THE YEARS, 1869, '70.
Co-operative Movement.—Cove Fort.—Pronouncement Against Use of Wine.—Organization of Bear Lake Stake.—Visit of Schuyler Colfax.—The Godbe Movement.—Descendants of Cain.—Utah Central R. R. Completed.—Plural Marriage.—Boston Board of Trade Visits Utah.—Sayings of Brigham Young.—The Newman-Pratt Discussion.—Martin Harris Rebaptized.
January 1st, 1869, Wilford Woodruff accompanied Brigham Young to Ogden, where a meeting was held for the purpose of discussing a grant of land to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads for the use of their terminal station. On the 2nd they met Governor Stanford of California and Mr. Durant, both railroad men. The former rode with President Young to view the proposed depot site. The authorities had done all in their power to make Salt Lake City the terminal, hoping that the Central Pacific would come by way of the south end of the lake. They accepted their disappointment gracefully and did all they could to expedite the construction of the railroads and terminal facilities at the Junction City.
Much of the month of January was devoted by Elder Woodruff to his legislative work. Under date of the 22nd, however, he recorded the testimony of Joseph B. Nobles to the effect that he officiated in the first plural marriage of this dispensation, by sealing Eliza Beman to the Prophet Joseph Smith, on May 6th, 1841.
On the following 7th of February, a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Mr. Stewart, was accorded the privilege of addressing the Saints in the Tabernacle, and in the evening at the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Room. From the earliest times in Utah there was a manifest willingness on the part of the leaders to grant the use of their places of worship to ministers of the various denominations. The teachings of these ministers afforded the Saints an opportunity of contrasting the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints with those of the various sects.
Elder Woodruff, in his journal, said that the year 1869 was characterized by the great co-operative movement, which made rapid headway throughout the settlements in Utah. The early work of the pioneers had been the redemption of the land. To their mind, however, there was a special virtue in the cultivation of the soil and the manufacturing of those things needed by the pioneers. Trade and speculation were somewhat at variance with the religious spirit and tendencies of those times, but the movement was hastened by the advent into the Territory of large numbers of Gentiles who fed and fattened upon trade and speculation. The wealth acquired by these parvenu merchants was quite naturally a source of considerable power. They had the money to carry on almost any propaganda which they saw fit to inculcate in the minds of the people of the United States; more than that, the great profit to them often became a heavy burden to the people. There were in those days strong antagonisms, and partisan spirit ran high. Many of the merchants used their money in a manner harmful to the best interests of the Latter-day Saints, and in such a way as to engender a hatred towards them by the people of the United States.
To mitigate these unfortunate conditions, and lessen the power of certain ones of their enemies, and for the further purpose of permitting the Latter-day Saints themselves to reap their share of business profits, the co-operative system was inaugurated. The people were encouraged to take stock in these institutions which were organized largely under the direction and control of the religious leaders in the various communities.
In traveling through the settlements of the Saints, the subject of co-operation was one of the chief topics of discourse. Every town, where the Saints had settled, organized its co-operative store. In early days these stores were potent factors, and the control of prices was often regulated by them. The authorities urged the managers of those institutions to practice equity in their business affairs. The first wholesale dry goods store to do a wholesale business, was organized March 1st, 1869.
The non-Mormon merchants of Salt Lake City naturally felt the force of the new movement and made a proposition to President Young to the effect that they would be glad to sell himtheir establishment and merchandise at cost, he to collect debts and assume their liabilities. Upon his doing so, they promised to quit the Territory. They based their grievance largely upon the instructions given to the people, in which they were admonished not to trade with their enemies. Brigham Young, who was equal to the occasion, called their attention to the fact that any and every man had a perfect right to engage in business within this Territory. He stated, however, that his objection was to a certain class of merchants who took advantage of the wealth which they accumulated from the people to spread misinformation about the Latter-day Saints.
Of course the offer was a bluff. These men might have left the Territory and they might have come back the next day. There was no offer on their part to put themselves under obligations not to take up merchandising any time they saw fit, after disposing of their property; and even if they had entered into such a bond, it would have been illegal in restraint of trade. It was a bluff, and used for outside effect. President Young thought they would make a most excellent bargain if they could sell out on the terms proposed,—terms that any merchant would be glad to accept.
On the 16th of April Elder Woodruff took up another of those preaching tours with President Young to St. George, and settlements lying along the way. He stated in his journal that just before leaving Salt Lake he received word that his nephew by marriage, Franklin B. Woolley, had been killed by the Indians, near the Mohave River in Southern California. Elder Woolley was at the time in charge of a company of men who were engaged in freighting goods from southern California to the St. George co-operative store. He was the son of Bishop Edwin D. Woolley of the Thirteenth Ward of Salt Lake City. When his remains were found, it was discovered that his body had been pierced by several arrows. The mule upon which he rode was tied to a tree with its throat cut.
Along the way they dedicated, on the 17th of April, the new meeting-house in Springville, President D. H. Wells offering the dedicatory prayer. On reaching Nephi the authorities took up the Word of Wisdom and urged it most strenuously upon the Saints. The trip was attended by severe storms, rain, and snow.Almost all the way the roads were very disagreeable. When they reached Cove Creek Fort, a sort of half-way station between Kanosh and Beaver, the stopped for the night. The distance between Beaver and Kanosh was so great that it afforded the Indians an excellent opportunity to attack travelers and make good their escape.
Elder Woodruff's journal records the following description of it: "This Fort is a very substantial building. I think it is the best in the Territory. It is built of volcanic rock laid in with mortar. Each of the four walls is one hundred feet long on the outside, eighteen feet high from the foundation. On the east side is a gate way fourteen feet wide with a substantial arch six feet deep and three inches thick, set inside. Above this, preparations are being made for a look-out and telegraph office. On the west side is a gate way eight by four feet, with projections inside ten and one-half feet wide, ten feet high. The front contains twelve rooms, six on the north and six on the south side, ten of which are sixteen by fourteen feet, and two are sixteen by seventeen feet, and nine feet four inches high. There is a chimney to each room, three feet wide and two feet thick. The chimneys rise six feet above the top of the wall. The rooms are well lighted and have five panel doors. The roof is covered with good shaved pine shingles. The entire building contains two thousand two hundred and fifty perch of rock, one thousand nine hundred and seventy-five bushels of lime, and has cost to the present $22,690.00."
The Fort was a great protection in those days. It stood not far from the mouth of the canyon which ran up into Sevier Valley, and was a great necessity to all travelers, Mormon, Jew, or Gentile, who in those days went to California by what was called the Southern Route.
On reaching Toquerville, the company turned east and drove up the Virgin River as far as Rockville. "Here we found a beautiful place. A street one-half a mile long with rows of houses on each side and fine gardens and orchards running through the center of the town. The beautiful vineyards and the high mountains make the scene somewhat romantic."
On the 29th of April, the company returned to Toquervillewhere President Young, in a pronounced manner, depreciated the use of wine. "You put wine on your table morning and night and it will be an injury to you. Set a good example before all, and keep the Word of Wisdom; if you do not, you will soon be severed from the Church."
On leaving there they went directly to St. George. The town had grown wonderfully in those days, and had become one of the most flourishing towns in Utah. A number of most excellent families had been called to settle the place under the leadership of Erastus Snow, who had charge of the work in the southern part of the Territory. It was here that President Young recommended the establishment of wholesale stores for St. George and Parowan. When they had reached the latter place on their return, President Young suggested that an invitation be sent the Moquitche Indians to come and locate with the Saints, the report having reached him that these Indians felt desirous of so doing.
On their return, Elder Woodruff said: "On May 16th Apostle Cannon and myself spoke in the Tabernacle. We were followed by a Methodist minister, a Mr. Allen, a descendant of Col. Ethan Allen. Mr. Allen had also spoken in the morning. He was very favorably impressed with what he had seen and with the doctrines of the people."
On the 10th of May Elder Woodruff recorded what to him was a very sad event. His daughter Susan and children, obedient to the wishes of their husband and father, left Utah for the States. The husband had little or no faith and did not care to remain longer among the Saints. However, Elder Woodruff blessed his daughter and children and prophesied good things concerning them and lived to see his daughter and all her children but one return unto the fold and come back to Salt Lake City.
In the month of June Brigham Young and party started on another tour to the North. The pioneer work in the outposts of the Territory needed the watch care and encouragement of President Young, who gave detailed attention to everything which affected the welfare of the people. The Saints who located in these distant places were not permitted to settle down, by reason of their isolation, into a neglectful and indifferent life. They were unlike most pioneers on the outskirts of civilization, as theirreligious duties imposed upon them public obligations which were educational in their effect. In Bear Lake on this journey, a new stake organization was effected, with Elder David P. Kimball as president. Apostle Charles C. Rich had already located in Paris, Bear Lake, and was the general supervisor of the colonizing work in the far north.
On their return to Salt Lake City, Elder Woodruff took up his work on the farm, where he hoed corn, hauled hay, and harvested his wheat. On Pioneer Day, which was celebrated throughout the cities and towns of Utah, Elder Woodruff wrote meditatively as follows: "Twenty-two years ago today I drove the team which brought President Brigham Young from Emigration Canyon into this City. He lay upon a bed, sick in my carriage. As soon as his eyes rested upon the beautiful yet desert scene of the valley before us he said: 'This is the place; for the Lord has shown it to me in a vision.' We now number more than a hundred thousand souls. See what God hath wrought! Let His name be honored above all else!"
On the 25th of that month he recorded the return of George Nebeker from a mission to the Hawaiian Islands. He brought with him Napela, a native Saint, who addressed the Saints in the Tabernacle of that date. Napela, was the first Hawaiian to visit Utah.
On the 14th of September, that year, Elder Woodruff recorded the death of Ezra T. Benson, who died suddenly at Ogden City, at the home of Elder Loren Farr. The following Sunday Elder Woodruff preached a discourse in the Tabernacle, in honor of Brother Benson, and gave a brief sketch of his life. He said that on that occasion there were about sixty ladies and gentlemen from Ohio, who occupied the front benches and who gave strict attention to what was said.
In those times many distinguished visitors passed through Salt Lake City, enroute to California. They naturally remained over to visit Salt Lake City and listen to the discourses of the Mormon authorities. From Elder Woodruff's journal it will be observed that the speakers dwelt extensively upon the principle of the patriarchal order of marriage. They explained the views of the Latter-day Saints and defined them on religious,moral, and scientific grounds. The members of Congress were frequently in the audience, and had the opportunity of listening to the authorities, and therefore obtained their information on that important subject first-hand.
On October 3rd he gave an account of the visit of Schuyler Colfax, Mr. Ordway, the Sergeant-at-arms of the House of Representatives, and several members of Congress. These distinguished visitors attended meeting in the afternoon, and the 14th Ward meeting-house in the evening. In those days there was a great deal of discussion about the principle of Plural Marriage, and its rightfulness was urged with great force by the Church leaders. The Territory was gaining notoriety throughout the country, and the practice of the people here was a matter of frequent and bitter discussion. The leading men of the nation were somewhat puzzled over a situation that was indeed peculiar to them. The fruit was good, the tree was bad, as they found it. There were prosperous and happy homes. There was progress in every direction. The leaders were painstaking, industrious, frugal, God-fearing men. There was every evidence of their integrity, but their system of marriage was not in harmony with the traditions of the past, and the religious practices of Christendom. These distinguished visitors felt to praise and also to condemn. They were listening to discourses on a question to which they could not give their assent.
They were entertained by means of a Territorial Fair, at which there were seen the products of the Territory. Mr. Colfax and his friends expressed their surprise at what they saw. The grain, vegetables, fruits, horses, cattle, merchandise, and all the evidences of industry were far beyond their expectation. Thousands of people thronged the fair grounds, and the occasion was one of general enthusiasm. Apostle Woodruff did not conceal the pride which he felt in the premiums that were awarded because of his horses, his sheep, and a cow.
The day after the opening of the Fair, the October Conference convened. The attendance was unusually large. A large measure of prosperity was enjoyed, and the people gathered by the thousands. Albert Carrington was chosen a member of the Twelve in consequence of the death of Ezra T. Benson. AMr. Coe from Jerusalem was in attendance and addressed the congregation.
The Territory now had organized a militia which was called out for drill in the various counties. At this time these gatherings of the militia upon the large drill grounds, in different parts of the Territory, was a source of military pride, which quite generally aroused a militant spirit. The militia of Salt Lake County met on their large drill ground on the west side of the Jordan. Their organization was complete. The difficulties with the Indians, too, had much to do with this new organization. Patriotic spirit was engendered, and there was generally considerable excitement on those occasions. Elder Woodruff participated in these drills and in 1870 acted as chaplain.
Just about this time he recorded a visit which he, together with Orson Pratt and George Q. Cannon, made to William S. Godbe, E. L. T. Harrison, and T. B. H. Stenhouse. This was popularly known as the Godbe Movement. These men were strong characters, and men of a set determination to have their own way. The mercantile movement of these times, by which co-operative stores were established, afforded them, they pretended, an opportunity to declare against President Young and his policy. His leadership was a source of jealousy to them. These Church leaders hoped to persuade them not to yield to what was their evident purpose, to oppose the Church. Elder Woodruff said he found them in the dark, and bitter. He pleaded with them to repent and turn from their wrongful course. Subsequently, however, they broke away entirely, and they and their families left the Church.
On the 27th of October the leaders took up one of their tours of the south. New towns were springing up, and new conditions were so rapidly arising that constant vigilance was required.
This closed the year 1869. It was an important year in the history of Salt Lake because of the completion of the Utah Central Railroad branch line from Ogden to Salt Lake City. It had been a year of considerable anxiety to the Saints in consequence of the efforts of Congress to legislate against the practice of plural marriage among the Latter-day Saints. Elder Woodruffwrote of the bill as "a bill to deprive the Latter-day Saints from keeping the commandments of God. The Lord has revealed the patriarchal order of marriage, and we shall be damned if we do not obey it."
In order to counteract the influence against the Latter-day Saints, the ladies in Salt Lake City held a mass-meeting in the Tabernacle to protest to Congress against the passage of the Cullom Bill or any other bill which might militate against the practice of plural marriage. The meeting was one of great enthusiasm. Stirring speeches were made and resolutions adopted and forwarded to Congress.
On the 10th of January Elder Woodruff wrote: "This is a great day in Utah. Some twelve or fifteen thousand people of the city and surrounding country, men, women, and children, assembled around the railroad depot to celebrate the completion of the Utah Central Railway, and to see the last rail laid and the last spike driven by President Young. This railroad was built by the laboring men of the Latter-day Saints. There were present bands of music from the City and Camp Douglas. On the stand were the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, the officers of the Union and Central and Pacific Railroad, including the officers of Fort Douglas.
"A large steel mallet was used on the occasion. It was made by James Lawson and elegantly chased on the top, and there was engraved upon it a bee hive surmounted by the inscription "Holiness to the Lord." Under the bee hive were the letters "U. C. R. R." The spike was constructed of home made iron and manufactured by the late Elder Nathaniel V. Jones. It was ornamented like the mallet and the ornamentation was also the work of Brother Lawson. Before the ceremony of laying the last rail commenced, the sun, which had been completely concealed by the clouds during the early part of the day, burst forth with great brilliancy as if determined to enhance the general joy by his genial rays. The ceremony took place about nine o'clock, after which a salute of thirty-seven guns was given,—a salute for each mile of the road. Captain Croxall's band enlivened the scene by its strains of sweet music."
The following prayer was then offered by Elder Woodruff:"O God, the Eternal Father, we have assembled on this occasion to celebrate one of the grandest events of the generation in which we live, and to offer up the gratitude of our hearts with thanks-giving for Thy merciful and protecting care that was over us when we were led into these Valleys by Thy servant Brigham Young twenty-two years ago. We found then a complete desert inhabited only by wild beasts and a few red men, who roamed over the plains. To-day we behold the teeming thousands of the Anglo Saxon race assembled here to celebrate the completion of a line of railroads into this City, which has opened up commerce between us and all the world. Thou hast enabled the Saints who have gathered here from the nations of the earth, to fill these Valleys of the Mountains with six hundred miles of cities, towns, villages, gardens, orchards, vineyards, and fields; and the desert has been made to blossom as the rose. We should be ungrateful did we not acknowledge Thy hand in Thy protecting care, which has been over us and which has enabled us to assist in levelling these mountains and exalting the valleys and in laying an iron band which has bound this continent together from ocean to ocean and made all the various states and territories of this mighty nation neighbors to each other. For all these blessings we render the gratitude of our hearts unto Thee, and we pray that Thy blessings may rest upon this day. We dedicate this railroad unto Thee, the Lord our God. We pray that Thy blessings may rest upon it, and upon those who have built it and labored on it. We thank Thee for the peace and quietude we have enjoyed, for the many years that we have dwelt in these Valleys of the Mountains. Continue Thy blessings, O God, we beseech Thee, unto the inhabitants here and throughout the nation. These favors and blessings we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, Amen."
"A speech was then read by George Q. Cannon for President Young. Telegrams from Governor Stanford of California and others, expressing their regrets at not being able to be present, were then read, after which addresses were made by Wm. Jennings, Col. B. O. Carr of the Union Pacific, T. B. Morris, chief engineer of the Western Division of the U. P. R. R., John Taylor, and Mr. Campbell, superintendent of the Utah Division of the Central Pacific R. R. These were all published in theNewsof January 11th, 1870, with the exception of Mr. Campbell's whichthe recorders could not hear. The benediction was pronounced by Henry W. Naisbitt. In the evening the streets were enlivened by great throngs of people. The illumination of the City began at six o'clock p. m., and by seven o'clock there was the greatest brilliancy throughout the streets and in the skies. All public buildings and stores were illuminated. I attended a grand ball in the Theatre where two hundred persons could occupy the floor at the same time in the dance. There were some fifteen hundred people present, including the military officers of Camp Douglas. All the federal officials, including the Judges, were there. I took with me three of my wives, Phoebe, Emma, and Sarah. We ate supper at the Townsend House."
On the 16th of January Elder Woodruff with a number of others started by train to Ogden for the purpose of attending the funeral of Bishop C. W. West, who had died in California. On the way to Ogden the train was delayed by an accident so that those aboard reached that place only in time to witness the burial service. "Coming back, we held in the car one of the best meetings I ever attended in my life. We had twenty-two speeches and about the same number of songs. Among the speakers were Elders John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, George Q. Cannon, Joseph F. Smith, and Brigham Young, Jr., much of the spirit of God rested upon us, and strong testimonies were borne. We reached home about ten o'clock."
On January the 27th he recorded the death of his Uncle Ozem Woodruff, who had died the preceding December at the advanced age of ninety-two. About the same time he was industriously mailing papers to his friends in the East in order that he might circulate the speech against the Saints by Vice-president Schuyler Colfax and the reply thereto by Elder John Taylor.
The conference of April 6th, that year, was poorly attended owing to the inclemency of the weather. There was a foot of snow at the time on the ground. Naturally, some excitement existed at the time in consequence of the legislation by congress. Conference was held but one day and then adjourned until the 5th of May, when it reconvened and lasted three days.
The latter part of May was made interesting to the people of Salt Lake by a visit of the Boston Board of Trade. The companyoccupied eleven Pullman cars, and consisted of one hundred and twenty wealthy merchants and business men from the City of Boston. They attended the Tabernacle meeting and were addressed by Elders Woodruff and George A. Smith. In the afternoon President Young spoke to about three hundred strangers and a large congregation of the Saints. After the service, President Young, George A. Smith, D. H. Wells, John Taylor, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, and George Q. Cannon were invited to dine in the palace cars with the noted visitors.
On the fourth of June a large party of the leading men of the Church started on one of their tours through Malad and Bear Lake Valleys. President Young was indefatigable in his travels throughout the Church. He was everywhere present with counsel and encouragement to build up the Zion of God. The people were not allowed to sleep upon the laurels they had won. They were not permitted to settle down to an indifferent comfort. On that trip they were received everywhere with honor and enthusiasm.
On different occasions Elder Woodruff quoted President Young as saying: "We are surrounded by the Lamanites who are degraded and cast down, yet they are of the house of Israel and we should set them a good example. Let us not get down to their ways, but rather seek to exalt them." Of a certain class he said, "Elders many times are vain and trifling, and seem to forget their calling and position in the Church. We should come to realize that we have the priesthood and are set as an example to all men. We should magnify our calling and walk with dignity before the Lord." In reference to the building up of Zion he further said: "It is our duty to build up Zion. We cannot do it by singing and praying alone. It will take the work of the people. When Zion is built up, it will be beautiful and glorious. All we have done already is attracting the attention of the world."
On that journey Elder Woodruff quotes the words of Lorenzo Snow, who gave an account of his experience when drowned in the Pacific Ocean. He was under many feet of water and was restored to life by the power of God. He said that for many years previous to this event he had suffered from sick headache, but afterwards it had left him and he had been entirely healed from it.
Following the account given by Lorenzo Snow, he quoted these words from the lips of President Young: "Mark my words, every Latter-day Saint who gets rich and does not acknowledge the hand of God in it will be damned. A hypocrite or a traitor cannot gain the confidence of God or man. We must obey the Lord and keep His laws. The God of Heaven has kept the Celestial Law, and so must we if we obtain the same glory with Him. I would rather have slept with Joseph Smith in death than to live to turn one honest man from the Church. The authorities in these towns and cities should deal kindly and justly with the Saints."
The spirit of those times is repeated in the language of Lorenzo Snow in his address to the people at Logan on the occasion of that tour: "The Lord does not intend that the Saints shall live always in dens and caves of the earth, but that they shall build fine houses. When the Lord comes he will not expect to meet a dirty people, but a people of refinement, having glory as the bride to the Lamb of God. When we were called to go south, I continued to improve my property up to the last moment; at the same time I expected to burn up everything except what we had to take south with us. When we were called to go south we were united as the heart of one man."
After the return of the President's party from the north, Elder Woodruff busied himself by giving encouragement to the silk industry which the people were then endeavoring to establish in the Territory; and in company with Robert T. Burton took up the work of selling the bonds of the Central Pacific Railroad.
On the 12th, 13th, and 14th of August he gave an account of the discussion between Orson Pratt and Doctor Newman on the subject of Polygamy, an account of which has been issued as a separate publication. The Sunday following the discussion, William H. Seward, former Secretary of State, attended the services in the Tabernacle. He was then on his way to China. He was deeply impressed by the growth and development of the Saints, and was led to say that America had "never produced a greater statesman than President Brigham Young."
On the 4th of September, Martin Harris, one of the Witnesses to the Book of Mormon, appeared before the people in the Tabernacle, he having been brought to Utah largely through the interestand labors of Elder Edward Stevenson. "Martin Harris arose and bore his testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon. He was eighty-eight years old, and he finally came up to Zion to lay his body down with the Saints. He has been separated from the Church thirty-three years and was far behind the times, yet he bore a strong testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon." On the 17th of that month Elder Stevenson rebaptized Martin Harris and he was confirmed by John Taylor.
In closing his journal for that year he says that he traveled in all, seventeen hundred miles, attended one hundred and sixty-six meetings, and preached seventy-five discourses. In the Endowment House he sealed over five hundred couples. In addition to his religious duties, Elder Woodruff served forty days in the Territorial Legislature. He also took pleasure in the thought that he had labored upon his farm considerable time in plowing, harvesting, planting, and hoeing. He speaks of his potatoes, of his squash, and his apples and his hay. These were the products of the soil, which he raised for the support of himself and of his wives and children. No public man upon whom weighed heavily the duties of both church and state more perfectly loved and honored that divine command, "By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou earn thy bread."
PIONEER LIFE IN RICH COUNTY, 1871.
Arrest of President Young and Others.—Experiences in Randolph.—Caught in a Snow Storm.—Reaches Salt Lake City.
The year 1871 found the anti-Mormon element entrenched behind a considerable adverse eastern sentiment against the Latter-day Saints, and persecutions therefore took on a renewed vigor.
There was a contest on between the Federal and the Territorial officers respecting the control of the penitentiary, which had been constructed in part by the Territory, and in part by the Federal government. As all such questions were decided by Federal and hostile courts, the Mormon people were, of course, losers at every step in the controversy.
Salt Lake City was, at this time, visited by large numbers of strangers, who were generally en route for California. That state was the eldorado of an adventurous and speculative class of citizens who had learned how to take advantage of new conditions. They were naturally quite curious to attend services in the Tabernacle, and in the evening they usually visited the Fourteenth Ward meeting-house, that assembly room being in close proximity to the Townsend Hotel, at that time the chief hostlery of the Territory.
In October of that year, President Young was arrested by United States Marshal Patrick, on the charge of unlawful conduct with his plural wives. A little later President Wells and George Q. Cannon were also arrested on the same charge.
Elder Woodruff said in his journal of October 28th that President Wells, Hosea Stout, and William Kimball were arrested on a false charge, made by William A. Hickman, a notorious murderer, who sought an opportunity at a time when there was great excitement against the leaders, to shield himself from accusations and prosecution. The chief purpose of these arrests was to excite the public indignation throughout the United States against the Mormon leaders. They were therefore taken to Fort Douglas, and there kept under military guard. The one excusefor such extraordinary action, was that there might be an uprising among the people, which would require the military power to overcome.
While these brethren were thus confined at the Fort, they were visited by Apostle Woodruff, who says that he found them cheerful and satisfied that they would be delivered from the power of their enemies. One General Morrow asked President Wells if they (the Mormons) would give up polygamy and submit to the demands of the government, or fight. He replied:
"We will neither submit nor obey,Neither fight nor run away."
"We will neither submit nor obey,Neither fight nor run away."
While Elder Woodruff was not personally selected as an object of the enemies' attack, he was nevertheless deeply interested in the safety of his brethren, and watched over them with a brotherly love. He was ever ready, if necessary, to lay down his life for his brethren.
When President Young was on trial, Elder Woodruff was in the court taking notes of the proceedings, and listening with eager and anxious feelings. At that time President Young was prosecuted by Maxwell and Baskin, and defended by Major Hempstead and the eloquent Thomas Fitch, then the most noted attorney in the Territory.
On the 28th of June, the year following, he reported his sermon in honor of Mary Philipps of Kaysville, who died in her ninety-eighth year. She had been baptized by Elder Woodruff in England in 1840. He always manifested a strong attachment for those who had been the fruit of the gospel in his early labors.
A little later a peculiar experience came to him in the death of a Sister Allen, who was sorely afflicted at the home of one of Abram O. Smoot's wives. She had suffered severely for two years and very much desired that she might be released from her sufferings in this life. She therefore called upon Elder Woodruff to bless her to that end. He prayerfully asked the Lord to let her go, and being impressed that it was proper that she should go, he dedicated her to the Lord, and in one hour she passed peacefully to the great beyond.
About this time, Apostle Woodruff entered on some new and rather extraordinary experiences in an effort he made toassist in the colonization and development of Rich County, Utah. He therefore made a home at Randolph for his wife, Sarah. His son, Wilford, had been released from the Muddy Mission, and returned to Randolph to assist his father, and to establish a home for himself there.
His new activities in the early settlement of Randolph brought him into somewhat close relation with the people who were, at this time, busily occupied in the settlement of Bear Lake.
While on a visit to Soda Springs, where he met President Young and party, there died a Mrs. Rose, a wife of Major Rose, both of whom he had baptized thirty years before in England. The Rose family were then and have since been somewhat prominent in the affairs of that part of the country.
Besides visiting people for their spiritual edification, he also occupied a part of his time in hauling wood from the near-by canyons to his family in Randolph.
On one occasion he recorded his experience as follows:
"David and myself went to the canyon to get wood, and as it was all the way down hill, we put on about two and one-half cords of dry quaking asp. While going down a very steep hill, the ring of the neck-yoke broke and the wagon pushed on at great speed. One of the mules fell just as the wagon was about to stop. The front wheel run over it and pinioned it fast to the ground, with the sway bar across its back, while the tongue of the wagon ran into the ground nearly six feet. The mule had to lie there until we unloaded the wood, uncoupled the wagon, dug the tongue out of the ground with an axe, and tipped the wheels over to release it. We thought it would be almost if not quite dead, but to our surprise, the mule rose up, shook itself and began to eat.
"The neck-yoke and irons of both whipple-trees were broken, yet I strapped them up and reached home with one cord of wood."
Continuing his journal, he said: "During those days it was very stormy, and on the 24th of November it rained nearly all day. I felt impressed, strongly impressed, that I should return to Salt Lake City. This feeling had been upon me since Monday, though my family urged me to remain. On the 15th the same spirit again rested upon me and I told Sarah and Wilford that I mustgo; so after I ate breakfast I prepared my team, bade my family good-bye, and started about eight o'clock in the morning.
"I drove to Woodruff, fed my horses and talked a while with Bishop Lee. I then drove on, and when about twelve miles from Wasatch, a great snow-storm struck me. It was terribly blinding. However, I arrived at Wasatch in the night with my horses and wagon covered with snow and water. I called upon Brother George Rowley, who was the one Latter-day Saint in the place. He received me kindly and assisted me to get my horses into the store-house, but for which I think they would have perished, there being no stable in the place.
"I traveled thirty-five miles that day and slept little through the night. I rose on Sunday morning, the 26th, and found the snow about two feet deep, and falling thick and fast. It looked very gloomy and I did not know what course to pursue.
"I could not travel the road so I went to Mr. Haven, an operator and U. P. agent, and asked him what chance there was to take a car. He had no baggage car he said, and if he had, he did not know how I could get my wagon and horses on board, as all the appliances for loading such articles were moved to Evanston. I could not buy any grain in the place, and the only hay there, was in the hands of a Mr. Hammond, an apostate Mormon, and a very bitter one. I brought from Randolph about a hundred lbs. of hay, which was all the feed I had. The snow was rapidly covering up my wagon. In that dilemma I went to the house and fed them a little hay, and then kneeled down and prayed the Lord to deliver me.
"I could get no water to my horses except as Brother Rowley, who had charge of the engine, would run it on a track near the horses, and turn it into the buckets and I would then carry it to them.
"The night of that day I went to bed while the snow was still falling and everything looked gloomy. The 27th was quite an important day with me. I rose in the morning and found the snow three feet deep on the level. It was still snowing furiously. I could see no deliverance for myself and team unless the Lord opened the way for us. I had to wallow to my arm pits in snow to get to my horses, or anywhere else.
"Mr. Haven sent to Evanston for a car for me, the night before by my request, but how to get my wagon and team into it was the great question. Neither did the agent see how it could be done. My wagon was covered with snow and was some three hundred feet from the station. There was no help except the Chinamen who were under the control of a Mr. Carpenter, whose duty it was to keep the track clear of snow. I spoke to him but he said he had no right to take his men from the railroad to dig out a span of horses.
"I then made my way through three feet of snow about three hundred yards to the place where my horses were housed. I rubbed them down, caressed them, but only had a morsel to feed them. I knelt down and prayed earnestly to the Lord to deliver me and my team. It might be thought a little matter to allow the horses to remain and starve in order to take the car myself and save my own life. But my team had wallowed through the snow some twelve miles to save my life and I felt it my duty to do all in my power to save theirs. I prayed earnestly to the Lord to deliver me and save my animals from starvation. The spirit of the Lord came upon me while praying and I had a testimony that my prayers would be answered and that I should be delivered.
"I rose from my knees and wallowed some sixty rods through three feet of snow to the telegraph office and talked with Mr. Haven, the operator and agent. I told him he must help me. The spirit of the Lord rested upon him and he said he would do all in his power for my deliverance. He went with me to see Mr. Carpenter, the same spirit came upon him and he said he would do all he could. He then told the ten Chinamen to take their shovels and follow him. We all went to where the horses and wagon were and it took us nearly five hours to dig out the wagon and open the road to the station.
"Then we had to build a staging some ten feet high and cover it with coal cinders to get the horses up, but they would not walk up the planks. I then went to Mr. Hammond, the apostate Mormon, who had the only hay in the place, and asked him to sell me fifty cents worth. He got the same spirit as the others, put up the hay for me and carried it to the depot. I laid it on the platform at the head of the staging and both of my horses readilywent to it. I then put them inside. We then took the wagon to pieces and lifted it up, piece at a time, and placed it in the store-house.
"When the freight train came along, Mr. Haven stopped it and had the engineer bring up the car a hundred yards to the platform. In trying to get my box in with the bows and cover on, it became fastened with one end on the platform and the other against the side of the car. The engineer would not wait any longer, but started on with his train and left me.
"Mr. Haven then telegraphed to Evanston to send him an engine. While it was coming, we took off the cover and bows to the wagon box, and finally succeeded in loading my outfit. It was in order when the engine arrived. Mr. Haven ordered the engineer to hitch on to the car. He did so reluctantly as he had to travel something like one hundred and sixty miles to get to Ogden and back, just to take me and my wagon and team.
"I bade my friends good-bye, and as the cars started I knelt down by the side of my horses and returned thanks to my Heavenly Father for the deliverance he had brought to me.
"My clothing was wet, I having wallowed in the snow all day, so I put on dry ones.
"We arrived in Ogden about ten o'clock, when I went to Bishop Herrick and passed the night with him. Brother Herrick lent me money to pay my bill to the railroad, which, strange to say, was only $26.00. Had they charged me in full, their usual rates for car and engine and all that was done, it would have been about $150.00.
"On the 28th of November I drove my team from Ogden to Salt Lake, where I arrived home with a grateful heart to be delivered from my perils and to find my family all well."
THE YEARS, 1872-74.
Judge McKean.—Journalizing.—Early Church Historians.—Holy Ghost.—Visit to San Francisco.—Funerals of Pitt and Player.—Thomas L. Kane.—Garden of Eden.—Paralysis.—Earl Rosebury.—Fall from a Tree.
According to Elder Woodruff's journal, the year 1872 opened with a heavy snow-storm. The year also found the Saints considerably agitated over the indictments found against Brigham Young and leading men of the Church, on the charge of murder. These indictments had been largely the result of Judge McKean's well-known animosity toward the Mormons, and especially toward the leaders of the Church. He was styled "a judge with a mission." The conduct of Judge McKean was so full of bias, and his rulings so unjust in all matters touching the Mormon people, that he made himself, more or less, a terror to the Latter-day Saints.
In his journal at the opening of 1872, Elder Woodruff said: "Certain men in the nation, high in authority, have set themselves up against the work of God and are determined to destroy it if possible." Elder Woodruff began to predict the failure of such men as McKean to accomplish the ends they had in view. So far as McKean was concerned, his predictions were fulfilled. On the 20th he gave the synopsis in his journal that he made upon the subject of keeping a record of events in the affairs of the Church by those who had responsibilities resting upon them. "There is one subject I wish to speak upon and that is the keeping of a journal with respect to the dealings of God with us. I have many times thought the Quorum of the Twelve and others considered me rather enthusiastic upon this subject; but when the Prophet Joseph organized the Quorum of the Twelve, he counseled them to keep a history of their lives, and gave his reasons why they should do so. I have had this spirit and calling upon me since I first entered this Church. I made a record from the first sermon I heard, and from that day until now I have kept a daily journal. Whenever I heard Joseph Smith preach, teach, or prophesy, I alwaysfelt it my duty to write it; I felt uneasy and could not eat, drink, or sleep until I did write; and my mind has been so exercised upon this subject that when I heard Joseph Smith teach and had no pencil or paper, I would go home and sit down and write the whole sermon, almost word for word and sentence by sentence as it was delivered, and when I had written it it was taken from me, I remembered it no more. This was the gift of God to me.
"The devil has sought to take away my life from the day I was born until now, more so even than the lives of other men. I seem to be a marked victim of the adversary. I can find but one reason for this: the devil knew if I got into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I would write the history of that Church and leave on record the works and teachings of the prophets, of the apostles and elders. I have recorded nearly all the sermons and teachings that I ever heard from the Prophet Joseph, I have in my journal many of the sermons of President Brigham Young, and such men as Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt and others. Another reason I was moved upon to write in the early days was that nearly all the historians appointed in those times apostatized and took the journals away with them."
"Another subject I wish to say a few words upon here is the spirit of God to men, the Holy Ghost which is given the Saints, the inspiration of the Almighty which giveth the spirit of men understanding. That spirit is the greatest testimony man can possess. His eyes and ears may be deceived in seeing the miracles such as the magicians wrought in the days of Moses, and such as false prophets will work in the last days, but when men receive the Holy Ghost they can not be deceived. It is not in the thunder or in the whirl-wind that we should look for the spirit of God, but in the still small voice.
"I give one instance in which I profited by the spirit. When I was bringing the eastern Saints to this Valley, I arrived in Pittsburg, and there I chartered a steamboat to take the Saints to St. Louis. As soon as I had done it the spirit said to me, 'Don't go on board of that boat.' The captain relieved me and I chartered another. The steamer that I first chartered, after starting down the river, soon took fire, burned the wheels and ropes in two, andnearly all the passengers either burned to death or were drowned. Such an experience is given to many elders in this Church."
This year's journal also contains the accounts of the customary journeys, north and south, to the various communities of the Saints. In Payson, on the 20th day of July, he dedicated the new meeting-house. He was also busy that year on his farm and in his efforts to build up a home at Randolph, in Rich County.
On the 9th of September, in company with George A. Smith, George Q. Cannon, and A. M. Musser, he paid a visit to the Pacific Coast. His purpose was to attend the state fair of California, as he was President of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society of Utah. His journal contains a long account of the things he saw and the things which greatly interested him.
The following excerpts are taken from it:
"This morning found us at Truckee, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We had a view of the lake where the company of emigrants perished in 1847.
"San Francisco is a very fine place. The city looks as though it were a hundred years old instead of twenty. It contains 175,000 inhabitants and a vast amount of wealth. We visited China's part of the city, saw the Chinese god and the temples where fires were continually burning. They are very numerous in that city. We visited Mr. Alston's princely palace and were received with all the attention that princes could expect. He had a telegraph line from his bank in San Francisco to his dwelling, twenty miles distant. He had telegraphed to the family to receive us kindly and make us happy, and they did so. His princely mansion did not cost less than a million dollars, and his wife spent a quarter of a million in furnishing it. The chairs were made of the finest ebony in China. Even the spitoons were carved out of the finest Parisian marble. The rooms were decorated with marble statuary and bronze. The chandeliers cost many thousands of dollars, in fact, the whole palace had more the appearance of a museum than of a private dwelling. It had its Turkish and Russian baths. There were scores of bath rooms, of baths connected with the bedrooms. He had a retort and made his own gas for the purpose of lighting his dwelling and barns. There were many mirrors, large and costly. The surrounding grounds of 100 acres were cultivated at great expense. I almost felt like spending the night in visiting the house and surroundingsinstead of going to sleep. I became so dazed and bewildered with the scenery and attention of the last twenty-four hours, since our arrival in California, that I felt like asking myself the question: 'Am I an elder of the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints? If so, what is coming over the world that such a great change is manifest towards us?'"
During this visit, Elder Woodruff and his companions received great attention from the leading men of San Francisco, and were given every opportunity of witnessing the growth of California as set forth in the exhibits of the State Fair. Elder Woodruff took a great deal of pleasure in the wonderful showing of fine animals, and witnessed the races with great pleasure.
Continuing the description of his visit, he said: "The Governor showed us on this visit to Sacramento every attention. We were escorted through the State House that had cost $2,500,000. We went to the top of it, 280 feet high. On the 22nd, a Sunday, we attended the Catholic Church and heard Father Calcham preach. His discourse was a very good, practical sermon. We attended the Methodist Sunday school in the afternoon. We endeavored also to attend the Baptist Church in the evening, but in consequence of the street cars, which delayed us, we were disappointed in that part of our program."
Apostle Woodruff was painstaking in recording all that interested and delighted him during this his first visit to the western coast. In later life, he paid several visits to California, and something like twenty-six years from that time laid down his life on the shore of the Golden Gate. He returned in time to attend the semi-annual conference of that year, and he recorded the fact that the mission of President George A. Smith and others to the Holy Land was considered at this time. The purpose of the mission was to dedicate the land of Palestine again for the return of Judah and of the Twelve Tribes.
The close of the year 1872 and the first of the year 1873 again found Elder Woodruff at his home in Randolph. He and his wife, Sarah, her children, and his son, Wilford and family, were among the earliest pioneers of Rich County. New Year's day 1873, found him busily engaged in putting floors in his house. That part of the state is a higher altitude, and being located well to the north, the climate there is more severe than in Salt LakeValley. Notwithstanding he was now sixty-five years of age, he faced the storms and severe winds and flying snow with as much pluck as a man of twenty-five. At intervals he enjoyed a hunt very much, from which he rarely ever returned empty-handed.
He spoke in the journal at this time of the special interest he felt in the Deseret News as a medium of instruction and of correct information to the Latter-day Saints. He felt that it was a proper guide to the people, if well edited, and would keep them in harmony with the elders. At one time he was appointed editor of the News, but being overburdened, he could not do justice to the call and was honorably released.
After his return to Salt Lake City on the 3rd of February that year, he, with others, started on a visit to Cache Valley by the Utah Central and Utah Northern Railroads. Although two engines were used to draw the one car in which the party rode, they were unable to plow their way through the snow-drifts, through Box Elder and Cache.
February 23rd found him again in Salt Lake City, where he attended the funeral of William Pitt, a man who had received the gospel from his teachings in Herefordshire, in the year 1840. His funeral was attended by hundreds of people and there were several bands of music in attendance. Elder Woodruff was one of the speakers on that occasion. He mentions a peculiar circumstance which took place at that time. Brother William Player, then eighty years old, was one of the pall-bearers. The handle broke in his hand, and turning aside he leaned up against a post. His son, who was anxious about his father's condition, went immediately to his assistance, and when asked what the trouble was, said: "My breath has given out, but I would like to follow my old friend to the grave, for I shall soon be in a similar condition myself. I wonder if as many will attend my funeral when I die?" The father was taken home in a wagon, and in about four hours was dead. Elder Woodruff also preached at his funeral.
On the 4th of March he gave an account of a visit of Thomas L. Kane and wife to Utah; and on that day, with President Young and party, he accompanied this old-time friend and wife as far as Ogden on their return home to the East. Colonel Kane had done much to defend the Latter-day Saints against their foes and to alleviate their sufferings in times of trial. Colonel Kane was alsopleased at that time at the failure of Congress to pass bills affecting the Latter-day Saints.
At a conference of the Sunday school children in the old Tabernacle, on the 30th of March, Elder Woodruff reported President Young as saying, "I thought while I was looking at the school children to-day that I should see a larger assembly of them in the spirit world, and I wondered if there I should see as large a percentage of grown people with them, that is, of teachers to direct their minds there as they are doing here. Joseph, the Prophet, told me that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri. When Adam was driven out he went to the place we now call Adam-ondi-Ahman, Daviess County, Missouri. There he built an altar and offered sacrifices."
At the April conference President Young chose five additional counselors because of the heavy labors devolving upon him. These were Lorenzo Snow, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington, and John W. Young. President George A. Smith at that time was made trustee-in-trust with twelve other brethren as his assistants.
On the 12th of May twelve high counselors were selected for the Salt Lake Stake of Zion, and about that time William Hyde, William Budge, Elias Smith, and fifty others were selected to receive ordination to the office of patriarch.
June 1st he visited Provo in company with President Young. The latter, in speaking there of another temple, said that he had once asked the Lord what kind of temple we should build. The answer was that He did not make any two things alike, and we need not build two temples alike. On the 18th of the same month he went as far east as Evanston to meet George A. Smith and his party on their return from Palestine. The description of that country greatly interested Apostle Woodruff, whose familiarity with the Scriptures made those ancient scenes of prophets and apostles very sacred to him.
On the 9th and 10th of August meetings were held in the new Tabernacle, where President Young, Elder Woodruff said, chided the Saints for the too frequent claim on their part for the sacrifices which they made for the gospel's sake. Instead of making sacrifices, he said, they were only exchanging dross for gold. Apostle Joseph F. Smith at the time further remarked on the samesubject that it was almost a libel on the Lord the way some people talked about making sacrifices for the gospel's sake. He then pointed out to them the blessings they had received temporally, spiritually, and socially. Their circumstances were in every way more favorable than those which surrounded them in the land they had left.
About this time a party of editors from the East came to Salt Lake City, and in August Elder Woodruff escorted them to places of interest, including the Temple Quarry, at Granite, and Provo. The party also visited Lehi, American Fork Canyon, and on their return to Salt Lake City a feast was given them and they were treated in a most hospitable manner.
Elder Woodruff recorded in his journal that on the 25th of September, 1873, he was stricken apparently with paralysis; his condition was alarming to both himself and members of his family. To him it seemed that he could live but a short time. "A strange feeling came over me, I turned out my horses and went to bed. I felt as though I was stricken with death and should live but a short time. My blood, spirit, and life all seemed to be leaving my limbs, and death to be closing around my heart and vitals. I sent for my wife, Phoebe, and Brother George Q. Cannon. I also sent for my neighbor, Brother William Wagstaff, who came and administered to me. I suppose he came quickly, but it seemed to me it was an hour before he reached the bedside. When he came I felt as though I was about to give up the ghost. He laid his hands upon me and rebuked the affliction and I was instantly liberated. Soon, Mrs. Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, and Brigham Young, Jr., arrived. These brethren also blessed me, and returned home." For a time his limbs were affected with numbness and he was generally feeble; however, he lived, subsequent to this, twenty-five years and three days. Speaking of his condition at the time he wrote: "I feel the effects of the paralytic stroke, and unless there is a change in me, my journal writing in this life is about done; but should I not live to finish my biography, it is my desire that the historians of the Church or some friends do it for me."
It was only a short time after this that he found himself again active in his ministerial duties. On the 14th of October he visited Provo, where he took part in the dedication of the Utah CountyCourt House. It was an occasion of special public interest and attended by prominent men in the County as well as in the Territory. Elder Woodruff mentioned the visit of a distinguished Scotch earl who subsequently became Lord Rosebery, at one time Prime Minister of England. "He was a young man then, quite unassuming, free, easy and sociable," said Elder Woodruff. He had come from England to Salt Lake City to see President Young and the Latter-day Saints. The young earl conversed about an hour with the Church leaders and after taking supper with them went to the ball in President Young's party. The next day the party visited the seminary, factory, Z. C. M. I., and other places of interest about the town.
President Woodruff was again taken to Provo on the 25th of November to celebrate with the citizens there the beginning of the Utah Southern Railroad. It was perhaps the greatest assemblage of people the town had ever known. The progress of the railroad was always a source of special pride to Elder Woodruff, who realized how much the development of the Territory depended upon improved means of transportation.
It was a practice of Elder Woodruff to record the death of his friends, especially those who had been devoted to the cause which he represented and who were faithful to the end. He gives in a general way the characters of the men and the work they performed, when he pays tribute to them at the time of their death. On the 2nd of March he made special record of the death of Bishop William Hyde of Hyde Park, Cache County. Bishop Hyde was a brother of his old missionary friend, Heman Hyde. William, he speaks of as a member of the Mormon Battalion and refers to him as a leading spirit in building up Cache Valley; mentions the fact that he was probate judge and prominent in the Territorial militia. He also mentions on the 11th of April, 1874, the death of an old associate, Robert L. Campbell, a man, in his estimation, who was tried and true. A summary from his journal of many of the grand characters in Church history, who bore the burden in the heat of the day, would be interesting were it not beyond the scope of this biography. Elder Woodruff had a high sense of appreciation for those honored Saints of God, who were true to themselves and true to the Church.
Conference of that year was postponed until May 7th, in consequenceof the prolonged stay of President Young that winter in St. George. On his return, President Young gave out as a key-note of the conference, the subject of the United Order, a subject that had evidently weighed upon his mind during that winter. When free from all strife, from his struggles and contentions, he enjoyed the communion of the spirit, which opened to him the great duty that rested upon the Saints to put in operation God's purposes with regard to the United Order, by the consecration of the private wealth to the common good of the people. The underlying principle of the United Order was that there should be no rich and no poor, that men's talents should be used for the common good, and that selfish interests should make way for a more benevolent and generous spirit among the Saints.
Wilford Woodruff, before closing his biography for the year 1874, recorded one of those accidents with which his life was peculiarly beset. He fell from a tree, a distance of about ten feet, and was quite seriously hurt, especially in his side and hip. One naturally wonders what a man at his time of life was doing up a tree. In the first place, with Elder Woodruff it was never a question of age when he saw something he thought ought to be done, provided it was possible for him to do it. He was everywhere. It never required any length of time for him to change his surroundings or labors, he was ready for any emergency at any time. If he saw a limb in the top of an apple tree that should be sawed off, the thought barely took possession of him before he was in the top of the tree, and it was always hard for him to ask anybody else to do a thing that he could do himself.