The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1884-04-17
Printed III this paper by special arrangement
with the author.
Sealed Unto Him.
A STORY OF THE EARLY DAYS OF MORMoNISM.
BY JOAQUIN MILLER.
Author of "oongs of the Sicrras," The Danites."
"Mcmnrie and Rime," etc.
CHAPTER VI.
BURIED IN THE LAkT

BURIED IN THE LAKE.
The Dante leader now bechoned our
party to move on, bidding us leave the
heaviest log chain behind The horse
men merely glanced at each other They
knew what WAS to be done, and swung
into the saddle as one man. No Crom-
well ever had troopers 0bedient as were
these ignorant and desperate followers
Of the false religion in America.
If YOU have this question to settle,
sooner or later, will only stop to consider
a moment, you will observe that all such
monstrosites that poor human nature
has brought forth on the earth have two
elements for their establishment one,
the father OF them, a learned man,
supertcially learned man, a "crank )"
and the other element, denselv gnor-
ant mass of mankind to SOW his doctrines
| among, to mature and maintain them
| when they take root. And these two
elements are never wanting in recruits
They never will be while ignorance is 50
general upon earth. OF course you can
not destroy the leaders, the '.cranks,"
men crazy over Their books and about
religion. But You can utterly destroy
their following. Plough up the field,
cultivate it, and the tares will perish in
time. This is the remedy. Cultivation,
intelligence, education, association with
Others, have already done much, broken
off the hard corners of this rock in the
sea. But let ignorance prevail there as
it did thirty years ago, and you will see
renewed ali the terocty, cruelty, and
crime in the name Of the new religion
which We knew then.
Destroy these people by war. No,
Won 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 con-
tscate their homes. And yet in Europe
anywhere, everywhere where there is
ignorance to follow and tanaticism to
lead-you might see a Mormon Church.
Our t.ain moved on. The horsemen
galloped longside for little way af-
ter having had some silent orders
/ from their giant and iron hearted leader.
Then they rode back. Then they gal
loped up the hill alongside again, and 50
| 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
| goodby. Hope had been kindled in her
heart. She had even taken a step for
ward 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 missionarys, 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 a cloud of dust, we
could see but dimly. But a man who
| professed to see clearly, said the giant
was leading the girl down 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 a 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 in
distinctly 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 horse
men rode some distance lesurely behind,
with their hats in their hands. The girl
still could ot be seen.
At length dreadful suspicion crept
y
women. She wrung her hands and
cried Historically that che girl was in the
coffin and they were going to bury her
in the lake.
The woman was slenced 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 pitiful and
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 this Surely they meant to
murder this girl and make US witness it,
their power to 'judge" and to execute
Judgment through the land. Here was
murder to which the murdererS de-
manded witnesses and compelled the
presence of witnesses. But still, as |
said before, we could see but dimly. The
moon was sinking fast now. How slow
and deliberate they were! The barrow
evidently had heavier load than ever
before. The heavy chain and the chain
ed girl! 1t moved heavily, slowly,
through the great white girdle of gleam-
ing salt; slowly and sadly, like funeral
march.
copyrighted by C. II. Miller, 1884.