The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-08-22

They were built by Brigham for the ac'
commodation OF his twenty-nine wives
They did not seem large enough To contain
twenty-nine lively, sprightly women.
should think that twenty-nine women
living together would require about i've
miles Of house. But Brigham was great
economizcr. and evidently packed and
sailed his wives away as though they were
lot Of sardines. In this climate they
might keep, but twenty-ninc wives living
in two houses OF this kind in Baltimore
would spoil. asked why Brigham put
beehive on the top Of house, and was
! told il was intended rs q warning
to his wives that they must be like
the little busy bee, toiling every
hour, and as he was the queen bee, they
had TO obey him. The lion was TO repre-
sent the king Of the menagerie. This
house is now filed with Brigham's chill
dren and his poor, diScOnsOlate widows.
Twenty-scven OF them-that is all ! One
OF them left him before he died, and the
first died before he did. This first wife he
directed should he buried next to him.
The balance are obliged to provide grave
wards for themselves. This shows that the
old sinner had some sense Of decency about
bnt il they ever marry they are barred by
his will. In Utah no wife has any right OF
dover, and unless a man makes will, his
widow or widows get nothing. This seems
to be hard law, but il is in keeping with
the spirit OF MormOnism.
BRIGHAM YOUNG'S WIDOWS.
tried to get look inside Of these houses,
TO see what kind Of women Brigham
Young's widows looked like, but | was
told that they were not receiving company
| Just now, and it would be impossible to see
them. saw, however, one OF his daugh-
ters-I did not learn by which wife. She
was a blonde, and was short and fat like
her father. | was told she was a Mormon
and had hali-doZcn husbands. told my
friend | wanted to buy some Mormon
books. and from here we went TO the
Mormon bookstore, which is also within
the church enclosure. | bought a Cate
chsm for Young Children and the Reve-
lations Of Joseph Smith, and other Mormon
books, which | shall have something to say
about in another letter. The store was not
q large one, but was large enough for the
kind OF literature it kept and sold. We
| then went to the Tabernacle, and on our
way there met Bishop Woodruff, he who
| led Brigham and his saints into this the
promised land. He was a Connecticut man,
was Il very old man, had three or four
wives, and said the spread OF MOrmonism
wa wonderful since he first came into the
valley. ! thought so too, and also thought
that the leprOSy and the smallpox would
spread in the same way, and would Kill oil
as many thousands, il it was let alone, as
Mormonism has done.
The Tabernacle was the most wonderful
structure / saw mt Salt Lake. Its cnOr-
nous proportions loom up wherever You
may be in the city. 1t is rounded
structure, and looks like an immense UNI
brella, except that it is eIiptical in shape.
II is to the west Of the Grand Temple,
which has been worked upon for thirty
years. and which will take twenty more TO
finish The ianitOr was away, but Mr..
Hooper found him, and VIC entered it. The
janitor's name was Thomas, and although
he was a saint, he was 10 relation OF mine.
| was told lie only had three wives. Poor
man, pitied him.
POSSIBLE LONG-L0ST BROniER.
lie seemed kind OF sad, and as he took
me around through tnc Tabernacle J vas
afraid he would recognize me- as his long
lost brother. and appeal TO the Mormon
courts for writ Of habedS corpus to hold
me. The Tabernacle is the largest hall in
the world. 1t was built by Brigham Young.
II is 233 by l33 feet. II Is simply one i'm
mensc roof supported by sc pillars Of red
sandstone, and spring, from side to side and
end to end. The roof is unsupported by any
column, and from ceiling to floor it is 20
feet. The roof is a pOndcrous piece OF work,
ten feet thick. In the wcSt-cnd is an i'm
mcnse rostrum, with triple row Of seats
rising one above the other. The highest OF
these Brigham used TO ill with his two
John TAYLOR fill. None
others are allowed to sit there. The next
seat i for the twelve apostles, and the low
est for the bishops and elders. In front OF
these i long table for communion SER
vitr, and in the rear of all the grand organ
and seats for the choir. 4 large gallery
goes all around the hall and will seat $50
people. The entire building will seat b.
0O0. There are twenty doors, nine feet
wide and the hall can be depleted in two
minutes.
The acoustics OF this vast hall are Simply
wonderful. | took seat in the far east
gallery. Ny namcsakc and Mr. Hooper
stood near the grand organ. heard the
dropping OF pin in hat and the rubbing
OF the hand against a coat, and the iaintcst
Whisper at a distance OF 800 feet. This
building j. only used in summer; and
alongside Of il i a large structure, OF an
entirely different design, which looks more
like an abbey than Il church. which is used
in the winter. When we left the Taber-
naclc asked my friend to take me inside
Of the Endowment House, close by, but he
declined, saying none but MormOnS could
enter there. | limited and intmatcd that
would like TO 20 inside OF Mormon house
hold and see the wives and children, but |
got no satisfactory assurances that would
get inside OF one OF them. My request to
look
INSIDE OF 4 MORMON HOME,
where two or three wives lived together.
was not mere curiosity, but an honest and
proper desire TO see these poor women and
children at home, and to Judge for myself
ii they were happy and contented, and
whether, in fact, ii was anything like what
we call home. But for some reason the
opportunity was not afforded me. II NAV
be because | told him | intended to write
about it, because frankly told him so.
Yesterday we went out TO Great Salt
lake. The cars, a Stcam-rOad. narrow
gauge, takes you there for nifty cents, round
trip. We started at O'Clock, and in an
hour we arrived at the beach. 1t was like
L miniature Long Branch. Hundreds were
there, and everybody was in the briny. 4
long wharf has been built out into the
lake, and on this some one hundred bath
houses erected. You pay twenty-five cents
for suit and Jump in. The water is not
deep, and il you will keep your mouth
shut and get no water inside Of Won There
is no danger; but ii you are not very care.
ful, and breathe in any of the water. if i
SO salt 1t will stranglc and sicken YOU.