The Lions of the Lord: A Tale of the Old West

by Harry Leon Wilson

  CHAPTER XLI.

  _The Rise and Fall of a Bent Little Prophet_

  Down in the village the various dinners of ceremony to the visitingofficials were over. An hour had followed of decent rest and informalchat between the visitors and their hosts, touching impartially onmatters of general interest; on irrigation, the gift of tongues, theseason's crop of peaches, the pouring out of the Spirit abroad, the bestmixture of sheep-dip; on many matters not unpleasing to thepractical-minded Deity reigning over them.

  Then the entire populace of Amalon, in its Sunday best of "valley tan"or store-goods, flocked to the little square and sat expectantly on thebenches under the green roof of the bowery, ready to absorb thedroppings of the sanctuary.

  In due time came Brigham, strolling between Elder Wardle and BishopWright, bland, affable, and benignant. On the platform about him sat hisCounsellors, the more distinguished of his suite, and the localdignitaries of the Church.

  Among these came the little bent man with an unwonted colour in hisface, coming in absorbed in thought, shaking hands even with Brighamwith something of abstraction in his manner. Prudence and Follett camelate, finding seats at the back next to a generous row of the Mrs. SethWright.

  The hymn to Joseph Smith was given out, and the congregation rose tosing:--

  "Unchanged in death, with a Saviour's love, He pleads their cause in the courts above.

  "His home's in the sky, he dwells with the gods, Far from the rage of furious mobs.

  "He died, he died, for those he loved, He reigns, he reigns, in the realms above.

  "Shout, shout, ye Saints! This boon is given,-- We'll meet our martyred seer in heaven."

  When they had settled into their seats, the Wild Ram of the Mountainsarose and invoked a blessing on those present and upon those who hadgone behind the veil; adding a petition that Brigham be increased in hisbasket and in his store, in wives, flocks, and herds, and in the giftsof the Holy Spirit.

  They sang another hymn, and when that was done, the little bent manarose and came hesitatingly forward to the baize-covered table thatserved as a pulpit. As President of the Stake it was his office towelcome the visitors, and this he did.

  There were whisperings in the audience when his appearance was noted. Itwas the first time he had been seen by many of them in weeks. Theywhispered that he was failing.

  "He ought to be home this minute," was the first Mrs. Wardle's diagnosisto the fifth Mrs. Wardle, behind her hymn-book, "with his feet in amustard bath and a dose of gamboge and a big brewing of catnip tea. Ican tell a fever as far as I can see it."

  The words of official welcome spoken, he began his discourse; but in atimid, shuffling manner so unlike his old self that still otherswhispered of his evident illness. Inside he burned with his purpose,but, with all his resolves, the presence of Brigham left him unnerved.He began by referring to their many adversities since the day when theyhad first knelt to entreat the mercy of God upon the land. Then he spokeof revelations.

  "You must all have had revelations, because they have come even to me.Perhaps you were deaf to the voice, as I have been. Perhaps you havetrusted too readily in some revelation that came years ago, supposedlyfrom God--in truth, from the Devil. Perhaps you have been deaf to laterrevelations meant to warn you of the other's falseness."

  He was still uneasy, hesitating, fearful; but he saw interest here andthere in the faces before him. Even Brigham, though unseen by thespeaker, was looking mildly curious.

  "You remember the revelation that came to Joseph in an early day whenthere was trouble in raising money to print the Book of Mormon,--'Somerevelations are from God, some from man, and some from the Devil.'Recalling the many chastenings God has put upon us, may we not havefailed to test all our other revelations by this one?"

  Deep within he was angry at himself, for he was not speaking with wordsof fire as he had meant to; he was feeling a shameful cowardice in thepresence of the Prophet. He had seen himself once more the Lute of theHoly Ghost, strong and moving; but now he was a poor, low-spoken,hesitating rambler. Nervously he went on, skirting about the edge of histruth as long as he dared, but feeling at last that he must plunge intoits icy depths.

  "In short, brethren, the Book of Mormon denounces and forbids our pluralmarriages."

  Even this astounding declaration he made without warmth, in tones so lowthat many did not hear him. Those on the platform heard, however, andnow began to view his obvious physical weakness in a new light. Yet hecontinued, gaining a little in force.

  "The declarations on the subject in the Book of Mormon are so wordedthat we cannot fail to read them as denouncing and forbidding thepractise of the Old Testament patriarchs in this matter of the familylife."

  In rapid succession he cited the passages to which he referred, thoseconcerning David and Solomon and Noah and Ripkalish, who "did not dothat which was right in the sight of the Lord, for he did have manywives."

  There were murmurings and rustlings among the people now, and on hisright he heard Brigham stirring ominously in his chair; but he nervedhimself to keep on his feet, feeling he had that to say which shouldmake them hail him as a new prophet when they understood.

  "But besides these warnings against the sin there are many earlyrevelations to Joseph himself condemning it."

  He cited several of these, feeling the amazement and the alarm growabout him.

  "And now against these plain words, given at many times in many places,written on the golden plates in letters that cannot lie, or brought toJoseph by the angel of the Lord, we have only the one revelation oncelestial marriage. Read it now in the light of these other revelationsand see if it does not too plainly convict itself of having beencounterfeited to Joseph by an evil spirit. Such, brethren, has been therevelation that the Lord has given to me again and again until it burnswithin me, and I must cry it out to you. Try to receive it from me."

  There was commotion among the people in front, chairs were moved at hisside, and a low voice called to him to sit down. He heard this voicethrough the ringing that had been in his ears for many days, like thebeating of a sea against him, and he felt the strength go suddenly fromhis knees.

  He stumbled weakly back to his chair and sank into it with head bowed,feeling, rather than seeing, the figure of Brigham rise from its seatand step forward with deliberate, unruffled majesty.

  As the Prophet faced his people they became quite silent, so that therobins could be heard in the Pettigrew peach-trees across the street. Hepoured a glass of water from the pitcher on the table, and drank of itslowly. Then, leaning a little forward, resting both his big cushionyhands on the green of the table, the Lion of the Lord began toroar--very softly at first. Slowly the words came, in tones scarceaudible, marked indeed almost by the hesitation of the first speaker.But then a difference showed; gradually the tone increased in volume,the words came faster, fluency succeeding hesitation, and now his voicewas high and searching, while his easy, masterful gestures laid theirold spell upon the people.

  "It does not occupy my feelings to curse any individual," he had begun,awkwardly; "in fact, I feel to render all thanks and praise for thediscourse to which we have just listened, but I couldn't help saying tomyself, 'Oh, dear, Granny! what a long tale our puss has got!'"

  An uneasy titter came from the packed square of faces in front of him.He went on with rising power:

  "But it is foretold in the Book of Mormon that the Lord will remove thebitter branches, and it's a good thing to find out where the bitterbranches are. We can remove them ourselves. We can't expect the Lord todo _all_ our dirty work. Now hear it once more, you that need to hearit--and damn all such poor pussyism as sniffles and whines and rejectsit! We don't want that scrubby breed here!--Listen, I say. The celestialorder of marriage is necessary for our exaltation to the fulness of theLord's glory in the world eternal. Where much is given much is required.Understand me,--those that reject polygamy will be damned. Hear it nowonce for all. I will give you to know that God, our Fa
ther, has manywives, and so has Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother. Our God and Father inheaven is _a being of tabernacle_, or, in other words, He has a body ofparts the same as you and I have. And that God and Father of ours wasAdam."

  Again there was a stirring below as if a wind swept the people, and thelittle man in his chair cowered for shame of himself. He had meant to doa great thing; he had thrilled so strongly with it; it had promised tomaster others as it had mastered him; and now he was shamed by the onetrue Lion of the Lord.

  "Hear it now," continued Brigham. "When God, our Father Adam, came intothe garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and broughtone of his wives with him,--Eve. He made and organised this world. He isMichael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days, _about whom holy men havewritten and spoken_. He is our Father and our God, and the only God withwhom we have to do. I could tell you much more about this; but were Ito tell you the whole truth, blasphemy would be nothing to it, in theestimation of the superstitious and over-righteous of mankind. But Iwill tell you this, that Jesus, our Elder Brother, was begotten in theflesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who isour Father in Heaven."

  A chorus of Amens from the platform greeted this. It was led by the WildRam of the Mountains. In his chair the little bent man now cowered lowerand lower, one moment praying for strength, the next for death; feelingthe blood surge through him like storm waves that would beat him down.If only Heaven would send him one last moment of power to word thistruth so that it might prevail. But Brigham was continuing.

  "And what of this Elder Brother, Jesus? Did he reject the patriarchalorder--like some poor pusillanimous cry-babies among us? No, I say! Itwill be borne in mind that once on a time there was a marriage in Canaof Galilee; and on a careful reading of that transaction it will bediscovered that no less a person than Jesus Christ was married on thatoccasion. If he was never married his intimacy with Mary and Martha, andthe other Mary also, whom Jesus loved, must have been highly unbecomingand improper, to say the best of it. I will venture to say that, ifJesus Christ was now to pass through the most pious countries inChristendom, with a train of women such as used to follow Him, fondlingabout Him, combing His hair, anointing Him with precious ointments,washing His feet with tears, and wiping them with the hair of theirheads,--that, unmarried or even married, He would be mobbed, tarred andfeathered, and ridden, not on an ass, but on a rail. Now did Hemultiply, and did He see His seed? Others may do as they like, but Iwill not charge our Saviour with neglect or transgression in this or anyother duty."

  He turned and went to his seat with a last threatening gesture, amidmany little sounds of people relaxing from strained positions.

  But then, before another could arise, a wonder came upon them. Thelittle man stood up and came quickly forward, a strange new life in hisstep, a new confidence in his bearing, a curious glow of new strength inhis face. Even his stoop had straightened for the moment. For, as he hadlistened to Brigham's last words, the picture of his vision in thedesert had come back,--the cross in the sky, the crucified Saviour uponit, the head in death-agony fallen over upon the shoulder. And thenbefore his eyes had come page after page of that New Testament with awash of blood across two of them. He felt the new life he had prayed forpouring into his veins, and with it a fierce anger. The one on the crosswho had been more than man, who had shirked no sacrifice and lovedinfinitely, was not thus to be assailed. A panorama of wrong--wrongthinking and wrong doing--extended before his clearing gaze. For oncehe seemed to see truth in a vision and to feel the power to utter it.

  There was silence again as he stood in front of the little table, thefaces before him frozen into wonder that he should have either the poweror the temerity to answer Brigham. He spoke, and his voice was againrough with force, and high and fearless, a voice many of them recalledfrom the days when he had not been weak.

  "Now I see what we have done. Listen, brethren, for God has not beforeso plainly said it to any man, and I know my time is short among you. Wehave gone back to the ages of Hebrew barbarism for our God--to the Godof Battles worshipped by a heathen people--a God who loved the reek ofblood and the smell of burning flesh. But you shall not--"

  He turned squarely and fiercely to the face of Brigham.

  "--you shall not confuse that bloody God of Battles with the trueChrist, nor yet with the true God of Love that this Christ came to tellus of. Once I believed in Him. I was taught to by your priests. Warseemed a righteous thing, for we had been grievously put upon, and Ibelieved the God of Israel should avenge our wrongs as He had avengedthose of His older Zion. And hear me now--so long as I believed this, Iwas no coward; while you, sir--"

  A long forefinger was pointed straight at the amazed Brigham.

  "--while you, sir, were a craven, contemptible in your cowardice. Iwould have fought in Echo Canon to the end, because I believed. But youdid not believe, and so you were afraid to fight. And for your cowardiceand your wretched lusts your name among all but your ignorant dupesshall become a hissing and a scorn. For mark it well, unless you forsakethat heathen God of Battles and preach the divine Christ of the NewTestament, you shall come to hold only the ignorant, and them only bykeeping them ignorant."

  The commotion among the people in front was now all but a panic. On theplatform the sires of Israel whispered one to another, while Brighamgazed as if fascinated, driven to admiration for the speaker's power andaudacity. For the feverish, fleeting moment, Joel Rae was that veritableLion of the Lord he had prayed to be, putting upon the people his spellof the old days. Heads were again strained up and forward, and amazedhorror was on most of the faces. Far back, Prudence trembled, feelingthat she must be away at once, until she felt the firm grasp ofFollett's hand. The speaker went on, having turned again to the front.

  "Instead of a church you shall become justly hated and despised as apeople who foul their homes and dishonour beyond forgiveness the namesof wife and mother. Then your punishment shall come upon you as it hasalready come for this and for other sins. Even now the Gentile is uponus; and mark this truth that God has but now given me to know: we havenever been persecuted as a church,--but always as a political bodyhostile to the government of this nation. Even so, you had no faith.Believing as I believed, I would have fought that nation and died athousand bloody deaths rather than submit. But you had no faith, and youwere so low that you let yourselves be ruled by a coward--and I tell youGod _hates_ a coward."

  Now the old pleading music came into his voice,--the music that had madehim the Lute of the Holy Ghost in the Poet's roster of titles.

  "O brethren, let me beg you to be good--simply good. Nothing can prevailagainst you if you are. If you are not, nothing shall avail you,--thepower of no priesthood, no signs, ordinances, or rituals. Believe me, Iknow. Not even the forgiveness of the Father. For I tell you there is adivinity within each of you that you may some day unwittingly affront;and then you shall lie always in hell, for if you cannot forgiveyourself, the forgiveness of God will not free you even if it comeseventy times seven. I _know_. For fifteen years I have lain in hell forthe work this Church did at Mountain Meadows. A cross was put there tothe memory of those we slew. Not a day has passed but that cross hasbeen burned and cut into my living heart with a blade of white heat. NowI am going to hell; but I am tired and ready to go. Nor do I go as acoward, as _you_ will go--"

  Again the long forefinger was flung out to point at Brigham.

  "--but I shall go as a fighter to the end. I have not worshipped Mammon,and I have conquered my flesh--conquered it after it had once all butconquered me, so that I had to fight the harder--"

  He stopped, waiting as if he were not done, but the spell was broken.The life, indeed, had in the later moments been slowly dying from hiswords; and, as they lost their fire, scattered voices of protest hadbeen heard; then voices in warning from behind him, and the sound of twoor three rising and pushing back their chairs.

  Now that he no longer heard his own voice he stood quivering andpanic-stricken, the
fire out and the pained little smile coming to makehis face gentle again. He turned weakly toward Brigham, but the Prophethad risen from his seat and his broad back was rounded toward thespeaker. He appeared to be consulting a group of those who stood on theplatform, and they who were not of this group had also turned away.

  The little bent man tried again to smile, hoping for a friendly glance,perhaps a hand-clasp without words from some one of them. Seeing that hewas shunned, he stepped down off the platform at the side, twisting hishat in his long, thin hands in embarrassment. A moment he stood so,turning to look back at the group of priests and Elders around theProphet, seeking for any sign, even for a glance that should be notunkind. The little pained smile still lighted his face, but no friendlylook came from the others. Seeing only the backs turned toward him, heat length straightened out his crumpled hat, still smiling, and slowlyput it on his head; as he turned away he pulled the hat farther over hiseyes, and then he was off along the dusty street, looking to neitherside, still with the little smile that made his face gentle.

  But when he had come to the end of the street and was on the road up thehill, the smile died. He seemed all at once to shrink and stoop andfade,--no longer a Lion of the Lord, but a poor, white-faced, horrifiedlittle man who had meant in his heart to give a great revelation, andwho had succeeded only in uttering blasphemy to the very face of God'sprophet.

  From below, the little groups of excited people along the street lookedup and saw his thin, bent figure alone in the fading sunlight, toilingresolutely upward.

  Other groups back in the square talked among themselves, not a few inwhispers. A listener among them might have heard such expressions as,"He'll be blood-atoned sure!"--"They'll make a breach uponhim!"--"They'll accomplish his decease!"--"He'll be sent over the rim ofthe basin right quick!" One indignant Saint, with a talent foreuphemism, was heard to say, "Brigham will have his spirit disembodied!"

  To the priests and Elders on the platform Elder Wardle was saying, "Thetrouble with him was he was crazy with fever. Why, I'll bet my best setof harness his pulse ain't less than a hundred and twenty this minute."

  The others looked at Brigham.

  "He's a crazy man, sure enough," assented the Prophet, "but my opinionis he'll stay crazy, and it wouldn't be just the right thing by Israelto let him go on talking before strangers. You see, it _sounds_ soalmighty sane!"

  Back in the crowd Prudence and Follett had lingered a little at thelatter's suggestion, for he had caught the drift of the talk. When hehad comprehended its meaning they set off up the hill, full of alarm.

  At the door Christina met them. They saw she had been crying.

  "Where is father, Christina?"

  "Himself saddle his horse, and say, 'I go to toe some of those marks.'He say, 'I see you plenty not no more, so good-bye!' He kissed me," sheadded.

  "Which way did he go?"

  "So!" She pointed toward the road that led out of the valley to thenorth.

  "I'll go after him," said Follett.

  "I'll go with you. Saddle Dandy and Kit--and Christina will havesomething for you to eat; you've had nothing since morning."

  "I reckon I know where we'll have to go," said Follett, as he went forthe saddles.