AMONG THE MORMON SETTLEMENTS. 137 



thought this was his little joke, until I found he thought that 

 our national uncle and "Jimmy" Buchanan were one and 

 the same, when he asked, " Uncle Sam's a bachelor, ain't he?" 

 I told him he was, and I expect he detested him on account of 

 his lone state still more than he had, for they all hate the 

 Federal authorities. Our host had three wives, all of whom 

 called him "father" when they addressed him. There was 

 a young squaw in the room also, but whether as wife or help 

 I did not ascertain. 



A return caravan passed through the town that night, from 

 which we learned that the Indians ahead were getting trouble- 

 some; a fight with some emigrants having aroused their 

 anger. 



Early on the 28th we reached the walled town of Cedar City 

 —a half in ruins settlement. It was a sad sight to see so many 

 dwellings, once thronged by busy inmates, going to decay; the 

 roofs falling in, the walls crumbling. About half the people 

 had gone to more f^ivored regions. The remainder looked 

 lonesome and owlish amid the desolation, and doubtless the 

 town would soon be wholly deserted. 



We vraited several hours here for the rest of the wagons to 

 come up. We employed the time in laying in provisions, as 

 this was our last chance before crossing the desert. The people 

 were taking advantage of this to charge us extortionate 

 prices, when Bishop Lee interfered in our behalf, so that flour 

 fell from $12 to $6 per hundred. This Lee was he who after- 

 wards turned informer, and showed the connection of the 

 Mormons and Indians with the massacre of the Mountain 

 Meadows. Though high in the Church, he did not look much 

 like an ecclesiastic. He was a portly gentleman with a red 

 face, which showed that he liked the good things of this earth, 

 and now and then held converse with departing spirits. He 

 was clad in a showy suit, in which a " boiled shirt," satin vest 

 and cloth coat shone conspicuously: so different from his 

 9 



