The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-04-16
EiiH''~ IN s~u p~per py special arrangement "
the authOrl
Sealed Unto Him.
As..ry of .Ae Early Day. of normoni.m
BY JOAQUIN MILLER.
AStsor Of Songs Of The SierTas," "The Danites,"
"Memorie and Rinae,' etc.
CONCLUDED.
CHAPTER VI.
BuRIEp 1N rRE LAKE


az one man. No Cromwell ever had troor
ers obedient as were these ignorant ana des
perate followers of the false religion il
America.
you who have this question to settle
sooner or later, will only stop to consider
moment, you will observe that all such mon
strosities that poor human nature ha
Drought forth on the earth have two ele
ments for their establishment: one, the ia
Their OF them, learned man, SUPERFICIAL
learned man, a Crank and the other ele
ment, densely Ignorant mass of mankin,
to SOW his doctrines among, to mature an,
maintain them when they take root. An,
these two elements are never wanting In re
cruits. They never will be while ignoranc,
IL 30 general upon the earth. Of course 70,
cannot destroy the leaders, the "cranks.'
men crazy over their books and abou
religion. But you can utterly destroy theil
following. Plough up the field, cultivate it,
and the tares will perish In time. This is
the remedy. Cultivation, intelligence, edu-
cation, association with others, have already
done much, broken off the hard corners Of
this rock in the sea. But let ignorance pre-
vail there as 1t did thirty years ago, and you
will see renewed all the ferocity, cruelty and
crime in the name of the new religion which
we knew then.
Destroy these people by war; No, you
cannot destroy them by war. even though
you pour in a million of men with guns and
all the treasure of this universe. You
might kill them every one and confiscate
their homes. And yet in Europe-any
where, everywhere where there is ig-
norance to follow and fanaticism to lead
You might see Mormon Church.
Our train moved on. The horsemen gal
Hoped alongside for a little way after having
had some silent orders from their giant and
iron-hearted leader. Then they rode back.
Then they galloped up the hill alongside
again, and SO remained until we had reached
the top of the steep hill. Here we were
ordered to stop and wait, till we were
permitted again to move on.
No one had spoken to the girl to say good
by. Hope had been kindled In her heart.
She had even taken step forward to fall in
with the moving train and follow us as we
started. A heavy hand fell on her shoulder.
She lifted her eyes to the missionary's, let
them fall, and stopped as still as the dead
When we turned about in the full white
moonlight on the hill, and looked after the
horsemen while they dashed down the hill
in cloud of dust, we could see but dimly.
But man who professsd to see clearly,
said the giant was leading the girl toward
his own camp, and the ugly coffin hiding
away there in the shadows.
One of the horsemen rode down to the
mouth of the little stream where it fell into
the lake, and drew boat that was hidden
there up into little cove formed by the
waters of the brook. We could not see the
girl now. What was being done?
As said before, we could see but indis-
tinctly now. By and by some one saw the
monstrous giant once more pushing his long
black box before him down toward the lake,
and pointed out the dark object to Others.
The horsemen rode some distance leisurely
behind, with their hats in their hands. The
girl still could not be seen.
At length dreadful suspicion crept over
MS, and cry burst from one of the women.
She wrung her hands and cried Historically
that the girl was in the coffin aud they were
going to bury her in the lake.
The woman was silenced with effort, and
all stood still as death, waiting, waiting.
The moon seemed only little way above us,
only little higher on the hill, and oh, SO
pale and pitlful aud sorrowing she seemed!
The far white mountains of snow shone
like silver in this whitest and brightest of
silver moons this side of Arabia.
Why were we compelled to stand here and
see all thisa Surely they meant TO murder
this girl and make us witness it, ia order to
spread terror and the fear of their power to
"judge" and to execute judgment through
the land. Here was murder to which the
murderers demanded witnesses. But still,
as said before, we could see but dimly.
The moon was sinking fast now. How slow
and deliberate they werel The barrow evil
IDENTIFY had heavier load than ever before.
The heavy chain and the chained girl? 1t
moved heavily, slowly, through the great
white girdle of cleaning salt; slowly and
sadly, like funeral march.
At last it touched the edge of the dark
waters. All was still, as silent as death. 1t
seemed that some one of these men-two of
them, three of them, all of them-must dis
obey this giant and monster, kill him if nee
essary, an d save this beautiful girl. Even
If they had no sense of chivalry or virtue or
valor in them to help the helpless, it did
seem as if some one, any one, all, might do
almost anything to protect her, save her.
Two men rode up, dismounted, held their
horses by the long tethers as they stood
there fretful and knee-deep in the cleaning
girdle Of salt, and so hastily lifted the long
black coffin into the boat.
The giant solemnly and silently took his
place at the oar and began to move slowly
and certainly toward the dark and desolate
rock in the deeps of the lake.
The horsemen remounted, drew back,
hats in hand, and so sat with the others
looking out at the colossal and silent boat
man with his singular freight. Was he row.
ing to reach this rock where the corpse had
been seen loaded down in the water with
CuduSE WOuiu He uOs 20 OH On, Oh, any
where, and escape these brutal and blind
followers, who believed him a saint engaged
in maintaining the Church of Jesus Christi
But these men did not doubt for mo-
ment. They sat their horses in a crescent
about the head of the lake and looked on,
tranquil, silent, reverential, waiting with
certainty the signal of death.
Never fell there such silence. Never
was there such murder as this. Far away
above the cleaning towers of snow the sta If
stood trembling. The moon began to has.
ten away and slide swiftly down in the west
behind the hill on which we stood, as if ter
rifed and refusing to be a witness.
The man saw that the moon was going
away, and he dipped his oars with rapid and
heavy stroke. The water shone, sparkled,
flashed in the moon. The oars dug into the
heavy water as if dipping into sea of mol
ten silver.
The boat struck the rockl You coulC
hear 1t CRATE and grind, all was so still.