River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-09-30

husOihu society, though well know
ing that she only secures it through the
last aquisition. But she has the salts
faction 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 90 through
has not been the means of purifying
the dress from off the gold of her
sorely-tried soul And what human
being shall sit in Judgement upon
her? Has she not done her best in
her undignilied and difficult position P
Some women of lighter natures and
with little or no love for their husbands
are more fortunate, especially if the
husband is well off and can satisfy
them with the pleasing things of this
world. Young girls of ID and Is years
of age will, on account of polygamy,
marry into polygamy and bind them
selves to old men Of 60 or 20 years,
who perhaps already have five or six
wives. la that way they fortify their
feelings against suffering, as they can
not love these men as husbands
Such young girl said to the writer
that she thor@ht she had done very
wisely in II as ny such an old man,
because, you know, said she. ''if
had married & young man who ! could
love | would not have been happy long
anyhow, for he would have had to 90
into polygamy, and then | would only
feel SO much the worse. Now | don't
care" This girls husband, though he
was old, was rich and had already Civ
en- her SO many fine things that she
a oil la. ha,
gain.
Then there are again some women
who, when their husbands enter into
polygamy lose their rights as wives and
become henceforth nothing more than
mere women, even when he takes the
''second" 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 was allowed to
keep her place at The table and to at
tend to the household affairs, but her
rights as wife and the confidence Of her
husband were entirely Withdrawn.
This was exceptionally hard in this
particular case, for, to use her own
words, she said II cannot tell YOU
how | 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 deprives
me of my right to increase my family ;"
1t is always taught the Mormous that
the more numerous the offspring the
greater exaltion in the next world
But she never exposulated with him.
She was too proud and too deeply hurt
She was en- excellent woman and
worked hard to build up her husband 5
temporal ailairs-as he was a 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 she could do, because she was truly
religious, having become converted be-
fore she became a Mormon: and she
sincerely believed that polygamy was
commanded by God. Besides, she
was woman OF character, and in the
possession of great energy and 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 CLAWS.
and, above all, they have not spiritual
strength to support them, though many
are. in II certain way, religious, and try
sincerely to DO what they think is right.
And they are as good and uprig ht
women as you can find anywhere in
the world.
But great many die from broken
hearts. But few days since such a
poor soul left this. to her. cruel world.
She was the wife of a man who had
several polygamOus wives, and who is
now serving term in the penitentiary
for unlawful cohabitatiou. He was
under indictment when she lay on her
death-bed, having just brought another
little child into this cold world. She
called him to her bedside and begged
that he in the future would obey the
law. She asked him to remember how
happy they had been in the first years
OF their married life. They were very
poor en-, to be sure, and she had had
TO take the leather of his old boots to
make shoes for their little children, but
how happy and contented she was theni
She spoke to him in such q gentle, low
ing way that he tore his hair. threw
himself on the floor, and called himself
Il brute and a beast, who deserved any
punishment, and promised her that he
would obey the law. She begged that
he would motif she should have to
die-tak her children to live with the
second wife. and, throwing her arms
around his neck, she said; II love
you still. joint He left her To- 90 to
his trial.
Later the second" came iuto her
room aud tld her triumphantly that
he had nr.nli>ed her (the socpud) that
he " ouid uoi obey the law. The elders
also Game in aud prayed for him that
he might have strength to resist the
Unitpi States law and to become a
MARTYR f"r his faith. OF course all this
was too much for her in her critical
condition, aad without another struggle
sire Sllcn'iy passed away from this
world ard her troubles. Her aching
heart az last found rest. At the funeral
there were, nf course. vehicles for the
couvcyn, ce of the plural wives and
their lam lirs but for the de- ID wife 5
children na such thing WIS thought
necessar, and the chief mouruers had
to iind th mSelves places with the
neigh 5Ors aud friends as bo,t they
couid.
Now We come to yet another kind of
women III Mormondom, especially
amoug tn plural wives. These, whe II
they brcume old and lose their attrac-
tons IN tbs, ewes of their husbands,
manage to keep their positions and in
measure their influence over their
lords by becoming their help mates in
securing other and younger "wives.
BY so doing they become apostles and
champions of polygamy. 1t is so nice,
you know, when they have no more
hope of keeping their positions as wives
to become in their old age pillars Of
the church by upholding and preach
ing polygamy and driving their young
er listers into the practice through
which they have themselves emerged,
like dry sticks, void of all sympathy
for their own sex. They feel that,
inasmuch as they have had to 90
through the mill. it is but fair that
Others should also 20 through the same
misery. For the smarter individuals
of these apostles of polygamy then
commences an especially good time.
Fhey are present here and there and
everywhere, to show the world Mat
happy lot their lot is.
How satisfied they feel in this Pc
culiar system. and what liars some
people are who say that the women of
Mormoudom are sad and dOwn-trOdden!
They come to the front and say to the
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