Biography and family record of Lorenzo Snow/Chapter LIII
CHAPTER LIII.
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CHAPTER LIU.
Chester Loveland a modern Ajax. Drives the Sheriff and his posse. Holds a mobocratic jury. Brings them to terms. Captain in "Nauvoo Legion." Comes to Utah. Goes to- Carson. A scene of suffering. Commissioned Probate Judge. Is left to preside. Mission to the States. John A. McAllister called on mission to Europe. Interesting time on the steamer. Why the "Mormons" were driven from Nauvoo. Is sent to the Orkney Islands. Stops at his uncle's in Glasgow. Missionary labors. In Dundee and Newcastle-on-Tyne. Visits London. Returns home. Is elected County Recorder.
CHESTER LOVELAND, one of Lorenzo's sons-in-law, who was baptized in Kirtland, June 27th, 1837, has had several hair-breadth escapes in defense of his brethren, in the most turbulent scenes through which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has struggled. In one instance a leaden ball, designed to take his life, in passing his head came so close as to graze the side of his face, scorch- ing it sufficiently to cause the skin to peel off.
A stranger to fear, he never shunned positions of danger where duty called or danger to his brethren prompted. In his physical development evidently formed for a champion tall, robust, he might well pass for a modern Ajax in strength and agility.
The apostates, aided by our most bitter Gentile enemies abroad, established a press in Nauvoo, and commenced the issue of a periodical entitled The Expositor, in which appeared the most flagrant, scurrilous, libelous articles against the lead- ing authorities of the Church. The mayor, in connection with the city council, declared it a nuisance, and by their order it was demolished ; after this, the deputy sheriff called on our hero to assist in arresting the mayor, Joseph Smith, and the city council, and he positively refused. The next day
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the sheriff came with a posse and demanded his assistance, saying he had orders from the governor of the State. Mr. Loveland understood the trick ; he knew there was no possible means by which orders from the governor could have been obtained, as he was far distant, and at that time communica- tion by telegraph was out of the question. The sheriff insisted, and the more he did so the more Mr. Loveland's anger was aroused, till, grasping his arms, he rushed single handed towards the mounted posse, when with the fear of treacherous cowardice, riders and horses decamped with hur- ried pace.
He entered into plural marriage in January 21, 1840, hav- ing a second wife sealed to him at that time in the Nauvoo Temple.
A serious, and, at the same time, rather ludicrous inci- dent, in which Brother Loveland was connected, which transpired in Nauvoo, is worthy of record as a specimen of mobocratic times with the Latter-day Saints, as related by himself.
He says: I was on the jury when some of our brethren who had been falsely accused were brought to trial before eleven mobocratic jurors, and I held that jury thirty-six hours, until they were nearly starved. Two bills were before us one "guilty," the other "not guilty." The eleven signed the "guilty" verdict, and insisted that I should follow suit. I said: "No, gentlemen, before I will sign that paper, I will die here on this floor, and the red ants may pack me out through that keyhole." The result was, every man signed the verdict of "not guilty," and the innocent went free. He was appointed captain of the "Nauvoo Legion" in its first organization in Nauvoo.
He arrived in Salt Lake City in September, 1850. In 1853-4, was appointed lieutenant-colonel by President B. Young, then governor of Utah Territory, with instructions to organize a regiment in the northern part of the Territory, and
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was subsequently commissioned colonel by one of the Gentile governors of Utah.
At the spring conference in 1855, Colonel Loveland was called to go to Carson Valley (which at that time was a portion of Utah) and assist Apostle Orson Hyde in settling a colony. After their arrival in Carson, he, with six other brethren, went to Walker's River in search of a good location, and when there another point, thirty miles distant, was highly recommended as being exceedingly favorable for a large settlement. Prompt to the suggestion, they went, but to their great disappoint- ment, found they had been imposed upon, and instead of anything favorable, only a salt marsh, without a drop of fresh water, surrounded them.
They had traveled thirty miles without water for either man or beast, and now to take their back track and return to the river was their only ' alternative. They started, but were overcome with thirst long before they reached their destina- tion. So intense were their sufferings that every man's tongue was swollen out of his mouth, and some of their tongues blistered. Their horses, through extreme exhaustion, refused to carry them ; whenever mounted they would lie down, and the men in their suffering condition must either walk or die by the way.
Providentially, some Indians, well acquainted with the country, who saw then^ going from the fresh water, and sus- pecting the result, met them about five miles out, with about six gallons of water for their relief. Never was a humane act better timed, nor more gratefully appreciated. The six gallons were distributed among the famished men, barely sufficing till they reached camp, but enabling them to do so. As a grateful expression to those poor red men of the forest for the relief extended, the brethren clothed them in new suits from head to foot.
When Elder Hyde returned to Salt Lake, he left Colonel Loveland in charge of the mission, and while there he received
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from Brigham Young, then governor of Utah, a commission as probate judge. After his return from Carson, when that settlement was discontinued, he performed a mission to the Eastern States.
John A. McAllister, son-in-law of Brother Lorenzo, was born in England, and when quite young came to America with his parents, who left their native country for the Gospel's sake. His father being by trade a saddle and harness maker, John learned and followed the same occupation married Clarissa
Snow, a lovely girl, and settled in Logan, Cache County.
In May, 1880, he was called, and early in June started on a mission to Europe, after having been blessed and set apart by Apostle Lorenzo Snow.
Having come to Utah when very young, everything in the world abroad was new to him, and when he arrived in Chicago sight-seeing was to him intensely interesting; after spending a few days in gratifying his curiosity, he proceeded to New York, viewed some of the sights, and on the 22d inst. took steamer and started for Liverpool in gay spirits, rilled with enthusiasm and admiration of the grandeur of the mighty ocean as it spread out before and around him, uncon- scious of what was awaiting him.
With a sound appetite he partook of a hearty supper; went to bed, but when he awoke, none but those who have experienced seasickness need attempt to describe the change. To repeat his own words: "I felt as the Irishman said, that I was 'not myself at all.' I had lost my appetite, the spirit of excitement was gone, and I felt queer." In all probability he felt much as Captain Morgan told me when I was crossing the ocean on the Minnesota, that seasick passengers, for a day or two, felt afraid they would die, then, after that, they felt afraid they would not die.
After our missionary recovered from seasickness, as per
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journal, he says: About this time it began to be noised around that there were " Mormons" on board. I was engaged in play- ing checkers with an old gentleman from Yorkshire, England, one of the radicals on the subject of " Mormonism," and he so expressed himself as we were playing for the amusement of scores of bystanders who were watching our movements. I made no reply to his rabid expressions, but paid strict atten- tion to our game, in which I beat him several times in succes- sion, which rather chagrined him, and I concluded to quit. I then arose and gently patting him on the shoulder, said, " My friend, when you get home to England, you may tell your people that you were badly beaten at checkers by a young 'Mormon,' " which created surprise, especially on the part of my checker-playing friend, who exclaimed, "What, sir! are you one of those 'Mormons?' ' Then the gathered crowd began to ask questions, some in the spirit of ridicule, others for information.
Among the rest was a little old man, who began to boast that when a young man he was one of those who fired the first guns that drove the "Mormons" from Nauvoo. I cannot des- cribe my feelings at this juncture. He said the "Mormons" fought bravely with their old wooden cannon, etc. I then asked why he and others committed such crimes murdering men, women and children in cold blood. He replied, "Well, the people said that the 'Mormons' stole their cattle and horses." I asked him if he ever knew of any of those crimes having been proven against them. He said, " No, can't say that ever I did ; but the real fact of the matter was, those 'Mormons' all voted the Democratic ticket, and if we had let them alone they would have carried the State." Our contro- versy lasted about an hour, when the bell rang for lunch.
The journal continues: After landing in Liverpool, I went directly to the Milllennial Star office, where I was kindly received by President Budge, who appointed me to the Orkney Islands, Scotland, with permission to spend a few weeks in
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Glasgow, where I arrived on the sixth of July; went to the residence of my uncle, which gave him and his family a sur- prise, as they had no intimation of my coming. While I remained here in company with the president, Brother D. C. Duiibar, I visited most of the Saints in the Glasgow Con- ference, and obtained many items of interest pertaining to missionary labors, which proved very beneficial to me.
On the twenty-seventh of August, on my way to the islands, when I arrived at Perth, all was bustle and excite- ment; Her Majesty Queen Victoria and suite having arrived, en route to Balmoral Castle, a large crowd was awaiting anxiously to see them, and prompted by the same feeling, I located myself in a convenient place, Avhere I remained about a half hour, although encumbered with a large valise in each hand, an overcoat and umbrella under my arms, when I had the gratification of beholding a live queen, a prince and prin- cess, which of course was something to a voting American.
After stopping over night at Inverness, I proceeded by train to Thurso, situated on the shore of the North Sea, three hundred and sixty miles from Glasgow ; here I met Brother J. Finlayson, with whom I was to travel found but one family of Saints, who, although poor, were very kind. We sailed from Scranton among the islands until we reached the Island of Pomona, and landed at the town of Kirkwell. Here we found the people superstitious and priest-ridden. So far as we oeuld learn, our Elders had visited there but once, and that long ago, and then without success.
We engaged a room in a boarding-house, commenced dis- tributing tracts, and all the stale stories about " Mormonism" were soon going the rounds; but we disabused the minds of the people of the malicious tales wherever we could gain access. After much solicitation and paying ten shillings, we succeeded in engaging a hall, and had an attendance of about two hundred and "fifty persons, probably some of them prompted by curiosity, but we attributed our success in gain-
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ing an audience to our earnest prayers to our heavenly Father, so anxious were we to bear our testimonies of the Gospel, and I can truly say that never, either before or since, have I felt so great outpouring of the Holy Spirit as on this occasion, but this proved to be our only chance; so great was the opposition that a place for meeting could not be obtained for love or money. So much for the journal.
The most that could be accomplished in the way of mis- sionary labors was in distributing tracts; for this pur- pose Elder McAllister managed to get a quantity published, and as he went from place to place, from island to island, where he could do no more in consequence of prejudice and bigotry, he scattered those printed testimonials. By permis- sion he spent Christmas and New Year in Glasgow, attending conference, visiting the Saints, and assisting in baptisms and con- firmations of new members. Labored in Dundee, and on the 1st of March received appointment to Newcastle-on-Tyne. Here he labored with much satisfaction, baptized several, and in visiting the scenes of boyhood in this his native place, he says: After the novelty had passed, although my father was in prosperous circumstances when he left for America and a home with the Saints of God, if ever I felt thankful to my heavenly Father for our deliverance frorn^Babylon, I was ten times more so then, as I saw the wickedness, corruption and the temptations to which I should have been exposed by remaining in that country.
During his absence he visited London, where he spent several days pleasantly and profitably, and was released to return home with the company of Saints which embarked for New York on the 17th of May, 1882, and on his arrival home rejoiced to find his family in life and health; and yet he pro- nounces his mission abroad the most important period of his life. . On his return he resumed his former quiet occupation, and at the last general August election received the appoint- ment of county recorder, and is now officiating in that capacity.