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Show 604 WESTERN WILDS. unceremoniously set that marriage aside ; Brigham took her, and the doctor went to " grass." His fourth wife was Harriet Cook, whom he took soon after the exodus from Nauvoo ; but she was a " rebellious spirit," and at Winter Quarters ( now Florence, Nebraska), " the devil entered in* o and did possess her." ( For " possession," and the plan of relief adopted, see Captain Dan Jones' account in the llth volume of the Millennial Star; also, Pratt's Key to Theology, and other Mormon works.) As a result she railed on Brigham, and denounced polygamy, and ended by trying to strangle her baby, Oscar Young. Brigham managed to prevent that, and in due time " the devil left her ; " but he swore she should never become a mother the second time. And she did not. He married a few more wives while establishing the settlement in Utah ; but all of this lot retired from business as early as 1855 or 1860. His great favorite then, and the one who retained his affections the longest, was Emmeline Free, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. And she was truly a lovely woman. Her children are, I think, the handsomest of Brigham's offspring, and she bore him ten. He was proud of her beauty and accomplishments, and for at least twelve years she was beyond question the queen of his heart. But youth and beauty can't last always, and about 1865, Brigham began to hanker for a new deal. Then Emmeline became desperate. She applied to Mary Ann Angell, the first wife, for help to prevent another marriage, but the latter was long past taking any interest in such things. After two or three trials with rather common wives, who did not please him more than a few months, Brigham's affections twined around Amelia Folsom ; and there they clung till his death, save for a few side dis-turbances, most noted of which was the alimonious Ann Eliza. Em-meline was literally heart- broken, and, to add to her troubles, she had to bear the reproaches and taunts of those she had once displaced. She took to opium for consolation, and died in the summer of 1875, a perfect wreck a confirmed " morphine drunkard ! " I think it was about a week after the burial of Emmeline ( she was buried with surprising indifference to details and appearances) that we had a large party of excursionists from the East. They all called on Brigham, and paid their most profound respects, and were posi-tively indignant at some of us resident Gentiles for the war we made on the hierarchy. One lady took me to task very severely, and afterward sent me a clipping from an Eastern paper, with her able defense of Brigham therein. I like to hear Eastern people apologize for polyg- |
