|
April 16th.—This morning, Messrs. Atwood and Murray arrived with the California
mail. They report that one of their party, a Mr. George Lamphere of Chicago, was hot by
the Indians, between the Santa Clara and Rio Virgin (Virgin River). It seems that Atwood
and Murray saddled their horses and prepared for their day's journey, before Mr. Lamphere
had finished his breakfast. They mounted and started, intending to ride slowly long. About
an hour after leaving camp, they saw Lamphere's horse galloping, riderless, towards them;
as he approached, they perceived three arrows sticking in his side. They immediately
suspected that their companion had been ruthlessly murdered by the Indians. hey succeeded
in catching the frightened horse, and secured him to a tree; afterwards they galloped at
full speed towards their late camp. They were well armed, and although they were ignorant
of the force of the enemy which might be in ambush waiting for them, nothing daunted, they
dashed forward, and found the dead body of their friend and companion on the road, pierced
with a dozen arrows, completely stripped of all his clothing. Mr. Lamphere had a large
amount of money with him, besides valuable specimens of gold, which he had obtained in
California—a gold watch, etc. Everything had been stolen by the Indians of the Santa
Clara.
The situation of Murray and Atwood was most critical, as evidently a large force of
Indians were in the neighborhood. They recommenced their journey, and travelled at full
speed until noon; encamped, and rested their animals until dark. They made a large fire,
so as to show the Indians where their camp was, and, at a killing pace, journeyed all
night. The Indians followed them at a distance, with a view to massacre them during the
night. When they saw the smoke of the camp fire, they also encamped; and as their usual
hour of surrounding a camp was just before day, when men are supposed to sleep soundest,
they also rested from their fatiguing ride; but the next morning the birds bad flown, and
were forty miles distant from them. These gentlemen arrived at Parowan, with their animals
perfectly lame, and useless for continuing their journey to Great Salt Lake City. They
there procured fresh ones, and arrived safely. From their own lips, I heard the recital of
the above melancholy catastrophe.
I was about to travel over this same road, and was fully alive to the dangers which
might beset me; but I had to get to the sea-board, and as the party with whom I intended
to travel were well armed, and composed of twenty-three able-bodied men, I felt just as
secure as I would have felt on any other line of road.
PHENOMENON OF A HOT AND COLD SPRING
About ten miles north of Salt Lake City, there are two springs close together, one salt
and cold, the other fresh and hot; these springs unite at some distance, and form a lake
of 400 feet in diameter—one portion of the water is hot, and the other cold, and is
so all the year round.
It was said by the gentleman who described them to me, that he bathed in this lake, and
that one part of his body was in the cold water, while the other was in water quite hot.
In the mountains around Salt Lake City, mica is found in large masses. I saw one block
in the city, several feet square, which was perfectly transparent. It is used as a
substitute for window-glass, in some of the houses of the Mormons.
Plumbago of superior quality is found on Coal Creek; and saleratus is procured in
quantities from Juab Valley. Alum and sulphur abound in the different valleys of Utah.
The death of Willard B. Richards, one of the chief members of the presidency, and
editor of the Deseret News, threw a gloom over the whole community. I attended his
funeral. His excellency the Governor, was too unwell to officiate, but several funeral
sermons were preached at the house. He was one of the earliest, and most valuable members
of the church of the latter day saints.
Mr. Richards left quite a number of widows, I could not ascertain exactly how many, but
I was credibly in formed by a Mormon lady, that she knew six.
Heber C. Kimball, the next in rank to Brigham Young in the church, is a noble looking
man, over six feet, and well proportioned, he speaks fluently, his language is inornate,
and indicates an original mind, without cultivation. He is said to have more wives than
any man in Utah—the Governor not excepted.
I learned from a niece of the Governor's, that she knew personally nineteen of his
wives, although he had many more.
The Governor had at the time I was in the city, thirty-three children, including
several grown men and women, by his first wife, who is still living with him. I was
introduced by his excellency, to eleven of his wives, at the different times I visited his
residence—all of them are beautiful women. Parley Pratt introduced me to his
household, I numbered five or six females, I think he has but six wives.
Ezra T. Benson, one of the apostles with whom I boarded, has four wives, three are
living in the same house with him, and one in a small house, a couple of rods away. He has
children by all of them, and they all seemed to live very harmoniously together. I had
several conversations with these ladies on the spiritual wife system, they submit to it
because they implicitly believe it to be necessary to their salvation. They argue,
"Cannot a father love six children? why can he not love six wives?" I must say,
that during a sojourn of near three months in Salt Lake City, I never observed the
slightest indications of improper conduct or lightness, amongst them—neither by
conversation or otherwise. Their young ladies are modest, and unassuming, while their
matrons are sedate and stately. Polygamy is by no means general, there are hundreds of
Mormons who have only one wife.
WELSH SETTLEMENT IN THE MOUNTAINS.
Indian Walker, an Utah chief, relates, that on two low mountains, situated between the
Red and Grand Rivers, there is a colony of white people, who live in rough stone houses,
two stories high, with no windows in the lower story, and accessible only by a ladder.
These people have an abundance of sheep, and some cattle; they raise grain on the base
of the mountain this statement is corroborated by other Indian testimony.
Brigham Young says, in reference to the above, that he believes them to have been
originally Welsh families, who emigrated many years ago, before the settlement of this
country. He told me that he intended to send a company of Mormons to search for the
colony.
May 6th.—The exploring expedition of the late Capt. Gunnison, now under the
command of Lieut. Beckwith, with an escort of twenty-four mounted dragoons, under the
command of Capt. Morris with orders from the government, left this morning, to explore for
a pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, on a parallel with Great Salt Lake City.
My old compagnon de voyage, Egloffstien, accompanied them as engineer.
|
