Roughing It - Mark Twain Among the Mormons

In 1861, a Missourian named Orion Clemmons became Secretary to James Nye, Governor of the Nevada Territory.  He traveled by stagecoach, passing through the 14-year old Great Salt Lake City and the Mormon settlements.  He brought along his younger brother, 25-year old Sam Clemmons.  Sam would later become famous, writing under the pen name Mark Twain.  

In his 1872 book "Roughing It," Mark Twain gives an account of what it was like to pass through Salt Lake City, including his observations about issues such as polygamy, the literary merits of the Book of Mormon, and how much better the Beehive crest was to the crest of his home state -- the two drunken "dissolute [grizzly] bears" who, for some reason, were depicted precariously balancing an empty whiskey cask  between their paws.  It culminates with the brief meeting Mark Twain had with Brigham Young.

To learn more about the information in this episode, Mark Twain's book, "Roughing It" is available free on Google Play.    

Key words:  Mark Twain, Brigham Young, Polygamy, The Book of Mormon, Utah, and drunken, dissolute Missouri grizzly  bears.  

CORRECTION:  In this episode, I said Brigham Young was the Governor of the Utah Territory.  At the time he met Mark Twain, he was the Former Governor, as he left office in 1858.