Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-10-13
''The Whited Sepulchre -

-ii'' ]Aiiiit DlchllSoil, on utf return from
. visit to Mormondom delivered her lee
tnre on the above subject at Omaha, from
which the Republican publishes following
extracts:
1t was at the close of lovely day in
June. one of those grand evenings on the
Plalns that I saw them stretching their
golden eXpanse away rs far as the eye could
reach. and saw that sapphire sea rejecting
the sapphire sky above and, away off from
the city, those grand mountains with the
eYer-gleaming, brilliant snow shining above
tbem all while, amid all this glowing scene
lay That plague spot, Salt Lake City-a foul
blot on natures face, n whited sepulchre
without; and within, what? A beautiful
town. indeed, it is, with its broad, cool,
clean streets; with its little streams of wa
ter IN all their mountain freshness and lev
coolness, so pure and clear that, paradox
lcai as 1t may seem to you, one can stoop
down and drink nectar from the gutter it.
sell. With It's picturesque scenery, its
I; beautiful buildings, its little adobe huts
and all, it is a beautiful city in the desert.
a lovely and pleasant spot to come and
feast one eyes with after Journey across
the arid wastes ''By their fruits We shall
know them," said the Master of old and
by its fruits ye shall know Mormonism. and
what you see at Salt Lake City is neither
| better nor worse than what is to be seen
any day IN San Francisco or New York
| True, III Salt Lake there is no noise no
| drunkenness no gambling, no riots. but
| order and quiet day and night. There are
no churches save one, and what a church
is that. The children you see playing in
the streets are debased, wretched. nnheaI-
! thy-looking, bearing in their countenances
the impress of the most brutal passions of
men.
A MORMON FANIILY-8IR. SMITH AND THE MRS.
SMITHS.
[ called at a house there and I sat down
in the parlor, and in came a man and wo-
man. ''Aliss Dickinson, my wife Mrs
smith, and IN came another woman, my
Wlfe Mrs Smlth-Q Daughter and soon
through a whole lot of them, call wife Mrs.
SMITH; not one of these women came in as
the happy wife or mother, or as the mis-
tress OF that home, but all skunk in with a
debased, servile air, looking like tolerated
slaves rather than anything else One of
them told me that she had six children, an
other that she had twelve and another that
she had fifteen (laughter) and half ofall
t hem were dead, and I look at the other
halt, and when ! saw the wretched unheal-
thy creatures, I cried "My God, the hand
OF death is on them too.
BRIGHAM s THEATRE,
| went to the theatre. I went expecting
to be disguised, but was more than that.
There were women all around me, and [
would see one man here and another there,
and each bending over ten or fifteen wo-
men, and 1 was told they were his wives;
and as [ looked around and saw these wo-
men and their degradation such a sense
and feeling of shame and despair came over
me that cried, '.Oh God, let ME die where
stand" and then the second thought
came, and | said, 'Oh no, let me not die,
for that would be cowardly indeed, but give
me strength to withstand and do battle
against this inquiry"
INSIDE OF A IIAREM
In Salt Lake City I went to the house of
Mormon elder. | was told beforehand
he had two wives, and that they had both
lived together some fifteen years and were
perfectly happy and contented they lived
together IN their house aud were perfectly
contented with their lot, and would not
change it if they could I was not man.
| did not believe a word of it, so [ went to
see for myself, [ talked freely to her; there
was no hlndrance to that. | asked her how
long she had been married. Seventeen
years" married here?" mo" s'Mar-
rled IN England?" 'No." 'Where were
you married, then?" Gin ST Joseph"
/ asked her if she was satisfied with her
present life if she was willing that her
husband should have more than one wife?
She replied, eyes, would not change it if
| could" But | was still incredulous and
determined to get at the bottom of that wo-
mans heart.
/ commenced and questioned her about
her English life, and painted the picture
OF the little cottage at home, and the court
ship, and at last the marriage to one whole
-souled, honest husband; and how they
would live together, and how she would
wait at the door Of their home and watch
for his coming in the evening; and asked
her if she could not be happy there. And
she put her handsome hand to her face and
bowed her head and cried. ''Oh, my Godl
couldn't I r' And then it was plain, it was
easy to see, how that woman really thought
and felt.