Indian Children

As Brigham Young worked with the Indians, he found their ways different from his.

A number of the Indians stole children from other tribes and took them to Mexico where they sold them into slavery. Brigham taught the Indians this practice was wrong.


During a fight between a Ute band and the Little Wolf band, the Utes took two children hostage. The Utes wanted to sell the young Indians, a boy and a girl, to Charles Decker, Brigham’s brother-in-law, but he didn’t want to buy children. The Utes threatened to kill the children if Brother Decker didn’t buy them. Brother Decker still hesitated, so the Utes killed the Indian boy. Brother Decker was afraid the Utes would kill the girl also, so he traded her for a gun.

He took the Indian child to live with his sister, Clara Decker Young, at Brigham’s home. The family named her Sally. Because Sally had been mistreated by the Indians, she stayed to herself at first, not wanting to be with the other children. But Clara loved her and took care of her, and Sally learned to help with the housework. She eventually became the chief cook in the Beehive House (one of Brigham’s homes).