The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1858-05-12

Inc cneerIul nOpoS ana Joys that now,
And tighten up the heaviest heart
Around the light at home.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The Mormons-Terrible Sacrifice OF
Life.
Mr.. Simonton of the New York
Chimes" is now in Kansas, and while
there encountered one Frederick Loba,
an ex-high priest of the Mormons, and
from him he obtained much informa-
ton respecting the Mormons. We
quote the following paragraph from his
letter:
Perhaps no single incident in connec-
ton with Mormon history presents more
of horror, than the history of hand cart
trains, which you may remember was
painted in such glowing colors by some
of the Mormon missionaries when har-
rangues reported at one of their meet
ings in New York last summer. Iask-
ed Mr.. Loba to give me an unvarnished
statement of the facts,-for it was evil
dent from the story told by the Mormons
themselves that they were hiding i'm
portant details which would not bear
discovery. 1t appears that Young sent
Franklin and Samuel D. Richards--two
of his shrewdest and most unscrupulous
minions-to Liverpool, to superintend
the emigration thence to Salt Lake, of
the numerous proselytes made in Europe.
These men collected large sum of
money of the faithful, in sums of f53
each, which was to purchase wagons
and other outfit for the passage from
New York to Utah-each sum Of f53,
providing for family-or if the man
had none, for himself and associates
A party of about 2. 500 souls. collected
under this arrangement, set sail with
their faces toward "Zion." On their
arrival on the frontier they were inform
ed that Brother Brigham had received
a revelation from God, directing that in
order to try their faith and thus test
who among them were worthy the hon
ors of the faithful, they should journey
to Salt Lake in hand-cart trains
Accordingly, their pilots and leaders
filled with the grace acquired at the
feet of their Prophet Brigham-kindly
purchased the hand-carts for them at a
cost Of eight dollars each, and gener-
ously put them at the disposal of the
newly arrived brethren at exactly double
that sum. Of course the entire party
were compelled to 60 on foot, six to each
hand-cart, which they dragged along
with its contents, consisting of seven
teen pounds of luggage to each person.
All the property of the emigrants, over
and above this, they were compelled to
throw away, of course-thus losing the
little remnant of their savings after hav-
ing been most religiously robbed of all
their cash. Now discussions rose among
them, and the result was that tfey did
not reach the banks Of the Missouri,
from whence to start westward, until the
lst of September.
Here. then, they stood, with twelve
hundred miles of weary travel on foot
before them, and the merciless rigor of
Northern winter staring them in the
face. The commonest humanity would
have inspired the leaders of the deluded
band to stay their steps until the open
ing of spring. But they seem to have
been oblivious to any such sentiment
They got up another revelation from on
high, in which the travellers were bid
den onward. and assured that the angel
of the Lord would be upon their right
hand and their left. shielding them from
harm, providing them sustenance and
protection, and conducting them rejoic-
ing into the valleys of the mountains,
where dwelt the glories Of Israel's City.
Thus twenty y-five hundred honest, sim
pie souls, fullof honest faith and zeal
old men and young, gentle women and
honest children. plunged into the vii.
derness, never doubling the result
Sad to relate, of that entire band, only
about two hundred frost bitten, starv,
ing and emaciated beings. lived to tel
the story of their suferings! Mr.. Lobs
himself, witnessed the entrance Of ths
survivors-many even Of whom, were
compelled 10 submit to the rudest kind
of surgery for the amputation of limbs
already frozen to death! Twenty three
hundred of the devoted band had faller
by the way, tortued victims Of hunger
and cold, some of them indeed torn BY
famished wolves, while life still strug
gled for the victory over famishmen
and frost !! The picture is too horrible
to contemplate-but my informant state'
that its truth is we'll attested by many
persons who soon after passed over th'
scene of this march of death, and fount
it strewn with its thousands of ghastly
human skeletons /! He says, too, tha
among the Indian tribes Of Utah. whit
children are now living. who were pick
ed up from the snow by the savages
and thus rescued from the death whicl
their parents failed to escape.
| CUTrINa A SwELL.-A sturdy look
- - = L.