Westons Go West 7 - Baby Ann

5 Main Street

Ogden, Utah Territory,

July 22, 1874

Dear Fanny

We have a new baby. Annie arrived on time last week, and all went well. We are all so pleased, and especially Alice to have another sister in the family.

I must say that never before with my children's' births have I experienced such loving service and gentleness. When my time came, several of the women I know from our 5^th Ward church came to be with me, and as I went into labour, they gave me a blessing. They put their hands on my belly and said more or less the following words:

We anoint your spinal column that thee might be strong and healthy no disease fasten upon it no accident befall thee, thy kidneys that they might be active and health and preform their proper functions, thy bladder that it might be strong and protected from accident, thy Hips that thy system might relax and give way for the birth of thy child, thy sides that thyliver, thy lungs, and spleen that they might be strong and preform their proper functions, thy breasts that thy milk may come freely and thee need not be afflicted with sore nipples as many are, thy heart that it might be comforted.

We pray that the child shall present right for birth and that the afterbirth shall come at its proper time and thee need not flow to excess. We anoint thy thighs that they might be healthy and strong that thee might be exempt from cramps and from the bursting of veins. .

Sister Mary we unitedly lay our hands upon thee to seal the washing and anointing wherewith thee have been washed and anointed for thy safe delivery, for the salvation of thee and thy child and we ask God to let his special blessings to rest upon thee, that thee might sleep sweet at night that thy dreams might be pleasant and that the good spirit might guard and protect thee from every evil influence spirit and power and that every blessing that we have asked God to confer upon thee and your offspring may be literally fulfilled that all fear and dread may be taken from thee and that thee might trust in God. All these blessings we unitedly seal upon thee in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

And it was the easiest birthing I ever had – whether due to the blessing, or the fact that I have had so much practice in doing it, I do not know.

As I've told thee before, I have always had a secret worry that Samuel might be tempted into taking another wife, and apparently our local apostle, Franklin Richards, did have a talk with him when I was expecting about how justified he would be under the circumstance to take another wife. He even had several possible ones lined up for him. But Samuel was as true as his word to me, and said he had no interest. Mr. Richards implied that saying that made him a less devout follower, but also said that marriage needed to be entered into freely, and he would not be forced.

I must say that this church of ours is confusing to say the least. On one hand it bestows calmness and friendship and love, and on the other, it stirs up distrust and unhappiness between family members. The fact that they used my period of lying in when I cannot be a real wife to Samuel, to try to ensnare him in their ungodly practices makes my blood boil. But I cannot talk to Samuel about things like this. He doesn't understand that I fear that eventually his loyalty to them will overtake his to me.

I hope all is going well with you in your life with the miners.

 

Best wishes,

Mary

 

 

*****

Abe's Emporium

Pioche, Utah Territory

November 20, 1874

Dearest Mary,

Congratulations on the arrival of your new little girl. You have made me quite jealous with all your talk about the blessings and such like. And the complications of your religion make me very happy for the simplicity of Judaism. Please feel free to tell me whatever you want. Sometimes it helps to confide.

Things have been very grim here these past three weeks, but now all has come right!

Do you remember my writing about Sam, who worked here with Abie in the Emporium for several years before I came? He kept the store while Abie went back East, and then used his share to go open his own shop in Virginia City. Three weeks ago we received news that Virginia City had a terrible fire. Abie went white when we got the news, and sent several telegrams to Virginia City. It is all a terrible confusion there, as you might imagine. We were only able to discover that Sam's store had burned with the rest - the entire business district went up - but when Abie finally reached Mr. and Mrs. Rosenbaum, they had no news of Sam. Abie put advertisements in all the newspapers, and I swear he would have gone to Virginia City himself, if he hadn't been so worried about leaving me in the store alone.

But yesterday, who should show up at the Emporium but Sam! I confess that I screamed a little in surprise when I saw him. He looked ever so tired and shamefaced. Abie came straightaway out front to see what was the matter, and such embracing! And no little scolding, too! I closed up shop as soon as I was able. It seems that Sam lost everything in the fire - all his capital had been sunk into the store and merchandise - and he had come to beg for his job back. (Silly boy! As if Abie would turn him away!)

This morning, Sam took me aside during a lull to apologize to me for making us worry so. He hadn't wanted to borrow money for a telegram, not when he didn't know what his prospects were, and confesses that he had been too embarrassed about losing the store so quickly to think how the silence would look to Abie.

He told me a story about what happened earlier. It seems their second year in Pioche all of Main Street here burned, including the Emporium, and several hundred kegs of powder exploded in another store. Sam and Abie were passing buckets when the powder blew, and the explosion burst clean through the stone walls of its building and killed several dozen people in the brigade line.

But now Sam and Abie are out in the shop together - Abie is teasing him about adventure-hungry young men with no common sense, and Sam is being ever so bashful about it - which gives me a minute by myself to write!

Best wishes to you all and especially to little Annie,

Fanny

*****

5 Main Street

Ogden, Utah Territory,

December 15, 1874

 

Dear Fanny,

We are hearing so much about the trials of the men accused of the Mountain Meadow Massacre (pictured above) . We heard various tales about it when we first came here, but now we are seeing it all played out in a court of law. How can this religion of ours be so good in some ways and so awful in others.

Does thee know the story? I will give thee a summary.

A group of Mormons back in the early 1860's were called Nauvoo Legion, but they really were militiamen, intended to assault a wagon train, dressed as Native Indians, and accompanied by members of the Southern Paiute tribe. There was a five day siege and some of the emigrants had caught sight of the white men mixed in with the Indians, and to protect their identity, the militia commander William Dame ordered his forces to kill all the emigrants.

By this time the emigrants were running low on water and provisions, and allowed some approaching members of the militia - who carried a white flag - to enter their camp. The militia members assured the emigrants their protection and escorted them from the hasty fortification. After walking a distance from the camp, the militiamen, with the help of auxiliary forces hiding nearby, attacked the emigrants. Intending to leave no witnesses and thus prevent reprisals, the perpetrators killed all the adults and older children (totaling about 120 men, women, and children). Seventeen children, all younger than seven, were spared.

Following the massacre the perpetrators hastily buried the victims, leaving the bodies vulnerable to wild animals and the climate. Local families took in the surviving children, and many of the victims' possessions were auctioned off. Investigations, temporarily interrupted by the American Civil war. Now we are finally seeing nine indictments based on the testimony of Phillip Klingensmith who had been a bishop in the church and blacksmith from Cedar City, and a private in the militia. He participated in the killings, and later turned state's evidence against his fellows, after leaving the church. Major John D. Lee, constable, judge, and Indian Agent was another. Having conspired in advance with his immediate commander, Isaac Height, Lee led the initial assault, and falsely offered emigrants safe passage prior to their mile-long march to the field where they were ultimately massacred. William H Dame, Elliot Willden, George Adair, Jr. and Height Higbee, was it was said shouted the command to begin the killings. He claimed that he reluctantly participated in the massacre and only to bury the dead who he thought were victims of an "Indian attack."William C Steward and Samuel Jukes who apparently have gone into hiding. Klingensmith escaped prosecution by agreeing to testify. Brigham Young removed some participants including Haight and Lee from the LDS Church in 1870. The U.S. posted bounties of $500 each for the capture of Haight, Higbee and Stewart, while prosecutors chose not to pursue their cases against Dame, Willden and Adair.

I will tell you what Mark Twain wrote in his book, Roughing It which was published last year. This is not recommended reading of our church, you can be sure, but a lady friend of mine, who belongs to the new Episcopalian Church just opened near by and who has a baby the same age as ours, lent me her copy, and I read it when Samuel was not around. I've copied a bit from his book.

A large party of Mormons, painted and tricked out as Indians, overtook the train of emigrent wagons some three hundred miles south of Salt Lake City, and made an attack. But the emigrants threw up earthworks, made fortresses of their wagons, and defended themselves gallantly and successfully for five days! Your Missouri or Arkansas gentleman is not much afraid of the sort of scurvy apologies for "Indians" which the southern part of Utah affords. He would stand up and fight five hundred of them. At the end of the five days the Mormons tried military strategy. They retired to the upper end of the 'Meadows,' resumed civilized apparel, washed off their paint, and then, heavily armed, drove down in wagons to the beleagured emigrants, bearing a flag of truce! When the emigrants saw white men coming they threw down their guns and welcomed them with cheer after cheer...."

The militia, according to Twain, then convinced the pioneers that the Indians would cease attack if they marched out, leaving behind all their belongings and even their guns. The militia, perhaps in a generalized mood of revenge after persecution of Mormons in Arkansas and elsewhere, convinced these California-bound Arkansans to lay down their weapons with promises of friendship, then attacked.

Best get back to my work.

 

Best wishes,

Mary