Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-07-18
MORMONISM'S SAD SIDE.
The Woes That Are Suffered for the
Most Part I'm Silence-The Effect OF
PoIygamy Upon Original, Lawful

The sad side of Mormonism Is not
very often touched upon, says Salt
Lake letter. Many observers see its
/ ludicrous features, and others the
| dangerous political tendencies of the
hierarchy, but few discover the heart
breaking sorrows so closely yelled in
hundreds of homes by fauaticism and
terror. When Joseph Cook was here
the other day he received letter from
Mrs. Paddock, of this city, telling the
following story: "a short time ago
an educated young newspaper man
came to Utah from England with his
young wife. They had fallen under
the influence of a Mormon missionary,
and were devout believers in the
teachings of the saints. For a time
they lived here unmolested, but the
priesthood at length exerted their in
| fuence on the husband to force him
into polygamy. The wife, finding
opposition in vain, at last gave her
nominal consent. A second wife was
| brought into the house. In short
| time the first wife became mother,
but the infant never cried aloud. 1t
came voiceless into the world, but 1t
wept in silence all the time. Sleeping
or waking the tears flowed from It's
closed eyes. and in three or four weeks
| it died. The mother said it died of a
broken heart. Every day of its life it
shed the tears that the mother had
repressed before its birth. The moth
er herself soon followed the child, and
both rest together on the hill"
Isaac Langton and wife have grown
gray in the faith. For years they
have resisted the appeals of the priests
and have lived for each other. They
have been poor all their lives, and
both have had to struggle hard to
keep their home and rear their chill
dren. A happier old couple could not
have been found until last week.
Both being near end of their earthly
race, the fond old wife had long ago
gwen up worry or apprehension con-
corning her husbands loyalty. In
his old age, however, the wiles of the
priest caught him. 1t was represented
to him that the hard lot he had ex
,erienced through life was due to
Gods displeasure because he had not
followed the teachings OF the prophets,
and that if he hoped for better things
in the world to come he must quickly
| take another wife to his home. The
old fellow tried to communicate his
determination TO his aged partner, but
| lacked the courage. and finally con-
| cluded to surprise Der. he went
through the Endowment house with a
youthful woman, and, presenting him
self at his lowly home, informed his
first wife of what he had done, The
old lady was staggered by the blow,
but, restraining her feelings, told the
newly-wedded par that she would
soon be out of their way. Langton
and his bride went off on visit and
on their return Oh street car Mrs.
Langton No. 1, in abject despair,
threw herself under the wheels of the
vehicle. The driver CHANGED to have
control of the brake, and stopped the
car before the old lady was crushed.
Her clothing was torn from her, how
ever, and she was seriously injured
internally.
A decidedly different result was
reached in the case of Israel Pinkham
and wife, another old couple who
moved from Maine many years ago to
this territory. They passed through
Salt Lake the other day on their way
to their old home, and the old lady
made no secret of the cause of their
return To reporter for Gentle
newspaper she said: "My husband
and | have lived together these forty
three years, and, though we j'ined the
Mormons twenty years ago, nothing
was ever said about polygamy until
this spring. Then some sneaklng
priests came around and got the old
man worked up with the idea that he
must have one or two more wives.
Not much Israel Pinkham, says l;
we've travelled together this fur, and
no Mormon will separate us now.
We've got two sons and darter back
east, who shan't have anybody poking
fun at them; and there's the two little
boys what we buried back in Maine,
who won't have no occasion to pint
their fingers at us when we cross over
to the other shore. This thing has
gone Just as fur as it's going to. Is
rael Plnkham, we're going back to
Maine, says |, and, whether we've
got one year or ten years to live, Well
end this here pilgrimage decent, as we
begun il. Amt that what told you
said she, addressing the old man, who
had been silent listener He smiled
in a faint way, and nodded assent.
We're going back to Maine, con-
tinucd the old lady, poorer than
when we came out here, but wiser
and no wuSS, SO far as | know
There'll be no more Mormon in this
faraily."
George Walker had two wives and
married third a women much
handsomer than either of the others.
The first one died in a few weeks and
the second went insane and was sent
! home to her parents Wife No. 3,
who thus became the only wife, led a
very contented life for while, but
she is now filled with rage and grief
because her husband married another
woman, and is maintaining her in
good style III another part of the city.
Young Crawson, a son of one of the
leading saints, has just married his
third wife in two years. He is not
vet %, but promises to rival Brigham
! Young, in the number of his spouces
if he lives as long. He is rich, and
his father takes pride in pointing to
him as an example for all the youth
of Zion to follow One odd feature
of Clawson's operations in the matri
monial line is said to be the fact that
while the second wife knows of the
existence of the first, and the third is
aware that she has two predecessors,
/ the first does not know there is a sec
ond or third, and the second is ig-
norant that there is one later than
herself. Some time or other it is con-
tidently expected that the young man
will have to make a series of expla-
nations.
The strenuous efforts which the
leaders of the church are making to
stimulate polygamy, and the neces S
ity which exists for keeping plural
marriages secret, have induced many
of the faithful to keep the fact of their
later marriage from even their pre-
vious wives. knowledge of this
state of affairs has driven many Nor
mon wives who are suspicious of their
husbands to the verge of distraction,
and not a few Of them have adopted
extraordinary measures to discover
whether their apprehensions are we'll