THE LOYAL LEAGUE. THE "Loyal League of Utah" is the name of an organization, whose constitution and by-laws, oaths and obligations, have recently been published. They exhibit the fact that a secret society has been formed with the avowed purpose of using every means within its power for the disintegration and destruction of the Mormon people as a political and religious body. It has enrolled, so its advocates assert, over three thousand members, and has branch societies in many of the towns and cities of the Territory. Among its members it is supposed that there are some who have a name among the Latter-day Saints, or who, at least, are regarded as friends of the people. As we look upon this organization and those identified with it, they are openly declared enemies, who regard every advantage they can take as legitimate in the warfare they propose to wage against us; hence those who assume to be friends, but are yet identified with this society, can but be looked upon as traitors, and should be regarded with suspicion. There should be no confidence placed in them, and as fast as they are discovered, they should be ostracized from the society of our people and looked upon as enemies to us. While we would prefer to regard all men as friends, and our motto be "Peace and good will to man on earth,” it is vain to cry, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace; and the first law of nature, selfdefense, proclaims in the ears of those who regard religion as sacred, and the preservation of home a duty, the necessity of discrimination, when an avowed enemy confronts us, and its sneaking emissaries are set as spies among us to deceive,

converts to their own.

If it is justifiable for a society like the "Loyal League of Utah" to be formed among us to oppose and fight us, to rob us of our liberties, despoil our homes and confiscate our property; it is far more justifiable that we organize in a manner that shall be effective to preserve these sacred rights, and guard ourselves against attacks that may be made upon us. The young men of this Territory can wield a wonderful power, and exert an influence that may be felt, by unitedly turning their faces against every temptation these enemies present before them, condemning their nefarious plots as the extremity of wickedness and profanation. We should develope within our own ranks a love of human liberty, a sacred regard for the rights of all men, to worship God and practice religion according to their consciences. We should hold these rights as invaluable, and contend for them to our life's end; and from the moment we discover a person or an organization arrayed against their perpetuation, we should regard that person or organization as an enemy to humanity, and treat it accordingly.

If there are any among us who harbor to their hearts the vain delusion that those who are not for us are not against us, the times in which we live will reveal to them how gross their error is. The contrary is the truth. It has been so from the beginning of this latter-day work; it will continue so until the victory of truth over error, of God over Satan, shall be won. We need look for no other condition to prevail. It has not been so ordained; and we will look in vain for the neutral ground, where we may seek to shield ourselves from the enmity of the wicked, and retain the respect and confidence of the righteous. We must be one thing or the other; and these times will cause those who may be standing on the fence to speedily take position on one side or the other. It is the one thing that makes the persecutions that our people are suffering tolerable, that we know they will result in drawing the line, exposing and casting out the

hypocrite, detecting the spy and revealing on the housetops, that which should cause those who are unworthy to be cast out from among us. Until these things shall be consummated, and we shall be pure within, the purposes of Almighty God must fail of accomplishment. This is a cause in which virtue, honor, truth, and the love of God shall prevail over corruption, dishonesty, and obedience to the devices of Satan, and involves uprightness of conduct and sincerity of purpose in those who are engaged in it.

In view of the position our people take on the subject of round dancing, and the effort that is being made to dispense with it as a feature of our social gatherings, the following extract from the writings of Josiah Quincy, descriptive of Washington society in 1826, will be read with interest:

"At a public ball at Carracci's Assembly Rooms, where all Washington was present, I saw the Waltz introduced into society for the first time. The conspicuous performer was Baron Stackelburg, who whirled through its mazes with a pair of huge dragoon spurs bound to his heels. The danger of interfering with the other dancers, which seemed always imminent, was skilfully avoided by the baron who received a murmur of appreciative applause as he led his partner to her seat. The question of the decorum of this strange dance was distinctly raised upon its first appearance; and it was nearly twenty-five years later before remonstrances ceased to be heard. How far the waltz and its successors of a similar character may be compatible with feminine modesty, is a question which need not here be discussed. It is sufficient to say, socially speaking, it has proved an unmitigated nuisance. It has utterly routed the intellectual element that was conspicuous, even in fashionable gatherings. It has not only given society over to the young and inexperienced, but, by a perverse process of unnatural selection, it has pushed to the front the by no means best specimens of these."

It will be perceived by these comments

that round dancing is not objectionable to the Latter-day Saints alone, but there are those of the world who see in it opportunities for the vicious to satiate their evil desires at the expense of the innocent.

The waltz has been called by an author, who created considerable excitement at the time his book appeared, the dance of death, and, indeed, the manner in which it is conducted, the disgusting familiarity which some dancers presume that it authorizes, and the moral laxity which submits to its abuse, are the most prominent reasons given by our people, as well as the world, for the suppression of the round dancing habit.

In response to our annual invitation to compete for prizes, there were received this year eight Christmas stories and six poems, marking a decided increase of interest on the part of contributors. These were duly submitted to committees and carefuly read, compared, and their several meritorious features discussed. As the result thus arrived at the Committee on the Christmas Story awarded the prize of Twenty-five dollars and the CONTRIBUTOR Souvenir Medal to Horace G. Whitney for his excellent story, "The Missionary's Christmas Gift,' which appears in this number. The Committee chosen to examine and report upon the poems, had an unusually delicate task, as there were several of almost equal merit, and two of especial worth, between which it was hard to decide. The award was, however, finally made to Mrs. A. J. Crocheron, for the beautiful poem, "The Wedding of the King." We are sure our readers will derive great pleasure and be highly entertained by the perusal of these prize productions, and we doubt not the cause of home literature will be much advanced by the efforts of local writers, thus drawn out, to excel. The object of the CONTRIBUTOR is to create a pride in original home literature, which may be regarded as characteristic of Zion. This should be superior, for our people, to any that the world produces. And the progress being made gives good assurance that it will become so.

IN no historical record, yet coming under the notice of the writer, is found an account of the part these two factions played in the late civil war. This dearth of recorded information may be owing partly to the insignificance of their movements for or against the Union, as compared with the regular army, but chiefly, we believe, to the character of such movements, which, like the time chosen for their perpetration, is best shrouded in the mists of night. Whatever information, therefore, we shall be able to set before our readers regarding them, was obtained from the accommodating memories of the raiders themselves or the acute recollections of their victims.

One of the first incidental evils developed, after war was declared, was the formation of that class of banditti known as bushwhackers and guerilla parties. Into these gangs, like scum on a boiling caldron, gathered the criminal-at-heart class of the community, whose rapacity and desire to plunder had hitherto been curbed only by the thumbscrew of the law.

These were Union or Confederate only according to the available booty on the other side of the line, and poor stealing readily developed turn-coats. The civil law was dead. To protect themselves against these robbers, property-holders were compelled to organize themselves into "Home Guards," socalled. These organizations obtained commissions, or, better describing the use made of them, licenses, from the Federal or Confederate authorities, according to their party affiliations. The Union Home Guards were dubbed "Swamps" or "Swamp Dragons" by the Confederates, who in turn were called "Dixies" or "Pizzirinktums."

The reason for these names is not plain. “Swamps" may have been derived from the "Swamp Foxes," of the revolution. From the word "Dragons," sometimes added, it has been thought the name originated from the infamous practice of lying in ambush in swamps,

which are in this country always heavily timbered, and shooting down "rebel" neighbors or sympathizers traveling along the road. The word "Dixies" clearly suggests its own definition as sympathizers of "Dixey Land," but the term "Pizzirinktums" is inexplicable, and like "Mugwump," must be considered a spontaneous generation of contempt.

Whatever ambiguity attached to the names of these factions, it is most certain that the mutual and deadly hatred which soon possessed each became painfully distinct. The hostility of the two regular armies could not begin to compare with these petty organizations for bitterness and cruel retaliation. It would hardly seem credible that neighbors,nay, even members of the same family, remote from the scene of actual warfare, could so completely sever the bonds of kinship or friendship as to take delight in destroying each other's property and cutting each other's throats. Yet innumerable well authenticated examples compel such a conclusion.

It must not be imagined that a distinct geographical line divided these minor factions. In a belt of ten or fifteen miles of neutral ground between the two armies, every neighborhood, nearly, had its "Swamps" and "Dixies." These bands rarely numbered over thirty or forty men and sometimes not more than half a dozen. Should the Union factions in superior numbers invade a neighborhood, the cry was at once heralded from house to house: "Swamps! Swamps!" Every male "rebel" able to carry a gun -"Hastens to the point of attack," you suggest. No, indeed, but beats an ignominious retreat to his “den,” his “lair,” in a swamp, a mountain cave, or a thick laurel grove, previously selected; taking with him his gun and blanket, and, if not already stolen, his horse, and leaving his wife and family to the tender mercies of his inveterate foes. "This is cowardice," you say. Quite true; but cowardice in this case is prudence. Suppose he remains to defend his house, as some did.