The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1884-03-13
Printed N this paper by special arrangement
with the author.
Sealed Unto Him.

a STORY oI THE EARLY DAYS or MoKMoNIsM.
By JOAQUIN MILLER.
Author ot "~ongs ot the ~ierra-." "rhc panifc.. "
'Memolic ana lHmt." etc.
CHAPTER !!
IuE FOrNDArION Or THE ORDER OF
pANITES
Dan shall Judge his people a> one of the
tribes of Israel
''Dan shall by a serpent by the way an adder
N thc path. that bieth the horst heels. 80 that
his rider shall fall backward' gen -: lG
l..
Planted down in the heart OF the con
tinent, and 'by the way, in the path"
of the weary pilgrims journeying to the
remote West. You can we'll see how the
Mormon elders put their fingers on this
text and told their ignorant following
that they were the chosen people refer
red 10 here; that they we've the children
OF Dan: that they should iodge the peo-
ple who came that way: that they. the
M"rmons. as the children Of Dan, were
the serpent by the way" IAN adder in
the path"
In the large reading of the text, and a
liberal view and look of it all. il seems
plausible almost, even tous. How GER
tain then did it seem to these ignorant
and mercilesS followers Of tine dread order
OF the Danitcs, established there "hv the
way" 'in the PATH" that they we're. as
they sat III the heart of the desert, To be
the Judges Of those who passed by!
Back Of this Bible text lay much Bit
temess, induced by sad history, much
suffering and persecution, The Mormons
firmly believed that the order of the
DaniteS was necessary. not only for the
purpose OF 'judgng" the earth, but for
their own preservation.
More than thirty years ago first en-
countered these people. My father and
his little Sunday Jrain-that is. train
that would not travel on sunday in
crossing The plains, because Of religious
scruples pitched tent on the banks of
the Missouri at Council Bluffs, right in
their trails. We saw there thousands of
caves, little mud huts, novels, all sorts Of
miserable little habiiations, where the
whole mass Of Mormons had Wintered a
few seasons before, in their exodus from
the United states to v hat was then sup
posed TO he Mexico. When our train
crossed the Missouri and pushed west to
try to reach the Pacific. we still were in
their trails. following the marks their
great moving caravan made as it drew
its notified length like a shining serpent
across the great deserts to Salt Lake.
was but a small lad at that time, not
big enough to bear arms, or indeed to
understand much Of anything. But this
much | understood. and understood so
well that it became part Of my life ::
that we were in peril. 1t was not Indians
we feared. My father was Quaker, and
ne feared no man whom he could look in
the face But he did fear the Danites.
whom no man might see till they did
their bloody work.
Not that he or his had ever had any
part or hand in their persecution but
this terror Of them was in the air, it was
over all things We knew that our road
lay through or by Salt Lake There was
no escaping that. We must follow on in
their track till We came in our journey to
where Dan, Who judged his people, lay
like ''scrpent by the way IAN adder
IN the path.
forgot to mention that my father had
done little something in his quiet
Quaker-like way 10 help, or try to help,
beautiful Young woman who had come
III great distress to our camp one even
ing, While tented il the cid Mormon win
ter quarters Oh the banks of the Missou-
ri. But surely he had no cause to fear
evil for good.
The facts were simply these. This
beautiful, black-eyed little lady was one
OF the ten thousand emigrants starting
out in long weary line toward the re-
motest West. She was with her people
her parents, brothers ana sisters and
some other relatives, if remember cor
rectly. This young lady, girl of eigh-
teen, gifted, graceful, good to her par
ents, full OF affection, was suffering from
an uncomfortable fear of the Mormons.
Her people she told my father in terrified
whispers, were from the same settlement
the Mormons originally started from, and
she knew that her people would be
''judged" 10y the Danites when they came
to Salt Lake, on their journey to Cali
fOrnia
1t subsequently appeared, however,
that she had not told quite all the truth.
There really had been serious trouble
between her father and the Mormons
nearly year before. And this was the
nature of it. The MormOns had grown
up in the settlement where the girls
people lived, and were all mixed up
among the neighbors. 1t was not easy
to say who was Mormon and who was
not. Converts were new and numerous.
A man might be "Gentile' to- day and
| Il Mormon to- morrow.
One of the busy wOmen-one Of the
meddlesome and mischievous kind found
in all camps-who knew this poor girls
history better perhaps than she suspect
ed told the secret of her marriage to one
of the new Mormon elders. 1t was for
hidden marriage too amarriage on dis
! covery of which her father had become
very furious, and loud with threats to all