The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1872-10-30

WHAT HE sAw-wHAT HE DIDN'T SEE
Colonel George Williamson. whilst
with Colonel Tom -Scott's railroad par
Ety, stopped on their return from Sar
Francisco in Salt Lake City. Here j:
what he saw and what he didn't see i.
the city Of the Mormons, as set fortl, ii
q letter of the 2lst from Louisville, tt
the Shreveport Telegram: "aT
Our visit to Salt Lake City was {
very interesting one. The Indies ofth,
party seemed to be curious, yet almost
Mortified at the idea. of going among :
people who degraded their sex after
the. Asiatic fashion. The gentlemen
were c"mplacent and disposed to phil.
"sopllize on the wonderful power of g
religious idea, which, in contraventior
of the statue law, was preaching and
practicing p"lygamy, and asserting its
merit by binding together in fraternal
good will large community of indus.
trious. and prosperous men and wo.
men. All conceded to Brigham Young
the need of praise for his splendid ad
ministrative, and executive ability in
keeping people 80 we'll in hard, and in
preserving the most perfect order them,
without Jail, penitentiary, whipping
post, or temporal punishment Of any
kind. He has made tile mountains
pour their fertilizlng streams al water
down. into the barren basin of Salt Lake
and beautiful orchards, gardens and
farms now decorate the plane as far as
the eye can reach, where, at his advent
nothing was green except the wlld sage
and the dwarf suntlower. His poor
and starving colony of a few hundred,
in the fall of le47, has grcwn into a
population of about 100000 souls. A
beautiful city, laid off with mathemat.
ical regularity, having broad streets
fringed with rows of trees and running
streams of mountain water, under eve
ry row, presents a strong evidence Of
the sound practical sense, untiring in
lustry and boundless faith Of this
strange people. The Tabernacle, near
the centre Of the city, is a study in it,
self. It is $50 by $50 feet, and so feet
high. 1t will seat $4,000 people COM
fortably. The room is arched and un-
supported by columns, except those Of
the outer wall, from which the arches
are sprung. All the material was fur
nished and the work. done by Nor
mons. The organ in this Tabernacle
is tie next to the largest, in the United
States. The front towers of this organ
are fifty, eight feet high, and Contain
thirty two feet Of gilded pipe; the side
towers are nearly the same height as
tie front. 1t is well played on Sunday
and its sonOrions notes fiji tile entire
Tabernacle to perfection, making a
glorious accompaniment to the hun-
dred male and female voices Of the
choir. The theatre is also Il large, fine
building, but tile acting wasivery much
such as we have in Shreveport when
Crisp is not on the. boards. The lo-
tells are large and elegant and p.ovi-
ded with all tie numerous modern con-
dncers to luxurious comfort. Every
house has an orchard, and farm, and
except in the business part of the city
the houses are some distance apart.
There are no tenement houses. Every
Mormon lives in his own habitation,
no matter how humble, and cultivates
his own round, no, matter, how small
a patch it may be. Brigham Young
aud many others have plain but hand
some houses. You see evidence of con-
slant and persistent industry on every
side. N thing gives yon al idea that
cash or capital, as it is called, viii, i,is
Aladdin's lamp has caused splendid
mansions to rise from the plain with.
out selling his dainty fingers. ."Piece
to piece" ''little by little" keep al.
ways at it," seems to be written on. ev-
erytling of hnman production in the
valley. The story is written on every
side that,a plain people, full of indomi
table energy or lofty faith, in the face
of countless obstacles, has built up thi,
city slowly, steadily, patiently, work
ing to accomplish great work With
out assistance, except from on high.
And this same people are building
temple which they designate as "The
House oftlie Lord, out of solid granite,
which, when finished, will cost millions
Of dollars, a'd though unornamented
and unique in its architecture, will be
one of the most splendid places OF
in the world. Here, as in the
case Of the followers of Mahomst, is
shown the overmastering power of a
religious idea when it once firmly en-.
CRAFTS itself upon the mind. These
people are not hnmbnesnor hypocrites.
They are religious zea1ots who believe
themselves to lie the elect Of "tl,e last
last days. and who in their blind be
lief look forward to the time when
Gods visible presence will occupy for
q 70 h. ~ . ..h a.sg