Chapter 10 Nine Utah Flowers

It is not the intention here to trace the circumstances of the emigration of the Mormons before their final settlement.From the banks of the Mississippi to the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains, they fought with almost unprecedented perseverance.With the indomitable and tenacious spirit of the Anglo-Saxons, they overcame all the obstacles that God could drop, such as savages, beasts, hunger, thirst, fatigue and disease.But the long journey and the endless horrors must have terrified even the hardiest of them.Therefore, when they saw the broad valley of Utah bathed in sunshine below them, and heard their leader proclaim that this virgin land was their God-given Promised Home, and would be theirs forever, they would not bow their heads, Sincere worship.

It didn't take long for the facts to prove: Young was not only a decisive leader, but also a competent administrator.After the formulation of many planning maps, the appearance of the future city has an outline.All the land around the city is distributed proportionally according to the status of each believer.Merchants still trade, and workers continue to work.The streets and squares in the city appeared successively like magic changes.In the countryside, digging ditches, building fences and borders, and cultivating and reclamation are all productive. In the summer of the second year, the entire countryside will be covered with golden waves of thousands of hectares.In this remote colony of immigrants, everything is thriving; especially the magnificent cathedral they built in the center of the city is also rising day by day.Every day from dawn to dusk, the sound of axes and saws coming from the church can be heard endlessly.This building is used by this group of immigrants to commemorate the God who guided them through countless hardships and finally reached a safe place.

John Ferrier and the little girl lived together, and the little girl was soon regarded by Ferrier as his adopted daughter.These two castaways came to the end of their great journey with this group of Mormons.Little Lucy Ferrier was taken up in Elder Stangerson's caravan, and was very popular.She lived with Stangerson's three wives and his wayward, precocious son of twelve, and Lucy soon recovered.Because she was young and docile, and had lost her mother at an early age, she was immediately favored by these three women.Lucy is gradually getting used to this new life of wandering and being at home under the tent.By this time, too, Ferrier had recovered from his ordeal, and showed himself not only to be a useful guide, but also to be a diligent and tireless hunter.Therefore, he quickly gained the respect of his new companions.When, therefore, they ended their wanderings, it was unanimously agreed that Ferrier, with the exception of the Prophet Young and the four elders of Stangerson, Kemble, Johnston, and Drebber, should have a share, like any emigrant. Large tracts of fertile land.

Thus Ferrier acquired his share of the land.He built a solid wooden house on the land.As the wooden house was added year by year, it gradually became a spacious villa.Ferrier was a practical man, shrewd in his dealings with others, and skilled in art.His physique was also very strong, which enabled him to work tirelessly on his lands from morning till night tilling and improving them.Therefore, his farm was very prosperous.Within three years, he overtook his neighbors; within six years, he became a well-to-do family; within nine years, he was very rich; Five or six people.From the inland sea of ​​Salt Lake to the distant Wasatch Mountains, there is no one more famous than John Ferrier.

But there was only one thing in which Ferrier had hurt his fellow priests.That is, no amount of arguing with him, no amount of persuasion, could make him marry and start a family in the manner of his companions.He never spelled out the exact reasons for his repeated refusal to do so, he was just resolutely and unwaveringly insistent.Therefore, some people accused him of not being devout to his religion.There are also some people who think that he is stingy with property and unwilling to spend money.Others speculated that he must have had an earlier love affair, perhaps with a blonde on the Atlantic coast who had languished to death for him.Whatever the reason, Ferrier continued to live a strictly celibate life.In every other respect, except this, he was a faithful adherent of the religion of the new colony, and was recognized as a deeply orthodox and well-behaved man.

Lucy Ferrier grew up in this wooden house, helping her adoptive father with everything.The fresh air in the mountains and the scent of fat in the pine forest nurtured this young girl like a loving mother.Year after year passed, and Lucy grew up; she grew taller and more handsome, her cheeks became more delicate, and her gait became lighter.How many passers-by, passing the avenue beside the Ferrier family farm, have seen the slender figure of Lucy gliding across the wheat field, or met her riding her father's horse, showing the delicacy of a true Western boy. And the graceful posture, the scenes of the past can't help but come to people's minds.The buds that were then bloomed into a beautiful flower today.The years that had made her father the wealthiest farmer in all these years had made her one of the most handsome American girls in all the mountains of the Pacific coast.

But it wasn't her father who first sensed that the girl had grown up.Such things are seldom first noticed by the father.This mysterious change is very subtle and formed very slowly, which cannot be measured in time.The most difficult thing to notice this change is the girl herself, until she heard a certain person's words or touched someone's hand, she felt her heart throbbing violently, producing a feeling of pride and fear intertwined.Only then did she know that a new and more unrestrained human nature had awakened deep in her heart. There are few people in the world who cannot fail to recall the scene of their own time, and few who cannot fail to recall the trivial incident that revealed to him that a new life has come.As for Lucy Ferrier, the incident was serious enough in itself, whatever it might mean for her future destiny and that of others.

On a warm June morning, the Mormons were as busy as a swarm of bees—they have a hive as their symbol.In the fields and in the streets, there is the noise of people working everywhere.On the dusty road, a herd of heavily laden mules passed by in an endless stream, all headed west.At this time, there was a gold mining boom in California.The transcontinental avenue leading to the Pacific coast runs through the new city of Erector.There are also herds of cattle and sheep coming from distant pastoral areas on the avenue; there are also groups of tired immigrants, who look tired after a long journey.Through this hustle and bustle Lucy Ferrier galloped through, relying on her skill as a rider; her pretty face was flushed with exertion, and her long chestnut hair flowed behind her head.She was ordered by her father to go to the city to handle errands.As usual, with the boldness of a young man, she pushed forward recklessly, thinking only of what she was going to do.The travel-worn gold-digging adventurers looked at her in amazement, and even the indifferent Indians who transported leather were very surprised when they saw this extremely beautiful fair-skinned girl, and they couldn't help relaxing their usual rigid faces. .

When Lucy came to the outskirts of the city, she found six rough-faced shepherds who had brought a herd of cattle from the prairie, and the road was blocked by the cattle.Impatiently waiting aside, she rode her horse towards the gap in the herd, intending to get over the obstacles.However, as soon as she entered the herd, the cows behind her crowded together, and she immediately found that she had fallen into a sea of ​​cows, and huge monsters with protruding eyes and long horns were swarming and moving everywhere.She was also used to getting along with cattle herds, so even though she was in this situation, she didn't feel panicked, and she still seized the gap to urge her horse forward, intending to pass through it.But unfortunately, a cow slammed the horse's flank with its horn intentionally or unintentionally, and the horse became frightened and became furious immediately.Immediately it sprang up and neighed furiously; it pitched and swayed so violently that anyone who was not a first-class rider would have been thrown off his horse.The situation was very dangerous.Every time the startled horse jumped, it would inevitably be resisted by the bull's horn again, which made it jump even more violently.At this time, Lucy had no choice but to cling to the saddle.If you miss it, you will fall under the chaotic hooves and be trampled to pieces.Since she had never experienced an accident, she felt dizzy at this moment, and the rein, which was tightly held in her hand, was about to relax.It was dusty at the same time, and the smell of the evaporating from the crowded herd was suffocating.At this critical moment, Lucy would have been desperate and unable to hold on, if a kind voice beside her had not convinced her that help was coming.At this moment, a big, powerful brown hand grabbed the startled horse's bit and squeezed a way out among the herd, taking her out of the herd without much effort.

The savior asked politely, "Ma'am, I hope you are not hurt." She raised her head, glanced at his dark and rough face, and smiled indifferently.She said naively, "It really frightened me. Who would have thought Puncho would be frightened like this by a herd of cows!" He said earnestly, "Thank goodness you held the saddle tight." He was a tall, rough-faced young man riding a gray and white-spotted horse and wearing a stout rough hunting jacket. , with a long-barreled rifle slung over his shoulder.He said: "I think you are John Ferrier's daughter. I saw you riding up from his estate. When you see him, please ask him if he remembers St. Louis." The Jefferson Hope family. My father used to be very close friends with him, if he was that Ferrier."

She said solemnly, "Isn't it better for you to ask him yourself?" The lad seemed delighted at the suggestion, and his dark eyes shone with pleasure.He said: "I will do this. We have been in the mountains for two months, and it is inconvenient to visit now. But when he sees us, he will entertain us." She answered, "He must thank you very much. I will thank you too. He is very fond of me, and he will be very sorry if the cows trample me to death." "I'd be sad too," said her companion. "You? Well, I don't see how it has anything to do with you. You're not our friend." After hearing these words, the young hunter's dark face could not help but gloomy, and Lucy laughed loudly when she saw it. She said, "You see, that's not what I meant. Of course, you're friends now. You must come and see us. Now I must go, or Father won't take his affairs to task again." Do it for me. Good-bye!" "Good-bye," he answered, and raising his sombrero, he bent down and kissed her little hand.She turned the horse's head, whipped the horse, and galloped along the road amidst billowing smoke and dust. Young Jefferson Hope and his companions rode on.Along the way, he was depressed and silent.He and they had been looking for silver in the Sierra Nevada, and were returning to Salt Lake City, intending to raise a fund sufficient to exploit the deposits they had found.Hitherto he had been as enthusiastic about such an enterprise as any of his fellows; but this unexpected encounter had directed his thoughts in a different direction.This beautiful maiden was as fresh and pure as the mountain breeze; it touched his volcanic, unrestrained heart deeply.When her figure disappeared from his sight, he felt that this was the most critical juncture in his life. Whether it was the silver mine or any other problems, for him, it was nothing compared to what had just happened. It was more important to have his full attention.The love that had arisen in him was no longer the ephemeral, fickle phantasy of a child, but the unrestrained and violent passion of a man with a firm will and a resolute character.He has never done anything in his life that is not what he wants.Therefore, he secretly vowed that if human effort and perseverance could make him succeed, he would not fail this time. He called on John Ferrier that very evening; and after that he made many visits, until at last they became very acquainted.John Ferrier lived deep in the valley, and for twelve years he had devoted himself to the work of his farm, almost shutting himself off from the outside world.Hope was very familiar with the events of these years, so he could tell him everything he had seen and heard.He spoke with such vividness that not only entertained the father, but entertained Lucy as well.Hope was also one of the first to reach California that year, so he can tell how many people became rich and how many were ruined in those days when gold was everywhere and it was all violence.He had been a scout, he had hunted wild animals, he had scouted for silver mines, and he had been a laborer in the yard.As long as there are rumors of risky careers, he will go to search for them.Soon he won the favor of the old farmer, and he kept praising Hope.Lucy was always silent during this time.But her flushed cheeks, and her bright, happy eyes, spoke very plainly that her young heart was no longer her own.Her honest old father may not have seen these omens, but no doubt they had not escaped the eyes of the young man who had won her heart. One summer evening, Hope rode his horse galloping down the road to Ferrier's house.Lucy was at the door, and she went forward to meet him.He threw the reins over the hedge, and strode along the path in front of the door. "I'm going, Lucy," he said, taking both her hands and looking tenderly into her face, "I don't ask you to come with me right now, but when I come back , can you decide to go with me?" "But when are you coming back?" She asked with a shy smile. "Two months at most, dear. At that time, you will belong to me, and no one can stop us." She asked, "But what's your father's opinion?" "He's agreed, as long as our silver mines go well. I don't worry about that." "Oh, that's all right. As long as you and Father have everything sorted out, there's not much to say," she said softly, resting her cheek on his broad chest. "Thank God!" he said hoarsely, bending over to kiss her, "then it's settled. The longer I stay, the harder it will be. They're still waiting for me in the ravine." Well. Good-bye, my dear, good-bye! You will see me in two months." While speaking, he broke free from her arms, got on his horse, and galloped away without looking back, as if his determination would be shaken if he looked back at the person he had left.She stood by the door and looked at him for a long time until his figure disappeared.Then she went in, and she was the happiest girl in all Utah.

---

Notes: