This is a picture of Mormons who were arrested for the crime of polygamy.  From 1882 to 1892 nearly 1,000 Mormons were jailed for practicing what they considered an important element of their faith, “plural marriage.” Federal agents scoured Utah for Mormons unlawfully cohabitating. A polygamist wife described the feeling of desperation: “It is difficult to picture the unsettled conditions in Utah and Idaho during the raid against polygamists. Homes were broken up and families scattered among relatives or friends.… Some had secret hiding places in their own homes; others trained the children to watch for the Deputy Marshall, and to evade or deceive when asked questions by strangers or deputies about family relations. If people were at any public gatherings and the federal marshal entered the town, there was a scattering of local Church authorities.… Mothers ran with their babies to the neighbors; old men took to the fields.” Eventually, the LDS church dropped polygamy – and Utah was admitted into the union.