Mountain Democrat., 1857-11-21
MOrmOMIsIlls .

Ills fortunate tnaL, HOI"ItHSI"''r Wv
uresent financial distress Of the country,
thefinances Of the General Government re-
main safe. for VIC much mistake the char
aeter and spirit which now animate Brig
ham Young and his followers, if ere long
they will not require the expenditure by
the Government Of both money and men.
Those who have lived among the Nor
mems aud profess to be familiar with their
policy, differ so widely in their opinions,
as to the course which that people will
probably pursue and the kind Of reception
our troops, now on their way there, will
meet with, that we find it difficult to form
any opinion on the subject, and having no
very reliable data and amidst so many
conflicting statements, VIC can but conjcc-
ture how the Mormons will act in the ap-
preaching crisis Of their existence MS
nation.
OF one thing we are sure, the Mormons
are earnestly sincere in their determine
ton to resist the execution of the policy
Of the Government in regard to them.-
They will not, without desperate strug-
gle. permit any to rule over them who are
not of their religious faith and Of their
own selection.
II is absurd to regard them as people
who can be easily su1jugatcd. Their mis-
sionaries are now the most jealous and the
most successful on earth; their abiding
trust in their religion and firm conviction
0f its truth, cannot he questioned by those
among US who know how willingly they
sacrificed; their property and homes in
Carson Valley and confidently marched to
the aid of their Salt Lake leaders and
friends. We hardly doubt but that Brig
ham himself has now almost persuaded
himself that he is possessed of supcrnat-
ural powers. In early life tic is represent
cd to have been easily impressed by the
cxtravagancies, SO to speak, of religious
subjects. Dissolutc and idlcr as he was,
upon all religious topics he was notorious
" fanatical, long before his conversion to
Mormonism. His long and successful ca
reer in deception and iniquity may, doubt
less has, rendered his perception of wrong
very obscure, and convinced him that he
is more than mortal. lie has lied so con-
Stantly and for so many years, that he
now believes his lies to be true.
Backed by thousands of dcluded, brave
followers, we'll supplied with the muni-
tons Of war and skilled in their use, pro-
tccted by Nature from invasion on the
- East, North and South, surrounded by
numerous tribes of warlikc Indians who
are completely subject to his will and in
censed against his enemies, he can be
made to obey the laws Of the L. S. only
by the presence Of powerful army, after
n long and most expensive contest. War
upon the Mormons is also war upon the
savages of the plains. They will hazard
no decisive engagement, but familiar with
tho country they, by guerrilla policy of
sudden attack and sudden retreat, so pro-
tract the contest that the energies and
patience Of their opponents will be sorcly
tested. Their rulers know thatby eXclu'
sion from the rest of the world, they can
alone maintain their power; and the ex-
ample Of the troops upon the mass Of their
followers, would certainly not strengthen
tho delusion under which they now suffer.
We fear that Brigham Young may per-
NIT the advance body of our troops to pass
tho Mermon outposts, that he will then
cndeavor to dictate terms TO the main
bodF-tcrms that will not be acccded to,
and an attempt to force n passage into
Utah will then be by him fOrcibly resisted.
He Will advantagcously select his position
and SO cntrench his forces in the canonS,
that our troops will not, without large re-
inforccments, effect his defeat. If so, if
tho soldiers now sent against him arc
overpowcrcd, their annihilntion is almost
certain, and upon our own soil the attroci
ties of India will be rc-cnactcd. 1t docs
seem that the Mormons must now fight or
again abandon their homes and seek new
resting place still more remote from the
progressive steps of our Christian people
II they now submit to the officers sent to
them, their rulers arc stripped Of their
prestige and their power. So diametri-
cally opposed arc their rules Of morality
10 those of other religious sccts, so hori-
bly, revolving are their customs to all snve
themselves, that to exist they must live
apart from all other people. Again, too,
recent events plainly inform our govern
ment that in the MOrmons it has an i'm
placable foe, that they must now be made
to feel the strength Of our people, if land
travel between the Pacific and the Atlantic
is not in Utah to be entirely stopped.
Doubts upon the question will, howcv-
er, soon be removed, and surmiscs can
avail nothing. Much depends upon the
Judgment and discretion Of the officer at
the head of our troops. Those troops
have the entire sympathy of the Ameri'
can people. As American soldiers they
will render good account of themselves