Mower County transcript., 1907-03-13
CHAPTER XII.
A Fjaht for Life.

A Fight for Life.
The stream of Saints to the Great
Basin had become well-nigh contin-
uous-Saints of all degrees of pros
perity, from Farley Pratt, the Archer
of Paradise, with his wealth OF wives,
wagons and cattle, to Barney Bigler,
unblessed with wives or herds, who
put his earthly goods on wheelbar-
row and, to the everlasting glory OF
God, trundled it from the Missouri
river to the valley of the Great Salt
Lake. Train after train set out for
the new Zion with faith that God
would drop mama before them.
One by one the trains worked down
into the valley, the tired Saints max
ing fresh their covenants by rebap-
tism as they came. In the waters OF
the River Jordan, Joel Rae made hun
dreds to be renewed in the Kingdom,
swearing them to obey Brigham, the
Lords anointed, in all his orders, spir-
itual or temporal, and the priesthood
or either of them, and all church au-
thorities in like manner; to regard
this obligation as superior to all laws
of the United States and all earthly
laws whatsoever; to- cherish enmity
against the government of the United
States, that the blood of Joseph Smith
and the Apostles slain in that genera
ton might be avenged; and to keep
the matter of this oath a profound Sc
cret then and forever. And from
these waters of baptism the purified
Saints went to their inheritances in
Zion-took their humble places, and
began to sweat and bleed in the up
building of the new Jerusalem.
From high, tented wagon in one
sucn train, creaking its rough way
down Emigration canyon, with strain
ing oxen and tired but eager people,
there had leaped late one afternoon
the girl whose eyes were to call to
him so potently-incomparable eyes,
large and deep, of velvety grayness,
under black brows splendidly bent.
Nor had the eyes alone voiced that
call to his starved senses. He had
caught the free, fearless confidence in
her leap over the wheel, and her
graceful abandon as she stood there,
finely erect and full-curved, her head
with it's Greek lines thrown well back,
and her strong hands raised to read
just the dusky hair that tumbled about
her head like storm cloud.
Men from the train were all about,
and others from the settlement, and
these spoke to her, some in serious
greeting, some with jesting words.
She returned it all in good part with
out embarrassment-even the sally
of the winking wag who called out:
.'Now, then, Mara Cavan! Here we
are, and a girl like yourself ought to
catch an Elder, at the very lowest
She laughed with easy good nature,
still frlmbling in the dusk of blown
hair at the back of her head, showing
a full-lipped mouth, beautifully large,
with strengthening, white teeth. 'Tll
catch never one myself, if you
please, Nathan Tanner! I'll do no
catching at all, now! I'm the one will
have to be caught
Her voice was contralto with the
little hint. of roughness that made it
warm and richly golden; that made
it fall, indeed, upon the ears of the
listening Elder like cathedral chime
calling him to forget all and worship
forget all but that he was five and
twenty with the hot blood surging and
crowding and crying out in his veins.
Now, having a little subdued the
tossing storm cloud of hair, she stood
with one hand upon her hip and the
other shading her eyes, looking in
tently into the streets of the new set.
tlement. And again: there was ban
tering jest from the men about, and
the ready, careless response from her,
with gestures Of an impishly reckless
unconcern, of full readiness to give
and take in easy good fellowship
But then, in the very midst of light
response to one Of the bantering men,
her gray eyes met for the first time
the very living look of the young
Elder standing near. She was at
once confused, breaking of her speech
with an awkward laugh, and looking
down. But, his eyes keeping steadily
upon her, she, as if def1antly, returned
his look for q futtering second, trying
to make her eyes survey him slowly
from head to foot with her late cool
caFelessness;: but she hal to let them
fa!!! Il. again, AID he saw the color come
under the clear skin.
He knew by these tokens that he
possessed power over this splendid
woman that none Of the other men
could wield-she had lowered her
eyes to no other but him and all the
man in him sang exultantly under the
knowledge. He greeted her father.
the little seumas Cavan, Of indomlt-
able spirit, fresh, for all his march of
: thousand miles, and he welcomed
them both to Zion. Again and ag4in.
while he talked to them he caught
quick glances from tho wonderful
eyes glances OF Interest, Of INQUIRY
now Of hall t-hearted defiance, now
Of wondering submission. s3s. g.
The succeeding months had been 81
-. -