Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-04-29

THE MORMON'S DAUGHTER.

world, an band after band follered through
the howlin' wastes, an the same mountings,
an the same sufferin', to these valleys of
Zion. Thousands walked every step Of the
way, from the Mississippi river, over Q
thousand miles, an some what had no mon
ey an had worked their way over in vessels
from Europe walked clean from New York
to Salt Lake, nigh three thousand miles;
some dyin' on the way, an some dyin' soon
es they got here, an some Twin to work fer
the Lord in His vineyard.
"Well, they'd always try to come in bands,
from the Missouri river anyway, caise the
Injuns was bad. Sometimes es many es
five hundred come in q band at once. So,
es it tuck good many Jokes of steers to
haul the provisions an beddin' fer so many,
President Young had q revelation from the
Lord that each one was to be fixed out with
hand-cart and haul most Of his pervisions
an beddin' through with him es he come.
Some was fer doubtin' the wisdom Of this,
hev heard, but the Lords prophet sent
word through his servants that nothin' could
harm hair of our heads if we trusted in
the Lord, an had the kind Of faith we should
hev Well, 1 s'pose what he said was true
es gospel, an the fault was mans some
way, an not Gods revelation, but the jour
ney was hard, hard es death, an ,oas death
to lots Of us, an Pm bodily shore nothin'
never could be harderi" And he shook his
gray head and stared mistily moment at
the floor. 'Wel,' he went on, ''about that
time one Of the brethren come q preachin'
down through Tennessee, an me an wife
an some more was turned from our follies,
an sot out fer Zion. My wife Catherine
didn't want to go, but the whole batch Of US
was nigh wild to git out Of the wilderness
Of sin about us and gether to the Zion Of
the Lord here into the West, whar we was
tole, s'pose es hgger Of speech, all was
peace an es if it was f1owin' with milk an
honey.
1--WE had had those children then, a little
darter an son that we'd buried, an one
Twin girl-child who's a wife of Elder
Shoots in Salt Lake now. It was pine
blank hard gettin' away from them two
little graves Of our'n, ye may believe. We
knowed that es long rs time lasted we'd
never see 'em no more, an thought Cath
erine's heart d break that mornin' we left,
an mebby it did! mebby it did fer she
went upon the hill back Of the house whar
them little graves was under a tree, an
I seed her stan awhile lookin' down
through the valley whar most of our kin
folks an friends lived, then seed Ter turn
round an fall acrost them little graves Of
our'n an lay there es If the life had gone
clean out Of Ter. She laid so long there
was afeerd fer Ter, an went up the hill to
bring Ter back, fer the wagon was awaitin'
to take US to the river landin' fer the boat.
When got there she was alayin' atwixt
the graves with q arm round each little
mound, an cryin' an moanin' turrible.
When I got her up she fell down agin, an
kissed each little grave, an put a pinch of
moss from each one into her bosom, an
come astumblin' down the hill, fer she
seemed blind, an got into the wagon an
we driv away 1t was hard, but guess
didn't feel it es much es her, fer was res
erlute an determined an filed with the
sperrit Of getherin' to Zion.
"Wen, it was long and tejus Journey,
from Tennessee to whar we jined the i'm
migrant band OF brethren in Iowa, but 1t
was es nothin' to the travelin' after that.
fairly SILVER wen think of it. The tu1 ri
BILE, turrible tiredness, the heat, an SAN an
thirst, an draggin' feet, the never, never
endin' miles an miles of treeless, trackless
wilderness, the glare Of the sun, ZEN after
while the cold, an mountings, an freezin'
an death, an hoverin' savages, it all comes
back afore me now an strikes me nigh