The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1853-05-26
EBENSBURG, THURSDAY, MAY rs, 1853

having sprung from inferior grades of society
Whatever may be their other virtues, which it
! is but fair to presume are not few, beauty re-
| fined and delicate features, and graceful man.
| ners are most certainly not of the number.
may be permitted without overstepping the
bounds of propriety or encroaching upon the
| prerogatives of the sex, to say that swain
must be most deplorably prosecuted with the
darts of Cupid indeed who could fall in love
with a Mormon lady at first sight Mormon la
dies, like those of other communities, are fond
| OF making such little display of fnery and fash
ion i'll dress, asis at their command The styles
in vogue vary as widely as the different cos
tunes and usages of the various countries from
whence they came. A favorite popularity of
dress with many of them is to wear chip or Leg
horn hats, somewhat after the fashion of those
worn by Swiss and Italian peasant women, in
stead of bonnets. These sometimes serve to
give some degree of piquancy to faces other
wise quite insipid repugnant in their express
sion of features The efforts of some of the
beauties, both young and DID, to make fash
ionable display of their charms is somewhat
grotesque in the extreme.
The position of the women here is altogether
secondary to that of man. Perhaps were l to
say that the women were in a state of entire
and absolute subjection to the men, the term
would be more truly expressive of the actual
state of the relations existing between them.
According TO the creed which they have mutual
ly adopted, woman stands no chance of earth
ly happiness or spiritual salvation, unless she is
married, or in their parlance sealed to a man.
The men thus holding in their hands the keys
of the women's fate, not restricted in the
number of those to whom they will with prince
ly liberality and Christian charity extend the
blessings of happiness and salvation, while poor
woman IS forced, under heavy penalties, even
that of death, to confine herself to the sove-
reign rights of but one husband. This is n right
or privilege which many of the Saints avail
themselves of to the fullest extent.
Bigamy or polygamy is cardinal doctrine in
the faith, aud main feature in the practice of
the Mormons. 1t is acknowledged and praeti-
sed openly and without disguise. Many of the
Saints consider their iberaity and capabilities
sufficiently large to justify them in taking under
their sanity protection, as many as 10 or II,
even more wives, who are then denominated
Spirituals. To entitle them to enter into this
state of relative Lordship and dependence, the
consent of the President, Brigham Young has
to be first obtained, and then some qualified form
or ceremony of marriage to be gone through
with The number of Spirituals attached to
Governor Young's immediate household, and
those over whom he exercises sovereign rights,
it is imposs BILE to determine. / have, however,
seen his carriage or omnibus repeatedly drive
up to the Church door of n Sunday, filled with a
dozen more dames-old, middle aged and
young-ail of whom am told claim to be his
well beloved and honored wives. Besides these,
| am informed that he has numerous other W yes
QudfitESu III NaItohS parts OF Tue city. Deln3
the head of the community. presume that he
has the pick of the fock. If such is the case
l cannot say that L entertain any very extrava-
CANT admiration for his taste in female beauty.
The other leading Saints, l am told have wives
or spirituals, proportonate in numbers to their
own dignity and standing in the Church. These
spirituals usually reside upon the same premises
with their lords; some favorite wife usually oc-
cupying the principal mansion, while the others
are quartered near by, in small cottages out
buildings erected for their accommodation
Sometimes the family becomes so large to
imperatively require division, and they
then settled in diverse directions, the husband
visiting the one or the other tase and inclina-
ton may lead him. Strange to say these
merous joint tenants, if may use legal phrase,
of one lord most generally live together upon
terms of the best understanding and most COM
plete harmony. The green-eyed monster seems
to have entirely overlooked the ladies of Salt
Lake, in his round of terrestrial vistations. Such
n thing as spiritual Kilkenny fight is thing
wholly unheard of and unsuspected in the an
nails of Mormonism.
As might be expected, the Mormons permit
only very guarded and restricted intercourse
between their families and the Gentiles. With
oriental jealousy they seem to doubt and dis
trust any and all social attentions upon the part
of strangers, to their wives and daughters. In
fact, they generally utterly forbid the Mormon
young ladies to engage in any association what
unlike their great prototypes, the cautious and
suspicious Musselmen, they have no eunichs of
fer0eious aspect and gigantic proportions to Off
ciate custodians of the sanctity OF their domi-
ellis, and the precious treasures they contain. |
think that very many of them might save them
selves world of doubt, anxiety and trouble, by
the simple reflection, that where the temptation
is weak, acts of transgression and crime pro-
portionately small.
The chief glory and consolation of the ladies,
| in the dearth of their other privileges, would
seem to consist in the honor which they enjoy,
to the most liberal extent, of becoming the moth
erS of an endless multitude of infant Saints, or
Gods, as they impiously call themselves and
their offspring. The number of children in the
Valley is quite incalculable. 1t surpasses all
belief. Almost every lady, who has attained
the full age of womanhood carries one of these
Juvenile responsibilities in her arms From this,
some idea of the rapidly-growing population OF
Salt Lake may be obtained. These god-ike in
fants are usually honored, shortly after birth,
with some odd biblical other quaint name
such as Zebulon, Erastus, Jerediah, Nehemiah,
Naptha, and lamar, and so
have been regular attendant once or twice
every Sabbath, since / have been here at the
only house of worship in the place. The char
acter and ceremonial of the service bear a strong
siEiitude to those of several of the Protestant
denominations The services are first opened
with prayer; then follows a hymn sung in a
kind of mock operate chant, by a choir of not
very musical or cultivated looking songsters,
male and female, to the accompaniment of vio-
Inns, clarionets, flutes and several other varie-
ties OF musical instruments After this comes
the sermon. or sermons, by one or more of the