The journey west by stage has ended. Sam and Orion arrive in Carson City. He sees a gunfight, the afternoon wind storm, and the native tarantulas. The local architecture also provides Sam with some entertainment.
Mark and company depart Salt Lake City with many questions left unanswered. Of particular interest is just who was responsible for the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The party arrives in Overland City and find they need to adjust to the local prices.
I found this chapter to be too tedious to read in public. It is included here for the sake of providing the entire edition of Roughing It, as printed in the first edition. This chapter is merely Mark criticizing portions of the Mormon Bible with very large portions quoted. I would have read his sardonic portions but the "quoted" portions were just too long.
A demonstration of Brigham Young's authority is illustrated by example. Mark's reaction to polygamy.
Mark and party arrive in Salt Lake City. He is impressed by the industry and cleanliness of the place. He takes part in a meeting with Brigham Young.
The War Prayer is a powerful piece of writing not generally mentioned in lists of works by Mark Twain. It was written in 1904, after the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. It is one reflection of Twain's well known distain for American Imperialism. The piece was not published until after Twain's death due to pressure from both his publisher and family. It is said that when requested to publish it he said: "No, I have told the whole truth in that, and only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead."
