The weekly Shasta courier., 1872-12-28
A Ride with Brigham Young.


singular piece of good fortune befell us. Mr..
Hooper, the Utah delegate in Congress,
came down with us. When the train got
in, we found that Brigham Young, many of
his elders and chief officers, and their wives
and daughters, had come up from Salt Lake
City to welcome Mr.. Hooper, and accompa-
ny him home. They, with their band and
singers, filled two cars, and by the interven-
tion of Mr.. Hooper, another car, contain
ing the party of which was a member, was
taken on as part of this train. We had
hardly started, in this special train, when
MIR. Hooper asked US all into Mr.. Young
car, and we were presently introduced to
what somebody called "all the nobility ~
of Salt Lake
| believe the ladies of our party never
thought to find themselves in such strange
quarters. After some general greetings we
were seated in the two cars for our ride Of
thirty-nine miles miles to Salt Lake City !;
and, being properly introduced, fell as nat
urally into conversation as though we had
been in New York Brigham Young
President Young he is formally called when
you are presented, but brother Brigham his
people often call him-took seat beside
one of the ladies of our party, with two 9TH
ers in front of him, and conversed affably all
the way down. Mrs. Young fell to my lot
"a handsome and clever person, well made
up in every way. Mrs. Young-I mean an
other Mrs. Young, also handsome and clever
was seated beside another gentleman.
| believe six or seven of Mr.. Youngs wives
were distributed through the cars and quite
a number of his children.
Brigham Young is a tall, stout full ll-faced
robust man, who looks more like a hearty,
beef-eating English squire than anything
else-until you come to look into his pale
blue, keen eyes. Then he looked to me like
a man extremely on his guard, and man
capable of showing his teeth. He wore
black, with silk hat, and carried loosely
about his neck-the day being little cool
"a somewhat conspicuous rose-colored
scarf. This color was worn also by one of
his wives.
Mr.. Young talked very freely with the
ladies near whom he sat explaining to them
the methods of irrigating the land, the ex-
tent OF his preaching tours, and the value of
Salt Lake in the fnture. Mrs. Amelia
Young. suppose she might be called-ex-
planned to me in like manner many objects
of interest along the road. Once only she
touched upon polygamy-and then in the
most casual manner. Seeing some Indians
/ asked if the saints had made anything of
these people. She replied that the girls, if
taken early and trained, make excellent and
faithful servants Mr.. Young" said she,
has one in his house for many years, and
she is very good woman, and would not
return to her people" Iproceeded to ask
some further particulars about this Indian
woman, to which Mrs. Young replied, with
not the least embarrassment, :" | can't tell
you she is not my servant; she lives with
another of Mr.. Young's wives"-Sister
Eliza, think she said" who is not here
to-day"
To one of our ladies daughter of Mr..
Young related that her father had ffty-five
children that he was a very good and IN
dulgent father; that he could not very well
meet them all together at every meal, and
therefore took breakfast with one half of
them in one day, and with the other half at
another time.
One Mrs. Young related to some of the
ladies that Mr.. Young takes no dinner, but
only two meals per day. He breakfasts at
the Beehive House, and takes tea at the
Lion House. These are his two principal
houses. She added that all his wives do not
live in these houses, some having houses of
their own and Mr.. Young goes occasion
ally to take a meal with one or the other of
these.
A Miss Young added that her father is
fond Of dancing, and an excellent dancer
he is only seventy years fage, you know
and that balls are given in the theatre and
elsewhere, occasionally, where he dances
with great liveliness. heard this, too, from
others. He seemed to me heavy and slow
motioned for dancer, but he is an extreme
ly wellpreserved man, with the ford COM
plexion of a person who lives much out-of-
doors.
We had just passed through Echo and
Weber Canons and the Devils Gate
mile after mile of the grandest, strangest.
and rudest scenery-like long opium
dream and now, on our way to Salt Lake
City, all this was changed, and we were en-
chanted by gentler aspect of nature-dis-
tant mountain peaks, their snowy tops seen
across the broad expanse of the lake; the
beautiful Rock Island in the lake, and every
view lovely and inviting where before it was
grand, but lonely.
At three or four hamlets along the road
the train was stopped, and the country chill
dren, ranged in line--boys and girls, with
banners like Sunday school procession in
the border parts of our country,-took off
their hats and cheered their delegate. Mr.
Hooper, who responded in a very few CRATE
full words-words which had curious, and,
to me, not unpleasant Old Testament tone
"A brother returning to his kindred from
afar off, blessing God that he finds all safe,
and commencing all to the God who has
built up their Zion.
In the evening our whole party was invi-
ted to the theatre, where saw the celebrated
rocking chair placed in one of the aisles-
in which Mr.. Young sits and his own private
box, which was occupied by nine or ten
young girls and some young men, who, we
were told, were Brigham's children. Two
of his married daughters took prominent
parts In the play. The house was thin; /;
and, during the performance, three officers
quietly removed an escaped prisoner, who
had sought conceaiment in the theatre
Charles Nordhofs" California"
TAXING A SwEAT.-A Michigan paper
tells an amusing story Of minister of that
State who took an old-fashioned sweat, and
was wrapped up in an old-fashioned patch
quilt of many colors In due course of time