Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1858-09-10
Railg Sir9iniau.
The Mormon Cemetery at Great Salt Lako

City.
A correspondent Of the New York Tribune, wri-
ting from Great Salt Lake City, August 9th, gives
nm interesting description Of the Cemetery in the
vicinity Of that City, which we subjoin:
rodcy yesterday to the cemetery. II Is situated
Just outside the city wall on the slope Of noun.
tain. about II mile northeast from Brigham
Young- house A cobblc-stone wall surrounds
it. like tho wall of Fort Brdgcr, or those around
Brigham's and llebcr's squares. The ground is
undulating. and is tra,erscd by ono or two deep
gullcs Tho soil is parchcd and friable. aud tho
only vegetation is melancholy crop Of weeds.
conspicuous among which are stunted sun. flowers.
whose leaves wcrc dropping languidly in tho licat
of tho forenoon. There is not a tree, nor hardly
n shrub to enlyen the inclosure, which embraces
ten acrcs.
The disprorortion Of deaths of adults to those Of
children, which has been made II subject Of conn
ment by almost every writer on Mormonlsni. is cs-
pccally noticeable. Considerably inore than half
the inscriptions seem to be to the memory Of chill
dren under four years of ago. Many Of the graves
are marked by hcadstones cut from The same rock
from which is qunrred tho stone used for building
the Temple. but four ffihs of them are indicated
only by rough bonrd on which is scrawled rude
ly with pencil or pnin. tho name aud age Of the
deceased. and n line oi poetry or from tho
Bible. Among al tho inscriptions did not mo-
tice II single quotation from tho Book Of Mormon.
There are singular devices some Of tho grave
stones: one, IA crown supported on each side by
three rianglcs; another. three legs arranged nv
to make figure like II cnt fish. tho coat or legs
oi-arnis Of the Isle of Man, On tho head board
Of the grave OF young girl II prettily painted II
boqurt ot roses. On the stone which marks tho
grave Of blacksmith who suprrin,cndcd u work
shop in the Temple square. ia scu rturod an anvil
and hammer.
One of the most conspicuous graves is that Of
James NJ Munroc who was murdered in 1851. on
yellow Creek. about 10 miles from Salt Lake City
by Howard Egon, ono of the Mormons who ac-
cumpanicd Col. Kane to the States. Munroo had
had improper intercourse with one Of Egan's wives
during the absence of the latter on n misson.--
Egan wns tried for murder before Judge Snow in
October 1881, and wns acquitted. II was in his
argument on that ucrasiou. in behalf of tho Prise
ncr that t;cor,,c \. Smith. Of the apostles,
nnd the historian of the churrh employed the fol
lowing language:
The principle. tho only one that beats and
thrabs through tho heart If the cntiro inhabitants
Of th!S Territory is simply this the man who Sc
dnor$ his neehl ors wife must die, and her near
est relative must kill him"
"If Howard Egnn did Kill James Munroc. il
was in accordance with tho established princi pies
knew the stye of old Israel ,hat the nearest rcla-
tion would bc at his heels 20 fulfil tho require
ments at Justice"
Il will sny hero, in our own Territory nre
the sovereign people, nnd to scducc the wife Of
citizen is death by the common law"
Were ! n jnrymnn would lie in tho jury
room until tho words should draw me through the
key hole before would give in my verdict to hang
Il mnn for doing net of justice. for tho neglect
Of which he would have been damned in the eyes
Of the whole community"
Tho vcissitudcs of mountain life and tho perils
Of emigration tho plains arc recorded in
many such inscriptions these: KILLED by
Indians" drowned while trying to rescue u
mother aud "six children from the Weber Kiv
cr."
There are many instances Of bad spelling and
worse grammar. Angels is often written "angles'
on hcadlonrI. and thou "thongh," and bcnuti-
ful "bcwtyfu" but the inscriptions are. on the
whole. indicative Of modest and pious feeling
There is however, total neglect of the graves
after the bodies are once consigned to them. Not
u shrub or flower hns been planted anywhere by
nm afcrtionate hand. a few lots incosed by
pangs. The principal one Of these il that Of
Marshal Dotsnn, in tho Of the cemetery,
which is ASST gncd to tho Gcntiles, between whose
dust and that Of the Mormpns there seems to exist
a distinction like that which il made in Catholic
countries between the ashes of faithful churchmen
aud of heretcs, or in Turkey between the Moham.
edan and the t;iaour. In this lot Judge Shaver is
burlcd-thc only Judge cvor in the Territory up
to the time ofle present appointments. who seems
10 have commanded the regard Of all parties. His
inscrpt reads
"In memory of Hon. Lconidas Shaver, born in
Abingdon, Washington County. Virginia. died in
Great Salt Lake City June 80 lSj5, in the 32nd
year Of his age. On the 3lst of August, 1859, he
was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States in aud for the Terrific
ry of Utah. Though tho youngest Of the United
States Judges in ttah, he discharged the duties of
his Office and those of citizen with honor to him
self and to the satisfaction OF the community, and
having lived worthy of respect and esteem, died
universally lamcntcd."
sought in vain for tho grave of Jedrdah NJ.
Grant, the third member of the First Presidency
Of the Church, who died twoyears ago. Wherev-
or it may be, it is certainly marked by no head
stone.
am told that funeral procession Of Mormons
is rarely seen. There is hearse in the city, but
it is seldom used. The dead are usually conveyed
to burial in carriages, though sometimes on bier.
gentleman tells mo that one morning while lott
erng there, he observed grave dug in the side Of
one of the swells Of ground and shortly after saw
man enter the cemetery. alone. carrying little
coffin on his shoulder, which he proceeded to lay
in it, 1t was the body of one Of the mans own
children, and the father too poor to afford any
funeral rites.
But tins barren cemetery contains but small
proportion of all who. according to the MOrmOns,
have died in the Lord" Along the thousand
miles Of road from the Missouri River to this Val
ley, there stand thicker than mile stones memori-
ais of those who fell in the struggle to reach Zion
rough board, pile of stones, grave desecrated
by wild beasts, crown many a swell in the bottom
lands along the Platte; and across the broad belt
OF mountains which separates this community
from Christianity there is no spot too bleak to be
unmarked by one of these monuments Of tho ad-