“Sonorous metal blowing martial sounds”—
and accompanied by the City Marshal, he stood up in his conveyance, and, calling up the Captains of Companies, shook hands with them and proceeded forthwith to business. In a short time arrangements were made to house and employ all who required work, whether men or women. Having read certain offensive accounts about “girl-hunting elders,” “gray-headed gallants,” and “ogling apostles,” I was somewhat surprised to see that every thing was conducted with the greatest decorum. The Gentiles, however, declare that Mr. Brigham Young and the high dignitaries have issued an order against “pre-emption” on the part of their followers, who escort and accompany the emigrant trains across the prairies.
Mr. Stenhouse circulated freely among the crowd, and introduced me to many whose names I do not remember; in almost every case the introduction was followed by some invitation. He now exchanged a word with this “brother,” then a few sentences with that “sister,” carefully suppressing the Mr. and Madam of the Eastern States. The fraternal address gives a patriarchal and somewhat Oriental flavor to Mormon converse; like other things, however, it is apt to run into extremes. SAINTS’ NAMES.If a boy in the streets be asked, “What’s your name?” he will reply—if he condescends to do so—“I’m brother such-and-such’s son.” In order to distinguish children of different mothers, it is usual to prefix the maternal to the paternal parent’s name, suppressing the given or Christian name of monogamic lands. Thus, for instance, my sons by Miss Brown, Miss Jones, and Miss Robinson, would call themselves Brother Brown Burton, Brother Jones Burton, and so on. The Saints—even the highest dignitaries—wave the Reverend and the ridiculous Esquire; that “title much in use among vulgar people,” which in Old and New England applies to every body, gentle or simple, has not yet extended to Great Salt Lake City. The Mormon pontiff and the eminences around him are simply Brother or Mister—they have the substance, and they disdain the shadow of power. En revanche, among the crowd there are as many colonels and majors—about ten being the proportion to one captain—as in the days when Mrs. Trollope set the Mississippi on fire. Sister is applied to women of all ages, thus avoiding the difficulty of addressing a dowager, as in the Eastern States, Madam, in contradistinction to Mrs., her daughter-in-law, or, what is worse, of calling her after the English way, old Mrs. A., or, Scotticè, Mrs. A. senior.
The dress of the fair sex has, I observed, already become peculiar. The article called in Cornwall a “gowk,”A “GOWK.” in other parts of England a “cottage bonnet,” and in the United States a “sun-bonnet,” is here universally used, with the difference, however, that the Mormons provide it with a long thick veil behind, which acts like a cape or shawl. A loose jacket and a petticoat, mostly of calico or of some inexpensive stuff, compose the tout visible. The wealthier affect silks, especially black. The merchants are careful to keep on hand a large stock of fancy goods, millinery, and other feminine adornments. Love of dress is no accident in the mental organization of that sex which some one called ζωον φιλοκοσμον; the essential is a pleasing foible, in which the semi-nude savage and the crinolined “civilizee,” the nun and Quakeress, the sinner and the saint, the biche, the petite maîtresse, and the grande dame, all meet for once in their lives pretty much on a par, and on the same ground. Great Salt Lake City contains three “millinery stores,” besides thirteen of dry goods and two of fancy goods, or varieties; and some exchange their merchandise for grain.
The contrast of physique between the new arrivals and the older colonists, especially those born in the vicinity of the prairies, was salient. While the fresh importations were of that solid and sometimes clumsy form and dimensions that characterize the English at home—where “beauty is seldom found in cottages or workshops, even when no real hardships are suffered”—the others had much of the delicacy of figure and complexion which distinguishes the American women of the United States. Physiologists may perhaps doubt so rapid and perceptible an operation of climate, but India proves clearly enough that a very few years suffice to deteriorate form and color, especially in the weaker half of humanity; why, then, should we think it impossible that a climate of extremes, an air of exceeding purity and tenuity, and an arid position 4000 feet above sea level, can produce the opposite results in as short a space of time? But, whether my theory stand or fall, the fact remains the same. I remarked to my companion the change from the lymphatic and the sanguine to the bilious-nervous and the purely nervous temperament, and admired its results, the fining down of redundancy in wrist, ankle, and waist, the superior placidness and thoughtfulness of expression, and the general appearance of higher caste blood. I could not but observe in those born hereabouts the noble regular features, the lofty, thoughtful brow, the clear, transparent complexion, the long silky hair, and, greatest charm of all, the soft smile of the American woman when she does smile. He appeared surprised, and said that most other Gentiles had explained the thinness of form and reflective look by the perpetual fretting of the fair under the starveling régime of polygamy. The belle of the crowd was Miss Sally A——, the daughter of a lawyer, and of course a ci devant judge. Strict Mormons, however, rather wag the head at this pretty person; she is supposed to prefer Gentile and heathenish society, and it is whispered against her that she has actually vowed never to marry a Saint.
I “queried” of my companion how the new arrivals usually behave at Great Salt Lake City, when the civilization, or rather the humanization of a voyage, a long journey, and the sense of helplessness caused by new position, have somewhat mitigated their British bounce and self-esteem. “Pretty well,” he replied; “all expect to be at the top of the tree at once, and they find themselves in the wrong box; no man gets on here by pushing; he begins at the lowest seat; a new hand is not trusted; he is first sent on mission, then married, and then allowed to rise higher if he shows himself useful.” This bore a cachet of truth:
Les sots sont un peuple nombreux,
Trouvant toutes choses faciles;
Il faut le leur passer; souvent ils sont heureux,
Grand motif de se croire habiles.