CHAPTER XXIII.
Social Aspects Of Polygamy 

Varied Provisions for Plural Wives--Home Accommodations of the Leaders--Horace Greeley's Observation about Woman's Place in Utah--Meaus of overcoming Female Jealousy--Young and Grant on the Unhappiness of Mormon Wives--Acceptance of Fanatical Teachings by Women--Kimball on a Fair Division of the Converts--Church Influence in Behalf of Plural Marriages--A Prussian Convert's Dilemma--President Cleveland on the Evils of Polygamy

    THERE was something compulsory about all phases of life in Utah during Brigham Young's regime -- the form of employment for the men, the domestic regulations of the women, the church duties each should perform, and even the location in the territory which they should call their home. Not only did large numbers of the foreign immigrants find themselves in debt to the church on their arrival, and become compelled in this way to labor on the "public works" as they might be ordered, but the skilled mechanics who brought their tools with them in most cases found on their arrival that existence in Utah meant a contest with the soil for food. Even when a mechanic obtained employment at his trade it was in the ruder branches.

    Mormon authorities have always tried to show that Americans have predominated in their community. Tullidge classes the population in this order: Americans, English, Scandinavian (these claim one-fifth of the Mormon population of Utah), Scotch, Welsh, Germans, and a few Irish, French, Italians, and Swiss. The combination of new-comers and the emigrants from Nauvoo made a rude society of fanatics,¹ before whom there was held out enough prospect of gain in land values (scarcely one of the immigrants had ever been a landowner) to overcome a good deal of the discontent natural to their mode of life, and who, in religious matters, were held in control by a priesthood, against whom they could not rebel without endangering that hope of heaven which had induced them to journey across the ocean. There are roughness and lawlessness in all frontier settlements, but this Mormon community differed from all other gatherings of new population in the American West. It did not migrate of its own accord, attracted by a fertile soil or precious ores; it was induced to migrate, not without misrepresentation concerning material prospects, it is true, but mainly because of the hope that by doing so it would share in the blessings and protection of a Zion. The gambling hell and the dance hall, which form principal features of frontier mining settlements, were wanting in Salt Lake City, and the absence of the brothel was pointed to as evidence of the moral effect of polygamy.

    ¹ "I have discovered thus early (1852) that little deference is paid to women. Repeatedly, in my long walk to our boarding house, I was obliged to retreat back from the {street} crossing places and stand on one side for men to cross over. There are said to be a great many of the lower order of English here, and this rudeness, so unusual with our countrymen, may proceed from them." -- Mrs. Ferris. "Life among the Mormons."

    The system of plural marriages left its impress all over the home life of the territory. Many of the Mormon leaders, as we have seen, had more wives than one when they made their first trip across the plains, and the practice of polygamy, while denied on occasion, was not concealed from the time the settlement was made in the valley to the date of its public proclamation. In the early days, a man with more than one wife provided for them according to his means. Young began with quarters better than the average, but modest in their way, and finally occupied the big buildings which cost him many thousands of dollars. If a man with several wives had the means to do so, he would build a long, low dwelling, with an outside door for each wife, and thus house all under the same roof in a sort of separate barracks. When Gunnison wrote, in 1852, there were many instances in which more than one wife shared the same house when it contained only one apartment, but he said: "It is usual to board o ut the extra ones, who most frequently pay their own way by sewing, and other female employments." Mrs. Ferris wrote: "The mass of the dwellings are small, low, and hutlike. Some of them literally swarmed with women and children, and had an aspect of extreme want of neatness.... One family, in which there were two wives, was living in a small hut -- three children very sick {with scarlet fever} -- two beds and a cook-stove in the same room, creating the air of a pest-house."²

    ² "Life among the Mormons," pp. 111, 145.

    Hyde, describing the city in 1857, thus enumerated the home accommodations of some of the leaders: --

    "A very pretty house on the east side was occupied by the late J. M. Grant and his five wives. A large barrack-like house on the corner is tenanted by Ezra T. Benson and his four ladies. A large but mean-looking house to the west was inhabited by the late Parley P. Pratt and his nine wives. In that long, dirty row of single rooms, half hidden by a very beautiful orchard and garden, lived Dr. Richard and his eleven wives. Wilford Woodruff and five wives reside in another large house still further west. O. Pratt and some four or five wives occupy an adjacent building. Looking toward the north, we espy a whole block covered with houses, barns, gardens, and orchards. In these dwell H. C. Kimball and his eighteen or twenty wives, their families and dependents."³

    ³ "Mormonism," p. 34. The number of wives of the church leaders decreased in later years. Beadle, giving the number of wives "supposed to appertain to each" in 1882, credits President Taylor with four (three having died), and the Apostles with an average of three each, Erastus Snow having five, and four others only two each.

    Horace Greeley, prejudiced as he was in favor of the Mormons when he visited Salt Lake City in 1859, was forced to observe: --

    "The degradation (or, if you please, the restriction) of woman to the single office of childbearing and its accessories is an inevitable consequence of the system here paramount. I have not observed a sign in the streets, an advertisement in the journals, of this Mormon metropolis, whereby a woman proposes to do anything whatever. No Mormon has ever cited to me his wife's or any woman's opinion on any subject; no Mormon woman has been introduced or spoken to me; and, though I have been asked to visit Mormons in their houses, no one has spoken of his wife (or wives) desiring to see me, or his desiring me to make her (or their) acquaintance, or voluntarily indicated the existence of such a being or beings."⁴

    ⁴ "Overland journey," p. 217.

    Woman's natural jealousy, and the suffering that a loving wife would endure when called upon to share her husband's affection and her home with other women, would seem to form a sort of natural check to polygamous marriages. But in Utah this check was overcome both by the absolute power of the priesthood over their flock, and by the adroit device of making polygamy not merely permissive, but essential to eternal salvation. That the many wives of even so exalted a prophet as Brigham Young could become rebellious is shown by the language employed by him in his discourse of September 21, 1856, of which the following will suffice as a specimen: --

    "Men will say, 'My wife, though a most excellent woman, has not seen a happy day since I took my second wife; no, not a happy day for a year.'... I wish my women to understand that what I am going to say is for them, as well as all others, and I want those who are here to tell their sisters, yes, all the women in this community, and then write it back to the states, and do as you please with it. I am going to give you from this time till the 6th day of October next for reflection, that you may determine whether you wish to stay with your husbands or not, and then I am going to set every woman at liberty, and say to them, 'Now go your way, my women with the rest; go your way.' And my wives have got to do one of two things; either round up their shoulders to endure the afflictions of this world, and live their religion, or they may leave, for I will not have them about me. I will go into heaven alone, rather than have scratching and fighting all around me. I will set all at liberty. What, first wife too?' Yes, I will liberate you all. I know what my women will say; they will say, 'You can have as many women as you please, Brigham.' But I want to go somewhere and do something to get rid of the whiners.... Sisters, I am not joking."⁵

    ⁵ Journal of Discourses, Vol. IV, p. 55.

    Grant, on the same day, in connection with his presentation of the doctrine of blood atonement, declared that there was "scarcely a mother in Israel" who would not, if they could, "break asunder the cable of the Church in Christ; and they talk it to their husbands, to their daughters, and to their neighbors, and say that they have not seen a week's happiness since they became acquainted with that law, or since their husbands took a second wife."⁶ The coarse and plain-spoken H. C. Kimball, in a discourse in the Tabernacle, November 9, 1856, thus defined the duty of polygamous wives, "It is the duty of a woman to be obedient to her husband, and, unless she is, I would not give a damn for all her queenly right or authority, nor for her either, if she will quarrel and lie about the work of God and the principles of plurality."⁷

    ⁶ Ibid, p. 52.
    ⁷ Deseret News, Vol. VI, p. 291.

    Gentile observers were amazed, in the earlier days of Utah, to see to what lengths the fanatical teachings of the church officers would be accepted by women. Thus Mrs. Ferris found that the explanation of the willingness of many young women in Utah to be married to venerable church officers, who already had harems, was their belief that they could only be "saved" if married or sealed to a faithful Saint, and that an older man was less likely to apostatize, and so carry his wives to perdition with him, than a young one; therefore "it became an object with these silly fools to get into the harems of the priests and elders."

    If this advantage of the church officers in the selection of new wives did not avail, other means were employed,⁸ as in the notorious San Pete case. The officers remaining at home did not hesitate to insist on a fair division of the spoils (that is, the marriageable immigrants), as is shown by the following remarks of Heber C. Kimball to some missionaries about starting out: "Let truth and righteousness be your motto, and don't go into the world for anything but to preach the Gospel, build up the Kingdom of God, and gather the sheep into the fold. You are sent out as shepherds to gather the sheep together; and remember that they are not your sheep; they belong to Him that sends you. Then don't make a choice of any of those sheep; don't make selections before they are brought home and put into the fold. You understand that. Amen." Mr. Ferris thus described the use of his priestly power made by Wilford Woodruff, who, as head of the church in later years, gave out the advice about abandoning polygamy: "Woodruff has a regular system of changing his harem. He takes in one or more young girls, and so manages, after he tires of them, that they are glad to ask for a divorce, after which he beats the bush for recruits. He took a fresh one, ab out fourteen years old, in March, 1853, and will probably get rid of her in the course of the ensuing summer."⁹

    ⁸ Conan Doyle's story, "A Study in scarlet," is founded on the use of this power.
    ⁹ "Utah and the Mormons," p. 255.

    Mrs. Waite thus relates a conversation she had with a Mormon wife about her husband going into polygamy: --

    "'Oh, it is hard,' she said, 'very hard; but no matter, we must bear it. It is a correct principle, and there is no salvation without it. We had one {wife} but it was so hard, both for my husband and myself, that we could not endure it, and she left us at the end of seven months. She had been with us as a servant several months, and was a good girl; but as soon as she was made a wife she became insolent, and told me she had as good a right to the house and things as I had, and you know that didn't suit me well. But,' continued she, 'I wish we had kept her, and I had borne everything, for we have got to have one, and don't you think it would be pleasanter to have one you had known than a stranger?'"¹⁰

    ¹⁰ "The Mormon Prophet," p. 260. Many accounts of the feeling of first wives regarding polygamy may be found in this book and in Mrs. Stenhouse's "Tell it All."

    The voice which the first wife had in the matter was defined in the Seer (Vol. I, p. 41). If she objected, she could state her objection to President Young, who, if he found the reason sufficient, could forbid the marriage; but if he considered that her reason was not good, then the marriage could take place, and "he {the husband} will be justified, and she will be condemned, because she did not give them unto him as Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham, and as Rachel and Leah gave Bilhah and Zilpah to their husband, Jacob." Young's dictatorship in the choice of wives was equally absolute. "No man in Utah," said the Seer (Vol. I, p. 31), "who already has a wife, and who may desire to obtain another, has any right to make any proposition of marriage to a lady until he has consulted the President of the whole church, and through him obtained a revelation from God as to whether it would be pleasing in His sight."

    The authority of the priesthood was always exerted to compel at least every prominent member of the church to take more wives than one. "For a man to be confined to one woman is a small business," said Kimball in the Tabernacle, on April 4, 1857. This influence coerced Stenhouse to take as his second wife a fourteen-year-old daughter of Parley P. Pratt, although he loved his legal wife, and she had told him that she would not live with him if he married again, and although his intimate friend, Superintendent Cooke, of the Overland Stage Company, to save him, threatened to prosecute him under the law against bigamy if he yielded.¹¹ Another illustration, given by Mrs. Waite, may be cited. Kimball, calling on a Prussian immigrant named Taussig one day, asked him how he was doing and how many wives he had, and on being told that he had two, replied, "That is not enough. You must take a couple more. I'll send them to you." The narrative continues: --

    "On the following evening, when the brother returned home, he found two women sitting there. His first wife said, 'Brother Taussig' (all the women call their husbands brother), 'these are the Sisters Pratt.' They were two widows of Parley P. Pratt. One of the ladies, Sarah, then said, 'Brother Taussig, Brother Kimball told us to call on you, and you know what for.' 'Yes, ladies,' replied Brother Taussig, 'but it is a very hard task for me to marry two' The other remarked, 'Brother Kimball told us you were doing a very good business and could support more women.' Sarah then took up the conversation, 'Well, Brother Taussig, I want to get married anyhow.' The good brother replied, 'Well, ladies, I will see what I can do and let you know.'"¹²

    ¹¹ When Mr. and Mrs. Stenhouse left the church at the time of the "New Movement" their daughter, who was a polygamous wife of Brigham Young's son, decided with the church and refused even to speak with her parents.
    ¹² "The Mormon Prophet," p. 258.

    Brother Taussig compromised the matter with the Bishop of his ward by marrying Sarah, but she did not like her new home, and he was allowed to divorce her on payment of $10 to Brigham Young!

    Each polygamous family was, of course, governed in accordance with the character of its head: a kind man would treat all his wives kindly, however decided a preference he might show for one; and under a brute all would be unhappy. Young, in his earlier days at Salt Lake City, used to assemble all his family for prayers, and have a kind word for each of the women, and all ate at a common table after his permanent residences were built. "Brigham's wives," says Hyde, "although poorly clothed and hardworked, are still very infatuated with their system, very devout in their religion, very devoted to their children. They content themselves with his kindness as they cannot obtain his love."¹³ He kept no servants, the wives performing all the household work, and one of them acting as teacher to her own and the others' children. As the excuse for marriage with the Mormons is childbearing,¹⁴ the older wives were practically discarded, taking the place of examples of piety and of spiritual advisers.

    ¹³ "Mormonism," p. 164.
    ¹⁴ How far this doctrine was not observed may be noted in the following remarks of H. C. Kimball in the Tabernacle, on February 1, 1857: "They {his wives} have got to live their religion, serve their God, and do right as well as myself. Suppose that I lose the whole of them before I go into the spiritual world, but that I have been a good, faithful man all the days of my life, and lived my religion, and had favor with God, and was kind to them, do you think I will be destitute there? No. The Lord says there are more there than there are here. They have been increasing there; they increase there a great deal faster than they do here, because there is no obstruction. They do not call upon the doctors to kill their offspring. In this world very many of the doctors are studying to diminish the human race. In the spiritual world... we will go to Brother Joseph... and he will say to us, 'Come along, my boys, we will give you a good suit of clothes. Where are your wives?' 'They are back yonder; they would not follow us.' 'Never mind,' says Joseph, 'here are thousands; have all you want.'" -- Journal of Discourses, Vol. IV, p.

    A summing up of the many-sided evils of polygamy was thus presented by President Cleveland in his first annual message: --

    "The strength, the perpetuity, and the destiny of the nation rests upon our homes, established by the law of God, guarded by parental care, regulated by parental authority, and sanctified by parental love. These are not the homes of polygamy.

    "The mothers of our land, who rule the nation as they mould the characters and guide the actions of their sons, live according to God's holy ordinances, and each, secure and happy in the exclusive love of the father of her children, sheds the warm light of true womanhood, unperverted and unpolluted, upon all within her pure and wholesome family circle. These are not the cheerless, crushed, and unwomanly mothers of polygamy.

    "The fathers of our families are the best citizens of the Republic. Wife and children are the sources of patriotism, and conjugal and parental affection beget devotion to the country. The man who, undefiled with plural marriage, is surrounded in his single home with his wife and children, has a status in the country which inspires him with respect for its laws and courage for its defence. These are not the fathers of polygamous families."