Archipelago.” According to the newspaper, the “chief Saints of Salt Lake City”
approved the plan and Gibson unsuccessfully lobbied the Buchanan admin-
istration on its behalf.1 In November 1858, Gibson informed Bernhisel of his
plan to visit Utah in the hopes of furthering his “long cherished purpose of
establishing a colony upon an island of Central Oceanica.”2 The following
year, Gibson traveled to Utah, apparently to make his case directly to Young.
Gibson impressed Young and other Mormon leaders. In a letter of intro-
duction for Gibson to Hiram McKee written the same day as his letter to
Kane, Young described Gibson as “a gentleman of much refinement and intel-
ligence, and has traveled extensively in many climes and among many people,
and been privileged to associate and become more or less acquainted with
many persons moving in the first society in different governments.” During
his winter in Salt Lake City, Gibson “delivered some very interesting public lec-
tures on the Malaysian Islands, closely observed the manners and customs of
1. “M
ovements of the Mormons—Where they are Probably Going to,” New York Times, June 25, 1858, 1. At the time, there was much speculation throughout the United States regarding where the Latter-day Saints might settle in case they were forced from Utah because of the Utah War.
2. Walter M. Gibson to John M. Bernhisel, November 26, 1858, John M. Bernhisel Collection, CHL. With this letter is a printed sheet with specifics of the plan, “Emigration to Oceanica,”
published in New York in September 1858 by the “Director of Oceanic Emigration and Colonization.”
Young to Kane, April 26, 1860
361
our people, and has carefully listened to public teachings by myself and other
Elders.” Furthermore, Young wrote, Gibson had “frequently called upon me
in my office and house.”3 In another letter of introduction, this one to William
Hooper, Young wrote, “after a careful investigation of our faith,” Gibson had
“concluded to cast his spiritual lot with ours.”4 Heber C. Kimball baptized
Gibson on January 15, 1860.5
On April 27, Gibson left Salt Lake City for the eastern states, both to
visit relatives and to proselytize on behalf of his new faith. While he visited
Philadelphia, it is unknown whether Gibson delivered this letter to Kane or
met with him. From 1861 to 1864, Gibson supervised Latter-day Saints in
Lanai, Hawaii, before being excommunicated for a variety of offenses, includ-
ing selling church offices.6
Source
Young to Kane, April 26, 1860, Brigham Young Letterbooks, box 5, vol.
5, 483.
Letter
G. S. L City, April 26, 1860.
Col. Thomas L. Kane,
Philadelphia, Pa.
My Dear Friend:—
Permit me to introduce to your kind attention my friend Capt.
Walter M. Gibson, the bearer of this note. Capt. Gibson arrived in Utah
last Fall, on his way to the Malaysian Islands.7 He spent the past Winter
in this City, and is about starting for the States on a visit to his relatives
and friends.
3. Y
oung to Hiram McKee, April 26, 1860, BYOF.
4. Young to Hooper, April 26, 1860, BY. This letter to Hooper repeats much of the letter to Kane.
5.Jacob Adler and Robert M. Kamins, The Fantastic Life of Walter Murray Gibson (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986), 45–46.
6. Adler and Kamins, Walter Murray Gibson, 44–76.
7. In his letter to Hooper, Brigham Young identified Gibson’s intended destination as “Papua or New Guinea.” Young to Hooper, April 26, 1860, BYOF.
362
the prophet and the reformer
So far as my acquaintance has extended with the Captain, I have
invariably found him to be frank, kind hearted, intelligent, upright, and
gentlemanly; and any courtesy and attention your judgement may dic-
tate you to extend to him, will be duly appreciated by Capt. Gibson
and by,
Most Truly Your Friend,
Brigham Young Sen
63
Kane to Young, August 15, 1860
folloWInG hIs aprIl 25, 1860 letter to Young, Kane worked to block
Representative Justin Morrill’s anti-polygamy bill, which had passed the House
of Representatives, in the Senate. As part of his effort, he wrote a lengthy let-
ter to influential Virginia Democratic Senator James Mason and sent a copy
to President Buchanan. Kane’s letter to Mason demonstrates his rhetorical
tactics in defending the Mormons, as he emphasized that further persecu-
tion would only help the Latter-day Saints and that Mormon opposition would
cripple the bill’s effectiveness. Furthermore, Kane warned that the legislation
would provoke another armed conflict between the Mormons and the nation.
A federal army could take Salt Lake City without too much difficulty, he sug-
gested, but Utah’s mountainous terrain would allow the leading Mormons to
hide or escape to seek converts overseas. Mormon spies would successfully
infiltrate the federal army, as they had during the Utah War (Kane wrote that
Young had boasted of Mormon spies at Camp Scott and that their reports even
included “when and where” one of the civilian officials “was in his habit of vis-
iting the willows”). Eventually, the army would “use some harshness” against
Mormon civilians, provoking sympathy for the Saints and forcing the govern-
ment to seek peace on the Saints’ terms.1 Opponents of the anti-polygamy leg-
islation prevailed, and the bill was never brought up for debate in the Senate.
With misplaced optimism, Kane reported on the failure of the congres-
sional efforts to Young, labeling the recent attempts to diminish the expansive
size of Utah Territory as “the last expiring effort of the malice of its enemies.”
Throughout the 1850s, there had been congressional threats to diminish
Utah’s borders. These threats heightened with the discovery of gold and silver
1. Kane to J
ames Mason, April 20, 1860, enclosed with Kane to Buchanan, April 20, 1860,
Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
364
the prophet and the reformer
deposits at the Comstock Lode (then in western Utah Territory) and at Cherry
Creek (modern Denver, then in western Kansas Territory). In 1859–1860, as
Utah delegate William Hooper agitated for Utah statehood, he simultaneously
fought against the rumored creation of new territories out of the eastern and
western sections of the territory. Kane’s prediction proved incorrect; in March
1861, President Buchanan signed bills which created territories in Nevada and
Colorado, both established with some land from Utah Territory. The process
of trimming Utah’s borders continued until the territory assumed its current
size in 1868, though threats to further diminish Utah continued during the
1870s.2
Source
Kane to Young, August 15, 1860, box 40, fd 13, BYOF.
Letter
In the mountains of Elk County Penna.
August 15. 1860
My dear friend:3
I have this week your letter of Mar. 22d. which probably has
remained over four months in the hands of Mr. Robbins, or some other
worthy fellow.4 Welco
me indeed the good day when it is of no impor-
tance whether I hear from you with despatch or not! The swords of the
greasers in the service of the United States are not yet turned into prun-
ing hooks,5 but their blows are no longer to be warded off from Utah.
And it looks now really as if the effort in Congress to dismember the
territory, this spring, was the last [p. 2] expiring effort of the malice of its
enemies. I would like to learn from you if you heard from me through
Mr. George Q. Cannon, as I had to send him a letter for you through the
2.
William P. MacKinnon, “ ‘Like Splitting a Man Up His Backbone’: The Territorial
Dismemberment of Utah, 1850–1896,” Utah Historical Quarterly 71 (Spring 2003), 102, 111–112. See Young to William Hooper, April 26, 1860, BYOF.
3. Kane wrote “Governor Young” at the bottom of the page to indicate the recipient.
4. Young had directed Charles B. Robbins to deliver to Kane this letter. Young to Kane, March 22, 1860.
5. Isaiah 2:4.
Kane to Young, August 15, 1860
365
New York Post Office.6 You should all remember G. Q. as one who has
shown power to put forty to flight, and I wish you to keep on hand my
testimonial in his favor.
I write as much as I am willing to entrust to the care of the U.S.
Mail–from my heart rejoicing to feel that there is no occasion for my
writing more. Let all my friends know that I send them words of con-
gratulation: bid all near you rely on me as
Your friend with pride and affection
Thomas L. Kane [p. 3]
Persons often inquire of me after missing emigrants. The enclosed7
comes from a valued friend of mine, daughter of Pierce Butler the grand-
son of “Pierce Butler the great,” well known to your sterling Bishop
Hunter.8 Mr. Butler was unfortunate enough to contract a matrimonial
union with Fanny Kemble niece of Mrs. Siddons, but the family still
enjoy the highest social position.9
6. Kane likely referred to his A
pril 25, 1860 letter, which Cannon carried to Utah.
7. The enclosure is apparently not extant, though Young’s response on September 27, 1860, identifies the missing emigrant as Charles Fink. See Young to Kane, September 27, 1860; Deseret News, September 19, 1860, 5.
8. Edward Hunter (1793–1883) was the church’s presiding bishop from 1851 to 1883 and a one-time Philadelphia merchant. See William G. Hartley, “Edward Hunter: “Pioneer Presiding Bishop,” in Donald Q. Cannon and David J. Whittaker, Supporting Saints: Life Stories of Nineteenth-Century Mormons (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1985), 275–304.
9.“Pierce Butler the Great” refers to Pierce Butler (1744–1822), who served in the American Revolution, as a delegate from South Carolina to the Constitutional Convention, and as one of South Carolina’s first senators. He resided chiefly in Philadelphia in his later years; his grandson, Pierce Butler (1807–1867) grew up in Philadelphia but was partial heir to his grandfather’s extensive plantations in the South. This Pierce Butler married the famous English actress and author Fanny Kemble (herself the niece of the celebrated English actress Sarah Kemble Siddons). The marriage between the slaveholding Butler and the abolitionist Kemble proved unhappy and they divorced in August 1849. Kane referred to one of their two daughters, Sarah and Frances. Robert M. Weir, “Pierce Butler,” American National Biography, vol. 4 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 103–105; Joseph Knight, “Frances Anne Kemble,” The Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 22 (London: Oxford University Press, 1917), 929–930; Deidre David, Fanny Kemble: A Performed Life (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007), 177–180.
64
Young to Kane, September 27, 1860
the departure from Salt Lake City to the east of some of Young’s trusted
associates—including George Q. Cannon, William Hooper, Orson Pratt,
and Erastus Snow—gave Young the opportunity to send this letter to Kane.
Young briefly reported on the new assignments given to these men, positively
assessed the situation in Utah Territory, and again invited Kane to visit the
Saints in Utah.
Source
Young to Kane, September 27, 1860, box 15, fd 3, Kane Collection, BYU.
Retained copy is in Brigham Young Letterbooks, box 5, vol. 5, 613.
Letter
G. S. L. City, Sep. 27, 1860.
Col. Thomas L. Kane,
Philadelphia, Pa,
Dear Friend:—
Your very welcome letters of April 25 (per hands of George Q) and
August 15 came safely to hand,1 and afforded a gratification to myself
and associates grateful to the feelings of all who appreciate true friend-
ship, and realize the ties that bind men to their fellows in the great
struggle that right may prevail.
1. Kane to Y
oung, April 25, 1860 and August 15, 1860.
Young to Kane, September 27, 1860
367
Thanks for your appreciation of our friends “Hooper & Co,” who, we
are well satisfied, filled their missions usefully and, as a consequence,
creditably;2 and I feel to assure you that their good services will not be
forgotten in any future selection of the right men for the right places;
as an earnest of which G. Q. is now on his way to take charge of and
conduct all our financial affairs in Europe, to attend to our immigration,
printing, &c., and edit the [“]Millenial Star,” a wide and very respon-
sible sphere which we confidently trust he will fill with honor to himself
and benefit to all concerned.3
Not knowing Mr. Charles Fink, nor meeting with any one who
either knew or had known him, I advertised in the “Deseret News”
for any one having the desired information, to at once forward it, to his
mother.4 [p. 2]
Affairs here are progressing with a constantly increasing degree of
prosperity and peacefulness; the oppressive power of officers is rapidly
waning; the army in Utah is so dwindled, thanks to our God and our
good friends, that even the thought of it but seldom occurs;5 and, in
short, our “lines are fallen in pleasant places.”6
Hon. W. H. Hooper, Elders Orson Pratt, Sen., Erastus Snow, and
George Q. Cannon, with others, start for the Frontiers early to morrow,
and will be able to furnish you such additional information of interest
as the press of business, attending their departure, may have crowded
from my thoughts.7
2. S
ee Kane to Young, April 25, 1860.
3. For Young’s charge to Cannon, see Young to Cannon, September 25, 1860, BYOF.
4. The advertisement read: “Wanted: Information of the whereabouts of Charles Fink, a shoemaker by trade, who wrote from New York City, in October 1856, to his mother residing in Germantown, Pa., that he was going to Utah. It is probable that said Fink may have started for this Territory with the army, in 1857; and any one knowing where he is will confer a favor upon his mother, Mrs. Fink, by communicating the information to her.” Deseret News, September 19, 1860, 5. See also Kane to Young, August 15, 1860.
5. A majority of the federal troops stationed in Utah had been transferred to New Mexico and Arizona during 1860. Long, Saints and the Union, 11.
6. Psalms 16:6.
7. Hooper was returning to his post as Utah congressional delegate. As a result of the sectional tensions and the fear of civil war, Young sent apostles Pratt and Snow to supervise the emigration of Latter-day Saints f
rom the East to Utah. Young to Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow, September 25, 1860, BYOF; England, Orson Pratt, 219–220.
368
the prophet and the reformer
We still anticipate seeing you and your beloved family in our dear
mountain home, and have by no means relinquished the hope of yet
being so highly gratified, for black marks upon paper fail to express the
warm feelings that crowd for utterance.
Please render my kindest regards to your beloved mother, to your
dear wife and little ones, to your true-hearted brothers, and to all your
loved relatives and friends; and permit me to remind you that the name
and valued services of our “Friend”8 are ever remembered and warmly
cherished by your numerous acquaintances, and by no one more so
than by,
Most truly your Friend, Brigham Young
8. In correspondence with trusted M
ormons such as Hooper and Cannon, Young some-
times referred to Kane as “Friend.” Young sent a similar message to Kane through Hooper in January 1861, asking Hooper to tell Kane, “God bless you and all that pertains to you and to your fathers house” and that Young “would be very much pleased to see him.” (Young to Cannon, January 4, 1860, BYOF; Young to Hooper, January 5, 1860 and January 24, 1861, BYOF.)
65
Young to Kane, September 21, 1861
feW letters passed between Young and Kane during most of the 1860s. The
Civil War led to a relative quiet in the national agitation over the “Mormon
Question” and diverted Kane’s attention. In addition, Kane’s efforts to create
a community in the Allegheny Mountains of northwest Pennsylvania follow-
ing the war further drew his focus from Mormon affairs. Except for a brief
letter in November 1861, following this letter Kane did not write Young again
until 1869.
As the secession crisis unfolded in the winter of 1860–1861, Kane advised
William Hooper, who had returned to Washington as Utah delegate, on seek-
ing Utah statehood. The sectional tensions, Hooper believed, opened the door
The Prophet and the Reformer Page 53