The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-09-19
THE WOMEN OF MORMONDOM.
A Wife's Heart Story Vividly and Touch
ingly Told by One of the Faith.
The Bitter Experiences of POlygamy-Wifely
Attributes Destroyed by It's Practice
Suffrage No Boon to Plural Wives.
Salt Lake Letter in New York herald.

Inc MormonS are fanatics, and there lS craze
upon them at present to pose as martyrs for
their faith. This "honor" can be cheaply
CURED with but six months loss of liberty and
without ine Nearly everybody can get free
from the fines imposed by taking the paupers
oath. Men worth thousands and thousands of
dollars will deed over their property to their diff
ferent wives" and swear before the court that
they do not possess a dollar in the world. Oh
the Mormons are smart, and the church is rich
enough to obtain the best legal counsel both here
and in Washington. They will not give up so
long as they can grind money out of the poor
people who believe anything the Church author
ity" tells them.
Some women will, as above stated. fight po
lygamy, while Others with a bursting heart
give their consent to it, because they feel they
have not the power to resist the pressure which
is brought to bear upon them, and because they
in vague way, believe it to be right They
have from thence to grapple with the spectre%R
the tangible form of woman younger and fresh
err than themselves, and who generally enters
into the combat with all the zest and assurance
of favorite. If the wife complains she is i'll
tempered, and if she makes trouble, annoys the
husband or disturbs him too much in his new
made happiness, she is wicked and will surely 60
to destruction, while the polygamous wife. who
has never known what it is to give up the exclu-
sive right to husbands company, confidence
and affection, is such good and lovable woman
that in her company he can alone find rest for
his troubled soul He is, therefore, of course.
entirely justified in seeking this company and in
withdrawing from the wife-for how can he
dure living with devlll In this manner
then, the fractions wife is chastised. Oh! the
Mormons WELD a cruel power. 1t would be but
81, oDe,
At this stage of the soul-saving principle the
wife, if she does not repent and become good
girl by being satisfied with the attention the
husband can find time and permission to bestow
upon her is little by little entirely pushed to the
wall and becomes a castoff or discarded wife, is
for good given over to the devil and loses her
exaltaton both in this life and in the life to come
Some poor souls, on reaching this stage find no
more strength in them to fight for their rights,
they give up in despair, and settle down to
living death.
Other wives, again. through policy, and for
their children's sake, become good girls, and jog
along in misery as best they can But when the
lord, after some time-shorter or longer-be-
comes somewhat cooled off in his affection for
the second" or perhaps sees another woman
who strikes his fancy, he at once feels the ne
cessity of his still greater exaltaton in both
worlds, and becomes ''three-ply." Now comes
the time for the wife to obtain little salts
faction for all her suffering. She feels. she
knows, it is now the seconds" turn to drink that
cup of bitterness which she has had to drain.
And although in most cases the new establish
ment will necessitate a retrenchment in her few
comforts, and she also keenly feels this new in
trusion upon her rights, still she makes hardly
any opposition this time we'll knowing from
experience that she has no power to hinder it.
In many instances the wife will even, in meas
ure, take kindly to the "third"-inured as she
now is to this kind of treatment and to the sup
preston of her wfely feelings-and will often
share her home with her if poverty demands it,
By this she will also secure to herself more of
her husbands society, though we'll knowing she
only secures it through the last acquisition.
Bot she has the satisfaction of knowing that the
second" now feels all the agony she has felt
Poor SOUL she is but human. and the ordeal of
fire she has had to go through has not been the
means of purifying the dross from off the gold
of her sorely-tried soul And what human
being shall sit in Judgment upon her? Has she
not done haRh6se in hsr undignifed and difficult
position?
Some women with lighter natures and with
little or no love for their husbands are more
fortunate, especially if the husband is we'll off
and can satisfy them with tine pleasing things of
this world. Young girls of fifteen or sixteen
years of age will, on account of polygamy, mar
ry into polygamy and bind themselves to old
men of sixty or seventy years, who perhaps al
ready have five or six wives. In that way they
forufy their feelings against suffering as they
cannot love these men as husbands. Such q
young girl said to the writer that she thought
old man, because, you know" said she. IF
had married young man whom l could love
would not have been happy long anyhow, for he
would soon have had to go into polygamy, and
then l would only feel so much the worse Now
| don't care" This girls husband, though he
old, was rich and had already given her so
many nice things that she seemed quite delight
ed with her bargain
Then there are again some women who, when
their husbands enter into polvgamy, lose their
become hencefOrth nothing
more than women, even when he takes the sec
ond" home to live with the first wife. This Is
adding cruelty to insult. But the writer knows
of several such families In one of these the
husband ceased living with his wife from the
very day he brought the plural wife home to her
The wife allowed to keep her place at tie
table and to attend to the household affairs, but
her rights as wife and the confidence of her hus-
band were entirely withdrawn. This was
ceptionally hard in this particular case for. to
use her own words she said: II cannot tell you
how l have loved that man. For his sake, left
my relatives, country and everything that was
dear to me, and have gone through untold
troubles and hardships here. Besides, he de-
prives me OF my right to increase my
family" It is always taught the Nor
mons that the mores numerous the off
spring the greater eXaltation in the next
world. But she never expostulated with him
She was too proud and too deeply hurt She
was an excellent woman and worked hard to
build up her husbands temporal affairs-as he
was poor man-and did all she could for the
comfort of him and his plural families-two in
number-all In the same house. All this sns
could do, because she was truly religious having
become converted before she became Mormon
aud she sincerely believed that polyeamy Was
commanded by God Besides, she was woman
of character, and in the possession of great en-
ergy and a strong will to do what she thought to
be right. But there is not one such woman in a
thousand in polygamous Utah. They are ALL
more or less. of common clay and above ALL
they have not spiritual strength to support
them though many are in a certain way, relg
ous, and try sincerely to do what they think is
right And they are as good and upright women
as you can find anywhere in the world.
But great many die from broken hearts
But few days since such poor soul left this.
to her, cruel world. She was the wife of a man
who has several polygamous wives and who is
now serving term in the penitentiary for un-