The Republican journal., 1884-04-03
Oh AFTER ".
4 DAY OF SUSPENSE

slowly down the hill into the camp
There was no doubt in any ones mind
what they would do in the end. But
how ana by what tortuous roads of
cruelty and delay and dismay would
they proceed BY what cruel cat-and-
mouse means would they proceed to
teach their terrible lesson of the ven
geance and the power of Dan, "a serpent
by the way" ''an adder in the path z"
When the sun shines hot and clear. a
photograph is taken almost instantly,
which will endure a long, long time
And so it is in and with scenes like
this. The blood was at fever heat The
Imagination was like flame Terror of
what was to happen fastened all things
there firmly as if the world stood still
forever. The heart after a littlc time
almost ceased to beat
Before us to the south and far away
cleaned the great sea of salt in the
morning sun. \ green island Of trees
where thousand cattle fed, the proper
ty of the Mormon church. lay far away
toward the other side. 1t was but dimIy
visible, yet beautiful, peaceful in its far
tranquility as picture of Paradise
AS the eyes strained and swept across
the cleaning sea of salt and rested on
this beautiful island, they seemed to
want to remain there. You could not
turn your head away or withdraw your
gaze. There was a fierce fascination
that kept the strained eyes looking down
and out steadily toward that dim and
distant isle OF peace and beauty, which
was irresistible. The tired eyes wanted
to rest there forever Or did the eyes 50
desire to remain there, far away in fields
of beauty and of peace, to escape the
threatened scene of blood and pelil at
our feet?
Beyond the broad ana cleaning levels
Of this sea Of salt, still beyond the YER
dant resttul isle, and right above and
over the few scattered fields and farm
houses on the near shore, shot the SNOW
topped towers Of the Wahsatch. These
magnificent mountains drew an impassa-
BILE wall, a crescent to the east and north,
around the incipient Mormon city. These
mighty towers of snow, this strange new
people, mad on the subject of religion,
called their 'toWers Of strength" They
llkened them to the white towers that
were above the mighty walls of Jerusa-
lem of old. Everywhere, in all things
around them, they read the fulfilment of
prophecies, Bible traditions and Bible
truths. The deserts and the wells in the
deserts, the balm Of gilead trees, even
the locusts that sometimes devoured the
land-in all these they read, imagined,
believed implicitly, that they had here,
thousands of miles away from all the
world, found new Jerusalem; that they
NClo iuuocu tIt CUIlUIou I'll lDb loSI
tribes-the children of Dan indeed, that
should judge the people of the earth as
they passed, and be as "a serpent by the
way" San adder in the path"
TO the east of this remnant of dried
up sea, and close upon the salt-white
shore of it, there gushed from the rocky
hillside a little river Of boiling water
which sent forth its stream in the early
morning in a perpetual drift Of snowy
clouds. These beautiful white clouds
rose to the mountain top to the east, and
there rested lazily in the sun or cradled
to ard fro above the Mormon city.
Beneath these Graded clouds, far below
them, and yet far above the city, and to
the east and to the north. and above our
own camp, there was drawn in a precise
level the definite and unmistakable shore
and surf-line of great dred-up sea.
Hundreds of feet above the black and
heavy waters of Salt Lake, you can see
where the surf roared in storm and tenn
pest when the world was young, tore the
rocks to splinters, fashioned caverns, and
washed pebbled strand These marks
will remain while the mountains remain.
All around, high up on the hilltop, you
pick up sea- washed pebbles, petrifed
oh nf ,;+I,
sea- moss and sea shells encased in them,
and endless evidence that the ships of
Solomon might have sailed these noun
tain tops, seeking the land of Ophir
And yet here was ptiful man, in the
heart of all this mystery, in the presence
of ever patient and industrious Nature
as she tried to fashion d home fer him
glorious and beautiful, cutting his fellow
mans throat before he had yet fairly sat
down to the possession of it all. Was
there not sorrow enough here9
Why, these Mormons mad been riding.
racing, dashing about for days and days
to find a single victim to murder. And
now they had found their victim. She
must die. She was already in some
sense dead.
Some one had seen the hand of the
giants hoot high and straight and per
pendicular in the air as the Danites rode
down from the hill. They answered
with the same emphatic and silent sign.
What did it mean? AS they approached
the camp, he also approached. He
came with heavy, massive, and delib-
crate tread, as if he owned the earth.
He took possession of the place. They
entered the camp together. The meI,