Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-14
IDAHO NCENIDNS.
How they Manage to support Large
Families.


naDceY' remarked freud OF mine. nudE
ing me with his elbow as the ind''lHua
in question brushed by u, or the SIDEWAYS
Of the principal street 10 town e'ldeNIs
IN hurry about something.
"Yes," IIeplied; land who 10 'He "of'd
is hel"
"Wbv. thatisa brother ~ tie no'o'iou US
Mat Tr1Imb1. who was UntI! .e" weeks
sgn ire biggest Mormon iu all lGAho.
"WeU, And WY isn't Ma. Irumho the
biyyest Mormon IN al Idaho io-dd! /
inquired, ~. .r-.,,,,h q
passed ia his checks. 20 10 SPEAK. a s1"i !
time since, leaving four or I'VE wives anu
q couple OF dozen children 70 10 urn I's
uptinely end. This fellow is 2 brother Of
TruubO, defuncf. and ne D. trying 10 s'ep
into the ate Majors shoes. ,..,
"Wbsti Is he doing IN Miles CllY" /
asked my Informant .-
..Oh. he's up here On prosel ytng UP
looking for CONVERTS
But WHY does be come here IN Tue ne"
Northeast with his missionary work.
where women are 80 scarce ana al
premium ?
"Wb,. bless your innocent soul, an-
swered nv friend. the new Northwest 10
one OF the most fruitful fields IN the Whote
world for PROSECUTING 10 the horuioH
faith. He is after the men a. well a. the
women. Don't you know that the MOI
mon missionaries make annual pilgrim
ages sll through Montana, ldanO Snd
Dakota endeavoring % trap. not the older
residents AMI settlers, not the COWBOYS OF
Americans, but the new arrivals from
Norway. sweden, Denmark. Germany
and other paris Of the Old " GRID?
TO own the truth, didn't know II, but
| found such " as actually the case. Inc
nducement offered to the girls and young
gornen is a home and husband, and 10
he men A farm or start ~ some k'ud Ol
business. 10 wonder the poor ign0I AM
foreigners are so w3efully taken IN. lhey
can scarcely comprehend our LANGUAGE,
but are made 10 understand enough OF It
70
SNAP AT TIE BAIT,
and. ia their ignorance. % embrace Nor
mouism and all its horrors. To be sure,
the females are given husbands, or, al
.east, part OF a husband, and the males
yet a farm. the title Of which remains for
ever vested in the church. 80 long as the
men rema MormOns they may keep the
farm in peace. but once turn from the
church tue title, bT some arrangement.
sscheats II q bishop or an elder, and q e
poor miserable wretch is given the grand
bounce. For the female converts II - d
life 81 never ending slavery, worse than
the customs among our own tribes OF Red
men, where the squaws do all the Work,
In fact the entire Iaugr connected Win an
Indian village. while the lazy bucks look
IN and smoke their pipes IN cOnlented
dleness.
I was Up among TIE Mormon settle
uents IN IdsnO recently, and while there
ran across a Mormon community near
Biackt0ot- During my visit learned
more aOgHt tue customs, habits and WAYS
Of the Uoiygsmlsts than l had ever
5reamed OF In the y hole cOurHe Of my
previous existence. / asked myself tue
question. How did they mAnage 70 oil UP
tna beautiful Idaho valley with their hate
FIJI presence. aud hos did they get hold OF
% much government and railroad
iand!" ! was not long in finding
he solution TO my question. When
TIE U.au Northern railroad was
being constructed some years ago,
north from OGDEN % Butte CITY in Mon
lana. the only available help in the cOun-
try In those days were the Mormon males,
VINO bad plenty o. spare and idle time
on their hands. There was little or moth
ing for them 10 do ia the way OF caring
ior their Own families, as tue two, three
our or five wives in each case die all the
manual labor necessary, and besides
many CT these blinded females actually
did a portion OF, III not the entire
supporting OF their separate estab-
hshments by working for outside wages.
These Mormon railroad builders took up
choice farms under the homestead, pre-
emption. desert or tree claim acts. II Is
a well known fact that the Mormon wo-
men In large majority of cases have al.
ways supported ADD do yet support their
families Including the old man while
the idle, law dutier at the head OF the
house never turns his hand to DO stroke
OF work. II has always been a matter o.
much wonder 10 me how the Mormon
males managed to
SUPPORT SUCH LARGE FAMILIES.
The ordinary, hard working but respect
able Christian mechanic finds it no cas-,
matter TO provide for one family and u
make both ends meet; but here these fol
overs OF smith and Young marry earl,
and often, are as a rule well-to-dO, an,
really get along better with their numeT
Gus wives and large progeny tnan poo
Christian does with one wife and few
children. While in Idaho looked arOun
or the solution OF the problem, and wa
not long in discovering IT. / saw tDrOug
the scheme at once. The more wives on
OF these old rsscals had the better off b
was. just for all the world like old sla
Tery days. The more negroes the plRnte
owned the richer was he. So il is wit
the Mormons. One wife would find
tough work providing for the Who'll
family, but four or five wives, with a fe,
grown-up daughters, engaged in labOrin
for living, would keep the family Golfer
pretty well filled.
II the matter were looked into 1t woul
Dc found that nearly all the soutber
counties OF Idaho are In the bands OF ID
Latter Day Saints. 1t was for this res
son that the honest people living in th
little pan handle shooting away into Ia
north and jammed in between Wsshni
ton and Montana desired a segregstio
from their favored Territory and anneNj
ton to either Of their neighbOrs. IL wa
simply a wish to get away from Mormon
ism and the Mormon hOrdes Growing an
crushing up from the south.
The missionaries OF p)lygamy bav
made little progress in bright, free Mon
tana. This country don Z take kindly {
.heir pernicious doctrines. The cowboy
Of Montana would be glad enough TO ge
one wife II they could, without acting III
pig and gObblinz up more than their shar
Of those blessings. Nevertheless. the sal
Lake missionaries have been at work Al
through the North west.and. as renarke
before. their principal converts nave bee
and are ignorant inning ants, late arr
walls from over the water.
| noticed also that the saints give n
little attention 10 the various India
tribes scattered throughout the NoItl
west. The reason for this ] never cOul