Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-09-14
The Mormon Accumulation.

tan Observer, under date Of Camp Floyd,
Utah Territory, July Q, writes rs follows:
"lou cannot surely know the high-handed
crimes which this people commit in the
name of the most High God. You surely
know not the blackness Of the heresy,-
know not the fearful rapidty with which
these abominable doctrines are mulgatcd
and embraced; or you would speak and warn
the unwary.
The basest passions of the basest men have
full scope Of qualification in the name Of re-
ligion. In the name of religion arson and
murder are committed. To save the soul, Of
men who have apostatized, their throsts are
cut. Ii women refuse to become the second.
fourth or tortieth wife of some of lustiul
saint, their Threats, in many instances, have
been. found cut in foul murder, and the re-
port Started-''committed suicide for fear of
| the wrath of God" All these and more are
done in the name of the Lord, and by and
with the advice and consent of the heads Of
| the church.
The Judge of this Judicial District. THE
| lst) informs me there are now over one hun
dred and sixty murderers, many OF them
| known and acknowledged to be such, run
ming at large, and in full communion with
and protected by the Mormons-a large
proportion Of whom are Bishops and Elders
| and other church dignitaries. This is the
district in which were committed the Noun
| tain Meadows murder, the Parishes, the
Jones and Forbes, and others.
The bones of the murdered of the Noun
tain Meadows lay bleaching where the dead
fell until the present May, when Judge
Cradlebaugh with detachment Of soldiers
gathered up and buried the bones Of about
one hundred and twenty persons;-all but
forty of these were women and children
Children whose little skulls were not yet knit
together ,-whose beached and bleaching
ribs are not fingers length were among the
| killed. \ few skulls were saved and are now
in camp to be used in Washington city ut tie
proper time. There is also in camp sack
full of long female hair, (most melancholy
memcnto,) gathered off the sage bushes and
rocks amid the bleaching bones, whittier the
wind had blown and fastened it.
| Eighty Mormons are known to have been
personally engaged in this murder; and writs
| have been issued for forty odd persons.
among the wrtS is one for President llaight,
| Bishop Fee, and in fact for every Elder Bishop
and Legislation in that Presidency, who has
not fed
over eighty thousand dollars worth of
| property OF this murdered train has been re-
claimed from the Mormons, in the last few
months.
Twenty children Of the train, too small to
testify, were saved alive. Some weeks after
the murder, the largest girl Of the saved
children, was toully murdered, for saying to
the Mormon with whom she lived, you have
got on my mother dress" thus giving eyl
dence that she knew too much for their pur-
pose The Mormons have denied all know
ledge of this murder until lately, hitherto
attaching all blame to the Indians. They can
no longer deny the fact Of its being done by
the command of the church; the testimony is
too strong. While write, murderer is in
this Judge Eckel's) room, who has turned
States evidence, and stays in camp to protect
his life, otherwise the Mormons would kill
him.
This people have pretended prophets and
reyelators, who pretend a revelation for any
emergency, commanding the preparation Of
any crime that may he desired to accomplish
any end, in the name of God
All their wives are taken in accordance
Should the woman object, she is asked to re-
hect with care, and admonished to obey cuun-
sci. This admonition, to obey counsel, is omi-
nous, savoring of Threats cut, pretending
suicide. But poverty here is 30 distressingly
great and women who are not wives, have ~
little liberty, together with the fact that
many more women than men are members CT
this pretended church, that women hardly
ever object to becoming the wives of any men
who can in anywise assist i'll their support,
careless how many wives the men may al
ready have. And herein is found the excuse
for pol gamy on the part Of the females, though
they may pretend to receive the institution IS
from God. The men profess to marry wives
wholly rs religious duty, claiming more
wives rs religious light and knowledge in
crease. opine an excuse can be more easily
found for this abomnable polygamous habit.
know of seven men who have the mother
and daughter to wife. And one who has the
mother and her four daughters to wife, and
children by all Of them. This man has ten
wives The reporter of the Tabernacle ser |
vices, having five wives and his halt-sster 10
wife. They have three children. One man
in this district, m elder, refused to seal his
son a spiritual wife, but had himself sealed to
that same woman as his tenth spiritual wife,
and lived with her ~ such for two months
then divorced her and sealed her to that son
in question: and as such they now live.
| cannot find how many wives Brigham
Young has probably from forty to one
hundred. The common statute laws nc.
knowledge only one wife, the others are all
called Spirituals by one of Jos. Smiths re-
velations the records OF which kind of wives
are kept in the church archives, that is, il
any record is kept of such marriages.
Hence the difficulty OF obtaining correct in
formation upon this, to the Mormons, delicate
subject. But suppose Young has thirty
nine spirituals in his harem at Salt Lake
City, and one or more in every town, and
settlement in the Territory, and perhaps
several in the States, and even in foreign
countries.
know several men who have married wo-
men years after they were dead and buried,
and in some Instances, women that the men
had never seen in life Little dead girls Of
II few months or years old are often married
to old grey headed men as spirituals. This
they do to save the souls Of the dead females
from purgatory, and to furnish for them hus-
bands for eternity; alleging that women can
not get from that place otiuncy, without mems
assistance, and must be married on earth or
60 companioness throughout eternity, rs in
that world they are neither married nor given