COMPLIANCE WITH THE DEMANDS OF GOVERNOR FORD.
IN the midst of these preparations, a message was received from Governor Ford, stating that he had arrived in Carthage in the interests of peace, and hoped to be able to avert the evils of war by his presence; and that he might the better judge of the situation he asked that well-informed and discreet persons be sent to him at Carthage, where he had established for the time his headquarters. This request of the governor's was gladly complied with on the part of the people of Nauvoo; and John Taylor and Dr. J. M. Bernhisel were appointed to represent their version of the situation, and for that purpose were furnished with a copy of the proceedings of the city council, and the affidavits of a number of citizens bearing on the subjects that would likely be discussed.
These representatives of the citizens of Nauvoo, found the governor surrounded by their enemies—the Laws, Fosters, and Higbees, besides others living at Warsaw and Carthage. The only audience given to Messrs. Taylor and Bernhisel was in the presence of these parties, by whom they were frequently interrupted in the most insulting manner, and the parties insulting and abusing them were unchecked by Governor Ford.
After the governor had heard the statements of these gentlemen and read the documents presented by them, he sent a written communication to the mayor, Joseph Smith, in which he said that by destroying theExpositorpress, the city council of Nauvoo had committed a gross outrage upon the laws and liberties of the people, and had violated the Constitution in several particulars. He also claimed that the municipal court of Nauvoo had exceeded its authority in granting writs ofhabeas corpus. He accepted the statement of the mob at Carthage that Joseph Smith refused to be tried by any other court than the municipal court of Nauvoo, although he had before him the most positive proof that Joseph was willing to go before any justice of the peace in Hancock County, except Justice Morrison of Carthage, where an angry mob had collected, and were threatening his destruction, and since the warrant was made returnable to the magistrate who issued it, or any other justice in the county, the Prophet expressed a willingness to go before any other justice, but very properly refused to go to Carthage. He was even willing to be bound over to appear in the circuit court to answer for the part he took in abating theExpositorpress as a nuisance. Yet in the face of these facts—in the face of the fact that all the parties charged with riot had appeared before D. H. Wells, a justice of the peace and a non-Mormon, and after investigation were acquitted—yet the governor charged the members of the city council with refusing to appear before any other than the municipal court of Nauvoo for an investigation. He demanded that the mayor and all persons in Nauvoo accused or sued submit in all cases implicitly to the process of the courts and to interpose no obstacles to an arrest, either by writ ofhabeas corpusor otherwise. And in the case of the mayor and a number of the city council charged with riot, he required that they should be arrested by the same constable, by virtue of the same warrant, and tried before the same magistrate, whose authority he insisted had been resisted. "Nothing short of this," he added, "can vindicate the dignity of violated law, and allay the just excitement of the people." Messrs. Taylor and Bernhisel called his attention to the state of excitement in Carthage, and informed him that there were men there bent on killing the Prophet, and that to ensure his safety it would be necessary for him to be accompanied by an armed force which would doubtless provoke a collision. In answer to this the governor advised them to bring no arms, and pledged his faith as governor, and that of the State, to protect those who should go to Carthage for trial. He also made the same pledge in his written communication to Joseph.
The conduct of the governor in thus adopting the reports of the enemies of the citizens of Nauvoo, and menacing the city with destruction, if his arbitrary commands were not complied with, created no small amount of astonishment in Nauvoo. Joseph, however, wrote a courteous reply, corrected the governor's errors, and also represented that the city council of Nauvoo had acted on their best judgment, aided by the best legal advice they could procure; but if a mistake had been made they were willing to make all things right; but asked that the mob might be dispersed, that their lives might not be endangered while on trial. Relative to going to Carthage, however, Joseph pointed out the fact that the governor himself in his written communication had expressed his fears that he could not control the mob; "in which case," he went on to say, "we are left to the mercy of the merciless. Sir, we dare not come for our lives would be in danger, and we are guilty of no crime."
On a hasty consultation with his brother Hyrum, Dr. Richards, and Messrs. Taylor and Bernhisel, after the return of the latter from their conference with Governor Ford it was decided that Joseph should proceed to Washington and lay the case before President Tyler, and he informed Governor Ford of this intention in the letter above referred to. That plan, however, at a subsequent council meeting was abandoned; as Joseph received an inspiration to go to the West, and all would be well. He said to the trusted brethren in that council:
The way is open. It is clear to my mind what to do. All they want is Hyrum and myself; then tell everybody to go about their business, and not collect in groups, but scatter about. There is no danger; they will come here and search for us. Let them search; they will not harm you in person or in property, and not even a hair of your head. We will cross the river tonight and go away to the West.
The way is open. It is clear to my mind what to do. All they want is Hyrum and myself; then tell everybody to go about their business, and not collect in groups, but scatter about. There is no danger; they will come here and search for us. Let them search; they will not harm you in person or in property, and not even a hair of your head. We will cross the river tonight and go away to the West.
This was between nine and ten o'clock on the night of the twenty-second of June, and preparations were at once entered into to carry out this impression of the Spirit. W. W. Phelps was instructed to take the families of the Prophet and his brother to Cincinnati; and that night O. P. Rockwell rowed Joseph, Hyrum and Dr. Richards over the Mississippi to Montrose, and then returned with instructions to procure horses for them and make all necessary preparations to start for "the great basin in the Rocky Mountains."
About ten o'clock the next day the governor'spossearrived in Nauvoo to arrest Joseph, but not finding him it returned to Carthage, leaving a man by the name of Yates to watch for the Prophet's appearing. This man said that if the mayor and his brother were not given up, the governor had expressed a determination to send his troops into the city and guard it until they were found, if it took three years.
At this crisis, some of Joseph's friends instead of rendering him all possible assistance to escape from his enemies, complained of his conduct as cowardly and entreated him to return to Nauvoo and not leave them like a false shepherd leaves his flock when the wolves attack them. The parties most forward in making this charge of cowardice were Reynolds Cahoon, L. D. Wasson and Hiram Kimball. Emma Smith, his wife, also sent a letter by the hand of Reynolds Cahoon, entreating him to return and give himself up, trusting to the pledges of the governor for a fair trial. Influenced by these entreaties to return, and stung by the taunts of cowardice from those who should have been his friends, he said: "If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to myself." And after a brief consultation with Rockwell and his brother Hyrum, against his better judgment, and with the conviction fixed in his soul that he would be killed, he resolved to return; and crossed over the river that evening to Nauvoo.
His first act after arriving in the beautiful city of which he was the chief founder, was to send word to the governor, by the hand of Theodore Turley and Jedediah M. Grant that he would be ready to go to Carthage as early on the morrow as his (the governor's)possecould meet him—provided he could be assured a fair trial, and his witnesses not be abused. That message was delivered to the governor, and he decided at once to send aposseto escort Joseph and his party to Carthage; but through the influence which Wilson Law, Joseph H. Jackson and others of like character had over him, he changed his good intention of sending aposse, and ordered Joseph's messengers to return that night with orders to him to be in Carthage the next day by ten o'clock without an escort; and he threatened that if Joseph did not give himself up by that time, Nauvoo would be destroyed.
Owing to the jaded condition of their horses the messengers did not reach Nauvoo until daylight of the twenty-fourth. After the orders of the governor were delivered, the faithful brethren who reported them began to warn the Prophet against trusting himself in the hands of his enemies, but he stopped them and would not hear them further—he had decided on his course.
Early on the morning of the twenty-fourth Joseph and the members of the city council, against whom complaints had been made before Justice Morrison, accompanied by a few friends, started for Carthage to give themselves up. As they passed the temple, the party paused, and the Prophet looked with admiration upon the noble edifice and the glorious landscape, which everywhere from that spot greets the eye, and then said: "This is the loveliest place, and the best people under the heavens; little do they know the trials that await them!" On the outskirts of the city they passed the home of Squire D. H. Wells, who at the time was sick. Joseph dismounted and called to see him. At parting the Prophet said to him cheerfully: "Squire Wells, I wish you to cherish my memory, and not think me the worst man in the world, either."
About ten o'clock the party arrived within four miles of Carthage and there met a company of sixty mounted militiamen under the command of Captain Dunn, on their way to Nauvoo with orders from Governor Ford to demand the State arms in possession of the Nauvoo Legion. It was on the occasion of meeting these troops that Joseph uttered those prophetic words:
"I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—he was murdered in cold blood."
At the request of Captain Dunn he countersigned the governor's order for the State arms. But the captain prevailed upon him to return to Nauvoo and assist in collecting the arms, promising that afterwards the militia under his command should escort himself and party into Carthage, and he would protect them even at the risk of his own life, to which his men assented by three hearty cheers. It is supposed that Captain Dunn feared the people in Nauvoo might become exasperated and resent the indignity offered them in demanding the surrender of the State arms. Hence his anxiety to have Joseph return. A message was sent to the governor informing him of this new move.
The arms were collected without any difficulty, though the people unwillingly surrendered them, since disarming them and allowing their enemies who had vowed their extermination to keep their arms, smacked of treachery; but the order of the governor and of their Prophet-leader was complied with.
The arms were taken to the Masonic Hall and stacked up, Quartermaster-General Buckmaster receiving them.
This demand for the State arms stirred the fiery indignation of Squire Wells to the very depths of his soul. He arose from his bed of sickness and carried what State arms he had—a pair of horse-pistols—to the appointed place, and threw them at the feet of Officer Buckmaster with the remark, "There's your arms!" Then as he glared at the officer, he said: "I have a pair of epaulets at home, and I have never disgraced them, either," and, too full of righteous wrath for further speech, he walked away.
The arms collected, Captain Dunn thanked the people for their promptness in complying with the demands of the governor, and promised them that while they conducted themselves in such a peaceable manner they should be protected. The company of militia accompanied by Joseph and his party started for Carthage about six o'clock in the evening.
Passing the Masonic Hall where a number of the citizens of Nauvoo still lingered, having been attracted there to witness the surrender of the State arms, the Prophet Joseph raised his hat and said: "Boys, if I don't come back, take care of yourselves. I am going like a lamb to the slaughter." When the company was passing his farm Joseph stopped and looked at it for a long time. Then after he had passed he turned and looked again, and yet again several times. His action occasioned some remarks by several of the company, to which, in reply he said: "If some of you had such a farm, and knew you would not see it any more, you would want to take a good look at it for the last time."
It was midnight when the party entered Carthage, but a militia company encamped on the public square—the Carthage Greys—were aroused and gave vent to profane threats as the company passed, of which the following is a specimen: "Where's the d—n Prophet?" "Stand away, you McDonough boys,[1]and let us shoot the d—n Mormons!" "G—d d—n you, old Joe, we've got you now!" "Clear the way, and let us have a view of Joe Smith, the Prophet of God. He has seen the last of Nauvoo, we'll use him up now!"
Amid such profanity and abuse, and violent threats, much of which was overheard by Governor Ford, the Prophet's party proceeded to Hamilton's hotel, which it entered and took quarters for the night. Under the same roof were sheltered the wicked apostates of Nauvoo, J. H. Jackson, the Foster brothers, the Higbees and the Laws, besides other desperate men who had sworn to take the life of the Prophet.
The crowd which had followed the Nauvoo party from the public square still hung round the Hamilton House yelling and cursing, and acting like ravenous beasts hungry for their prey. Governor Ford pushed up a window and thus addressed them: "Gentlemen, I know your great anxiety to see Mr. Smith, which is natural enough, but it is quite too late tonight for you to have that opportunity; but I assure you, gentlemen, you shall have that privilege tomorrow morning, as I will cause him to pass before the troops upon the square, and I now wish you, with this assurance, quietly and peaceably to return to your quarters." In answer to this there was a faint "Hurrah, for Tom Ford," and the crowd withdrew. They could afford to wait. God's servants were in the hands of the merciless.
1. Captain Dunn's company was composed chiefly of men from McDonough County, hence the remark.
THE MARTYRDOM.
EARLY in the morning following their entrance into Carthage, Joseph, his brother Hyrum and the other members of the Nauvoo city council named in the warrant of arrest sworn out by the Higbees, voluntarily surrendered themselves to constable Bettisworth. Shortly afterwards the Prophet was again arrested by the same constable on a charge of treason against the State and people of Illinois, on the oath of Augustine Spencer. Hyrum was arrested on a similar charge, sworn out by Henry O. Norton. And thus the difficulties thickened.
Soon after the second arrest, Governor Ford presented himself at their rooms at the Hamilton house, and requested Joseph to accompany him, as he desired to present him to the troops, to whom he had promised the night before a view of the Prophet. The troops had been drawn up in two lines and Joseph and Hyrum linking arms with Brigadier-General Miner R. Deming passed down them, accompanied by their friends and a company of Carthage Greys. They were introduced as General Joseph and General Hyrum Smith. The Carthage Greys, a few minutes before, at the headquarters of General Deming, had revolted and behaved in an uproarious manner, but were pacified by the governor, and accompanied him, General Deming and the Prophet and his party to where the other troops were drawn up in line. Here they again revolted because the Brothers Smith were introduced to the troops from McDonough County as "Generals" Smith. Some of the officers of the Carthage Greys threw up their hats, drew their swords and said they would introduce themselves to "the d—ned Mormons in a different style." They were again pacified by the governor, who promised them "full" satisfaction. But they continued to act in such an insubordinate manner that General Deming put them under arrest,[1]but afterwards released them without punishment.
Shortly after this episode with the Carthage Greys, a number of the officers of other militia companies and other gentlemen curious to see the Prophet crowded into the hotel. Joseph took occasion to ask them if there was anything in his appearance to indicate that he was the desperate character his enemies represented him to be. To which they replied, "No, sir, your appearance would indicate the very contrary, General Smith; but we cannot see what is in your heart, neither can we tell what are your intentions." "Very true, gentlemen," quickly replied the Prophet, "you cannot see what is in my heart, and you are therefore unable to judge me or my intentions; but I can see what is in your hearts, and will tell you what I see. I can see that you thirst for blood, and nothing but my blood will satisfy you. It is not for crime of any description that I and my brethren are thus continually persecuted, and harassed by our enemies, but there are other motives, and some of them I have expressed, so far as relates to myself; and inasmuch as you and the people thirst for blood, I prophesy in the name of the Lord that you shall witness scenes of blood and sorrow to your entire satisfaction. Your souls shall be perfectly satiated with blood, and many of you who are now present shall have an opportunity to face the cannon's mouth from sources you think not of, and those people that desire this great evil upon me and my brethren shall be filled with sorrow because of the scenes of desolation and distress that await them. They shall seek for peace and shall not be able to find it. Gentlemen, you will find what I have told you will come true."[2]
The members of the Nauvoo city council under arrest for riot, in destroying theExpositorpress, were taken before R. F. Smith, justice of the peace and also captain of the Carthage Greys. It will be remembered perhaps that Governor Ford had told Joseph, in a communication referred to in the last chapter, that nothing but his appearing before Justice Morrison, who issued the writ against him would vindicate the majesty of the law, but now the prisoners were at Carthage where Justice Morrison lived, and could have appeared before him, and were willing to do so, they were taken before another justice.
In order to avoid increasing the excitement, the prisoners admitted there was sufficient cause to be bound over to appear at the next term of the circuit court for Hancock County. The bonds amounted to seven thousand five hundred dollars.
Justice Smith dismissed his court without taking any action on the charge of treason under which the Brothers Smith were still held; but about eight o'clock the same evening, Constable Bettisworth appeared at their lodgings at the Hamilton House and insisted on their going to jail. The Prophet demanded to see the copy of the mittimus which was at first denied; but upon his counsel—Messrs Woods & Reid—informing the constable that the accused were entitled to a hearing before a justice, before they could be sent to jail, to the surprise of all present he produced a mittimus, issued by Justice R. F. Smith. It stated that Joseph and Hyrum Smith were under arrest charged with treason; "and have been," so the paper read, "brought before me, a justice of the peace, in and for said county, for trial at the seat of justice hereof, which trial has been necessarily postponed, by reason of the absence of material witnesses." Now, this mittimus, so far as it related to the prisoners appearing before Justice Smith was an infamous falsehood, "unless," as Lawyer Reid says, in the account he published of these proceedings—"unless the prisoners could have appeared before the justicewithout being present in person or by counsel!" The same representation of the case was made to me by Lawyer James W. Woods, who, at the time was associated with Mr. Reid as the Prophet's counsel, whom I met in the summer of 1880, in Iowa, and from whom at that time I received a detailed account of the proceedings.
Joseph and his counsel and his friends protested most vigorously against this unlawful proceeding, but to no avail. R. F. Smith finding his mittimus unlawful, appealed to the governor as to what he should do; to which the governor answered: "You have the Carthage Greys at your command." That hint was sufficient. What thejusticehad illegally begun, the same person ascaptainmust with unlawful force consummate! Yet when this same governor was appealed to for protection against this unhallowed as well as unlawful proceeding, he expressed himself as being very sorry the circumstance had occurred, but he really could not interfere with the civic powers!
Elder John Taylor went to the governor and reminded him of his pledges of protection. Elder Taylor expressed his dissatisfaction at the course taken, and told the governor that if they were to be subject to mob rule, and to be dragged contrary to law to prison, at the instance of every scoundrel whose oath could be bought for a dram of whisky, his protection availed very little, and they had miscalculated the executive's promises.
In the meantime a drunken rabble had collected in the street in front of the Hamilton House, and Captain Dunn with some twenty men came to guard the prisoners to the jail. The Prophet's friends stood by him in these trying times and followed him through the excited crowd in the direction of the jail. Stephen Markham walked on one side of the Prophet and his brother Hyrum and Dan Jones on the other, and with their walking sticks kept back the rabble, which several times broke through the guard, while Elder Taylor, Willard Richards and John S. Fullmer walked behind them.
The jail was reached in safety and the prisoners given in charge of Mr. George W. Stigall, who first put them into the criminal's cell, but afterwards gave them the more comfortable quarters known as the "debtors' apartment." When night came the prisoners and their friends stretched themselves out on the floor of the old jail—and so passed the night of the twenty-fifth.
Governor Ford represents in his "History of Illinois," that these men were placed in prison to protect them from the rabble,[3]but says not a word about the protests of the prisoners against being thrust into jail, or the illegal means employed in putting them there.
In the forenoon of the twenty-sixth, a lengthy interview took place between Governor Ford and Joseph in which the whole cause of the trouble was reviewed, the causes leading up to the destruction of theExpositorpress, calling out the Legion on which the charge of treason was based, and all other affairs connected with the difficulties. Governor Ford condemned the action of the city council, but the course pursued by that body was ably defended by Joseph, and showed that even if they had been wrong in following the course they had taken, it was a matter for the courts to decide and not a thing for mobs to settle. In conclusion the Prophet told the Governor that he considered himself unsafe in Carthage, as the town was swarming with men who had openly sworn to take his life. He understood the governor contemplated going to Nauvoo, accompanied by the militia, to investigate certain charges about counterfeiting the United States currency, and if possible secure the dies and other implements used in manufacturing it, and Joseph demanded his freedom that he might go with him. The governor promised him that he should go.[4]
The false mittimus on which Joseph and Hyrum Smith were thrust into prison, ordered the jailor to keep them in custody, "until discharged by due course of law." But on the afternoon of the twenty-sixth, Frank Worrell appeared before the jail in command of the Carthage Greys and demanded that the prisoners be delivered up to the constable to be taken before Justice R. F. Smith for trial. Against this proceeding the jailor protested, as the prisoners were placed in his keeping until "discharged by due course of law," and not at the demand of a constable or military despot. But by threats amounting to intimidation, Worrell compelled the jailor against his conviction of duty to surrender the prisoners to him.
Meantime a mob had gathered at the door of the jail and seeing that things had assumed a threatening aspect, the Prophet stepped into the crowd, locked arms with one of the worst mobocrats, and with his brother Hyrum on the other arm, and followed by his faithful friends, proceeded to the court house. He had been unlawfully thrust into prison, and as illegally dragged out of it and exposed to imminent danger among his worst enemies.
The counsel for the Brothers Smith asked for a continuance until the next day as they were without witnesses, not having been notified when they would come to trial. A continuance was granted until noon the next day. A new mittimus was made out and the prisoners committed again to prison—their old quarters. But after the prisoners were again lodged in jail, and without consulting either them or their counsel, Justice R. F. Smith changed the time of trial from noon on the twenty-seventh until the twenty-ninth.
This change was made in consequence of a decision reached by Governor Ford and his military council to march all his troops into Nauvoo, except a company of fifty of the Carthage Greys that would be detailed to guard the prisoners. So Mr. R. F. Smith, acting, it will be remembered, in the double capacity of a justice of the peace and captain of the Carthage Greys, as a justice altered the date of the return of the subpoenas and excused the court until the twenty-ninth; that as a captain of a company of militia he might attend the military train entering Nauvoo in triumph!
The evening of the twenty-sixth was spent very pleasantly by the prisoners and their friends—John Taylor, Willard Richards, John S. Fullmer, Stephen Markham and Dan Jones. Hyrum occupied the principal part of the time in reading accounts from the Book of Mormon of the deliverance of God's servants from prison, and in commenting upon them, with a view, doubtless, of cheering his brother Joseph, since the Prophet had expressed himself as having a presentiment of uneasiness as to his safety, that he had never before experienced when in the hands of his enemies.
Late at night all retired to rest except Willard Richards, who by the flickering flame of a tallow candle continued his work of writing out some important documents. Joseph and Hyrum occupied the only bedstead in the room, and their friends lay side by side on the mattresses spread out on the floor. Sometime after midnight a single gun was fired near the prison. Elder Richards started in his chair, and Joseph rose from the bed where he had been lying, and stretched himself out on the floor between Fullmer and Jones.
"Lay your head on my arm for a pillow, Brother John," said the Prophet to Fullmer as he kindly placed his arm under that person's head. Soon all became quiet, except in a low tone Fullmer and the Prophet continued to talk of presentiments the latter had received of approaching death. "I would like to see my family again," said he, "and I would to God that I could preach to the Saints in Nauvoo once more." Fullmer tried to cheer him by saying he thought he would have that privilege many times.
Again all was silent, and everybody apparently asleep. But Joseph turned to Dan Jones and was heard to say, "Are you afraid to die?" To which the one addressed said: "Has that time come, think you? Engaged in such a cause I do not think death would have many terrors." And then the Prophet said: "You will yet see Wales"—his native land—"and fill the mission appointed you, before you die."[5]So passed away the night preceding the day which saw enacted that tragedy which robbed earth of two of the noblest men that ever lived upon it.
As the morning light struggled through the windows of Carthage jail, the prisoners and their friends awoke, and the Prophet required Dan Jones to go down stairs and enquire of the guard about the gun that was fired in the night, what the meaning of it was, etc.
Jones went accordingly, and found Frank Worrell in command of the guard and the answer he received to his inquiry was this: "We have had too much trouble to get old Joe here to let him ever escape alive, and unless you want to die with him, you had better leave before sun down; and you are not a d—n bit better than him for taking his part; and you'll see that I can prophesy better than old Joe, for neither he nor his brother, nor anyone who will remain with them, will see the sun set today." This answer Jones related to Joseph, who told him to go to the governor at once and report the words of the guard. On his way to the governor's quarters at the Hamilton House, Jones passed a crowd of men who were being addressed by a person unknown to him. He paused long enough to hear these words:
"Our troops will be discharged this morning in obedience to orders, and for a sham we will leave the town; but when the governor and the McDonough troops have left for Nauvoo this forenoon, we will return and kill those men if we have to tear the jail down," (applause.) These words and what the captain of the guard said were faithfully reported to Governor Ford, in reply to which he said: "You are unnecessarily alarmed for the safety of your friends, sir, the people are not that cruel."
Angered at such an answer the following conversation occurred:
Jones. The Messrs. Smith are American citizens, and have surrendered themselves to your excellency upon your pledging your honor for their safety; they are also master Masons, and as such I demand of you the protection of their lives. If you do not this, I have but one more desire, and that is, if you leave their lives in the hands of those men to be sacrificed—Governor Ford. What is that, sir?Jones. It is that the Almighty will preserve my life to a proper time and place, that I may testify that you have been timely warned of their danger.
Jones. The Messrs. Smith are American citizens, and have surrendered themselves to your excellency upon your pledging your honor for their safety; they are also master Masons, and as such I demand of you the protection of their lives. If you do not this, I have but one more desire, and that is, if you leave their lives in the hands of those men to be sacrificed—
Governor Ford. What is that, sir?
Jones. It is that the Almighty will preserve my life to a proper time and place, that I may testify that you have been timely warned of their danger.
The governor manifested some excitement during this conversation, turning pale at the Masonic warning Jones gave him. The effect, however, was but momentary.
Jones returned to the jail after his conversation with the governor, but was denied admission. He then returned to the governor to secure a pass; and arrived at the square just as that officer was disbanding the militia. It is customary when the militia has been called together to assist in execution of the laws, or to suppress an insurrection, to dismiss the respective companies in charge of their several commanders to be marched home and there be disbanded. But in this instance the governor disbanded all the troops, except the Carthage Greys whom, it appears, he had selected to guard the jail, and the McDonough troops who were to accompany him to Nauvoo.
Governor Ford himself, in his history of Illinois, represents that there were about twelve or thirteen hundred of the militia at Carthage and some five hundred at Warsaw. As the disbanded militia left the square, they acted in a boisterous manner, shouting that they would only go a short distance from town. and then come back and kill old Joe and Hyrum as soon as the governor was far enough out of town. Dan Jones called the attention of the governor to these threats, but he ignored them. I suppose these are the threats of which Governor Ford himself speaks in his history of these unfortunate events, when he says:
I had heard of some threats being made, but none of an attack upon the prisoners whilst in jail. These threats seemed to be made by individuals not acting in concert. They were no more than the bluster which might have been expected, and furnished no indication of numbers combining for this or any other purpose.
I had heard of some threats being made, but none of an attack upon the prisoners whilst in jail. These threats seemed to be made by individuals not acting in concert. They were no more than the bluster which might have been expected, and furnished no indication of numbers combining for this or any other purpose.
It will be remembered that Governor Ford expressed a determination to march with all his forces into Nauvoo, and Joseph having heard of this, in the interview at the jail before alluded to, expressed a desire to accompany him, and the governor promised him he should go. This promise the governor failed to keep because a council of his officers convinced him that to take the Prophet with him to Nauvoo "would be highly inexpedient and dangerous." Indeed the whole plan of marching all his forces into Nauvoo, was abandoned. The expedition had been formed for the purpose of striking terror into the hearts of the citizens of Nauvoo, by a display of military force in their midst, and to satisfy the wishes of the anti-Mormons. Speaking of this projected semi-invasion of Nauvoo and the preparations made for the start, Governor Ford says:
I observed that some of the people became more and more excited and inflammatory the further the preparations were advanced. Occasional threats came to my ears of destroying the city and murdering or expelling the inhabitants.I had no objection to ease the terrors of the people by such a display of force, and was most anxious also to search for the alleged apparatus for making counterfeit money; and in fact to inquire into all the charges made against that people, if I could have been assured of my command against mutiny and insubordination. But I gradually learned to my entire satisfaction that there was a plan to get the troops into Nauvoo, and there to begin the war, probably by some of our own party, or some of the seceding Mormons, taking advantage of the night to fire on our own force, and then lay it on the Mormons.I was satisfied that there were those amongst us fully capable of such an act, hoping that in the alarm, bustle and confusion of a militia camp, the truth could not be discovered, and that it might lead to the desired collision.[6]
I observed that some of the people became more and more excited and inflammatory the further the preparations were advanced. Occasional threats came to my ears of destroying the city and murdering or expelling the inhabitants.
I had no objection to ease the terrors of the people by such a display of force, and was most anxious also to search for the alleged apparatus for making counterfeit money; and in fact to inquire into all the charges made against that people, if I could have been assured of my command against mutiny and insubordination. But I gradually learned to my entire satisfaction that there was a plan to get the troops into Nauvoo, and there to begin the war, probably by some of our own party, or some of the seceding Mormons, taking advantage of the night to fire on our own force, and then lay it on the Mormons.
I was satisfied that there were those amongst us fully capable of such an act, hoping that in the alarm, bustle and confusion of a militia camp, the truth could not be discovered, and that it might lead to the desired collision.[6]
Such are the reasons assigned by Governor Ford for abandoning his plan of marching all his forces into Nauvoo. If he could persuade himself to believe that he had those under his command, who would resort to the means he himself alludes to in the foregoing, to bring about a collision with the citizens of Nauvoo; and that he was fearful that his whole command would mutiny when once in the city of the Saints, it is unfortunate for the fame of Governor Ford that his fears could not be aroused for the safety of his prisoners, who were left at the mercy of those same militia forces, of which he himself was distrustful, the only barrier between them and the fury of this mob-militia being a guard made up of their bitterest enemies.
To satisfy the anti-Mormons the governor told them he would take a small force with him and go in search of counterfeiting apparatus and would make a speech to the citizens of Nauvoo, detailing to them the consequences of any acts of violence on their part.En routefor Nauvoo, however, some of his officers expressed fears that the Smiths would be killed, and the governor informs us that he reduced his forces, leaving part of his command on the way, and pushed with all speed for Nauvoo; that he might make a speech to the people there and return to Carthage that night, giving up the idea of remaining several days to search for counterfeiting apparatus and making inquiries into the charges against the Mormon people. Leaving him to pursue to his journey to Nauvoo, I return to note the events which took place at the jail.
Cyrus H. Wheelock visited Carthage jail early on the morning of the 27th, and when he departed for Nauvoo to secure witnesses and documents for the impending trial on the charge of treason, he left with the prisoners an old-fashioned, pepper-box revolver. Before leaving Carthage, however, he went to Governor Ford, (he leaving Carthage before the governor started,) and expressed his fears for the safety of the prisoners. He then started for Nauvoo, but with a heavy heart.
Dan Jones was sent to Quincy by the Prophet with a letter to lawyer O. H. Browning, applying for his professional services in the pending trial. The letter was handed to Jones by A. W. Babbitt, the former not being allowed to enter the jail after leaving it in the morning. The mob being informed by the guard of the letter, set up the cry that Joe Smith was sending an order by Jones to the Nauvoo Legion to come and rescue him. A crowd surrounded Jones and demanded the letter but the fearless Welshman refused to give it up; whereupon some were in favor of forcing it from him, but there was a disagreement in the crowd about that, and while they were discussing the point, Jones mounted his horse and rode away.
Stephen Markham being seen on the streets in the afternoon, a number of the Carthage Greys captured him, put him on his horse and forced him out of town at the point of the bayonet, notwithstanding he held a pass from the governor to go in and out of the jail at pleasure. This left but Elders Richards and Taylor with the Prophet and his brother in the prison. They passed the afternoon in pleasant conversation, reading and singing. Elder Taylor sand a hymn entitled "A poor wayfaring man of grief:" a peculiarly plaintive piece of poetry, and admirably suited to their circumstances:
A poor wayfaring man of grief Hath often crossed me on the way, Who sued so humbly for relief That I could never answer, Nay.I had not power to ask His name, Whereto He went or whence He came, Yet there was something in His eye That won my love, I knew not why.Once when my scanty meal was spread, He entered, not a word He spake; Just perishing for want of bread, I gave Him all, He blessed it, brake,And ate, but gave me part again; Mine was an angel's portion then, For while I fed with eager haste, The crust was manna to my taste.I spied Him where a fountain burst Clear from the rock; His strength was gone, The heedless water mocked His thirst, He heard it, saw it hurrying on.I ran and raised the suff'rer up; Thrice from the stream He drained my cup, Dipped, and returned it running o'er; I drank and never thirsted more.'Twas night; the floods were out; it blew A winter-hurricane aloof; I heard His voice abroad, and flew To bid Him welcome to my roof.I warmed and clothed and cheered my guest, And laid Him on my couch to rest, Then made the earth my bed, and seemed In Eden's garden while I dreamed.Stript, wounded, beaten nigh to death, I found Him by the highway side; I roused His pulse, brought back His breath, Revived His spirit, and suppliedWine, oil, refreshment—He was healed; I had myself a wound concealed, But from that hour forgot the smart, And peace bound up my broken heart.In prison I saw Him next, condemned To meet a traitor's doom at morn; The tide of lying tongues I stemmed, And honored Him 'mid shame and scorn.My friendship's utmost zeal to try, He asked if I for Him would die; The flesh was weak, my blood ran chill, But the free spirit cried, "I will!"Then in a moment to my view, The stranger darted from disguise; The tokens in His hands I knew, The Savior stood before mine eyes.He spake, and my poor name He named, "Of Me thou hast not been ashamed; These deeds shall thy memorial be, Fear not, thou didst them unto Me."
A poor wayfaring man of grief Hath often crossed me on the way, Who sued so humbly for relief That I could never answer, Nay.
I had not power to ask His name, Whereto He went or whence He came, Yet there was something in His eye That won my love, I knew not why.
Once when my scanty meal was spread, He entered, not a word He spake; Just perishing for want of bread, I gave Him all, He blessed it, brake,
And ate, but gave me part again; Mine was an angel's portion then, For while I fed with eager haste, The crust was manna to my taste.
I spied Him where a fountain burst Clear from the rock; His strength was gone, The heedless water mocked His thirst, He heard it, saw it hurrying on.
I ran and raised the suff'rer up; Thrice from the stream He drained my cup, Dipped, and returned it running o'er; I drank and never thirsted more.
'Twas night; the floods were out; it blew A winter-hurricane aloof; I heard His voice abroad, and flew To bid Him welcome to my roof.
I warmed and clothed and cheered my guest, And laid Him on my couch to rest, Then made the earth my bed, and seemed In Eden's garden while I dreamed.
Stript, wounded, beaten nigh to death, I found Him by the highway side; I roused His pulse, brought back His breath, Revived His spirit, and supplied
Wine, oil, refreshment—He was healed; I had myself a wound concealed, But from that hour forgot the smart, And peace bound up my broken heart.
In prison I saw Him next, condemned To meet a traitor's doom at morn; The tide of lying tongues I stemmed, And honored Him 'mid shame and scorn.
My friendship's utmost zeal to try, He asked if I for Him would die; The flesh was weak, my blood ran chill, But the free spirit cried, "I will!"
Then in a moment to my view, The stranger darted from disguise; The tokens in His hands I knew, The Savior stood before mine eyes.
He spake, and my poor name He named, "Of Me thou hast not been ashamed; These deeds shall thy memorial be, Fear not, thou didst them unto Me."
Late in the afternoon Mr. Stigall, the jailor, came in and suggested that they would be safer in the cells. Joseph told him they would go in after supper. Turning to Elder Richards the Prophet said; "If we go to the cell will you go in with us?"
Elder Richards. "Brother Joseph, you did not ask me to cross the river with you [referring to the time when they crossed the Mississippi,en routefor the Rocky Mountains]—you did not ask me to come to Carthage—you did not ask me to come to jail with you—and do you think I would forsake you now? But I will tell you what I will do; if you are condemned to be hung for treason, I will be hung in your stead, and you shall go free."
Joseph. "But you cannot."
Richards. "I will, though."
This conversation took place a little after five o'clock, and very soon afterwards the attack was made on the jail. It appears that a crowd came from the direction of Warsaw that evidently had an understanding with the Carthage Greys and the members of that company on guard at the jail, since the latter, without question, had but blank cartridges in their guns; and the attack was made under the very eyes of the rest of the company encamped but two or three hundred yards away on the public square, and they made no effort whatever to prevent the assaults on the prison.
The guard at the jail played their part well. They fired blank shots at the advancing mob, or discharged their pieces in the air. They were "overpowered" (?), and the prison was in the hands of an infuriated mob. A rush was made for the room where the prisoners were lodged, and a shower of lead was sent in through the door and the windows from those on the outside.
As no account that I could possibly write would equal that given by an eye-witness of the whole transaction, I here quote entire the account of the tragedy by Elder Willard Richards, as it appeared in theTimes and Seasonssoon after the event, under the caption,
TWO MINUTES IN JAIL.A shower of musket balls was thrown up the stairway against the door of the prison in the second story, followed by many rapid footsteps.While Generals Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Mr. Taylor and myself, who were in the front chamber, closed the door of our room against the entry at the head of the stairs, and placed ourselves against it, there being no lock on the door, and no catch that was unsealable.The door is a common panel, and as soon as we heard the feet at the stair's head, a ball was sent through the door, which passed between us, and showed that our enemies were desperadoes and we must change our position.General Joseph Smith, Mr. Taylor and myself sprang back to the front part of the room. General Hyrum Smith retreated two-thirds across the chamber directly in front of and facing the door. A ball was sent through the door which hit Hyrum on the side of his nose, when he fell backwards, extending at full length without moving his feet. From the holes in his vest (the day was warm and no one had their coats on but myself) pantaloons, drawers, and shirt, it appeared that a ball must have been thrown from without through the window, which entered the back of his right side, and passing through, lodged against his watch, which was in the right vest pocket, completely pulverizing the crystal and face, tearing off the hands and mashing the whole body of the watch. At the same instant the ball from the door entered his nose.As he struck the floor he exclaimed emphatically, "I am a dead man." Joseph looked towards him and responded, "Oh dear! Brother Hyrum," and opening the door two or three inches with his left hand, discharged one barrel of a six-shooter (the pistol left him by C. H. Wheelock) at random in the entry, from whence a ball grazed Hyrum's breast, and entering his throat passed into his head, while other muskets were aimed at him as some balls hit him.Joseph continued snapping his revolver round the casing of the door into the space as before, three barrels of which missed fire, while Mr. Taylor with a walking stick stood by his side and knocked down the bayonets and muskets, which were constantly discharging through the doorway, while I stood by him ready to lend any assistance, with another stick, but could not come within striking distance without going directly in front of the muzzles of the guns.When the revolver failed, we had no more firearms, and expected an immediate rush of the mob, and the doorway full of muskets half way in the room, and no hope but instant death from within. Mr. Taylor rushed into the window, which is some fifteen or twenty feet from the ground. When his body was nearly on a balance, a ball from the door within entered his leg, and a ball from without struck his watch, a patent lever, in his vest pocket near his left breast, and smashed it into "pie," leaving the hands standing at five o'clock, sixteen minutes, and twenty-six seconds, the force of which ball threw him back on the floor, and he rolled under the bed which stood by his side, where he lay motionless, the mob continuing to fire upon him, cutting away a piece of flesh from his left hip as large as a man's hand, and were hindered only by my knocking down their muzzles with a stick; while they continued to reach their guns into the room, probably left handed, and aimed their discharge so far round as almost to reach us in the corner of the room to where we retreated and dodged, and there I commenced the attack with my stick.Joseph attempted as a last resort to leap the same window from which Mr. Taylor fell, when two balls pierced him from the door, and one entered his right breast from without, and he fell outward exclaiming, "O Lord, my God!" As his feet went out of the window my head went in, the balls whistling all round. He fell on his left side a dead man. At this instant the cry was raised, "He's leaped the window," and the mob on the stairs and in the entry ran out.I withdrew from the window thinking it no use to leap out on a hundred bayonets, then round Gen. Smith's body. Not satisfied with this, I again reached my head out of the window, and watched some seconds to see if there were any signs of life, regardless of my own, determined to see the end of him I loved. Being fully satisfied that he was dead, with a hundred men near his body and more coming round the corner of the jail, and expecting a return to our room, I rushed toward the prison door at the head of the stairs, and through the entry from whence the firing had proceeded, to learn if the doors into the prison were open. When near the entry Mr. Taylor cried out "Take me!" I pressed my way until I found all doors unbarred, returning instantly, caught Mr. Taylor under my arm, and rushed up the stairs into the dungeon, or inner prison, stretched him on the floor and covered him with a bed in such a manner as not likely to be perceived, expecting an immediate return of the mob. I said to Mr. Taylor, "This is a hard case to lay you on the floor, but if your wounds are not fatal, I want you to live to tell the story." I expected to be shot the next moment, and stood before the doors awaiting the onset.
A shower of musket balls was thrown up the stairway against the door of the prison in the second story, followed by many rapid footsteps.
While Generals Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Mr. Taylor and myself, who were in the front chamber, closed the door of our room against the entry at the head of the stairs, and placed ourselves against it, there being no lock on the door, and no catch that was unsealable.
The door is a common panel, and as soon as we heard the feet at the stair's head, a ball was sent through the door, which passed between us, and showed that our enemies were desperadoes and we must change our position.
General Joseph Smith, Mr. Taylor and myself sprang back to the front part of the room. General Hyrum Smith retreated two-thirds across the chamber directly in front of and facing the door. A ball was sent through the door which hit Hyrum on the side of his nose, when he fell backwards, extending at full length without moving his feet. From the holes in his vest (the day was warm and no one had their coats on but myself) pantaloons, drawers, and shirt, it appeared that a ball must have been thrown from without through the window, which entered the back of his right side, and passing through, lodged against his watch, which was in the right vest pocket, completely pulverizing the crystal and face, tearing off the hands and mashing the whole body of the watch. At the same instant the ball from the door entered his nose.
As he struck the floor he exclaimed emphatically, "I am a dead man." Joseph looked towards him and responded, "Oh dear! Brother Hyrum," and opening the door two or three inches with his left hand, discharged one barrel of a six-shooter (the pistol left him by C. H. Wheelock) at random in the entry, from whence a ball grazed Hyrum's breast, and entering his throat passed into his head, while other muskets were aimed at him as some balls hit him.
Joseph continued snapping his revolver round the casing of the door into the space as before, three barrels of which missed fire, while Mr. Taylor with a walking stick stood by his side and knocked down the bayonets and muskets, which were constantly discharging through the doorway, while I stood by him ready to lend any assistance, with another stick, but could not come within striking distance without going directly in front of the muzzles of the guns.
When the revolver failed, we had no more firearms, and expected an immediate rush of the mob, and the doorway full of muskets half way in the room, and no hope but instant death from within. Mr. Taylor rushed into the window, which is some fifteen or twenty feet from the ground. When his body was nearly on a balance, a ball from the door within entered his leg, and a ball from without struck his watch, a patent lever, in his vest pocket near his left breast, and smashed it into "pie," leaving the hands standing at five o'clock, sixteen minutes, and twenty-six seconds, the force of which ball threw him back on the floor, and he rolled under the bed which stood by his side, where he lay motionless, the mob continuing to fire upon him, cutting away a piece of flesh from his left hip as large as a man's hand, and were hindered only by my knocking down their muzzles with a stick; while they continued to reach their guns into the room, probably left handed, and aimed their discharge so far round as almost to reach us in the corner of the room to where we retreated and dodged, and there I commenced the attack with my stick.
Joseph attempted as a last resort to leap the same window from which Mr. Taylor fell, when two balls pierced him from the door, and one entered his right breast from without, and he fell outward exclaiming, "O Lord, my God!" As his feet went out of the window my head went in, the balls whistling all round. He fell on his left side a dead man. At this instant the cry was raised, "He's leaped the window," and the mob on the stairs and in the entry ran out.
I withdrew from the window thinking it no use to leap out on a hundred bayonets, then round Gen. Smith's body. Not satisfied with this, I again reached my head out of the window, and watched some seconds to see if there were any signs of life, regardless of my own, determined to see the end of him I loved. Being fully satisfied that he was dead, with a hundred men near his body and more coming round the corner of the jail, and expecting a return to our room, I rushed toward the prison door at the head of the stairs, and through the entry from whence the firing had proceeded, to learn if the doors into the prison were open. When near the entry Mr. Taylor cried out "Take me!" I pressed my way until I found all doors unbarred, returning instantly, caught Mr. Taylor under my arm, and rushed up the stairs into the dungeon, or inner prison, stretched him on the floor and covered him with a bed in such a manner as not likely to be perceived, expecting an immediate return of the mob. I said to Mr. Taylor, "This is a hard case to lay you on the floor, but if your wounds are not fatal, I want you to live to tell the story." I expected to be shot the next moment, and stood before the doors awaiting the onset.
There was, however, no further onset made on the jail.
Three minutes after the attack was commenced, Hyrum Smith lay stretched out on the floor of the prison dead, Elder Taylor lay not far from him savagely wounded, the Prophet was lying by the side of the well curb,[7]just under the window from which he had attempted to leap, the plighted faith of a State was broken, its honor trailed in the dust, and a stain of innocent blood affixed to its escutcheon which shall remain a disgrace forever.
When it was known that the Prophet was killed, consternation seemed to seize the mob and they fled, for the most part, in the direction of Warsaw, in the utmost confusion. Such wild confusion reigned in Carthage that it was nearly midnight before Elder Richards could obtain any help or refreshments for Elder Taylor. At last the wounded man was taken to the Hamilton House and his wounds dressed. The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were also taken to the same place and laid out.
Meantime Governor Ford had gone to Nauvoo, where he arrived some time in the afternoon. Several thousands assembled to hear his speech, that he went there to deliver; and he insulted them, by assuming that all that their worst enemies had said of them was true, and threatened them with most dire calamities. He himself in his history of Illinois, says the people manifested some impatience and anger when he referred to the misconduct alleged against them by their enemies; and well they might, for baser falsehoods were never put in circulation to slander a people.
The governor was invited to stay all night, but he refused and left the city about 6:30 in the evening for Carthage, his escort riding full speed up Main street performing the sword exercise; they passed the temple, and so left the city.
Three miles out of governor and his escort met George D. Grant and David Bettisworth riding toward Nauvoo like madmen with the sad news of the death of Joseph and Hyrum. The governor took them back with him to Grant's house, one and one half miles east of Carthage, that the news might not reach Nauvoo until he had had time to have the county records removed from the court house, and warn the people of Carthage to flee, as he expected an immediate attack from the Nauvoo Legion, and that the whole country would be laid waste.
After being taken back to Carthage, George D. Grant mounted another horse and rode that night with the awful news to Nauvoo.
On the arrival of Governor Ford at Carthage the following note was addressed to Mrs. Emma Smith and Major-General Dunham of the Nauvoo Legion, dated Midnight, Hamilton House, Carthage:
The governor has just arrived; says all things shall be inquired into, and all right measures taken. I say to all citizens of Nauvoo—My brethren, be still, and know that Godreigns. Don't rush out of the city—don't rush to Carthage—stay at home and be prepared for an attack from Missouri mobbers. The governor will render every assistance possible—has sent orders for troops, Joseph and Hyrum are dead, will prepare to move the bodies as soon as possible.The people of the county are greatly excited, and fear the Mormons will come out and take vengeance. I have pledged my word the Mormons will stay at home as soon as they can be informed, and no violence will be on their part, and say to my brethren in Nauvoo, in the name of the Lord, be still; be patient, only let such friends as choose come here to see the bodies. Mr. Taylor's wounds are dressed, and not serious. I am sound.WILLARD RICHARDS.
The governor has just arrived; says all things shall be inquired into, and all right measures taken. I say to all citizens of Nauvoo—My brethren, be still, and know that Godreigns. Don't rush out of the city—don't rush to Carthage—stay at home and be prepared for an attack from Missouri mobbers. The governor will render every assistance possible—has sent orders for troops, Joseph and Hyrum are dead, will prepare to move the bodies as soon as possible.
The people of the county are greatly excited, and fear the Mormons will come out and take vengeance. I have pledged my word the Mormons will stay at home as soon as they can be informed, and no violence will be on their part, and say to my brethren in Nauvoo, in the name of the Lord, be still; be patient, only let such friends as choose come here to see the bodies. Mr. Taylor's wounds are dressed, and not serious. I am sound.
WILLARD RICHARDS.
After the note was prepared the governor wrote an order to the people of Nauvoo to defend themselves, and then about one o'clock in the morning went out on the public square and advised all present to disperse, as he expected the Mormons would be so exasperated that they would burn the town. Upon this the people of Carthage fled in all directions, and the governor and hispossetook flight in the direction of Quincy; but there was no uprising and violence on the part of the Saints.
The next day the bodies of the murdered men were taken to Nauvoo. About one mile east of the temple, on Mullholland street, they were met by the people in solemn procession, under the direction of the city marshal. Neither tongue nor pen can ever describe the scene of sorrow and lamentation which was there beheld. The love of Joseph and Hyrum for the Saints was unbounded, and it had begotten in the people an affection for them that was equally dear and unselfish. They lived in the hearts of the Saints, and thousands would have laid down their lives willingly to have saved theirs. With their beloved and trusted leaders thus brutally snatched from them; under such circumstances of cruelty and official treachery, imagine, if you can, the mingled feelings of sorrow and righteous indignation that struggled in every heart, and sought expression!
Arriving at the Mansion, the bodies were taken into it to be prepared for burial; and Elder Willard Richards and others addressed some eight or ten thousand of the people in the open air. The Saints were advised to keep the peace. Elder Richards stated that he had pledged his honor and his life for their conduct. When the multitude heard that, notwithstanding the sense of outraged justice under which they labored, and this cruel invasion of the rights of liberty and life—in the very midst of their grief and excitement, with the means in their right hands to wreak a terrible vengeance, they voted to a man to trust to the LAW to deal with the assassins, and if that failed them, they would call upon God to avenge them of their wrongs! History records few actions so sublime as this; and it stands to this day a testimony of the devotion of the Latter-day Saints to law and order, the like of which is not paralleled in the history of our country, if in the world.
1. The manner of this incident about the revolt of the Carthage Greys is thus related in Gregg's History of Hancock County: "It seems that after the McDonough regiment had been disbanded, and were about to return home, they expressed a desire to see the prisoners, [Joseph and Hyrum]. The wish was reasonable, and as the easiest mode of gratifying it, they were drawn up in line, and General Deming with the two prisoners, one on each arm, and the Greys as an escort, passed along the line of troops, Deming introducing them as General Joseph Smith and General Hyrum Smith, of the Nauvoo Legion. The Greys not aware that this was done at the request of the McDonough men, and not satisfied to be made an escort to such a display, exhibited signs of dissatisfaction, and finally gave vent to their feelings by hisses and groans. As a punishment for this offense they were afterward ordered under arrest. In the meantime there was great excitement in the company. As a detachment of the troops was being detailed for the purpose of putting the general's order into execution the officer in command of the Greys addressed them a few words and then said: 'Boys will you submit to an arrest for so trifling an offense?' 'No!' was the unanimous response. 'Then load your pieces with ball,' was the sullen order. In the meantime some explanations had been made, which permitted General Deming to countermand the order of arrest, and the Greys were quietly marched back to their encampment."
This account says nothing of the fact that it was generally known, that the night before, Governor Ford had promised all the troops a view of Generals Smith, and the Greys had been in revolt at General Deming's headquarters before the party including Joseph and Hyrum reached the McDonough troops. Moreover, I was informed by Colonel H. G. Ferris, when in Carthage in 1885, investigating these matters, that when word arrived in that place that Joseph Smith would surrender himself to the authorities, if the governor would pledge him protection and a fair trial, the governor made a speech to the mixed multitude of troops and citizens in which he stated the proposition of the Smiths, and wanted to know if they would sustain him in pledging them protection to which they responded in the affirmative. There was some talk, too, of sending the Greys as a posse to escort the Smiths into Nauvoo. Against this proceeding General Deming protested and told Governor Ford that the pledge of protection made by the crowd and the troops was not to be depended upon, it was insincere, and that the lives of the Smiths were not to be trusted to the Greys. The governor however disregarded the warning of General Deming. Colonel Ferris was present at this meeting.—B. H. R.
2. In view of the great civil war which a few years later desolated the land it is clear that the above utterance was prophetic.
3. Ford's History of Illinois, p. 338.
4. For this conversation inextensoas reported by Elder John Taylor who was present, see Appendix IV.
5. This prediction was fulfilled. Elder Dan Jones went on a mission to Wales starting on the 28th of August, 1844, in company with Wilford Woodruff, and performed a most wonderful mission in his native land.
6. Ford's History of Illinois, page 340.
7. It is said that after Joseph fell by the well curb under the window from which he attempted to leap, he was set up against that curb and Colonel Levi Williams ordered four men to fire at him, which they did. It is then said that a ruffian bareheaded and barefooted, his pantaloons rolled up above his knees and his shirt sleeves above his elbows, approached the dead Prophet bowie-knife in hand with the intention it is supposed of severing the head from the body. He had raised his hand to strike, when a light so sudden and powerful flashed upon the bloody scene that the mob was terror-stricken. The arm of the would-be mutilator of the dead fell powerless at his side, the four muskets of those who fired at him fell to the ground, while their owners stood like marble statues unable to move, or join their companions in the hurried and confused retreat they were then making, and Colonel Williams had to call upon some of the retreating mob to carry them away. The history is based upon the statements of Wm. M. Daniels,—Blackenberry and a Miss Graham, but how far their statements are correct I have no means of judging. When at Carthage I became acquainted with W. R. Hamilton, son of the Mr. Hamilton who kept the Hamilton House, referred to several times in these pages, and who just previous to the murder of the Prophet and his brother had been enrolled as a member of the company of Carthage Greys. At the time of the attack on the jail he was on the public square and at once ran in the direction of the jail and was in full view of it all the time. He saw the Prophet appear at the window and half leap and half fall out of it. After which the mob fled precipitously. According to his statement there was no such an occurrence as setting the body against the well, etc. He claims to have been about the first who went to the body of the murdered man, and afterwards rendered some assistance in removing Elder Taylor and the bodies of the martyrs to his father's house.
It is worthy of note that nothing of all this is recorded by Willard Richards, and it smacks too much of the fanciful. There is too much deliberation in it to believe it to be the action of a mob.—R.
CONFUSION—CHOOSING A LEADER.
THE Saints at Nauvoo were now as sheep without a shepherd. They had never contemplated such a crisis as this. That their Prophet would be taken from them had not entered their minds, although in the closing days of his career he had frequently spoken of his fate if again he should fall into the hands of his enemies. On the twenty-second of June, five days preceding his death, at the conclusion of the consultation with several of Nauvoo's leading citizens, and at which time it was decided that the safest thing for himself and Hyrum to do was to go West, he remarks in his journal: "I told Stephen Markham that if I and Hyrum were ever taken again we should be massacred, or I was not a Prophet of God."
When the cowardly appeal made to him by false friends to return to Nauvoo, after he had crossed the Mississippi on his way to the West, was under consideration by himself and a few friends, he said to his brother, Hyrum Smith: "Brother Hyrum, you are the oldest, what shall we do?" Hyrum replied, "Let us go back and give ourselves up, and see the thing out." "If you go back," replied the Prophet, "I shall go with you, but we shall be butchered." Then again, after it was determined to adopt the course suggested by Hyrum, and the party was on the way to the river where they were to take boats for the Nauvoo side, the Prophet lingered behind the rest of the party talking with O. P. Rockwell. Those in advance shouted to them to come on. Joseph replied, "It is no use to hurry, for we are going back to be slaughtered."
On arriving at Nauvoo, Hyrum, too, seemed to have been impressed with a sense of their approaching fate, for on the morning of the twenty-fourth of June, when the first start was made for Carthage, he read the following significant passage in the Book of Mormon, and turned down the leaf upon it:
And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me, if they have not charity it mattereth not unto you, thou hast been faithful; wherefore thy garments are clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even to the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my father. And now I * * * * bid farewell unto the Gentiles; yea and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment seat of Christ, when all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood.[1]
And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me, if they have not charity it mattereth not unto you, thou hast been faithful; wherefore thy garments are clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even to the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my father. And now I * * * * bid farewell unto the Gentiles; yea and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment seat of Christ, when all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood.[1]
I have already quoted the pathetic words of the Prophet on meeting Captain Dunn's company of militia four miles out from Carthage, when he said: "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—He was murdered in cold blood."
I have also related the circumstance of his lingering to look at his farm as he left Nauvoo for the last time, and clearly intimated that he would never see it again. But notwithstanding these very plain intimations concerning his approaching death, the Saints apparently could not comprehend them. They did not sense them; and when his death so sudden and pitiful did come, it scarcely seemed possible to them that it had taken place. They were unprepared for it, and, as I say, were now like sheep without a shepherd.
Sidney Rigdon, the Prophet's first counselor, was in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He had removed from Nauvoo to Pittsburg, notwithstanding in a revelation[2]from God he had been required to make his home in Nauvoo, and stand in his office and calling of counselor and spokesman to the Prophet. The truth is that from the expulsion of the Saints from Missouri in 1838-9, Sidney Rigdon had been of but little service either to the Church or to the Prophet as a counselor. He was a man of admitted ability as an orator, but lacked discretion; a man of fervid imagination, but of inferior judgment; ambitious of place and honor, but without that steadiness of purpose and other qualities of soul which in time secure them. In the early years of The Church he suffered much for the cause of God, but he also complained much; especially was this the case in respect to the hardships endured in Missouri, and subsequently of his poverty and illness at Nauvoo. This habit of complaining doubtless did much to deprive him of the Spirit of the Lord; for at times it bordered upon blasphemy. More than once he was heard to say that Jesus Christ was a fool in suffering as compared with himself! Having lost, in part at least, the Spirit of the Lord, his interest in The Church and its work waned, and after the settlement at Nauvoo he was seldom seen in the councils of the Priesthood. Moreover, it was known that he was in sympathy and even in communication with some of the avowed enemies of Joseph, among others with that arch traitor, John C. Bennett, who was plotting the overthrow of both Joseph and The Church. It was doubtless these considerations which led Joseph to make an effort to get rid of Sidney Rigdon as counselor at the October conference in 1843.
On that occasion the Prophet represented to The Church that such had been the course of Sidney Rigdon that he considered it no longer his duty to sustain him as his counselor. Hyrum Smith, however, pleaded the cause of his fellow-counselor, and so strongly urged the Saints to deal mercifully with Sidney Rigdon, that when the question of sustaining him was presented to the conference, the Saints voted in his favor. "I have thrown him off my shoulders, and you have again put him on me," said Joseph. "You may carry him, but I will not." And so confident was he that Sidney Rigdon would continue to fail in the performance of his duty, that he ordained Elder Amasa Lyman to succeed him, both as counselor and spokesman. "Some of the Elders did not understand how Elder Lyman could be ordained to succeed Elder Rigdon, as The Church had voted to try him another year. Elder Joseph Smith was requested to give an explanation. Why, said he, by the same rule that Samuel anointed David to be king over Israel, while Saul was yet crowned. Please read the sixteenth chapter of first Samuel. Elder Smith's explanation, though short, proved a quietus to all their rising conjectures."[3]
Notwithstanding all his fair promises of amendment, Sidney Rigdon continued neglectful of his high duties, and if for a time his old-time enthusiasm revived—as it seemed to at the April conference following, it was as the flickering flame of a tallow dip only—not the steady rays of the ever-shining sun. He longed to return to the East; and notwithstanding the word of the Lord commanding him to make his home at Nauvoo, he frequently talked with Joseph about going to Pittsburg to live, and finally obtained his consent to go there, and take his family with him, and, as I said before, he was there when the martyrdom occurred.
William Law, who had been the Prophet's second counselor, was in open apostasy and rebellion against him. He had been and was the associate of a corrupt band of men bent on the destruction of the Prophet. Prompted by a spirit of mercy, the April conference of 1843 had passed without taking action against either William Law, or any of the other apostates; but on the eighteenth of April, at a council of the Priesthood, when six of the Twelve Apostles were present, William Law and several other apostates were excommunicated from The Church; and later William Law undertook the organization of a church after the pattern of the Church of Christ, but it was a miserable failure.
The Twelve Apostles were nearly all absent in the Eastern States on missions; and although messengers were sent to call them to Nauvoo immediately after the Prophet's martyrdom, it would be some time before they could arrive. So that it was a time of general anxiety and depression.
It was in the midst of such circumstances as these that Sidney Rigdon arrived in Nauvoo and demanded that he be appointed "guardian" of The Church. He ignored the members of the quorum of the Twelve who were in the city—Elders Willard Richards, John Taylor and Parley P. Pratt; he conferred with Elder William Marks, president of the stake of Nauvoo, and at once began agitating the question of appointing a "guardian" to The Church. He arrived in Nauvoo on Saturday, the third of August; next day he harangued the Saints, who assembled in the grove near the temple, upon the necessity of appointing a "guardian" to build up The Church to the martyred Prophet, and in the afternoon meeting urged William Marks to make a special appointment for the Saints to assemble on the following Tuesday for that purpose. Elder Marks was in sympathy with Sidney Rigdon, but for some reason he refused to make the appointment for Tuesday, but made it for Thursday, the eighth of August. This was a most fortunate circumstance, since a sufficient number of the Twelve to make a majority of that quorum arrived on the evening of the sixth, and, of course, they were in time to be present at the meeting to be held on the eighth. The day previous to that meeting, however—the seventh of August—the Twelve called a meeting of the high council and high priests, before which they called on Sidney Rigdon to make a statement of his purposes and relate the revelation he claimed to have received at Pittsburg, which prompted his journey to Nauvoo. In substance he replied that the object of his visit was to offer himself to the Saints as a "guardian;" that it had been shown to him in vision at Pittsburg, that The Church must be built up to Joseph the martyr; that all the blessings the Saints could receive would be through their late Prophet; that no man could be a successor to Joseph; that The Church was not disorganized, though the head was gone; that he had been commanded to come to Nauvoo and see that The Church was governed properly, and propose himself to be a "guardian" to the people.[4]
To this Elder Brigham Young replied:
I do not care who leads this Church, even though it were Ann Lee; but one thing I must know, and that is, what God says about it. I have the keys and the means of obtaining the mind of God on the subject. * * * Joseph conferred upon our heads all the keys and powers belonging to the Apostleship which he himself held before he was taken away, and no man nor set of men can get between Joseph and the Twelve in this world or in the world to come. How often has Joseph said to the Twelve, I have laid the foundation and you must build thereon, for upon your shoulders the Kingdom rests.[5]
I do not care who leads this Church, even though it were Ann Lee; but one thing I must know, and that is, what God says about it. I have the keys and the means of obtaining the mind of God on the subject. * * * Joseph conferred upon our heads all the keys and powers belonging to the Apostleship which he himself held before he was taken away, and no man nor set of men can get between Joseph and the Twelve in this world or in the world to come. How often has Joseph said to the Twelve, I have laid the foundation and you must build thereon, for upon your shoulders the Kingdom rests.[5]
The next day was the one appointed by Sidney Rigdon for The Church to assemble and choose a "guardian." The attendance was large, as intense interest had been awakened upon the subject to be considered. Sidney Rigdon addressed the assembly, setting forth his claim to the "guardianship" of The Church. He had full opportunity to present his case and for one hour and a half spoke without interruption; but despite his reputation as an orator, he failed to convince the Saints that he was sent of God.
As soon as Sidney Rigdon had closed his speech, Elder Brigham Young arose and made a few remarks. It was on that occasion that he was transfigured before the people, so that through him the Saints heard the voice and felt the presence of their departed leader. George Q. Cannon, who was present on that occasion, says:
If Joseph had risen from the dead and again spoken in their hearing, the effect could not have been more startling than it was to many present at that meeting, it was the voice of Joseph himself; and not only was it the voice of Joseph which was heard but it seemed in the eyes of the people as if it were the very person of Joseph which stood before them. A more wonderful and miraculous event than was wrought that day in the presence of that congregation, we never heard of. The Lord gave His people a testimony that left no room for doubt as to who was the man chosen to lead them. They both saw and heard with their natural eyes and ears, and the words which were uttered came, accompanied by the convincing power of God, to their hearts, and they were filled with the Spirit and with great joy. There had been gloom, and in some hearts, probably, doubt and uncertainty, but now it was plain to all that here was the man upon whom the Lord had bestowed the necessary authority to act in their midst in Joseph's stead. On that occasion Brigham Young seemed to be transformed, and a change such as that we read of in the scriptures, as happening to the Prophet Elisha, when Elijah was translated in his presence, seemed to have taken place with him. The mantle of the Prophet Joseph had been left for Brigham. * * * The people said one to another: "The spirit of Joseph rests on Brigham;" they knew that he was the man chosen to lead them and they honored him accordingly. * * * As far as our observation went (we were only a boy at the time) the people were divided into three classes from the time of the death of Joseph up to this meeting of which we speak. One class felt clearly and understandingly that President Brigham Young was the man whose right it was to preside, he being the president of the Twelve Apostles, and that body being, through the death of Joseph and Hyrum, the presiding quorum of The Church. Another class were not quite clear as to who would be called to preside, but they felt very certain that Sidney Rigdon was not the man. They did not believe that God would choose a coward and traitor to lead His people, to both of which characters they believed Rigdon had a claim. The third class, and we think its members were few, was composed of those who had no clear views one way or the other. They were undecided in their feelings. * * * With very few exceptions, then, the people returned to their homes from that meeting filled with great rejoicing. All uncertainty and anxiety were removed. They had heard the voice of the shepherd and they knew it.
If Joseph had risen from the dead and again spoken in their hearing, the effect could not have been more startling than it was to many present at that meeting, it was the voice of Joseph himself; and not only was it the voice of Joseph which was heard but it seemed in the eyes of the people as if it were the very person of Joseph which stood before them. A more wonderful and miraculous event than was wrought that day in the presence of that congregation, we never heard of. The Lord gave His people a testimony that left no room for doubt as to who was the man chosen to lead them. They both saw and heard with their natural eyes and ears, and the words which were uttered came, accompanied by the convincing power of God, to their hearts, and they were filled with the Spirit and with great joy. There had been gloom, and in some hearts, probably, doubt and uncertainty, but now it was plain to all that here was the man upon whom the Lord had bestowed the necessary authority to act in their midst in Joseph's stead. On that occasion Brigham Young seemed to be transformed, and a change such as that we read of in the scriptures, as happening to the Prophet Elisha, when Elijah was translated in his presence, seemed to have taken place with him. The mantle of the Prophet Joseph had been left for Brigham. * * * The people said one to another: "The spirit of Joseph rests on Brigham;" they knew that he was the man chosen to lead them and they honored him accordingly. * * * As far as our observation went (we were only a boy at the time) the people were divided into three classes from the time of the death of Joseph up to this meeting of which we speak. One class felt clearly and understandingly that President Brigham Young was the man whose right it was to preside, he being the president of the Twelve Apostles, and that body being, through the death of Joseph and Hyrum, the presiding quorum of The Church. Another class were not quite clear as to who would be called to preside, but they felt very certain that Sidney Rigdon was not the man. They did not believe that God would choose a coward and traitor to lead His people, to both of which characters they believed Rigdon had a claim. The third class, and we think its members were few, was composed of those who had no clear views one way or the other. They were undecided in their feelings. * * * With very few exceptions, then, the people returned to their homes from that meeting filled with great rejoicing. All uncertainty and anxiety were removed. They had heard the voice of the shepherd and they knew it.