The repairs, however, were seen to, and the house rendered a little more habitable. We had now to begin the struggle of life afresh, and could not afford to be too particular about trifles;—to obtain shelter was something—for the rest we must still continue to hope and trust.
CHAPTER XVII.
MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE CITY OF THE SAINTS.
When I arrived in Salt Lake City, a great many improvements had been effected; and expecting, as I did that this would be our future home for many years, perhaps for life, I was interested in everything that I saw.
The first Sunday I went to the Tabernacle I was greatly amused at the way in which some of the sisters were dressed. Quite a number wore sun-bonnets, but the majority wore curious and diverse specimens of the milliner’s art—relics of former days. Some wore a little tuft of gauze and feathers on the top of the head, while others had helmets of extraordinary size. There were little bonnets, half-grown bonnets, and “grandmother bonnets” with steeple crowns and fronts so large that it was difficult to get a peep at the faces which they concealed. As for the dresses, they were as diversified as the bonnets. Some of them presented a rather curious spectacle. I noticed two young women who sat near me: they were dressed alike in green calico sun-bonnets, green calico skirts, and pink calico sacks. On inquiring who they were, I was told that they were the wives of one man, and had both been married to him on the same day, so that neither could claim precedence of the other. Outside of Utah such a thing would seem impossible; but so many of the young girls at that time came out to Zion without father or mother or any one else to guide them; and left to their own inexperience and afraid to disobey “counsel,” it is no wonder that they soon yielded to the universal custom.
The two young women whom I have mentioned did not appear to me to be overburdened with intelligence; they looked like girls who could be made to believe anything; but after that I met with two well-educated women who, like these foolish girls, thoughtlessly tried the experiment of two or more marrying the same man on the same day, agreeing with their “lord” that that would be the best way to preserve peace in their household. But they were terribly mistaken; and even before the marriage-day was over, the poor bewildered husband had to fly to Brother Brigham for counsel.
The Tabernacle services seemed to me as strange as the women. There was no regular order in conducting the proceedings, but the prominent brethren made prayers or “sermons” as they were called upon to do so. The “sermons” would be more properly called speeches; they are nothing but a rambling, disconnected glorification of the Saints, interspersed with fearful denunciations of the Gentiles, and not unfrequently a good sprinkling of words and expressions such as are never used in decent society. More unedifying discourses could hardly be imagined. As for the spirituality and devotional feeling which characterized our meetings in England, they were only conspicuous by their absence, and many devout Saints have told me that when they first went there, before the erection of the great organ, the free-and-easy manners of the speakers and the brass band which was stationed in front of the platform, made them feel as if they had come to witness a puppet-show rather than to attend a religious meeting.
There was one lady at the Tabernacle service whom I regarded with considerable interest. This was no other than Eliza R. Snow, one of the Prophet’s wives. I was told that she was the first woman married in Polygamy after Joseph Smith received the Revelation, and I believed it was so. People who lived in Nauvoo, respectable people, and not one or two either, have assured me that for four years before Joseph is said to have received the Revelation, he was practising Polygamy, or something worse, and that the Revelation was given to justify what was already done. However this might be, it is generally understood that Miss Eliza Snow was the first plural wife of the Prophet. Her principal occupation at the present time is converting rebellious wives to obedience to their husbands, and convincing young girls that it is their duty to enter into Polygamy. Unhappy husbands derive great consolation from her counsels. In matters of religion she is a perfect fanatic, and in connexion with the Female Relief Society she reigns supreme; but otherwise there are many excellent traits in her character, and I could tell of many acts of loving-kindness and self-denial which she has performed, and which will surely have their reward. As the chief poet of the Mormon Church, and as the Representative of Eve in the mysteries of the Endowment House, she enjoys a reputation such as would be impossible to any other woman among the Saints.
Another of the late Joseph’s wives is a Mrs. Doctor Jacobs, who was actually married to the Prophet while she was still living with her original husband, Jacobs. Under the same circumstances she married Brigham Young, after Joseph’s death. For some time her husband knew nothing of the whole affair, but Brigham very soon gave him to understand that his company was not wanted. The sister of Mrs. Jacobs—a Mrs. Buel—was another of Joseph’s wives, and she married the Apostle Heber C. Kimball, but does not appear to have made a very good bargain.