gold and silver they possessed, amounting to several hundred thousand dollars, and accept in return the notes of a banking association of which he himself was president and one of his numerous sons-in-law cashier.  These notes were redeemable, in amounts of not less than one hundred dollars, in live stock, the appraisement of the value of which rested with the officers of the association.  So absolute was the degradation and ignorance of the population, that they submitted to this extortion without a murmur.

Mr. Kane had remained in Salt Lake City eight days before starting towards Fort Bridger,—­a period quite long enough for a trusted friend of the Mormon leaders to ascertain the extremities to which the people were reduced.  To secure the safety of those leaders who were under indictment for treason, there was no choice except between flight and inducing the Federal authorities to temporize.  Both he and they were conscious that the advance of the army could not be successfully resisted, when the snow should cease to bar its way.  In case of the flight of the leaders, or of a general exodus of the population, only two courses lay open to them,—­northward toward the British Possessions, southward toward the provinces of Upper Mexico.

The first two days of Mr. Kane’s sojourn in camp satisfied him of the cooperation of Governor Cumming in a plan for temporizing, as well as of the impossibility of enlisting General Johnston or Judge Eckels in any such scheme.  An imaginary affront, to which he believed himself at this time to have been subjected by the General, led him into a course of action which, had it been followed out, might have terminated his mission abruptly.  Considering the fact that he was within the guard-lines of a military encampment, in a country where a state of warfare existed, it was perhaps too great forbearance on the part of the General not to have required to be informed of his business, since he himself volunteered no explanation.  An invitation to dinner being dispatched to him from head-quarters,—­and such an invitation was no slight compliment in a camp where the rations were so abridged,—­the orderly to whom it was intrusted for delivery, whether maliciously or not it does not appear, pretended to have mistaken his directions, and proceeded to place him under arrest.  The mistake, when discovered, was of course immediately rectified; but Mr. Kane became so excited in consequence, that, with the assent of the Governor, he indited a challenge to the General, and applied to a gentleman from Virginia to act as his second.  Having received a decided rebuff in that quarter, he was induced to abandon the design by the interposition of Judge Eckels, who became acquainted with what was passing, and informed the Governor that he had ordered the United States Marshal to arrest all the parties concerned, in case another step should be taken in the affair.  It was not till some time afterwards that these transactions came to the knowledge of General Johnston.