the other women think they must have something new and pretty too, and petty jealousies are in this way constantly aris-ing, which serve to make their lives miserable. Then it is, in a measure, also, the fault of the hus-band, for he should learn to control his own house-hold, and rule it in order."
“These evils of which you speak," I remarked, “appear to be inseparably connected with polyg-amy, since they can only occur in a polygamous family; a single and only wife could not, of course, be jealous of attentions paid or articles of dress pur-chased for other wives if her husband had none but her."
“Still," replied she, "I think there is as much bickering and quarreling between a husband with one wife as there is between one and his several wives."
“Do you refer to the country at large or only Utah," I asked.
“To Utah, of course," she replied, “since I have known no other country for the last twenty years."
“Then," said I, “may it not be accounted for from the fact that those husbands having only one wife are paying attention to other women with a view to making them polygamous wives some day?"
“That may partially, at least, account for it," she replied. “Well," said I, wishing to obtain her views fully upon the subject of polygamy, “do you think that polygamy is calculated to refine and elevate woman in the scale of existence and make her happy, or is it calculated to debase and degrade her?"
“We do not," she replied, “regard it exactly in that light. It is not the temporal, but the spiritual results, that we more particularly look at. We be-lieve that all the kingdom which a man will have in the eternal worlds will be one, the subjects of which are the man's own descendants. Thus we believe that Adam will rule over the whole human race, as he was the father of all living. We believe, also, that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young will have kingdoms of their own, over which they will rule, and thus become gods to their descendants and sub-jects. The revelation upon celestial marriage was given to the Prophet Joseph for this very purpose, and those who do not obey it win become the ser-vants of those who do. We also believe that there are three heavens—the Celestial, the Terrestial, and the Telestial. The Celestial is the highest, in which dwell the Father and the Son; and none, except those who have at least three wives, can expect to be saved therein."
“Then," said I, “in order to secure salvation hereafter, you believe it necessary for woman to pass through unhappiness, misery, wretchedness, and even to lower herself to the level of the brute creation."
“Oh," she replied, “the system has not yet be-come perfect, but when it does all things will work together beautifully and harmoniously for good."
“Is not the practice of polygamy opposed to the peace, happiness, and good order of families, with-out any corresponding temporal benefits to show for it?"
“Peace and happiness," she replied, “are cer-tainly lacking in many polygamous families, but it is all owing to a misconception and misunderstanding, upon the part of wives, as to their duties. It is the duty of a first wife to learn to regard her husband not with a selfish devotion that would claim the whole of his society, time, and attention, but rather as owing attentions to other wives also, which they have a right to expect. She finds before she has been many years the head of a polygamous household, that she must regard her husband with in-difference, and with no other feeling than that of reverence, for love we regard as a false sentiment; a feeling which should have no existence in polyg-amy. The marriages which we read of in the Old Testament were not love matches, as, for instance, the marriage of Isaac to Rebekah, of Jacob to Leah; and we believe in the good old custom, by which marriage should be arranged by the parents of the young people first. I must of course admit that the deep, devoted love of a first wife to her husband is a great obstacle in our way in putting the princi-ples of celestial marriage into practice, and for this reason we are, in most cases, obliged to dispense with the consent of the first wife to her husband's being sealed to other wives. Then again, it is often the case that a woman who has been a second wife for a good many years—the first wife still living, but old and infirm, so that the second is, to all intents and purposes, the first wife—has offered the most strenuous opposition to her husband's taking a third wife. The proprietor of the Townsend House and his second wife furnish an illustration of this, which, as the story is well known among the boarders, you must have heard.
I replied that I had heard something about it, but not the full particulars.
It is as follows: The first wife of Mr. Townsend is old, and in very poor health. He furnishes her with a room in the upper part of his hotel, to which her meals are brought by a girl in constant attendance upon her. His second wife is a stoat, fine-looking English woman, to whom he has been married for the last ten years. Last summer Mr. Town-send was counselled by Brigham to take another wife, and accordingly proposed to one of his servant girls in the hotel, and everything was arranged. But the second wife made a terrible time, and complained bitterly to the “Gentile" ladies boarding at the house about it, talking of her wounded affections, bleeding heart, &c. She found no encouragement, however, from that source, for the ladies told her that she was experi-encing but a small share of the suffering which she had caused the first wife when she became second; and the universal verdict was that “it served her right." “Does not this example," I remarked, “go to show that nature has implanted in the breast of woman a rooted aversion to her husband's taking more than one wife, and if so, was it not placed there by an All-wise Creator for the good of mankind?"
AN INTERRUPTION BY ANOTHER WIFE.
At this moment an elderly lady entered the room, and we were introduced to Harriet Cook, another of Brigham's wives, also known as “Harriet the Neg-lected." She is one of Brigham's older wives, hav-ing, I believe, been sealed to him at Nauvoo, and has one offspring now living—a young man named Oscar. It seems that when Oscar was a boy, his mother, who, it is said, did not enjoy one of the most amiable tempers in the world, beat him se-verely. Brigham witnessed the whipping and finally interfered, ordering Harriet to desist. She refused, and continued the punishment. Brigham then told her that she should never have another child of which he was the father, and from that day forward he ceased to regard her as a wife or pay her any at-tention. It is said that Harriet did not seem at all grieved at the neglect, but has the reputation of being about half crazy. Her son Oscar, hovever, takes the neglect of his father towards his mother very much to heart, and when he has been drinking a little he speaks of it in very bitter terms. Harriet Cook said very little while she remained, and soon retired from the room.
AMELIA AGAIN.
Amelia, who had remained silent for some time, now commenced to ask questions in her turn.
“What," asked she, “do the people of the States think about polygamy and Mormonism?"
“We think," I replied, “that the extinction of polygamy is only a question of time, and that if Mormonism remains at all, it will be stripped of all those repugnant features which it now presents."
“That," said aunt Zena, “is in the hands of the Lord, and we are assured that he will not forsake us. If, however, we are compelled to submit to su-perior force, we may have to leave here and go South, but it will only be for a time. The Lord has revealed it to the Prophet Joseph that the na-tions should be broken up and destroyed. The prophecy cercerning the war between the North and the South is only partially fulfilled, and it will break out afresh; the next time in the North as well as the South, and result in the destruction of the na-tion."
“You are mistaken," I replied, “about the prob-abilities of a fresh outbreak in the South, or that there will be any war between the opposing parties at the North. The prospects of contined peace are brighter to-day than they ever were. The Southern States are rapidly filling up with an immigration from the North, while the former element is as rapidly migrating to other climes. I see that you are get-ting a fair proportion here in Utah."
“Yes, we have converted and brought to Utah about four hundred this season, and we are sending a full compliment of missionaries there with the ex-pectation of converting many more. What you say about there being no probability of an outbreak again rather surprises me, for we firmly believe here that such will be the case. We expect some day to return to Jackson County, in Missouri, whence we were forcibly expelled, and occupy again our prop-erty and our Zion. That can only be, however, when the people of the United States are weakened by strife and slaughter."
“If," said I, “you can only regain your Zion in the event of the government being broken up and destroyed, you can scarcely have any very good feel-ing towards that government or any good wishes for its prosperity."
“We believe," she answered, “that the Consti- tution of the United States was inspired of God, and that it was just as much a revelation to the men who wrote it as any ever received by the prophet Joseph; but the government has been in the hands of very bad men, who use the power to their own advantage. The unprovoked murder of the prophet Joseph and his brother Hiram has yet to be fully atoned for; the slaughter during the rebellion was but a partial atonement."
“Does it make any difference,", I asked, “which party is in power—whether Democratic or Re-publican?"
“No," she replied, “they all believe in oppressing and persecuting the Saints; but they will be pun-ished some day."
ENTER MORE WIVES.
Our conversation was here interrupted by the en-trance of a young lady bearing such a marked resem-blance to Aunt Zina that she might at once be known as her daughter. She was followed by another young lady, who was introduced to us as Mrs. Crox-all. Young Zina was familiarly known among her friends and relatives as little Zina, to distinguish her from her mother. She was not, however, very little, being quite tall, and slim in proportion, some-what pretty, and apparently about twenty years of age. She had been lately married to Mr. Williams, a ticket-seller in Brigham's thea-tre, and was a second wife. T. B. H. Sten-house, of the Salt Lake Telegraph, had been her ac-cepted lover, and a report was current that they were engaged. Miss Zina finally broke off the match, and gossip tells the following story as the reason:
A LOVE STORY.
Joseph A. Young, Brigham's eldest son, was anxious to obtain Clara, the oldest daughter of Stenhouse, for a third wife. Stenhouse gave his consent, on condition that Joseph A. should use his influence with his father and Miss Zina on his behalf. To this Joseph A. consented, and soon after married Clara Stenhouse. The prize secured, he became indiffer-ent to the success of his father-in-law in his efforts to make himself his son-in-law's brother-in-law, and told Miss Zina that Stenhouse was in the habit of abusing his first wife. He advised her some evening to listen at her lover's window, when she heard any loud talking. Gossip aforesaid says that she did listen, and with such success that, upon arriving at home, she wrote a note informing Mr. Stenhouse of what she had heard, and that, if he could not treat his first wife properly, he would not be apt to behave any better towards his third, and ended by declining the alliance. Mrs. Croxall—or Mary, as Aunt Zina called her—is a short, stout, young wo-man, about 22 years of age, and the wife of Mr. Mark Croxall, superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph office in this city. She and her sisters had been brought up by Aunt Zina, their own mother, Mary Chase, having died when they were quite young. Mary Chase, it is said, died a raving maniac, reproaching Brigham as the author of all her sorrows, and doubting the divine authority of polygamy.
THE INSPIRED POETESS.
It was now proposed that we should pay a visit to Eliza Snow, the “inspired poetess," called by the Mormons, “The Sweet Songstress of Zion." Passing along to the end of the hall, we knocked at a door, and, in response to a summons from within, entered a small, plainly furnished room, the sanc-tum of the poetess. A table was strewn with books and papers, a common four-post bedstead occupied one corner of the room, several chairs were ar-ranged along the walls, and a rag carpet covered the floor. The poetess rose to receive us, and my companion and self were intro-duced by Amelia, who still accompanied us. Miss Snow is a tall, venerable woman, apparently about fifty or fifty-five years of age, with hair plentifully streaked with gray. She is said to perform the part of Eve in the endowment ceremonies. She invited us to be seated, and again I was asked how I liked Salt Lake City, and what I thought about the people, to which I answered as before. There seems to be a great anxiety upon the part of the Mormons to know what is thought about them by strangers who visit Salt Lake City.
“I suppose that the people in the States think there will be a division in the Church, now the sons of Joseph Smith have appeared among us," said Eliza. I replied that the papers had said very little yet about it, but whatever had been said was to that effect.
“Yes," she replied; “David and Alexander have been taught by their mother, Emma, to hate us, and that their father did not practise polygamy. Aunt Zina and myself were finally brought into their presence by Brigham, and we told them that we were sealed to their father at Nauvoo. They would not be-lieve us, and become more bitter than ever against Brigham. I bear that they denounce him and polygamy in very strong terms." As time was passing rapidly and it was growing late, we were obliged to cut our visit short, and, apologizing for our haste, we withdrew.
STILL IN SEARCH OF WIVES.
We now visited in rapid succession the rooms of Harriet Barney, Lucy and Clara Decker, and a num-ber of others whose names I do not now recollect. They were all elderly women, and in looks and dress appeared like relics of the past. One of the ladies I recollect, however, as different from the others in appearance. Her name is Cobb, and she is, or rather was, the wife of a Boston merchant. Many years ago Brigham, then a young and ardent missionary in the cause of Joe Smith, was in Boston preaching and proselytizing. He converted Mrs. Cobb, who, taking her little girl Charlotte (now a woman) with her, went to Nauvoo and thence to Salt Lake City, where she was sealed to Brigham. Her daughter Charlotte is about thirty years of age, and has been lately sealed as fourth wife to W. S. Godbe, recently cut off from the church.
BRIGHAM'S LAST TWO WIVES.
Brigham's two latest and youngest flames, Mary Van Cott and Ann Eliza Webb, were not domiciled within the walls of the harem, they living in another part of the city. One or two others had charge of the dairy arrangements on Brigham's farm, and Emeline (whom we visited the next day) lived in a house opposite the post-office, on Main street.
A SUPPER WITH THE WIVES.
Before we had fairly finished the rounds the sup-per bell rang, and we received a pressing invitation from Amelia to remain and take tea with her. Anx-ious to see the supper arrangements of the harem, I consented, but was considerably disappointed to find that we would sup in Amelia's own room. I informed my companion of my dis-appointment, which information she laughingly communicated to Amelia, who said that she thought my wish might be gratified. It was customary, she said, for the wives, when they had visitors, to take tea in their own apartments. She would, however, take us down into the hall, where we could look through the door of the dining-room and see the ar-rangements within. We were accordingly con-ducted to the hall, and the following was the result of my observations:
PEEPING THROUGH THE DOOR.
Two long tables ran the whole length of the room, at which were seated the wives and children. The two oldest wives occupied the head of the table, Brigham being absent, and the others were placed in order, each with her children around her attending to their wants. The meal appeared to be a plain one, consisting simply of bread and butter, with some preserved fruits, or bread and milk. I was struck with the entire absence of tea or coffee, there being only water and milk to drink. The younger wives, however, indulge, in their own apart-ments, in a good cup of gunpowder or hy-son. I was also struck with the absence of babies from the assemblage, and, upon in-quiry, learned that, for about six years past, Brig-ham had ceased to be a father. Henceforth he must depend upon his children for the subjects with which to people his celestial kingdom. There were about twenty children present at the tables. Having be-come satisfied with the results of my observations, we returned to Amelia's room and had a cup of tea. I observed that I had noticed the absence of tea and coffee from the dining-room table. Amelia replied that Brigham had taken a notion to enforce the “Word of Wisdom," which was a revelation to Joseph Smith prohibiting the Saints from drinking hot drinks. Brigham, she said, saw fit to apply the prohibition to tea and coffee, whether hot or cold, but she believed it was because he was too stingy to purchase those articles for his family. Amelia is said to be very severe upon her liege lord, and an escapade of hers now occurs to me which I will here mention.
AN ADMISSION FROM AMELIA.
One day about three years ago General Connor was standing in front of his headquarters in Salt Lake City, when a lady walked quickly up to him and with considerable agitation asked for military protection, at the same time announcing herself as Amelia Folsom, one of Brigham's wives. The General invited her in, and learned that she had quarreled with Brigham and had determined to leave him. She wished General Connor to escort her to camp Douglas, and forward her thence to her friends in the East. The General said that if she wished to leave Brigham, and seek the protection of the United States forces, he would certainly escort her to Camp Douglas. He accord-ingly sent for a coach, and, placing her inside, under the very noses of some Mormon policemen, escorted her to the camp. The next day Brigham despatched his son Joseph to open negotiations with the recreant Amelia, and she was finally persuaded to return to the harem.
BRIGHAM'S FIRST WIFE.
After supper we concluded to pay a visit to Brig-ham's first wife, residing in the Beehive house. This house takes its name from a gilt beehive placed upon the roof. We descended to the lower hall, and, passing through a narrow passage leading behind Brigham's office, reached the Bee Hive house. Emerging from the passage-way, we found our-selves in a wide hall, upon the right of which was a large parlor into which we were conducted. This parlor was furnished in pretty much the same man-ner as the one in the Lion house, with the exception of the carpet which was ingrain, instead of velvet tapestry. The Mrs. Young having been notified of our arrival soon made her appearance, and she is certainly as fine a looking old lady as I ever saw. She is apparently about 65 years of age, but looks quite fresh and vigor-ous. She has had quite a family of children, among whom are Brigham Young, Jr., John W. Young and Alice Clawson, formerly an actress in her father's theatre. She was then visiting her mother, and shortly afterwards came into the room. There is quite a romance attached to the past life of this lady, which I will here relate. About ten years ago she was engaged to be married to a young lieu-tenant in General Johnson's army, named Tobin. Alice had met Lieutenant Tobin upon several occa-sions, and fell desperately in love with him. Brig-ham was greatly alarmed at this state of affairs, fearful that if he did not give his consent to the match Alice would follow the example of John Taylor's oldest daughter and elope. A close watch was kept upon Tobin, especially when he was in company with Alice. Finally he was charged with some misconduct by the Mormon secret police, as a means of driving him out of the country. He left Utah, satisfied that the prize was not worth the cost of obtaining it. She next became attached to a young Mormon named William Wright, but Brigham did not like him any more than he did Tobin, and contrived to send him on a four years' mission to the Sandwich Islands. Alice accompanied him several miles upon the journey in her father's carriage, and at parting they vowed eternal love and fidelity to each other. Brigham, having put a quietus upon Wright for a term of four years or so, now concluded to fix up a match for her himself. In his office, as managing clerk, was a young man named Clawson, a great favorite with Brigham, who selected him to be the future husband of Alice. To be sure he already had two wives, but that was a mere trifle in Mormondom. Young Clawson was no ways loth to ce-ment the friendship between Brigham and himself by becoming his son-in-law, and accordingly did every-thing in his power to secure the success of Brigham's plans. He accordingly circulated the report that he and Alice were engaged, and often her young lady friends would meet her on the street and salute her as Mrs. Clawson. At the expiration of two years from the departure of Wright Alice yielded to the combined pres-sure and became the third wife of Hiram Clawson. She presented the appearance of one who had very little mind of her own, was petite in figure, and rather good looking. Mrs. Young occupies the Beehive house alone by herself, and associates but little with the other wives. She formerly occupied a small white house upon the hill, to the east of Brigham's main houses, but her children were de-termined that she should have all the comfort and enjoyment she could in her old age, and hence her removal to her present abode. She has never yet become fully reconciled to polygamy, and I have as-certained that there is not a first wife in all Mormon-dom who ever has. In answer to a question put by me, Mrs. Young said that she had been in Utah twenty-one years. Brigham came out with the pioneers in 1847, and the following year went back to Winter Quarters, now Florence, in Nebraska, and brought her, with her children, to Salt Lake City, where she had lived ever since. She first occupied a small wooden house with two rooms in it, which still re-mains on Brigham's premises in memento of the past. It was at that time, however, the best, and almost the only, house in the place; for the people nearly all lived in their wagons the first winter. I did not think it advisable to question her about polygamy, as she would hesitate to speak freely in the presence of Amelia, and occupying, as she did, the position of first wife. After half an hour's pleasant conversation, we took our leave and re-turned by the passage-way behind Brigham's private rooms to Amelia's apartments. Brig-ham has a private room of his own behind his office, to which he retires when he is weary with the cares of state, and in which he is supposed to receive his revelations or inspirations. I shall refer to the private passage-way hereafter, in connection with Emeline, another of Brigham's wives. The hour being late, we now announced our intention of bidding our hostess good night, and after receiving a cordial invitation to call again, we took our departure from the harem.
THE LIGHT OF THE HAREM.
Upon the following afternoon, still in company with my friend, I called upon Emeline Free, once known as “The Light of the Harem." For many years she was the favorite wife, and reigned almost supreme mistress of Brigham's heart. So marked were his attentions, that the hatred and jealousy of the other wives were excited against her. She did all in her power to retain Brigham's favor, and was lavish of her attentions to him whenever he visited her apartments. It is said that she combed his hair, washed his face, and petted him like a child. In spite of every effort made by the other wives, she continued to retain his favor many years. Brigham found that in going to the apartments of Emeline he had to run a perfect gauntlet of black, wrathful looks, for the door of every loom was sure to be open, and the occupant standing therein, looking unutterable things at Brigham as he passed. It did not always end in looks, either, for bitter, biting words were often hurled at him. To remedy these little drawbacks, Brigham had a passage-way built from behind his room and offices to Emeline's room, through which he passed in peace to the light of her presence. But the day came at last when Emeline was cast aside for another, and Amelia was assigned the place in Brigham's affec-tions so long occupied by her. In vain she redoubled the arts, so long used, to draw him to her side; she struggled long and desperately, but her power had departed forever. The other wives were jubilant, and urged on the match between Brigham and Amelia, as the best revenge they could obtain upon their hated rival. After the marriage Emeline was inconsolable; she pined away day by day, and bit-terly bemoaned her sad fate. It soon became evident that her residence under the same roof with her rival was killing her, and Brigham had her removed to another house near the thea-tre from whence she finally removed to her present residence on Main street. Although time had healed over the wounds in her heart, she still wears a sorrowful air, and appears at times much depressed. She is the finest and best looking of any of the wives, which probably accounts for Brigham's partiality to her so long. She is some-what stout, and has light golden hair, a peculiarity inherited by all of her daughters. My friend intro-duced me, and, after becoming seated, the usual questions, “How do you like Salt Lake City?" and “What do you think of the people?" were asked and answered in the usual way. In response to an inquiry as to the health of her family, she replied that they were all well at present, except Miranda, whose eyes were very bad. Ella and Miranda, her oldest daughters, had been afflicted with sore eyes from childhood. All the healing powers of the priesthood as well as the resources of medical art had been invoked to effect a cure, but all in vain, and it was now expected that Miranda at least must become blind. Both daughters had been married about a year. Emeline has a larger family of chil-dren than any of the other wives, and she is the mother of the last child born in the harem. It is now over six years old.
Turning to me, Emeline said:
“Do you think of remaining long in this coun-try?"
“No," I replied, “I expect to continue my jour-ney in a short time, and I think that I shall always remember with pleasure my visit to this city, l have enjoyed myself very much since I have been here."
“I hope," said she, “that you will give a good report of us to your friends in the East. There are enough bad reports to make us feel ashamed of our-selves if they were true."
“Many of these reports," said I, “are given by persons, both male and female, who have left your church and returned to their friends in the East, and Europe. They say they have discovered the corrupt practices of the leaders, and the falsity of the reli-gion once believed by them, and so abandoned it."
“No doubt," she replied, “many leave Utah dis-satisfied, but I do not think that an of the evils of which they complain exist here."
“Perhaps," said I, “in the position which you occupy, you can have no opportunity of judging or viewing these evils, as well as those living among the mass of the people, who are constantly subject to all the church requirements."
“Probably not," said she; “I only speak as far as my own experience goes. I am free to confess what my experience has not always been a pleasant one, but there is no pleasure without pain, and we Latter Day Saints have seen more of the trials, troubles, and vexations of life than its pleasures; but of course we are content to bear many things, for the sake of our religion."
“I suppose," said I, “that you believe in the Divine origin of polygamy?"
“Certainly," she replied, “or I should not have gone with it. Although it is hard for many to bear, still we shall reap our reward in the world to come."
From the tone of voice in which she gave utterance to these words, I was satisfied that she fully believed in the doctrine. She further said, that she knew but little of what was transpiring in the great world be-yond Utah, for the care of her family occupied so much of her time and attention that she could not attend to anything else. After some desultory con-versation we arose and took our leave of Emeline, the once “queen of the harem." Several of Brig-ham's wives, including Mary Van Cott and Ann Eliza Webb, his last acquisitions, I did not see; but was informed that they were young and quite good-looking. One was a widow, and the other had been divorced from her husband. Most of the wives were of English birth, a few are Americans, and one or two Scotch. From what I heard and saw, a book upon harem life among the Mormons would be a great curiosity. H.
