The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1884-04-17

NdtoiS. All W DIS Sllli, do Sitllu DIS uodll.
1t seemed that some one of these men
two of them, three of them, all of them
must disobey this giant and monster, kill
him if necessary, and save this beautiful
girl. Even if they had no sense of chiv-
airy 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 tretful and knee deep in the
| cleaning glrdle 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
| boatman with his singular freight. Was
he rowing to reach this rock where the
corpse had been seen loaded down in the
water with chains Would he not go
on, on on, anywhere, and escape these
brutal and blind followers, who believed
him saint engaged in maintaining the
Church of Jesus Christ
But these men did not doubt for a
moment 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 a silence. Never
was there such a murder as this Far
away above the cleaning towers Of snow
the stars stood trembling The moon
began to hasten away and slide swiftly
down in the west behind the hill on
which we stood, as if terrified and rcfus-
ing 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 sh0ne,
| sparkled, flashed in the moon. The oars
dug into the heavy water as if dipping
into a sea of molten silver.
The boat struck the rock You could
hear it CRATE and grind, all was so still.
The giant stood up in the boat sec
ond, then with his broad right hand
slowly drew back the covering and look
ed down as if into a face in the coffin.
He was so tall, his form seemed like a
tree. He east a black and frightful shad-
ow far out over the sea Of silver in the
fading moonlight. The mounted Danites
loomed up in the mirage larger than
heroic statues. At last the colossal tig-
ure in the boat leaned over, caught up
something long and heavy from the
coffin, stood up tall and terrible with it
| poised in the air, high above his head in
his two mighty hands. He poised it
there moment, dallied with it, heaved
his great heavy shoulders, arched his
long strong back, surged to and fro in the
failing silvery moonlight, and then with
vehement force threw it forward into the
depths of the dark water with all the
tremendous power that was in him.
The waters dashed up, cleaned like a
sunrise, closed over, and all was still
again in the heart of the great dark
waters Of death.
| a hand was lifted to us from the near
est horseman, and we passed on over the
hill right in the face of the great round
moon now settling down to rest in the
ar-ot1 Sierras, and never saw the place
again for twenty years or more
And when | did return | came from
London to write up the trial of Brigham
Young, who was then being tried for his
life for completely in murders like this.
BY good fortune | found an old friend
of mine was then Governor of the Terri
tory. We searched this spot for the
skeletons; but, as before observed, the
lake had so filled that, while we found
the buried rock and little island, we
found nothing more.
| told a Mormon elder this story, and
he earnestly assured me that all we had
seen of the end was the mirage delu :
sion; that the missionary did not drown
the girl, but had taken this course to
save her from the Danites; that he had
left the girl in the willows, to fall in with
the next train that came by, while he
had thrown only his bag Of bread or
something OF that sort with the chain
about it into the black waters of the
great lake. Let us hope SO at least