Show A MORMON MONUMENT AFTON aug 10 special correspondence pon dence ce des moines iowa register A recent visit to mt pisgah in this county union brought V out some of the early history of the mormons cormons in iowa in 1845 they left nauvoo ill and in september of that year about camped on the east side of grand river not having any definite idea of how long they would remain they lived in their wagons and booths until the next spring when they continued to occupy their wagons until fall and then proceeded to build log huts they also built two log churchro churches chur chrs ts and held worship until in 1852 when the colony went to utah while in camp at pisgah the mormons cormons built a mul mill and instead of I 1 importing ng a french millstone they dug two iowa granite boulders commonly knoch as 11 heads of which the origin was given by a boor at the smithsonian in washington as having been brought down from the hudson bay land by icebergs when there was a big gulf stream that reached from chicago to cheyenne and ran from the arctic ocean to the gulf of california these stones are hard and if the reader will examine the foundation of the iowa state capitol he will see aee a sample of this stone how the mormons cormons ever cut these stones is a mystery the mill stones are about twenty inches in diameter and are very nearly round in form the grooves are cut straight from the center to the outside and not diagonally as in ordinary mill stones the depth is just enough to make a course quality of meal the mill was first run by horse power but afterwards was operated by water the ingenuity they displayed is worthy of the people who started out as reformers they believed in home rule home protection and home manufactures during the stay of the mormons cormons in this county they appeared to live la in peace with all around them including including the few white settlers ett lers and 4 indians that had temporary homes in the valley while here about died and were buried on east shore of the river on a beautiful plat of ground now known as the farm of mr A C white there were several tombstones at one time in this country one was the headstone tk of bishop huntington one of another but the name was not cut sufficient to be intelligible and another with the masonic emblem cut on it this was very well done and would indicate the workmanship of a very good stone cutter the giaves in some parts of the cemetery were headed to northwest and almost any direction to suit the lay of the ground the mormons cormons occupied sections 30 and 31 in new hope township sections 12 and 13 tl in union township sections 5 6 1 7 8 16 17 18 19 and 30 in jones township the cemetery now occupies a part of section 8 in jones township when mr white became possessor of the land including the cemetery he placed a temporary fence around the IMor mormon mou acre and wrote to brigham young in regard to the land and of the propriety of the friends of those buried there to build a permanent t fence or put the gro grounds in order as the b rush brush had grown thick and it ww w not in the condition that mr white wanted the ground if it was to always remain a cemetery this letter was referred to the family of bi bishop 1 sh huntington HUnting tOD who began the woot work of canvassing for friends of those who had buried friends at pisgah this required much labor in utah the press was used and considerable correspondence followed until finally after about five or six years effort the friends in utah concluded purchase to the ground fence it and erect a suitable monument to enable them to carry out their plans they employed mr white as their agents agent and he has completely satisfied the friends by carrying out their instructions fully the ground was deeded to trustees named by the committee 91 next the fence was selected as to what was thought the most substantial there was built as per r instruction wd and paid for as zd agreed upon next was the monument on this there was much correspondence some wanted a shaft others a memorial and finally after considerable delay the committee decided to have a plain shaft abaft fifteen feet high an ani i the names of the dead inscribed thereon of the families who have contributed to the purchase of the ground and expense of the monument in all the correspondence pon dence attached to this the writers are very profuse in the return of thanks to mr white for his labors in carrying out their instructions and generally the letters wind up with a special reference to their trials and persecution by the people in utah and in their expression of the government at washington they are very strong in their condemnation dem nation in their reference to the faithful who have died at pisgah they express the idea of them as martyrs and that in time the government will be called billed to account for their persecution the monument stands a short dis tance north of the crossing of the C B Q railroad at grand river or near the station of talmage on OD the C st bt P K 0 C railway it is said that when the arrived at pisgah the view which is a very fine one caused them to exclaim this is a land of promise and here we will sojourn until they could recruit sufficiently to go on to the land of utah the canaan of their future of tb the e number that left nau nauvoo the first halt made by any portion of them was at ga garden aden grove brove then illa pisgah gah next at Mormon town in taylor county and one point in fremont county and at kanes ville council bluffs two trails are today visible iu in southern iowa over which the mormons cormons traveled one through this tier of counties and one through the south tier of the state the one they started on when they crossed the river at nauvoo the terrible mortality that left ten per cent of its population in the cemetery at pisgah is credited to the poorly prepared condition the mor mons were in to begin such a pilgrimage and there is but a small proportion of the results of that exodus for subsequent history at we the terrible life and privation rf of these people before they reached utah the monument was photography and a copy of the photo wot sent to td the forty six contributor contri buto to the erection of the monument after aft er the derth demb of brigham young president aly TW lor or carried on part of the ence and finally the committee took exclusive charge and edw plated the work of giving tiona and paying expenses |