and his sons hurried the woman and younger children to a secluded spot
at a little distance, and seeking convenient cover determined to make a
desperate effort to protect those for whose safety they were
responsible. Unfortunately for the successful carrying out of this plan,
the helpless section of the party was discovered first. The avenging
party then divided up into two sections, one of which dragged away the
woman and her young children, and the others went in search of the man
and his two sons. They speedily found them, and in the fight which
followed two lives were lost on both sides.

The oldest son of the escaping party was wounded and left for dead.
Several hours later consciousness returned to him, and the first sight
that met his gaze was the dead bodies of his father and brother. A
chance was offered him to escape, but weak as he was from loss of blood,
he determined to follow up the kidnaping party, forming the desperate
resolve that if he could not rescue his mother and sisters, he would at
least save them from the horrible fate that he knew awaited them. This
resolve involved his death, for he was no match for the men he was
contending against. No grave was ever dug for his remains, and no
headstone tells the story of his noble resolution and his intrepid
effort to carry it into execution.

There were hundreds, and probably thousands, of similar incidents, and
Mormonism proved a sad drawback to the happiness of a people who
otherwise had before them prospects of a most delightful character.
Brigham Young proved a marvelous success as a ruler. He had eighteen
wives and an indefinite number of children, estimates concerning the
number of which vary so much that it is best not to give any of them. It
is generally stated and understood that the so-called revelation calling
upon the chosen people to practice polygamy, was an invention on the