millions of gold were taken from her soil.

THE MORMONS.

By this time the Mormons engaged much public attention. Joseph Smith, of
Sharon, Vermont, and Palmyra, New York, was the founder of the sect. He
claimed to have found in a cave a number of engraved plates, containing
the Mormon Bible, which was his guide in the formation of a new form of
religious belief. Although polygamy was not commended, it was afterward
added to their peculiar faith, which is that sins are remitted through
baptism, and that the will of God was revealed to his prophet, Smith, as
it was to be revealed to his successors.

The most grotesque farce in the name of religion is sure to find
believers, and they soon gathered about Smith. The first Mormon
conference was held at Fayette, N.Y., in 1830. As their number
increased, they saw that the West offered the best opportunity for
growth and expansion, and, when there were nearly 2,000 of them, they
removed to Jackson, Missouri, where they made a settlement. Their
practices angered the people, and, as soon as they could find a good
pretext, the militia were called out and they were ordered to "move on."

Crossing the Mississippi into Illinois, they laid out a city which they
named Nauvoo. Some of them were wealthy, and, as they held their means
in common, they were able to erect a beautiful temple and numerous
residences. Converts now flocked to them until they numbered fully
10,000. Their neighbors were displeased with their presence, and the
feeling grew into indignation when the Mormons not only refused to obey
the State laws, but defied them and passed laws of their own in open
opposition. In the excitement that followed, Joseph Smith and his
brother Hyram were arrested and lodged in jail at Carthage. Lynch-law
was as popular in the West as it is to-day in the South, and a mob broke
into the jail and killed the Smith brothers. This took place in June,
1844, and the Illinois Legislature annulled the charter of Nauvoo.

[Illustration: GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.]

The experience of the Mormons convinced them that they would never be
allowed to maintain their organization in any of the States. They,
therefore, gathered up their worldly goods, and, in 1846, set out on the
long journey to the far West. Reaching the Basin of Utah, they founded
Great Salt Lake City, which is one of the handsomest, best governed, and
cleanest (in a physical sense) cities in the world.

While referring to thes