UTAH.
Gentile Excitement Over the Freling- huysen Bill---Serenity of the Saints.
The Mormons Wrapped Up in Their Re-ligion---Some of Their Beliefs.
Heavy Snows---Anticipations of Lively Business---Amusements.
How Brigham Young Looks---The Press of Salt Lake City.
Special Correspondence of The Chicago Tribune..
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 2, 1873.
"Zion" is on the tiptoe of expectation, just now, and everyone goes about with an interro-gation point in each orb. What is the cause of all this "state of unpleasing doubt and uncer-tainty?" Why,
THE FRELINGHUYSEN BILL,
to be sure. "Will it pass ?" "Has it passed?" or "Can it pass?" are the absorbing questions of the hour. Some "Gentiles" say Yes; other Gentiles say No; and the Mormons don't say anything at all about it, and really seem to be the least concerned parties of any. Whenever a Latter-Day Saint does express an opinion, it is only to laugh at the bill, and at the idea of that or any other bill's being able to interfere in any way with "the Lord's anointed." If you argue the subject with them, and tell them that the President and Congress are really aroused and "mean business," and that they mean to abol-ish polygamy, even if they have to do it at the point of the bayonets of the entire regular army, they will smile pityingly at you, and just refer you back to '58, and inform you that that little game was tried on once before, and tell you how a few of the Lord's chosen people went out and utterly routed and vanquished the Government troops; and how they can
EASILY DO IT AGAIN,
just because the great Jehovah is on their side, and will not let harm come upon His flock. Of course they refer to the "Army of Utah" sent out under Johnson ; and the vast majority of these innocent souls really believe that the army did turn back East because it was impossible for them to enter this happy valley. King Brigham has them all completely hoodwinked upon that subject, and of course retains all of the glory of Johnson's defeat (?) to himself.
There is a vast deal of discussion as to whether, in case the Frelinghuysen bill passed, there
WILL BE TROUBLE HERE OR NOT.
Many persons are confident that the Mormons will fight if their “twin relic" is interfered with, and that the streets of the New Jerusalem will run with gore ; while many others are equally confident that they will give up polygamy, and, by thus gracefully yielding a little, be permitted to retain a great deal. On this point, as on all others, the Mormons themselves maintain their usual dignified silence, and let the Gentiles do the talking.
Never was there a people so wholly and en-tirely
WRAPPED UP IN THEIR RELIGION
as are these Mormons. They actually believe that their influence and power are increasing daily in a tenfold ratio, and no logic, be it ever so sound, can convince them to the contrary. Some thirty years ago, their then great prophet and leader, Joseph Smith, said, in one of his ser-mons, that the Savior would again visit the earth, and that, upon His coming, He would abolish and destroy all of the enemies of the Mormon people, and, after placing the Latter-Day Saints above all, would cause them all to move back to Jackson County, Mo., and there build up the New Jerusalem, with its streets of gold and silver ; and added that some of those then present at the meeting would live to see all this come to pass. I overheard a Bishop of one of the wards speaking of this a few days ago. He was arguing with a Gentile, and, among other things, said: " I tell you, John,
THIS IS GOD'S PEOPLE ;
and it is just as much out of the power of the Unit-ed States Government, or any other Govern-ment, to harm us, as it is out of your power to fly. Oh ! you may laugh ; but it is true, every word of it. Just wait a little longer. That prophecy of Joseph Smith's is bound to come true before long, and everything and everybody that opposes this church shall be utterly de-stroyed, and the Lord Jesus Christ will come down and walk in the streets of this city, and then will the great new city be raised up in Mis-souri, for so has the prophet Joseph spoken, I know that the time is short, and that 'things have got to bile' to make that prophecy come true within the time given ; but she's bound to come, John,— you hear me !"
This strange story is implicitly believed in by the great masses of the chcrch people, and they are expecting the advent now at any time. Another pet belief is, that, when the Lord comes, the whole earth
SHALL BE COMPLETELY SHAKEN UP,
and that all of the land shall become one level plain, all of the mountains and valleys disap-pearing, and all the bodies of water on the globe running into one. Railroad men, and others now engaged in boring expensive tunnels and building costly bridges, please take notice, and save your money.
This smiling valley has been visited by an
UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF SNOW
this winter; there is a great quantity "lying around loose" now, and we are not ready to swear that we will not have several more heavy invoices of “the beautiful" before we got our spring this year, judging from recent experiences. There are numberless miners in the city waiting for a chance to get out into the hills, but present re-ports from the mining camps hereabouts would seem to indicate that there is not much hope of getting to work before some time next autumn, as the snow is still from 12 to 20 feet deep in the canons, and more coming every day. However, let us hope that a plentiful supply of clear sky and warm sunshine may soon bring about a better condition of affairs.
The city is quiet just now, not to say dull and stupid, but every one predicts that "things will boom"
IN THE SPRING,
and that an unusually large amount of foreign capital will find its way here during the coming "season." Great activity is looked for among building circles, and divers and sundry business blocks of fine proportions are projected; and rumor hath it that the plans are now being pre-pared for a large hotel, which shall go far ahead of everything "west of Chicago," and throw our much boasted Walker House completely in the shade. Let the improvements go on. Salt Lake has a great future before her, and willneed them all in the not-far-distant day when her present population of 20,000 shall have so swelled in its proportions as to be hardly recog-nizable.
Salt Lake has never had much to boast of in
THE AMUSEMENT LINE,
although better things are looked for ere long, The one theatre that the city boasts is church property, and no opposition has been allowed ; but, now that the Mormon rule is weakening, the outside element is beginning to creep in, and, during the last month, two new variety theatres have opened, and other places of amuse-ment are talked of. Last week was a "benefit week" at the Mormon theatre, "all hands and the cook" taking then benefit in turn. Just now, Carl Bosco, the illusionist, holds the boards, and distributes magic and cough-candy to intelli-gent audiences, composed mainly of children; and next week we are to have a new drama, written by Brother Sloan, of the Salt Lake Herald, en-titled "Stage and Steam," to be "mounted with new and elegant scenery, wardrobe, etc," and brought out by the "full strength of the com-pany." After that we are informed that the old barn will be "closed for repairs," and reseated throughout with "new-fangled chairs " brought from the East to take the place of the hard, un-comfortable, and ungainly wooden benches that now occupy the auditorium.
Last Thursday afternoon,
BRIGHAM YOUNG,
the "Prophet, Priest, and King," returned home from St. George, in the southern part of the Territory, where he has been spending the win-ter. Of course, his return settles, beyond a doubt, the fact that spring is here, and no snow will dare to fall after this. I had a good look at the old gentleman as he passed from the cars to his carriage, accompanied by his favorite wife, his son, Brigham, Jr., and several of the leading Elders of the church. He is a hale-look-ing man of 73 years, but does not look minute over 60; he is getting fat in his old age ; and in his wrappings of costly fur, that covered him from head to foot, he looked simply im-mense, and, had I been asked to guess at his weight at that moment, juding from his size, I should have said 300 pounds, without any hesi-tation whatever. Brigham takes excellent care of himself in his latter days, and plainly shows good keeping and feeding. One, to look at his calm, severe face, would make up his mind that Congress and the Frelinghuysen bill were the furthest of all things from his thoughts.
NEWSPAPERS.
A new daily paper has been added to the list. It is the New Endowment, edited and owned by W. J. Forbes, formerly of the White Pine News and Humboldt Register, in Nevada. Mr. Forbes has the reputation of being the wittiest newspaper man on this coast, and certain!y runs a very spicy sheet. The New Endowment is a Gentile, Republican paper, and, according to its prospectus, "opposed to all connection between Church and State."
We are to have still another daily in a few weeks. It is to be known by the somewhat ridiculous title of the Grant Vidette, and will be engineered by W. R. Yaughan, of Council Bluffs. Of course, as its name indicates, it will be a Gentile sheet of the rabid order. This will make six daily papers in Salt Lake City, which would seem to be enough at least for a town of its size. With the advent of the Vidette, the Gentiles will have the majority of the news-papers on their side, the sheets being divided as follows :
GENTILE PAPERS.
Utah Mining Journal (evening paper); New Endow-ment (morning paper) ; Grant Vidette.
APOSTATE-MORMON PAPER.
Salt Lake Daily Tribune (morning paper).
MORMON PAPERS. Deseret Evening News (evening paper); Salt Lake Daily Herald (morning paper).
"DICK SWIVELLER."
