President's Office
Gt Salt Lake City
May 23rd 1866.
President Brigham Young, Jr.
42 Islington, Liverpool, England
Dear Son:-
Your favors of March 27th and April 3rd have been received and the contents duly noted. We have been looking for a letter from you for a few days respecting the chartering of vessels for the Saints, but the mails have been much delayed through bad roads.
Since my last to you, every thing has been very peaceable in the City, and we have been enjoying ourselves as well as we do usually. The publication of an Ordinance by the City Council, giving the Marshal authority, upon the warrant of an Alderman, to abate illegal liquor saloons, billiard saloons, &c as nuisances, has created considerable excitement. A petition was signed by about fifteen persons, who thought their crafts were in danger from this ordinance, and presented to Colonel Potter, Commander of the Post at Camp Douglas, asking protection from the action of the City Council. Col. Potter, accompanied by Captains Grimes and Price, waited upon me on the 8th instant to obtain my promise to the effect that I would prevent the property of "Gentiles" from being distroyed without due process of law. We had considerable conversation; but as I saw there was but little prospect of anything satisfactory being arrived at by such conversation, I requested Col. Potter to communicate his wishes to me in writing, which he promised to do; but which promise he failed to keep, though he did write to me and endeavored to fasten upon me that I had made a pledge to himself and accompanying officers "that the private property of Gentile citizens in Salt Lake should not be molested without due course of law." Of course, this was a responsibility that I did not <and could not> assume; I could not protect the property of Gentiles from the thousand and one casual<i>ties to which property is subject in this as in all other cities; and you would think no person, who entertained the least conception of the duties of citizenship, would make such a request of a private citizen. I had a reply forwarded to him, denying the giving of such pledge by me, and reiterating my request to communicate his wishes in writing, and stating that I thought I could answer him satisfactorily. But to this letter no reply was received. There is no doubt that upon consultation with legal friends, shrewder than he, they advised him not to commit himself by communicating to me on paper such requests as he had verbally made of me.
Since receiving this call there has nothing occured specially worthy of note among the class who felt that they were interfered with by the action of the City Council.
The Indians have committed numerous depredations of late, and have killed several persons in Sanpete and Sevier Counties, and one man in Utah County. The people in Piute, Sevier, Sanpete, Wasatch and Summit Counties, as well as those living South of the Rim of the Basin have been counseld to abandon their small settlements and move together in bodies of not less than one hundred and fifty men in a place, and to build good, substantial Forts for themselves and families and safe corrals for their stock which can be easily protected. This has been counsel which has been invariably given in the formation of new Settlements; but the pressure to obtain the privilege of scattering into Small Settlements where a greed for land and stock could be gratified has been heavy and constant.
Fifty of our young men, well-mounted and well armed, under the command of Colonel Heber P. Kimball, with a company of a similar number from Provo, have gone to Sanpete and Sevier Counties to help the people move together and to guard them against any attack that the red men might feel to make upon them. If the counsel which has been given to the people be strictly observed, these Indian troubles will soon cease and they will sue for peace and stop their depredations.
I have had no word direct from John W. Since he left home, excepting a few lines which he wrote to me on the eve of his departure for Liverpool. I would like him to write me an account of his travels and visits in the States.
Any time that you should wish to send special word to me upon any subject that you may want to get to me quickly you can write to Bro William H. Miles, New York, and he can telegraph right through to me and not cost any thing. Should you send to him to telegraph me, you must study the words that will convey your ideas in the most compact form-- say six eight or ten words. If you should like to have John W in England and come home on a visit this next winter -- say start from there in July or August -- and can leave the Mission in such a condition that the affairs and business, will suffer no injury during your absence, I should have no objections to your coming. This you can do if at any time you should want to come. Bro Orson could take charge as well as not, and attend to all the business of the Mission, writing for the Star, &c., if he would only adhere strictly to the counsel which was given in <my> last letter. It would be more pleasing to John W. to have you stay there until he comes home, and as you have a wife you can stay there pretty well; still, if you should like to slip over for a little while you can do so.
Enclosed I send you two cards containing our new Alphabet. I wish to have a fount of Long Primer type cast in the New Alphabet by Messrs. Miller & Richard, Edinburgh. The lower case letters should be smaller in the face than the body of the type, so that when the capitals are cast the ful size of the body, the same proportion may be maintained between the capitals and lower case letters in the new alphabet that now exists in the old or roman that we now use. In the letters which we send you on the card, you will notice that the thick and fine lines are not uniform; that is, the thick strokes are not of uniform thickness, and the thin strokes of a uniform fineness. In making the punches, this irregularity should be avoided, and the coarse and fine strokes be made uniform as they are in the present Roman letters.
Before the font is cast I wish to receive a speciman of the letters to inspect them and satisfy myself about their form; if they do not suit me, I do not want them. We did order a fount of this new Alphabet cast in the States, but the work was so miserably done, and the type made such a poor appearance in print that it has done as much as anything else to create a prejudice against the alphabet. We do not want to have such a failure in this fount which I now order, as there was in that. I send this order to you to have it filled by Messrs Miller and Richard, having understood that they are very responsible and do good work, in the hope that this type will be finished in the best possible style. The letter should be clear, sharp and distinct. You can give them the necessary guaranty that we will take the punches &c., so that they need be under no expense in this experiment that they will not get paid for, if the work is done to suit in a good, workmanlike manner.
Bro Orson should be a good judge of this work, both of the shape of the letters and of good type.
Your family and John W's are well. The children are feeling very fine; they say they used to want to see Pa and Ma very much; but they do not feel that time is so long with them now as it was.
The folks all join me <in love> to you and family. Give my love to John W and Brother Orson Pratt and all the Elders.
May the Lord bless you and all the faithful is the prayer of your Father.
Brigham Young