The Portland daily press., 1892-12-27
A GIRLS ESCAPE.
BY CHARLES B. LEWIS (M. oUAD).
Copyright, 1892, by c. B. Lewis;


rect contact with Mormonism during its
palmy days can realize the autocratic
powers possessed by Brigham Young.
His will was law Not law either, for
there was no law. He had simply to or
der this or that to be done, and it was
done. No chief of tribe in Africa could
have followed his course for a month
without creating a rebellion among his
subjects. For years he held the govern
ment of the United States at bay, and for
years his Danites hunted down and 1nur-
dered Gentiles without fear of ever be-
ing brought to account. The spectacle
of 200 Danites riding up to Fort Bridger,
in another territory, and demanding 4
fugitive Mormon Of the commandant
under penalty of instant attack is quoted
as an instance Of their arrogance. There
were only forty men in the old ruin,
called fort by courtesy, and six or eight
of those were sick or disabled by wounds,
but the brave commandant ordered the
drum to beat "To arms!" slued his two
old feldpieces around to command the
gateway and replied to the threat:
ssThe man you want is here, but you
can't have him until the last one of us is
wiped outw
It is doubtful if one convert" out of
twenty had a suspicion of the real situa-
ton until his arrival. Brigham Youngs
messengers" worked entirely among the
lower classes, both at home and abroad.
The great majority Of converts accepted
all statements in perfect good faith, and
it was only after arriving in Utah that
they had their eyes opened. Then it was
zoo late. It was an infexible rule of the
church that no convert should return to
the outside world. Now and then one
lid escape, but for every one who sue
ceeded hundred were recaptured or
killed when overtaken. The Mountain
Meadow massacre included more victims
than any other recorded, but there were
plenty of other instances where emil
grant parties Of Gentiles were wiped out
by Danites or Indians, or led astray by
false guides to miserably perish on the
desert or among the hills.
Among band of seventy converts
made in the mountains of Georgia dur
ing Young's last year Of active reign
were widower named johnson and his
daughter Mary. The man was about
fifty years of age, the girl about eight
cen. While they belonged to the
sscracker" class, it was owing to misfor-
tune more than to birth and training.
They were poor, but neither uncouth
nor ignorant. johnson was something
of religious exhorter and had rather
queer ideas on religion, and the Nor
mon elder put things in such light as
to captivate him. He believed he had
found the true religion at last, and Utah
was described as paradise on earth.
It was expressly stipulated that he
could embrace polygamy or not, as he
felt inclined, and that Mary should re-
main with him until she elected to
marry. Once safely arrived in the
Mormon kingdom they were not long in
discovering that they had been basely
deceived. They were sent with about
200 others to found town almost di-
rectly east of Salt Lake and on the south
side of the Uintah mountains. This
town was to be known as Salvation City,
and the real object of it was to guard
the pass in the range known as Will
liams' pass. Some of the converts who
had settled in the Green river valley
had tried to reach Fort Bridger by this
route, and two or three had succeeded.
Mary johnson was robust, fine looking
girl, and her fate had been decided
within an hour after the party had ar
rived at Salt Lake. She was permitted
to go with her father, however, and ii
was three months later before the plans
Of ssthe Lord" were revealed to her.
Upon arriving at their destination
nearly every one in the party was taken
down with mountain fever, and about
one-third of the number died. Work
was begun on several buildings, and the
walls are to be found there today, but
before anything of account was accom-
plished the remainder Of the party were
recalled to assist in building the town
of Provo.
Neither father nor daughter had the
fever, but from one who was attacked
and to whom they gave the kindest care
came the information that Mary was to
be the sixth or seventh wife of a certain
elder, while her father himself would
shortly be expected to fully embrace the
faith by taking two or three wives He
was not man of much force of char
Acter. After being told that escape was
hopeless and that rebellion against the
authority Of the church was punished by
death he decided TO obey whatever or
der was given. Mt 50 with Mary. She
received the news with horror and in
dignation and enireated the father to at
least make an attempt to escape. He
hadn't the nerve to do it. There were
men in the camp who had him under
espionage, and hs selt certain he would
be overhauled in short order. That
would mean soma terrible punishment
if not death At That time and for sew
eral years later there were inclosed in
circular wall at the mouth of the pass
the skeletons Of four or five people who
had been overtaken and killed while
seeking to escape. The wall was even
tually torn down, and the bones We're