Year: 1876

july ., 1876.


Dear Star: A mouth spent in travel
and II six weeks sojourn in Iowa has not
sullccd to obitcrute or even dim the
rccolIcctions OF our Washington Terri
tory home, nor the friends We found and
associations we formed within its bor-
des. On the contrary, we find ourselves
looking with much cagerncSs Tor the
weekly visit Of the STAR, which has rs
yet, failed to put IN an appearance, W
though doubtless for some good reason
which will hereafter be explained, and
which in the meantime we will attribute
to the delinquent servants OF Uncle
Sam" whose shoulders are certainly
broad enough to bear the blame for all
such triting delinqucncies. In the
denrth, however, OF SnohOmis ish news
save what we can CLEAN from the scanty
columns OF the IateuVencer, we have
rcsortrd to Mr.. Mcawber's plan OF wri-
ting y letter, to see if the mail will carry,
what it does not bring. In doing this
we serve another purpose also, that is, to
assure the many friends to whom prom.
iscs were made to write,'-that such
promises have thus far not been fulfilled
Tor want OF time--a plea that is very
trte yet equally true; and that through
the medium OF this communication we
wish to send kindness to all. The Incl
dents OF our journey; as we progressed
eastward, were noted down and sent you
occasionally, by Mr.. r., the last being
written from Salt Lake City, We tar
ried in the SO called "City Of the Saints"
nearly three weeks, not exactly fom
choice-though our stay WAS pleasant
one-but rather from necessity, and the
medical fraternity of that city will some
of them have cause to remember us ii
not to thank us for our patronage. But
of course the most vivid recollections we
have Of our stay there are of its peculiar
institution-Uis polygamy. wish all
the wives and daughters in the land
might see it MS | saw it, that they might
rejoice at their happier lot. These poor
women many OF them left happy homes
in the East to endure the untold hard
ships of a journey across the plains in
the Emigrant" days, and to live life
OF misery and sorrow atterward. Their
unhappiness Is by no means tiction--it
| exists as truly as ever it was pictured
forth by any OF its historians. They talk
of it freely, and call it their "cross"--
which they bear because they believe 1t
to be one OF Gods ordinances. 1t comes
Of giving to Scripture u too literal inter.
pletati0n-a mistake made by many
religious fanatics outside OF Mormondom.
was personal witness of many OF the
heart. burning and jealousies among
these plural wives, while tarried among
them, Most OF all l pitied the poor
children, for it has been entalled on them
like curse, and they see it as the out
side world sees It, in all its horrors.
The young women, true to their woman
ly instincts, declare they will have naught
to do with it, and it is certain that in
time it will die natural death. In
former letter we no doubt gave unpleas.
ant impressions of the climate Of the
Salt Lake valley. These were perhaps
unfair to some extent, though the wealth.
er ut the time was certainly most un-
seasonable. But as we looked back for
the last time upon the beautiful valley,
filed with cultivated fields and bloom.
ing orchards, and tue grand old mount
aims which surround it, tinted with the
radiance OF the rising sun, we thought
we had never seen loyclier picture, and
we would fain have forgotten that it was
the abode OF unhallowed deeds--it seem
ed more like picture OF Paradise. We
left Ogden on the morning Of May "a, in
sleeping cur Winona," our home for
two days and halt only, 80 swiftly did
the iron horse transport US across the
space we now had to travel. We caught
only a glimpse Of the famous scenery OF
the Weber and Echo Canyons--of the
| DeYil'a Slide. the thousand mile Tree