New-York tribune., 1901-04-14
IN \ MORMON COLONY.
: OW THE SAINTS IN ARIZONA LIVE AND
WAX NUMEROUS AND PROSPEROUS.

to swarm through his country, and some of the
Mormons got the California fever. They came
10 Young and told him that they thought it |
would be a great thing for their church if they |
went to the gold fields and brought back lot |
of money-one-tenth of which, according to
their tithing system would go to the church |
The Mormon Solon listened to them. and then
told them that one-tenth of a dollars worth of
worth a great deal more to the church |
than ne-tenth of a dollars worth of gold; that |
he had been thinking the mining business over
and that he had decided that he would never go
Into il. nor any of his people if he could help it
He was strong enough to keep them out OF it,
and his prohibition became much a law to
them that to this day they a peculiarly agri-
cultural people. living here in the valleys OF
Arizona. for instance, in quiet farming colonies
while all around them in the mountains men are
hocking to the gold and silver and copper mines
-focking, crowding. fighting, gambling, making
money and losing it, and at last fading away
and leaving the worked out camps desolate
SCme of the miners are made richer IN pocket of
course, but that is often at a fearful cost to
body and soul Meantime the Mormon has
struck his root down into the fertile valley soil
His children have grown up around him. and
have farms of their own The country will
belong to him and to them in the long He
knows perfectly we'll that he has the best end
OF the bargain.
one VINO lives among these people cannot help
being impressed with the fact that they
their lawgiVers have become possessed of the
secret of living for the race, or perhaps merely
for the whole Mormon people. rather than for
the Individual. Personally the Mormon has a
good time There are incessant "dOngs" and
merrymakings at the hall of his ward" at
private houses. 1t is against his principles to
do hard. grinding. long continued work, such as
-l,a a. Ip,,tt
this light work and little worry. carefully
planned for the general good rather than for
individual qualification. The Mormon's scheme
OF settlement forbids isolation or wide scattering
Of communities. They must live together The
hall for meetings and dances goes up before the
school house does. Here in St David-a little
farming colony in the fertile San Pedro valley.
clear down in Southern Arizona, twenty-five
miles from Tombstone there are some sort Of
'doin's at least every other week day evening.
and nearly every OF these has ended with a
dance All the elders. and generally the bishop,
attend these dances and take part in them: ana
if they dance till midnight, nothing whatever In
their religious Industrial principles keeps
them from sleeping the next morning till they
well rested.
one comes to think these Mormons uf the san
Pedro valley are the happcst people ever seen.
Where else will find people who enjoy them
selves all the time? Every ten minutes a farm
erS wagon drifts up down the wide road The
farmer is in it. driving his team. some agr-
cultural or other errand. He is alone. Prob
ably his wife is with him. and certainly several
Of his children are. You may the tow heads
Of the little boys under their little old felt hats
the rims generally turned down all around but
you cannot see the girls tow heads, because
they all wear starched sunbonnets However, 1
they all turn their this way and every
face wears broad smile
The families Of these people are immense.
For instance the good bishop Of the ward has
sixteen children-not the product Of plural mar
riaSc either. for though he has been twice mar
RED, he has not been polygamist. one elder
has twelve All the children in the community
are rosy and we'll fed. for though the people are
not rich all have enough to eat Fresh meat
indeed, is rarity here. but milk eggs and
poultry are abundant, and they have that great
Arizona resource in plenty, the frijoles. or black
beans. which are certainly the best. most nu-
tritious and most easily disested beans in the
world. Whatever else they have their tables
they always have frijoles, their children live
chiefly on them. Their invariably rosy and
stout appearance speaks well for this Mexican
bean article Of food.
The Mormon colony here is a small one
only some 80 peOple-but further north along
ii