EXTERMINATING ORDER OF GOVERNOR BOGGS.
In the meantime the messengers from those parties who had burned their own homes and destroyed their own property at Millport had reached Jefferson City, and poured into the willing ears of the executive the villainous falsehoods that the "Mormons" with an armed force had expelled the old settlers from Daviess County, pillaged and burned their dwellings, driven off their stock, and destroyed their crops. They also said that Millport and Gallatin were in ashes, and that all the records of the county were destroyed. Upon the reception of this batch of falsehoods and an application from these people to be restored to their homes and protected in them, Governor Boggs set himself vigorously at work calling out militia forces to accomplish this object.
One can not help pausing a moment to notice the difference in the action of the State authorities in two cases that would have been just alike, provided the report of those parties who fled from Daviess County, by the light of their burning homes, had been true. In 1833 the saints were driven by brute force and under circumstances the most distressing, from their possessions in Jackson County. And not only was their property destroyed, but quite a number of them were killed, while the number that was exiled amounted to twelve hundred. The State authorities had the fullest evidence of these outrages—in fact the very man who at the time of the Daviess County troubles was governor of the State, was on the ground and knew of all the circumstances of cruelty and outrage. But when those things came before the State authorities, it took more than two whole years of correspondence to come to an understanding of what could and should be done, and then the decision was that the exiles would do well to move still further on, in fact, get entirely away from that section of the country where they had made their homes, as the prejudices of the people were set against them, and the popular sentiment in this country wasvox Dei!But now, when a mere rumor comes that the "Mormons" have been guilty of inflicting upon the Missourians the outrages which aforetime had been perpetrated against them, there is no halting on the part of the authorities, but on the contrary the most vigorous efforts are put forth to punish the reputed offenders, and reinstate the supposed exiles!
Governor Boggs, then, began his efforts to restore these reputed exiles to their homes. He sent an order to General John B. Clark, of the first division of Missouri militia, directing him to raise two thousand men from the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and twelfth divisions of the militia to be mounted and armed as the law directs, provided with rations for fifteen days, and to rendezvous at Fayette in Howard County, about eighty miles southeast of Far West, by the third of November.
This order was dated the twenty-sixth of October, 1838. The next day, however, Amos Rees and Wiley C. Williams arrived in Jefferson City with their false report of the battle on Crooked River, and Governor Boggs changed his orders to General Clark the same day. This letter is Boggs' exterminating order. He said to General Clark:
Since the order of the morning to you, * * * I have received by Amos Rees, Esq., and Wiley C. Williams, one of my aids, information of the most appalling character, which changes the whole face of things and places the "Mormons" in the attitude of open and avowed defiance of the laws, and of having made open war upon the people of this State. Your orders are, therefore, to hasten your operations and endeavor to reach Richmond, in Ray County, with all possible speed. The "Mormons" must be treated as enemies andmust be exterminatedor driven from the State, if necessary for the public good. Their outrages are beyond description. If you can increase your force, you are authorized to do so to any extent you may think necessary.
Since the order of the morning to you, * * * I have received by Amos Rees, Esq., and Wiley C. Williams, one of my aids, information of the most appalling character, which changes the whole face of things and places the "Mormons" in the attitude of open and avowed defiance of the laws, and of having made open war upon the people of this State. Your orders are, therefore, to hasten your operations and endeavor to reach Richmond, in Ray County, with all possible speed. The "Mormons" must be treated as enemies andmust be exterminatedor driven from the State, if necessary for the public good. Their outrages are beyond description. If you can increase your force, you are authorized to do so to any extent you may think necessary.
The governor also ordered Major General Wallock of Marion County, to raise five hundred men, and join General Doniphan of Clay County, who had been directed to raise a like number of men, and together they were to proceed to Daviess County to cut off the retreat of the "Mormons" to the north. General Parks had been ordered to raise four hundred men and join Clark at Richmond, and thus the campaign was planned. The troops were not to reinstate the supposed exiles of Daviess County in their homes and protect them, but they were to operate directly against the "Mormons"—in fact, make war upon them—exterminate them, or drive them from the State.
Up to this time Major General Atchison had apparently exercised his influence counseling moderation in dealing with the "Mormons." He was a resident of Clay County when the saints were driven into that county from Jackson. He, with General Doniphan and Amos Rees, had acted as counsel for the exiles, and had seen the doors of the temples of justice closed in their faces by mob violence, and all redress denied them. He was acquainted with the circumstances which led to their removal from Clay County, to the unsettled prairies of what afterwards became Caldwell County. He knew how deep and unreasonable the prejudices were against the saints. Can it be possible that he did not know how utterly unjustifiable the present movement against them was? Whether he was blinded by the false reports about Millport and Gallatin and Crooked River, or whether his courage faltered, and he became afraid longer to defend a people against whom every man's hand was raised, I cannot now determine, but one or the other must have been the case for I find him joining with S. D. Lucas in the following communication to Governor Boggs:
SIR:—From late outrages committed by the "Mormons," civil war is inevitable. They have set the laws of the country at defiance and are in open rebellion. We have about two thousand men under arms to keep them in check. The presence of the commander in chief is deemed absolutely necessary, and we most respectfully urge that your excellency be at the seat ofwaras soon as possible.Your most obedient, etc.DAVID R. ATCHISON, M. G. 3rd Div.SAMUEL D. LUCAS, M. G. 4th Div.
SIR:—From late outrages committed by the "Mormons," civil war is inevitable. They have set the laws of the country at defiance and are in open rebellion. We have about two thousand men under arms to keep them in check. The presence of the commander in chief is deemed absolutely necessary, and we most respectfully urge that your excellency be at the seat ofwaras soon as possible.
Your most obedient, etc.
DAVID R. ATCHISON, M. G. 3rd Div.SAMUEL D. LUCAS, M. G. 4th Div.
General Atchison, however, was afterwards "dismounted," to use a word of General Doniphan's in relating the incident, and sent back to Liberty in Clay County by special order of Governor Boggs, on the ground that he was inclined to be too merciful to the "Mormons." So that he was not active in the operations about Far West. But how he could consent to join with Lucas in sending such an untruthful and infamous report to the governor about the situation in upper Missouri, is difficult to determine. The saints had not set the laws at defiance, nor were they in open rebellion. But when all the officers of the law refused to hear their complaints, and both civil and military authority delivered them into the hands of merciless mobs to be plundered and outraged at their brutal pleasure, and all petitions for protection at the hands of the governor had been answered with:"It is a quarrel between the Mormons and the mob, and they must fight it out,"what was left for them to do but to arm themselves and stand in defense of their homes and families? It is not admitted in the above that the saints had defied the laws of the country, for it was not so. The movement on Gallatin by Captain Patten and that on Millport by Colonel Wight was ordered by General Parks, who called upon Colonel Wight to take command of his company of men, when the militia under Parks' command mutinied, and disperse all mobs wherever he found them. Gallatin was not burned, nor were the records of the county court, if they were destroyed at all, destroyed by the saints. What houses were burned in Millport had been set on fire by the mob. The expedition to Crooked River was ordered by Judge Higbee, the first judge in Caldwell County and the highest civil authority in Far West, and was undertaken for the purpose of dispersing a mob which had entered the house of a peaceable citizen—one Pinkham—and carried off three people prisoners, four horses and other property, and who had threatened to "give Far West hell before noon the next day." So that in their operations the acts of the saints had been strictly within the law, and only in self defense.
HAUN'S MILL.
The mob forces were gathering from all quarters to destroy Far West. Niel Gilliam was in the west urging the citizens to drive the "Mormons" from the State. Generals Lucas and Wilson, who will be remembered as active leaders of the mob which expelled the saints from Jackson County, were collecting those same mob forces; while General Clark was in the south raising companies of men to carry out the exterminating order of Governor Boggs.
In addition to these preparations for the destruction of the saints, in the counties immediately surrounding Caldwell, there was a general uprising of the old settlers under no particular leadership, but roaming through the scattered settlements of the saints in small bands, murdering, stealing stock, house-burning, whipping the men and driving the terror-stricken women and children from their homes. In fact, the whole country surrounding Far West was infested with a merciless banditti, which daily were guilty of the most atrocious deeds of cruelty. The saints living in a scattered condition over the prairies who were fortunate enough to escape with their lives, came running into Far West at all times of the day and night, white with fear. Let is here be said that the Prophet Joseph and counseled his people to settle in villages, and have their farms on the outskirts thereof, after the pattern, as far as circumstances would permit, of the plan given by revelation for building up the city of Zion, described in a former chapter of this volume. He had urged, in addition to the improved opportunities this plan would give them for educating their children, etc., that they would be in a better condition to defend themselves against their enemies. But the saints, at least many of them, would not hearken to this advice; now, however, that the enemy was upon them, when it was too late for them to profit by it, they could see the wisdom of it.
It was one of these marauding bands, under the leadership of Nehemiah Comstock, which was guilty of a fiendish massacre at Haun's Mill, on the thirtieth of October. Haun's Mill was between ten and twelve miles nearly due east of Far West, on the south bank of Shoal Creek, which takes a meandering course, though in the main flowing east, and finally empties into Grand River. All told there were about thirty families of the saints located at Haun's Mill, several of which had just recently arrived from the eastern states, and were camped in their wagons and tents behind an old blacksmith's shop adjacent to the mill. The banks of the stream were lined with a growth of scattered trees and an undergrowth of hazel and other brush; while back from the banks is the rather sharp rolling prairie common to that part of Missouri.
This little body of saints had been threatened by mobs for some time and were therefore on their guard. On the twenty-eighth of October, however, Colonel Jennings, of Livingston County, whose band of mobbers had been most menacing to the peace and safety of the saints, sent one of his men to the settlement to make a treaty of peace. This proposition of peace was gladly accepted by the saints, in fact, it was what they most devoutly prayed for. There was to be mutual forbearance, and each party was to exert itself to the extent of its influence to prevent further hostilities. There were other mobs collecting in the vicinity, however, who were not affected by this agreement of peace entered into by the saints and Colonel Livingston—one particularly on Grand River, at William Mann's residence. Hence the brethren in the little settlement on Shoal Creek remained under arms.
The thirtieth of October, the day on which the fearful tragedy occurred, is said by some of the survivors to have been a most beautiful one: one of those days in mid-autumn, when smoky mists hang about the horizon—the sure sign of the Indian summer; when the sun shines with all the brightness, but without the scorching heat, of August; when the gentle breeze rustles through the ripened corn and softly stirs the leaves of the forests that have been kissed by the early frosts and autumn sun to purple and gold, and all the shades and tints known to the practiced eye of the artist; when the sinking sun paints the heavens with new glories; and when hill and plain, stream and sky, forest and field all reflect the fullness of nature's beauties. Oh, is it not passing strange that one of God's fairest days should be made to look upon so foul a deed as that committed at Haun's Mill! The merry laughter of the children as they played upon the banks of Shoal Creek, mingled with the snatches of songs the mothers sang as they went about their domestic employments, made sweet music to the fathers engaged in gathering the crops, or guarding the mill.
In their neighborhood all apparently was peace, and no premonitory shuddering warned the saints of their approaching fate. It burst upon them with all the suddenness of a clap of thunder from a cloudless sky. The sun had sunken more than halfway down the western sky, when some of those on guard saw a large body of armed and mounted men approaching the mill at full speed. They came through the scattering timber on the bank of the creek to the edge of the prairie, where they formed themselves in a three square position with a vanguard. David Evans ran out to meet them, swinging his hat and crying, "Peace! Peace!"
But there was no peace.
The saints by this time were in the wildest state of excitement, and running in every direction, many of the men taking refuge in an old blacksmith shop not far from the mill. The leader of the mob, numbering two hundred and forty, fired his gun, and after a pause of a few seconds about a hundred shots were fired into the old blacksmith shop, and at those fleeing for the protection of the woods. The mob then rode up to the shop and fired through the space between the logs until, as they thought, all had been killed or mortally wounded. They then entered, and among the dead and dying found Sardius Smith, a lad about twelve years old, who in his fear had crawled under the bellows for safety. He was dragged from his place of concealment by a Mr. Glaze, who placed the muzzle of his gun near the boy's head and literally shot off the top of it. The inhuman wretch afterwards shamelessly boasted of his damning deed. His brother, Alma, a boy of eight summers, was shot through the hip. He had seen his father and brother shot down, and fearing if he moved the heartless wretches would shoot him again, he remained quiet among the dead until he heard the voice of his mother gently calling his name in the darkness. She nursed him tenderly, prayerfully, and under the inspiration of heaven made such a collection of herbs and barks with which she dressed his wound that he recovered, grew to manhood, lived to a reasonably good old age, and lately died at Coalville, Summit County, Utah.
Thomas McBride, an old gray haired veteran of the American Revolution, was met by a number of the mob in front of Mr. Haun's house. The old man, trembling with age rather than from fear, surrendered his gun, saying: "Spare my life, I am a Revolutionary soldier." But the inhuman wretch to whom he made this simple, pathetic appeal, sufficient to have moved adamantine hearts, shot the veteran down with his own gun, and then a Mr. Rogers, of Daviess County, fell upon him and hacked him to pieces with an old corn cutter. And there lay the veteran soldier of the Revolution, covered with a score of unsightly wounds, either of which alone had been fatal—his brains oozing from his cracked skull, and his white hairs crimsoned with his gore! Oh, a hard fate to overtake one of that noble band, who gave the best years of his life to his country's service, that liberty might survive oppression!
As night drew her sable mantle over the ghastly scene about Haun's Mill, those who had escaped to the woods returned to learn the fate of their friends. I need not dwell upon the horrors of that awful night in which wives with bursting hearts sought for their husbands, and mothers searched for their sons among the mangled bodies of the dead. Nor need I pause to relate in detail the sights revealed by the morning light. According to the statement of the leaders of the mob, they had fired seven rounds each, making in all some sixteen hundred shots fired at a company in which there were not more than thirty men. Nineteen of the men and boys were killed outright in this inhuman butchery, and some twelve to fifteen were wounded more or less severely. The few men who escaped with their lives, the following day carried the bodies of the slain to an old vault which had been dug for a well, and there the butchered were interred in haste, as those performing these sad offices were under fear every moment that the mob would return to massacre the survivors of the tragedy of the day before.
This Haun's Mill butchery may very properly be regarded as the first fruits of Governor Boggs' exterminating order. On the twenty-eight of October, Colonel Jennings, of Livingston County, had entered into a treaty of peace with the saints at Haun's Mill, and each party agreed to use whatever of influence it possessed for peace; and while we cannot learn whether that same colonel was in the company which did the killing or not, still it is known that a few days after the massacre, he, in company with other leading men in upper Missouri, among whom was Mr. Ashby, member of the State legislature from Chariton, went about threatening the lives of the survivors, stealing their property, laying waste their crops and running off their stock. My own view of the circumstances is that after the treaty of peace entered into on the twenty-eighth, Colonel Jennings' men, with other mob forces, heard of the exterminating order of Governor Boggs, and gathered together under the leadership of Comstock and undertook to carry out the monstrous edict that was worthy only of a Nero, a Caligula, or a Domitian.
THE BETRAYAL OF FAR WEST.
In the meantime the mob forces, called "the governor's troops," had gathered about Far West to the number of two thousand two hundred men, armed and equipped for war. The main body of these forces had marched from Richmond under the command of Major General Samuel D. Lucas, starting on the 29th of October. The following day he was joined by the forces of General Doniphan at the ford of Log Creek, not far from Far West. Here they received the exterminating order of Governor Boggs. This order made no provisions for the protection of the innocent, the "Mormons" were either to be exterminated or driven from the State, regardless of their guilt or innocence as individuals.
On the morning of the 30th, the citizens of Far West had been informed of the approach of large bodies of armed men from the south, and sent out a company of one hundred and fifty of their number to learn the character of these forces, whether they were friendly or otherwise. The scouting party was soon convinced that the intentions of the approaching forces were hostile, and found some difficulty themselves in returning to Far West without being captured by the mob militia. As they approached the city in the evening, they were discovered by General Doniphan, who received permission from General Lucas to try and capture them; but having a superior knowledge of the ground, they escaped.
Seeing these large bodies of men approach, what militia there was in Far West was drawn up in line just south of the city to oppose the advance of the formidable enemy. Both parties sent out a flag of truce, and they met between the two forces. In answer to the inquiry of the citizens of Far West as to who the mob forces were and what their intentions, the reply was, "We want three persons out of the city before we massacre the rest."[A]Hostilities, however, were postponed until the next day, and the mob began the work of encampment along the borders of a small stream called Goose Creek. During the night, the people in Far West constructed, as best they could, some rude fortifications south of the city, and were reinforced in the night by Lyman Wight and a small body of men from Diahman.
[Footnote A: P. P. Pratt's Autobiography, page 201. The man sent out with the flag of truce from Far West was the late C. C. Rich.]
The mob forces were also strengthened during the night by the arrival from the west of Niel Gilliam's bands, who were dressed and painted like Indians, and doubtless more savage than the savages whose dress, paint, and horrible yells they imitated. The mob forces under Comstock, with their hands dripping with the blood of their Haun's Mill victims, also joined Lucas during the night.
That was a terrible night of suspense for Far West. The people had learned of the massacre at Haun's Mill; they knew the murderous intentions of the mob forces encamped within two miles of their homes, and outnumbering the people of Far West by more than four to one, and clothed with a seeming authority by the highest officer in the State, to resist which, however outrageous or barbarous the conduct of the mob might be, would give further excuse for their extermination. How true the saying: "When the wicked rule, the people mourn!"
It was with heavy hearts and sinking hopes that the saints watched the first approach of the gray dawn that ushered in the 31st of October. About eight o'clock a flag of truce was sent out (Joseph and other Church writers say) by the mob forces; Lucas in his report to Governor Boggs says: "I received a message from Colonel Hinkle, the commander of the 'Mormon' forces, [Caldwell militia] requesting an interview with me on an eminence near Far West, which he would designate by hoisting a white flag. I sent him word I would meet him at two o'clock p. m., being so much engaged in receiving and encamping fresh troops, who were hourly coming in, that I could not attend before."
It may be, judging from the subsequent treachery of Colonel Hinkle, that he sent a secret messenger to Lucas requesting an interview, and that the white flag sent out by the mob forces, of which our Church annals speak, and which was met by Hinkle in person with a few others, was sent to give General Lucas' answer to Hinkle's earlier request for an interview. At any rate, the truce flag was sent out and was met by some of the brethren, among whom was Hinkle; and if anything special was learned, or accommodations arranged, or understanding arrived at by the conference held with the enemy's flag of truce, our writers have failed to mention it. The reasonable conclusion is, therefore, that the flag of truce merely brought to Colonel Hinkle the information that Lucas could not meet him until two o'clock; and that Hinkle did meet him at that time; and upon his own responsibility, without consulting with the citizens of Far West or their leaders, entered into, and bound the people to, the following terms of capitulation:
First. To give up all their [The Church] leaders to be tried and punished.Second. To make an appropriation of their property, all who have taken up arms, to the payment of their debts, and indemnify for damage done by them.Third. That the balance should leave the State, and be protected out by the militia, but to remain until further orders were received from the commander in chief.Fourth. To give up their arms of every description, to be receipted for.
First. To give up all their [The Church] leaders to be tried and punished.
Second. To make an appropriation of their property, all who have taken up arms, to the payment of their debts, and indemnify for damage done by them.
Third. That the balance should leave the State, and be protected out by the militia, but to remain until further orders were received from the commander in chief.
Fourth. To give up their arms of every description, to be receipted for.
According to Lucas' statement, Hinkle, while he readily accepted these terms of capitulation, desired to postpone the matter until the following morning; to which Lucas replied that if that was done he would demand that Joseph Smith, Junior, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Parley P. Pratt and George W. Robinson be surrendered to his custody as hostages for his faithful compliance with the foregoing terms; and if after reflection and consultation the people decided to reject the terms offered them, these hostages were to be returned at the point where they were delivered into his possession.[B]
[Footnote B: Report of Lucas to Governor Boggs, dated November 2, 1838. Headquarters near Far West.]
Let us pause here for a moment's reflection. If Lucas intended to deliver up those men again, what advantage was it for him to have them? According to his own statement he offered Hinkle terms of capitulation which he and the people affected were to consider and report their conclusions upon the following day; but Lucas demands the principal "Mormon" leaders as hostages for the faithful performance—of what? Merely to bind them to consider the terms of capitulation, according to Lucas' statement; and if those terms were rejected after due consideration and consultation, these hostages were to be restored to the people! Was there any need of hostages being given to insure the consideration of the terms of surrender offered? Not under the circumstances. The whole thing was a plan to get the leaders of The Church into the hands of the mob, that the governor's order of extermination or banishment might be carried out without the mob militia running the risk of some of them losing their lives; as their generals believed the saints would submit to any injustice or indignity, rather than endanger the lives of their prophet leaders by resisting it. These men were demanded as a pledge that the whole infamous agreement between Lucas and Hinkle should be faithfully performed on Hinkle's part; and not to insure the consideration of his terms of surrender as Lucas clumsily puts it. As I proceed with the narrative it will be seen that Lucas never intended to restore the prisoners to their friends.
Hinkle returned from the secret consultation with Lucas, and about four o'clock in the afternoon told Joseph Smith and the other men Lucas demanded as hostages, that the leaders of the governor's troops desired a consultation with them outside the city limits. Accordingly the brethren, in company with Hinkle, walked out of Far West in the direction of the enemy's encampment. When midway between that encampment and Far West, the little band of brethren were met by the mob forces. Lucas occupied a central place, followed by fifty artillerymen, with a four-pounder; while the remainder of the forces, amounting to over two thousand, came up on the right and left. As soon as Lucas came up, Lyman Wight shook hands with him and said: "We understand, General, you wish to confer with us a few moments; will not tomorrow morning do as well?"
Here Colonel Hinkle said:
"General Lucas, these are the prisoners I agreed to deliver to you."
Lucas brandished his sword and told these men from Far West that they were his prisoners, and that they would march into his camp without further delay!
"At this moment," says Lyman Wight, "I believe there were five hundred guns cocked and twenty caps bursted, and more hideous yells were never heard, even if the description of the yells of the damned in hell is true as given by the modern sects of the day."[C]Especially horrible and threatening were the yells and threats of Niel Gilliam's company, costumed and painted as Indians.
[Footnote C: Wight's affidavit, Times and Seasons, Vol. 4, page 267.]
The brethren had been basely betrayed by Hinkle, as he had never consulted with them or any of the leaders of the people in relation to the terms of surrender offered by Lucas; and by misrepresentation he had induced them to place themselves in the hands of their implacable enemies. So long as treason is detested, and traitors despised, so long will the memory of Colonel Hinkle be execrated for his vile treachery.
On reaching the enemy's camp, ninety men were called out to guard the prisoners. Thirty were on this duty at a time: two hours on and four hours off. The prisoners lay in the open air with nothing as a covering, and they were drenched with rain before morning. All night long they were mocked and taunted by the guard, who demanded signs, saying, "Come, Mr. Smith, show us an angel, give us one of your revelations, show us a miracle;"[D]mingling these requests with the vilest oaths. Sidney Rigdon had an attack of apoplectic fits, which afforded much merriment to the brutal guard.
[Footnote D: P. P. Pratt's Autobiography, page 204.]
All night long the prisoners were compelled to listen to the filthy obscenity of those who watched them, and hear them relate their deeds of rapine and murder, and boast of their conquest over virtuous wives and maidens by brute force. Thus the wretched night passed away.
The morning following, which was the 1st of November, Hyrum Smith and Amasa Lyman were brought into the mob's camp as prisoners.
According to Hinkle's agreement, the militia in Far West were marched out of the city and grounded their arms, which were taken possession of by Lucas, although they were not State arms, but were the private property of the men who carried them. The mob was now let loose upon the unarmed citizens of Far West, and under the pretext of searching for arms they ransacked every house, tore up the floors, upset haystacks, wantonly destroyed much property, and shot down a number of cattle just for the sport it afforded them. The people were robbed of their most valuable property, insulted and whipped; but this was not the worst. The chastity of a number of women was defiled by force; some of them were strapped to benches and repeatedly ravished by brutes in human form until they died from the effects of this treatment. The horrible threat made a few years before in Jackson County had been at last carried out—We will ravish their women!
At night a court-martial was held, consisting of some fourteen militia officers, among whom were Colonel Hinkle and about twenty priests of the different denominations. Sashiel Woods and Bogart, the Presbyterian ministers, were among them; and in addition to these spiritual dignitaries, there was the circuit judge, Austin A. King and the district attorney, Mr. Birch. The decision of the court was that the prisoners should be shot the following morning at eight o'clock, in the public square of Far West, in the presence of their families, as an example to the "Mormon" people.
Colonel Hinkle visited Hyrum Smith and told him that a court-martial had been held and that he had contended for his (Hyrum's) acquittal, but it availed nothing, and all were to be shot the next morning. General Wilson had made an effort during the day to corrupt Lyman Wight, and get him to testify to something against Joseph Smith, but in this he failed. About the time Hinkle went to Hyrum, General Wilson took Wight aside and told him the decision of the court-martial. "Shoot and be damned," said Wight. About this time General Doniphan came up to Wilson and Wight and, addressing the latter, he said: "Colonel, the decision is a damned hard one, but I wash my hands against such cold-blooded murder." And he further said that he intended to remove his troops the following day as soon as light, that they should not witness such heartless murder. General Graham and a few others, whose names unfortunately have not been preserved, had voted against the decision of the court-martial, but it availed nothing.
The bold stand taken by General Doniphan the next morning, in threatening to remove his troops and denouncing the execution of the prisoners as cold-blooded murder, alarmed Lucas, and he changed his mind about executing the decision of the courtmartial; in fact he revoked the decree, and placed the prisoners in charge of General Wilson with instructions to conduct them to Independence.
SAD SCENES AT FAR WEST.
Before starting, the prisoners were conducted into Far West, permitted to get a change of linen, and take leave of their families, though in the presence of a brutal guard. This parting, which they had good reason to believe was their final one, was very distressing. Yet it was borne with manly fortitude. Parley P. Pratt's wife was sick with a fever, with an infant at her breast. The roof of the miserable hovel in which she lay afforded but little protection from the drizzling rain which at the time was falling. His large comfortable house had been pulled down by the mob, and he had been forced to find temporary shelter in this hovel, for his sick wife and her young family. Stretched out on the foot of the bed, on which his wife lay, was another woman who had been driven from her home the night before, who now was in the throes of child-birth. To leave a family sick and helpless and destitute and exposed to the insults of a lawless band of murderers, would appall the stoutest heart. In tears Elder Pratt went to General Wilson and told him the circumstances of his family with the view of getting time to provide for their comfort, but he was only answered with a mocking, exultant laugh.
The wife of Hyrum Smith was near her confinement, yet he was compelled to take his leave of her in the presence of his brutal guard, who peremptorily ordered her to get her husband a change of clothing within two minutes or he would be compelled to go without them; and after securing the clothing he was rudely hustled out of the house to join the rest of the prisoners.
The separation of Sidney Rigdon from his family was scarcely less distressing, and Joseph had been as roughly torn away from his family. The prisoners were placed in a wagon, around which crowded the friends and relatives, among whom were the aged parents of Joseph and Hyrum, their hearts wrung with anguish and their eyes blinded with tears, as they beheld their noble sons in the hands of their merciless enemies. No one was allowed to speak to them, the silent pressure of the hand was the only token of affection granted, and the wagon containing the prisoners moved on, surrounded by its military guard, and followed by the prayers of heart-sick wives and a grief-stricken people. Leaving the prisoners to pursue their journey to Independence, let us relate what happened about Far West and Diahman.
Joseph and his fellow-prisoners were started for Jackson County on the second of November, and General Clark arrived at Far West on the fourth. In the meantime, Lucas had sent Niel Gilliam's company and a part of General Parks' brigade, under command of General Parks, with orders to surround Diahman and disarm the people. And just before Clark arrived, Lucas, too, went to Diahman. The first thing done by Clark was to send orders to General Lucas to take all the men among the "Mormons" prisoners, and secure their property, with a view of paying with it the damages that had been sustained by the old settlers.
After this, the brethren remaining at Far West were drawn up in line, and the names of fifty-six called off, and as they stepped out from the line, they were put under arrest to await a trial, though they were not informed as to the nature of the charges against them. After these fifty-six had been secured, General Clark addressed himself to the remainder, and referred them to the terms of surrender that Colonel Hinkle had arranged for them without their consent, and even without consulting with them. Yet General Clark as rigidly enforced those terms as if the people had drafted them, or had given them their sanction after they were drafted. The first item in the terms of capitulation was that the leaders of the people should be given up to be dealt with according to law. "This," said Clark, "you have complied with."
The second item was that they should deliver up their arms. "This has been attended to," said the general.
The third stipulation was that they sign over their property to defray the expenses of the war. "This you have also done," complacently went on Clark. That was true. The saints had signed away their property at the point of the musket, while the mob which compelled them to go to such extremes, mocked them with their taunts and sneers, unchecked by the officers who commanded them.
After enumerating the things the saints had complied with, the self-important general concluded his speech in these words:
Another article yet remains for you to comply with, and that is, that you leave the State forthwith; and whatever may be your feelings concerning this, or whatever your innocence, it is nothing to me. General Lucas, who is equal in authority with me, has made this treaty with you—I approve of it—I should have done the same had I been here—I am therefore determined to see it fulfilled. The character of this State has suffered almost beyond redemption, from the character, conduct and influence that you have exerted. And we deem it an act of justice to restore her character to its former standing among the States by every proper means.The orders of the governor to me were, that you should be exterminated, and not allowed to remain in the State; and had your leaders not been given up and the terms of the treaty complied with, before this you and your families would have been destroyed, and your homes in ashes. There is a discretionary power vested in my hands which I shall exercise in your favor for a season, for this lenity you are indebted tomy clemency.I do not say that you shall go now, but you must not think of staying here another season, or of putting in crops; for the moment you do this the citizens will be upon you. If I am called here again in case of a non-compliance of a treaty made, do not think that I shall act any more as I have done, you need not expect any mercy, but extermination, for I am determined the governor's order shall be executed.As for your leaders do not once think—do not imagine for a moment—do not let it enter your mind, that they will be delivered or that you will see their faces again, fortheir fate is fixed—their die is cast. Their doom is sealed.I am sorry, gentlemen, to see so great a number of apparently intelligent men found in the situation you are; and oh, that I could invoke thatGreat Spirit,the unknown God, to rest upon you and make you sufficiently intelligent to break that chain of superstition and liberate you from those fetters of fanaticism, with which you are bound, that you no longer worship a man.I would advise you to scatter abroad and never again organize yourselves with bishops, presidents, etc., lest you excite the jealousies of the people and subject yourselves to the same calamities that have now come upon you.You have always been the aggressors; you have brought upon yourselves these difficulties by being disaffected and not being subject to rule; and my advice is that you become as other citizens, lest by a recurrence of these events, you bring upon yourselves irretrievable ruin.
Another article yet remains for you to comply with, and that is, that you leave the State forthwith; and whatever may be your feelings concerning this, or whatever your innocence, it is nothing to me. General Lucas, who is equal in authority with me, has made this treaty with you—I approve of it—I should have done the same had I been here—I am therefore determined to see it fulfilled. The character of this State has suffered almost beyond redemption, from the character, conduct and influence that you have exerted. And we deem it an act of justice to restore her character to its former standing among the States by every proper means.
The orders of the governor to me were, that you should be exterminated, and not allowed to remain in the State; and had your leaders not been given up and the terms of the treaty complied with, before this you and your families would have been destroyed, and your homes in ashes. There is a discretionary power vested in my hands which I shall exercise in your favor for a season, for this lenity you are indebted tomy clemency.I do not say that you shall go now, but you must not think of staying here another season, or of putting in crops; for the moment you do this the citizens will be upon you. If I am called here again in case of a non-compliance of a treaty made, do not think that I shall act any more as I have done, you need not expect any mercy, but extermination, for I am determined the governor's order shall be executed.
As for your leaders do not once think—do not imagine for a moment—do not let it enter your mind, that they will be delivered or that you will see their faces again, fortheir fate is fixed—their die is cast. Their doom is sealed.I am sorry, gentlemen, to see so great a number of apparently intelligent men found in the situation you are; and oh, that I could invoke thatGreat Spirit,the unknown God, to rest upon you and make you sufficiently intelligent to break that chain of superstition and liberate you from those fetters of fanaticism, with which you are bound, that you no longer worship a man.
I would advise you to scatter abroad and never again organize yourselves with bishops, presidents, etc., lest you excite the jealousies of the people and subject yourselves to the same calamities that have now come upon you.
You have always been the aggressors; you have brought upon yourselves these difficulties by being disaffected and not being subject to rule; and my advice is that you become as other citizens, lest by a recurrence of these events, you bring upon yourselves irretrievable ruin.
After listening to this harangue—this mixture of hypocrisy and conceit, affected pity and heartless cruelty, pretended patriotism and willful treason—the fifty-six brethren who had been arrested, for what, they knew not, neither did Clark appear able to inform them, were sent to Richmond where they were to be tried; and the remainder were dismissed to provide food and fuel for their families, and make preparations for leaving the State.
Governor Boggs appeared anxious about having his exterminating orders carried into effect, and occasionally stirred up General Clark to a lively remembrance of what he expected him to do, by sending him messages from time to time. Here is a specimen received directly after Clark had sent the fifty-six prisoners to Richmond:
It will be a necessity that you hold a military court of inquiry in Daviess County, and arrest the "Mormons," who have been guilty of the late outrages committed towards the inhabitants of said county. My instructions to you are to settle this whole matter completely if possible before you disband your forces; if the "Mormons" are disposed voluntarily to leave the State, of course it would be advisable in you to promote that object in any way deemed proper.The ring-leaders ought by no means to be permitted to escape the punishment they merit.
It will be a necessity that you hold a military court of inquiry in Daviess County, and arrest the "Mormons," who have been guilty of the late outrages committed towards the inhabitants of said county. My instructions to you are to settle this whole matter completely if possible before you disband your forces; if the "Mormons" are disposed voluntarily to leave the State, of course it would be advisable in you to promote that object in any way deemed proper.The ring-leaders ought by no means to be permitted to escape the punishment they merit.
As if inspired to new zeal by the receipt of this message, Clark ordered General Wilson, who, in the meantime, had returned from Jackson County, to go to Diahman and take charge of all the prisoners at that place, and ascertain those who had committed "crimes," put them under close guard, and when he moved to take them to Keytesville, the county seat of Chariton County, and between seventy and eighty miles from Diahman. A number of the brethren were taken prisoners at Diahman and were examined before Judge Adam Black, one of the ringleaders of the mob in bringing about the whole trouble. But even he was obliged to acquit the brethren brought before him, as they were innocent of the charges made against them. At the close of their examination, General Wilson ordered all the saints to leave Diahman within ten days, with permission to move into Caldwell County, and remain until spring, when they were to leave the State.
A committee of twelve men were granted the privilege of moving about freely between Far West and Diahman, with permission to move the corn and household goods from the latter to the former place. The stock, or the most of it, was taken possession of by the mob-militia. The committee of twelve were to wear white badges on their hats in order that they might be easily recognized by the forces that would be detailed to watch the movements of the "Mormon" people.
By this arrangement the saints at Diahman were driven from their comfortable homes to camp out through a long, dreary and severe winter in their wagons and tents, by reason of which exposure many perished, among whom were a number of delicate women and children.
A PROPHET'S REBUKE.
It is time now that we turn our attention to what befell Joseph Smith and his fellow-prisoners. The first day from Far West they made twelve miles, camping at night on Crooked River. A strong guard was placed around the prisoners, who watched them closely.
The next morning the Prophet Joseph had a word of comfort for his brethren. He spoke to each one quietly saying: "Be of good cheer, brethren, the word of the Lord came to me last night that our lives should be given us; and that whatever we might suffer during this captivity, not one of our lives should be taken."[A]
[Footnote A: Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, page 210.]
The reader will pardon me if I anticipate sufficiently to say that this remarkable prophecy was verily fulfilled: not one of their lives was sacrificed.
The same day this prophecy was made, the prisoners reached the Missouri River, and were hurried across into Jackson County, for General Clark had sent word to Lucas to bring the prisoners to him at Richmond; but Wilson was determined to exhibit the prisoners at Independence. On the journey Wilson became more friendly towards his prisoners and conversed freely with them in relation to the disturbances which had taken place in Jackson County, in 1833. General Wilson, it must be remembered, was the man who kept a store about one mile west of Big Blue, and seven or eight miles west of Independence; and who was active in driving the saints from Jackson County and burning their homes. Of the part he took in these proceedings he boasted as if it was some laudable work he had accomplished, though he admitted that he and his associates then, and now, were the aggressors, and that the manner of life followed by the saints was blameless.
On the fourth the prisoners and their guards arrived at Independence, and though it was raining, the prisoners were driven about the streets for the purpose of exhibiting them to the crowds which had come together to see them. They were placed in an old, vacant house where many came to see them during that and the following day. Among those who came on the first day was a lady, who innocently inquired which one of the men it was the "Mormons" worshiped. Joseph was pointed out to her as the one, and she inquired of him if he professed to be the Lord and Savior. To which he replied that he "professed to be nothing but a man, and a minister of salvation, sent by Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel." This astonished the lady and her eager questions brought from the prophet, ever willing to preach the gospel either in freedom or in bondage, a discourse on the principles he was sent to teach. The lady broke down in tears, and left their dingy prison with a prayer for their safety and deliverance. Joseph's native eloquence and the truth he advocated had gained another triumph, for not only was the lady overcome with what she heard, but it had its effect upon all who listened.
In a day or two the prisoners were removed from their miserable quarters where the floor had been their bed and blocks of wood their pillows, to the best hotel in the city, where they were treated kindly and allowed to move about pretty freely, with a small guard to watch their movements. Subsequently, however, they had to pay their own expense at this hotel, and exorbitant charges were made for every comfort afforded them.
During the few days that Joseph and his fellow-prisoners remained at Independence, several messages were sent from General Clark's headquarters at Richmond to have the "Mormon" leaders sent there immediately. General Wilson, however, found it difficult to secure a guard to accompany them, as no one would volunteer, and when men were drafted they refused to obey orders. At last three men were obtained as a guard, and on the morning of the eighth of November they set out for Richmond. They traveled down the south bank of the Missouri River to a ferry kept by a Frenchman by the name of Roy. Here they crossed the river, and after going about a half a mile lodged for the night at a private house. The guard who accompanied the prisoners came more as a protection to them than to hinder them from escaping, and the people in and about Independence appeared willing for the prisoners to escape. The guards had been drinking during the day, and not infrequently the prisoners were sixty or eighty rods in the rear or ahead of them. When night found them at the private house before mentioned, sleep so overpowered the guards that they gave their arms into the hands of the prisoners that they might protect themselves if occasion to do so should occur; and that was quite likely since they were in a neighborhood filled with their most bitter enemies.
The night passed, however, without any disturbance, and the next morning the journey to Richmond was continued. Before starting a number of armed and rough-looking men, gathered about the prisoners with curses and threats, and the guards alarmed for their safety, sent a messenger to Richmond to obtain a stronger guard. Without waiting for its arrival, the little company proceeded on its journey, but had not gone far when they met Colonel Sterling Price and a guard of seventy soldiers.
Arriving at Richmond, Joseph and his brethren were thrust into an old, vacant house under guard. Soon afterwards they were visited by General Clark who was introduced to them. The prisoners made an effort to find out the charges against them, but Clark evaded their questions and shortly withdrew. Clark had left the room but a few minutes when Colonel Price came in accompanied by a blacksmith of the name of John Fulkerson, carrying a log chain and a number of pad-locks. The windows to the house were nailed down, and the seven prisoners from Independence were chained together by the ankles; Price's guard of ten men standing with guns poised, and their thumbs on the hammers for instant use.
In the meantime General Clark was searching for authority to try the prisoners before a court-martial, and it would appear from the testimony of a brother, by the name of Grant, that he had concluded to so proceed, and had even given the sentence of the court before an investigation had occurred; for this young man by the name of Grant, (given name not known), but a brother-in-law to William Smith, brother to the Prophet Joseph, lodged at the hotel where Clark made his headquarters. He saw that general select the men who were to shoot the "Mormon" leaders on the morning of the twelfth of November. He saw these men choose their rifles and load them with two balls in each; after which Clark said to them: "Gentlemen, you shall have the honor of shooting the "Mormon" leaders on Monday morning at eight o'clock."[B]
[Footnote B: Testimony of Hyrum Smith, Times and Seasons, volume 4, page 252.]
Some of the friends of the captive brethren intimated to the general that he had no authority to try the prisoners by court-martial; whereupon he sent to Fort Leavenworth to obtain the military code of laws, which he searched for several days for authority to try the prisoners as he had proposed, by court-martial. At last he had to give it up, but he did it with great reluctance. He visited the prison where Joseph and his brethren were confined, and told them he had decided to deliver them to the civil authorities; and informed them they were accused of "treason, murder, arson, larceny, theft, and stealing." The prisoners then were delivered into the hands of the civil authorities, and an investigation was begun before Austin A. King, the circuit judge, and Thomas C. Birch, the prosecuting attorney for the State.
The examination of the witnesses for the State continued from the eleventh of November to the twenty-sixth. Each night after the day's examination the prisoners who had been brought down from Independence were taken to their gloomy prison and chained together, while about fifty of their brethren and fellow-prisoners, who had been brought from Far West, were kept under guard in an open unfinished, court-house, exposed to the excessive coldness of that inclement season.
The constitution of Elder Rigdon was so delicate, that in consequence of the exposure and hardships he was forced to endure under this cruel persecution, his health broke down and at last he lost his reason; yet he was chained to his companions and compelled to remain in the presence of a noisy and unruly and unfeeling guard. His daughter, who was the wife of George W. Robinson, one of the prisoners fastened to the same chain with her father, was at last permitted to come to the prison and care for her afflicted father. Lovingly, tenderly this delicate young woman with her first born babe at her breast, nursed her afflicted father through those gloomy days, and through her tenderness and anxious care nursed him back to health and reason.
The guard, under Colonel Price, was perhaps the most foulmouthed and villainous that could possibly be brought together. They related to each other their deeds of murder and rapine, and boasted of raping virtuous wives and maidens, until the prisoners were heart-sick with the disgusting details of their crimes. Parley P. Pratt relates an incident that occurred in the prison one night when the guards were unusually obscene, which we give entire in that writer's own language:
I had listened [to the guard's boasts of defiling wives and maidens by force] till I became so disgusted, shocked, horrified and so filled with the spirit of indignant justice that I could scarcely refrain from rising upon my feet and rebuking the guards; but had said nothing to Joseph, or any one else, although I lay next to him and knew he was awake. On a sudden he arose to his feet, and spoke in a voice of thunder, or as the roaring lion, uttering as near as I can recollect, the following:"Silence!ye fiends of the the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and hear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I diethis instant."He ceased to speak. He stood erect in terrible majesty. Chained and without a weapon; calm, unruffled, dignified as an angel, he looked upon the quailing guards, whose weapons were lowered or dropped to the ground; whose knees smote together, and who shrinking into a corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet till a change of guards.I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, and criminals arraigned before them, while life was suspended on a breath, in the courts of England. I have witnessed a congress in solemn session to give laws to nations; I have tried to conceive of kings, or royal courts, of thrones and crowns, and of emperors assembled to decide the fate of kingdoms; but dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight in a dungeon, in an obscure village in Missouri.
I had listened [to the guard's boasts of defiling wives and maidens by force] till I became so disgusted, shocked, horrified and so filled with the spirit of indignant justice that I could scarcely refrain from rising upon my feet and rebuking the guards; but had said nothing to Joseph, or any one else, although I lay next to him and knew he was awake. On a sudden he arose to his feet, and spoke in a voice of thunder, or as the roaring lion, uttering as near as I can recollect, the following:
"Silence!ye fiends of the the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and hear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I diethis instant."
He ceased to speak. He stood erect in terrible majesty. Chained and without a weapon; calm, unruffled, dignified as an angel, he looked upon the quailing guards, whose weapons were lowered or dropped to the ground; whose knees smote together, and who shrinking into a corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet till a change of guards.
I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, and criminals arraigned before them, while life was suspended on a breath, in the courts of England. I have witnessed a congress in solemn session to give laws to nations; I have tried to conceive of kings, or royal courts, of thrones and crowns, and of emperors assembled to decide the fate of kingdoms; but dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight in a dungeon, in an obscure village in Missouri.