The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-12 00:00:00

1,119,620,590 93

THE MORMON TERRITORY.

(Fro‘ra Adrentares among. the Mormons.)

Great Salt Lake Valley is situatein that portion
of the American contioent called Utah territory ;
bounded' on the north by Oregon ; east by Ne-
braska, Kansas, and Now Mexico, from which it is
separated by the Rocky Mountains ; south by New
Mexico ; and west by California. The distance from
here is :—Liverpool to New Orleans, 5,000 miles ;
New Orleans tq St. Louis, 1,173 miles • S. Louis to
Winter Quarters, 632 miles ; from miles;
Quar-
ters to Salt- Letke City, 1,035 miles ; total, 7,840
mites. irtahrtrritoryis divided into fourteen coun-
ties. In length, from east to vresti,7it is 650 miles ;
'breadth fro:n north to south, 350 ; area, 225,000.

square mi!es The populatiOn is not known, the
saints having particular reasons to make it appear
fabuloudy large. Some of the elders say it is 150,000,
others, 160,000, white in the "Overland Route,"
published by F. D. Richards, it is stated at from
40,000 to 6U,000. The valley is 4,000 feet above
the level of the sea,- surrounded by mountains,
many of them . eternally covered with snow.
There is no rain or water for irrigation pur-
poses, except what comes down from the
mountain•, chiefly melted snow, which makes
' successful agriculture an impossibility. F,•
its great-elevation and pure bracing atmosphere, we
should imagine Salt Lake to be the healthiest region
in the world; but quite the reverse is the case.
S;ckmrs is very common and mortally great. This
is supposed to be due, in a great measure to the
abundance of alkaline salts, or salaratus, in the soil,
which shows itself in a white efflorescence on the
surface of the ground, covering whole acres with

the appearance of a heavy white frost. Many of the
streams are so strongly impregnated with it as to
make it dangerous for cattle to drink from them.
It not only affects health, but destroys vegetation,
ruining whole fi4d.s of corn in a single night. Salt
Lake Valley possesses one invaluable property to
the Mormon leaders, and that is isolaiston.
Herein lies the difficulty of persons returning
when one) there. It is 1,000 miles from the States,
and 600 f. om California, through a couutry of hos-
tile Indians, over unbridged rivers, precipitous
rocks, and barren plains. One-half of the year the
inhabitants of Utah are entirely bound up, for the
only entrances—the kanyons (canons) and ravines
are filled with snow, rendering egress and ingress
alike impossible. The Government is entirely in
the hands of the prophet and his family con-
nexions. No other governors can be tolerated among
them unless protected by an armed force. The
Hon. Parry E. Brocchus and others were sent by
the Federal Government to take part in the go-
vernment of Utah, but they found their services
unnecessary, themselves insulted, and their lives in
danger. Polygamy is rampant, the authorities
having from 10 to 120 wives each. Marriage is a
very slight contract with them, as they may be di-
vurced at any time on payment of a small sum to
the prophet, who makes it his business to encourage
his own trade. There are girls of 15 in the valley who
have been married three or four times. Many of the
authorities marry their own sisters and daughters, the
object being to keep the authority in their own fami-
lies or hands. By the time a female reaches 25
years she is an old woman. [n large harems, as in
the ewe of Brigham, Parley, &c., the women work,
the men are the overseers. It is found good policy
to separate the women. One portion lives on one
portion of the estate, and another portion else-
where. When the soldiers under Colonel Steptoe
passed through the valley in 1855, over 100 of the
Mormon women begged of them to take them to
California. They took a large number, some of
them the wives of the apostles, but many of them
they had to leave behind on account of the scarcity
of provisions. The elders made a dreadful noise
about it.
The post-office is in the hands of Brigham and
his confederates, so that he knows the mind of
every letter-writer there. He was heard to
lastsa
to the congregation at the beginning of
.
year, " There are manyofyon who have written
complaining letters to
England.nearly ayu r
Did you think I'd let them go I know I
have
onnds.my oulhnthsee.'' This
wisattgeownalyoaldielguelltso
if
itsh
reenivebleakiti
"Jour-
nal of Discourses, vol. iii., he says, " Know ye not
that I have my threads strung through all the ter-
ritorythat I know what each man is doing ?"
o faithful saint is required to sign a deed of
Each
consecration, whereby he makes over to the
Church for ever his housea, land, wives, children,
and everything ho possesses, so that when he
leaves he leaves alone. His effects Ira e church pro-
perty.
Lake Valley is divided into wards, over
each of which is placed a bishop, whose council
forms a e courtmi to f
bjtu sti cs e.ints
Th e character of the people
Heber C Kimball
e thus wh
saptaks might
he
e expected. a
:—"-There are. many of
you here who would
out my throat, and Brighana's
too, if you dare." Brigham says Rake all bell
with a small toothcomb, and you cannot find
greater devils than the elders in this city." Of the
bishops he says :—" You old grey-headed know,
nothings, you are doted ; you are,
shall I say, hard
rhells ? No ; you are poor old, soft-shell fogies,,,
that a few pounds of sugar or tea will buy. "—•
Journal, vol. iii., p. 241. They live in worrying
each other.