The Portland daily press., 1884-03-19
BY THE DEAD SEA

mountain-peaks surrounding Salt Lake.
My father was more puzzled as TO who
this strange man might be, after taking his
selfish, and learned fashion, than ever be.
fore. Was he indeed DANTE, or only some
poor Mormon, sort of insane man, doing
penance as he professed?
1t is great mistake to say that only di,
honest, ignorant, and impure men are ia
natlcs in religion. frequently recall, when
thinking of these things, thu gaunt, lean fig
ure OF the old learned Caliph who sat on his
red camel outside the gates of Jerusalem.
demanding the keys of the doomed city.
see him dine, as he sits there, on two dried
figs and drink of wafer from the leathern
tile al his belt. l see him die at last, af-
ter all the wealth of the East has passed I'M
touched through bis hands, with face lifted
radiant in hope to the gates of heaven That
his followers were ignorant, bad at heart,
is true. They could not even plead redeem.
ing Industry
Pardon this depression. One is tempted
into noting parallels of religious fanaticism,
folly, and madness by tue singular sim,ari-
ty OF the physical characteristics of the two
lands-Syria and this Mormon region now
known as Utah.
Il was tired, dusty, disheartened little
party that touched The salt-white shore of
the dead sea in the heart of the great desert
and wilderness of this continent more than
thirty years ago.
The silent and melancholy man in the
long black barrow was quite well enough,
after the nights rest which followed my IA
theirs visit, to creep on after his coffin the
next morning; and he kept up, lowering ON
our border, keeping only little way in the
rear, camping only a little way off, living
his singular life all by himself, as before,
till We reached the shores of the lnlani sea.
II is to be confessed that there was not
one of our little train that did not hope,
expect, almost pray, that here this man
would leave us-this nigh smare, shadow,
and cloud; this bird of evil omen, rise at
last and fly away. Not SO.
The coffin took up position not five ham
dred yards away on the bank of the brawlng
little stream which swept into the great
black lake, with its cleaning border of crys-
tai-white salt The grass was long and
strong here. Some willows cast a cooling
shade. Here the tall and hideous giant
with the hollow eyes sat and read all day
alone. But where was he at night? We
children did not fish in thai stream once DUR
ing the whole week OF rest here, while pur-
chasing fresh supplies from Salt Lake O. Y,
only few miles away to the south We
stepped high and hurried in the tail grass if
by chance any of the cattle went too close to
that moustrous shap-, and we had to go
there to drive them back and nearer camp.
My father had heen very anxious all the
journey to hear from the Lanes. He often
asked men who hal slow teams like our own
if they had seen this party pass They had
been seen often. AT the settlement of Salt
Lake he asked for them in vain.
One day he ventured to approach the
watchful and silent giant who rested by his
cefin as he read in the shade of the viii
lows, and asked if he had had any informa-
tioL about the Lanes.
The man only lifted the lids of his hollow
eyes, looked a moment at my father, let
them fall, and again went on reading But
seeing that my father still stood respectful
ly by, and was disposed neither to ask again
nor even 10 grog angry aud pass on in ST.
lence, he again lifted bis eyes for second,
and looking at my father, said, in deep,
solemn, and never-to-he-forgotten tone:
'Maybe they have been judged; and are
notr'
And again be went on reading and said
no word more, while my father with pale
lips, silently took my hand and returned to
camp. He knew what thai awful sentence
meant very well.
Bat the beautiful, black-eyed girl, so full
of youth, health, affection, devotion-ghat
INDUSTRIOUS creature in all this world could
be found miserable enough to murder her?
Surely her purity, her sweetness, should be
as ten thousand swords 10 defend her. Her
beauty should have been aS au army with
banners. What happened? We shall see.
One morning before sunrise, two long
haired men on horseback, bearing long rifles
before them, da. he'd up to the grim black
shape half-hidden in the rank rye-grass
there by the bank of the little trout stream,
and the bony giant was seen to sit suddenly
bolt upright in his coffin.
The conference did not last long. Only a
few words passed-orders mainy-brief,
short, sharp, and mostly made up of mono
syllAbles and gestures; and then the loag-
haired men on horseback, with their long
rifles before them, wheeled suddenly and
disappeared in and behind grove Of the
cool, leaning willows up he stream.
Then it was that the certain conviction
settled down upon all as to who this mon
ster was. Men and women too, in the
many camps scattered here and there, up
and down the wllow-lined stream, began to
question themselves with pale lips if they
had aught to answer for, 10 these sudden,
swift, and merciless "judges'' of the tribe
OF Dan.
The terror that now possessed us, and Law
steadily and still over all, was painful, pitt
full No one dared to speak to his neiebbor.
No one knew who his neighbor was. There
was somewhat of that AWFUL stiffness and
sad pity over the face of nature which is to
be observed when an earthquake is about 10
break the heart of our mother, earth.
On The next day four other men, SINH
larly mounted, equally abrupt, sudden aud
swift, swept up the little stream from The
shores Of the white-ined sea, and looked up
and down and right and left, as if for some
one who was lost or had ESCAPED. They did
not speak to any one, or even come near to
the silent man up the stream, above oui
camp. But they brckoned him, and he
answered back. They then dashed on NJ
the mountain side which sloped to the
stream, aud climbing at steady galtop &c
the high gray summit, sat there in group q
long time' looking to the east, to the west
everywhere long and eagerly. Then they
rode on down the grassy hill toward the