Kawich's Gold Mine; An Historical Narrative of Mining in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado and of Love and Adventure Among the Polygamous Mormons of Southern Utah (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1913. Excerpt: ... XXXVI. THE INTERRUPTED CEREMONY--CONCLUSION. At a quarter to eight o'clock the organ announced the hour for assembling. As the deep, mellow tones returned from the remote caverns of the mountain, and swept in tremulous vibrations through the subterranean abode of the outlawed Saints, Sister Eliza knelt by her bed. Intermingled with partly stifled sobs a prayer of tense, appealing eloquence ascended to the, Infinite Father for the protection of Clara Brown. During her long journey through the dismal polygamy way, she had been a fanatical but sympathetic witness, in hundreds of instances, to the pressing of the bitter cup to the lips of as pure and noble women as ever graced the homes of men. Through all those weary years her implicit faith in the divine, mission of Joseph Smith had sustained her, as it has sustained thousands of other polygamously-tortured hearts. And even now, while tearfully appealing to "Israel's God" to stay the impending sacrifice, the expressive lines of which she was the gifted author were mirrored in her mind as if in mockery of her appeal: "In the heavens are parents single? No the thought makes reason stare; Truth is reason, truth eternal Tells me I've a mother there." But while her Mormon-trained "reason" impelled her to believe in the rightfulness of "celestial marriage," her woman's heart rebelled at the vision of the coming sacrifice of an unwilling victim on the altar of unquestioning obedience. To Sister Eliza the voice of the organ was not a call to worship, nor to a bridal ceremony, ---it was a funeral dirge inviting professed disciples of the Sinless One to be witnesses at a tragedy. Like a prisoner condemned to death--or worse--Clara Brown sat at the table in her bedroom. Her face was buried in her hands, and through he...