THE

CAPT. MARY M. MILLER OF THE STEAMER "SALINE."

permission to navigate on the Red, Ouachita, and other Western rivers, besides the "father of waters."

CHE author of "The Employments of Women" enumerates several hundred pursuits or branches of industry from which a woman may choose, and The portrait offers to our inspection a feel that in winning her bread by hand or lady of pleasing appearance. She is of a brain labor she is not going beyond her strong, enduring constitution, possessed "sphere." We think that among these of courage and emphasis, yet far from

employments that of steamboat captain | being rude or coarse in physical or is not mentioned, and yet it has been de- mental composition. The reader to cided by high authority, even by the Board of United States Inspectors of Steam Vessels at New Orleans, that a woman may be competent to take the command of a steamer, since Mrs. Mary M. Miller has received a license to sail the Mississippi steamboat Saline, with

whom the mere fact of her appointment to a place calling for exceptional energy, nerve, and discretion, had been announced would probably infer that she was some large, muscular, ungainly woman from the back-country, whose unwomanly nature longed for the rough experience

of the boatman because it was out of keep-husband used to do nothing but pilot, ing with the retired and gentle habits and I spent much of my time in the pilotof the average woman. But Captain house, and learned how to manage a boat Mary Miller, when seen in a private par- and how to navigate certain rivers in lor in company with other ladies, her spite of myself. There is no reason why quiet, unassuming manners would not be a woman should not know or learn how found out of harmony with them. She is to manage a boat as well as a sewingyoung, married, with four children-and machine." enough of the wife and mother in her nature to appreciate the duties of such a relation. This is what she says of herself: "I come of a steamboat family; my father was a steamboat man, and after I married Captain Miller-that was seventeen years ago—I, of course, spent much of my time on the river. We have a beautiful home in Louisville, and my little ones are all there now; but for the past four years I have been living mainly on a boat. My

When Mrs. Miller applied for a license the inspectors were at a loss what to do in the case, and appealed to the Secretary of the Navy, who gallantly replied that if she were able to demonstrate her competence for the position the license could be granted. She at once offered herself for examination, and proved herself a skilful navigator before the eyes of the inspectors, who thereupon granted the license.

D.

THE MORMONS.

[We are so much accustomed to reading other things of this "peculiar" people that the following picture is a very agreeable contrast. Albeit, the writer does not seem to be prejudiced on their side, but a candid witness.-ED. P. J.]

IF

F any one desires to learn something about anything, he must lay aside in a great measure his prejudice and preconceived notions, and examine the subject upon its merits. In this spirit I wish to handle this much-vexed subject-giving credit to whom it is due, remembering that a tree is known by its fruit whether it be good, bad, or indifferent.

The writer has lived, travelled, and lectured among this peculiar people; has studied their habits, religion, and customs; and therefore considers himself better qualified to discuss this matter than the tourist who stops in Salt Lake a few hours en route for San Francisco.

The "Mormons" are so called because they believe in a book called the Book of Mormon, which they claim is a history of a race of people who anciently inhabited this land of America, of whom the Indians are a remnant. They say that this book was engraved upon gold

plates in reformed Egyptian characters; that it was revealed to Joseph Smith by an angel, and that he translated it by the power of God with the Urim and Thummim. The book is about the size of and very much like the Old and New Testaments, with the exception that it does not teach polygamy. But the Mormons' proper name is Latter-day Saints—I say proper name, because I think every organization has the right to say what its name shall be, and this is what they call themselves.

The Latter-day Saints inhabit the valleys of the Wasatch range of the Rocky Mountains, and they are making new settlements in Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada. They believe in having large families, and as a natural consequence they are multiplying very fast. As a people they are very hard workers. Their principal vocations are farming and stock-raising. To convince one of their industry, he only needs to ride over their railroads and behold their comfortable houses, well-filled barns, fattened stock, copious orchards, beautiful farms, great canals for irrigation, etc.

When they came here this country was a barren desert, with frost every month in the year (James Bridger, a mountaineer, offered Brigham Young a thousand dollars for the first ear of corn he could raise, so confident was he that nothing could be produced there); but now Utah is a "land flowing with milk and honey," abounding with delicious fruits and golden grain. Truly the desert has been made to blossom as the rose. Wherever they have gone they have converted the howling wilderness into a fruitful field, and no true man can look upon their prosperity and accuse them of indolence. | As to their religion, they believe it to be a direct revelation from heaven. They reverence the Bible and Book of Mormon as two divine records of equal importance. Their church is organized with the same officers and doctrines as the ancient apostolic church. They believe in building temples; have two finished and two more in course of erection. The most of them are firm believers in their religion. Prof. Fowler, who has lectured in their cities, gives them the credit of being "the most pious, godly, devout, faithful, and religious people he ever saw."

As regards temperance, they have a revelation given in 1833, in which they are told that tobacco and strong and hot drinks are not good for man, and that flesh should be used sparingly and only in times of winter, cold, or famine. The promise to those who live according to this revelation is that they shall be blessed with health, strength, endurance, long life, wisdom, and great treasures of knowledge. This revelation is called the "word of wisdom," and is extensively taught in public and private. There is scarcely a man in authority in the Mormon church to-day who does not keep this "word of wisdom," and the great majority of the members practice it as nearly as possible. They teach that marriage is a divine institution; that its object is propagation; and that the fountains of life should never be tampered with except for the purpose of creating a new being.

Their excuse for practicing polygamy, or plurality of wives, is that it was revealed to them from God, July 12, 1843. They hold that every good woman has the right to bear children; that if two or more worthy women agree to have a worthy man for their husband and the father of their children, and he is agreed, that it is all right. They claim that it is better for a woman to marry a good man and raise a family by him, even if he has another wife, than it is for her to become a fast woman or even marry a drunkard, gambler, thief, or other bad character and thereby produce a family that would be a detriment to society.

Respecting their morality it may be said that they are truly virtuous. They have never established or patronized a house of ill-repute. Such a thing was unknown among them before outside influences came in. It is estimated that ninety-five per cent. of their youth are chaste.

My experience among them as a lecturer confirms this statement, yet it may be a little overdrawn. They teach that the breaking of the seventh commandment stands next to murder in the catalogue of crime, and that murder is a sin for which there is no forgiveness. Of course they practice polygamy, and if having more than one wife, raising children by them, supporting their numerous families and educating their offspring, can be called immoral, then the Latterday Saints can be charged with immorality.

The accusation that the Mormons are enemies of the Government is false. It is only a cry raised against them by a few political demagogues to wrest from them the rights of self-government. The only thing that can be said against them is that they regard the law against polygamy unconstitutional.

As far as education is concerned, they have their private, district, and highschools, academies and universities, besides other associations and societies of learning. The last census shows that Utah has less illiteracy than a number of the States and Territories, notwithstand

ing the fact that many of the Mormons are converts from the working classes of other nations who did not have the privilege of being educated. The study of the arts and sciences, including phrenology, physiology, etc., is taking strong root in Utah, and minds of genius may not be expected in vain from her ranks.

Taking them all in all, the Latter-day Saints are no worse than other people. Their history has been so vilified and traduced by their many enemies, that the picture looks horrible from a distance. An acquaintance with them teaches us that they are a society of human beings

who are trying to do right. If their religion is false they have been deceived, and the way to undeceive them is to teach them the truth. The only way to make them better men and women is to teach them better principles. If they are let alone, as Beecher wisely suggests, this will be done. Turning loose upon them the dogs of war, to destroy their homes and break up their families, will only have a tendency to turn them from intellectual progress, strengthen them in their faith, and enlarge their church with new con

verts.

C. H. BLISS.

A

NUMBER of the PHRENOLOGICAL | fervency and spangles the page with JOURNAL, published not long ago, light divine." contains a sensible little article on "The Source of True Poetry," which it would be well for many sentimental would-be poets to read. The article is, in the main, true, but on one point we must beg leave to disagree with the writer. He says:

"The highest-the only true poetry-is written when the mind does not labor at all.

The mind is perfectly calm and placid while grandest sentiments take wing of words and flutter to the page. There is no strain, no scuffle; the poet stands 'neath the glow of the ethereal

Did the writer of the above ever write poetry in that fashion, and if so, did he become famous for it? If he did we will admit that he is right. The theory is certainly a very pretty one, and, if true, one might well envy the happy favorites of heaven, who receive the richest treasures of the universe without even taking the trouble to gather them.

According to his theory we might reasonably expect the greatest souls to be the greatest poets, yet such is not the fact. One may have grand ideas, yet

they may be expressed so crudely that the duce for other ears. It is like the mist sensitive ear is positively tortured.

THE EGOTIST.

HE had all the bad qualities best cal- himself an egotist; on the contrary, he