Nauvoo Township (part 2 of 4)

"Peter Hawes recalled a circumstance, which he had forgotten to mention, concerning a Mr. Smith who came from England and soon after died. The children had no one to protect them ; there was one girl 16 or 17 years old and a younger sister. Witness took these girls into his tamily out of pity. Wilson Law, then Major-General of the JXauvoo Legion, was familiar with the eldest daughter. AVitness cautioned the girl. Wilson was soon there again and went out in the evening with the girl, wlio, when charged by witness's wife, confessed that Wilson Law had seduced her. Wilson told her he could not keep her. The girl wept, made much ado, and many promises. Witness told her if she would do right she niight stay; but she did not keep her promise. Wilson came again and she went out with him. Witness required her to leave his house.

" Mayor said certain women came to complain to his wife, that they had caught Wilson Law w'ith the girl on the floor at Mr. Hawes' in the night.

" Councilor C. H. Smith proceeded to show the falsehood of Austin Cowles in the Expositor^ in relation to the revelation referred to, that it was in reference to former days, and not the present time, as related by Cowles.

'- Mayor said he had never preached the revelation in private, as he had in public; had not taught it to the anointed in the Church in private, which statement many present confirmed, that on inquiring concerning the passage in the resurrection concerning 'they neither marry nor are given in marriage,' etc., he recei\-ed for answer, ' Men in this life must marry in view of eternitj', otherwise they must remain as angels, or be single in heaven, which was the amount of the revelation referred to; ' and the Mayor spoke at considerable length in explanation of this principle and was willing for one to subscribe his name, to declare the Expositor and whole eetablishmeut a nuisance.

2 o'clock P. M. " The Clerk of the Council bore testimony to the good character and high standing of Mr. Smith and his family, whose daughter was seduced by Wilson Law, as stated by the last witness before the morning Council; that Mrs. Smith died near the mouth of the Mississippi, and the father and eldest daughter died soon after their arrival in this place; and that the seduction of such a youthful, fatherless and innocent creature by such a man in high standing as the Major-General of the Nauvoo Legion was one of the darkest, damndest and foulest deeds on record.

" Mayor said the Constitution did not authorize the press to publish libels, and proposed that the Council make some provision for putting down the Nauvoo Expositor.

"Mayor read the statements of Francis M. Higbee from the Expositor and asked, 'Is it not treasonable against all chartered rights and privileges, and against the peace and happiness of the

"Mayor made a statement of what Wm. Law said before.the City Council under oath, that he was a friend to the Mayor, etc., etc., and asked if there were any present who recollected his statement, when scores i-esponded. Yes!

"Councilor Hunter was one of the grand jury; said Wm. Law stated before the grand jury that he did not say to the Council that he was Jose]ih's friend.

" Councilor Taylor continued: ' Wilson Law was President of this Coimcil during the passage of many ordinances, and referred to the Records. Wm. Law and Emmons were members of the Council; and Emmons has never objected to any ordinance while in the Council; but has been more like a cipher, and is now become editor of a libelous paper, and is trying to destroy ouk charter and ordinances.'

" He then read from the Constitution of the United States on the freedom of the press, and said, ' We are willing tliey should publish the truth; but it is unlawful to publish lil)els; the Expositor is a nuisance and stinks in the nose of every honest man.'

" Councilor Stiles said a nuisance was any thing that disturbs the peace of a community, and read Blackstone on Private Wrongs, vol. ii, page 4; and the whole community has to rest under the stigma of these falsehoods, referring to the Expositor\ and if we can prevent the issuing of any more slanderous communications, he would go in for it. It is right for this community to show a

"Alderman Bennett referred to the statement of the Expositor concerning the Municipal Court in the case of Jeremiah Smith as a libel, and considered the paper a public nuisance.

" Councilor Warrington considered his a peculiar situation, as he did not belong to any Chnrch or an}' part}'; thought it might be considered rather harsh for the Council to declare the paper a nuisance, and proposed giving a few days' limitation and assessing a fine of $3,000 for every libel, and if they would not cease publishing libels, to declare it a nuisance, and said the statutes made a provision for a fine of $500.

" Mayor replied that thej' threatened to shoot him when at Carthage, and the women and others dare not go to Carthage to prosecute; and read a libel from the Expositor concerning the imprisonment of Jeremiah Smith.

"Councilor H. Smith referred to the mortgages and property of the proprietors of the Expositor and thought there would be little chance of collecting damages for libels.

" Alderman E. Smith considered there was but one course to pursue; that the proprietors were out of the reach of the law; that our course was to put an end to the thing at once; believed, by what he had heard, that if the city did not do it, others would.

" Councilor Hunter believed it to be a nuisance; referred to the opinion of Judge Pope on habeas corpus^ and spoke in favor of the charter, etc.; asked Francis M. Higbee before the grand jury if he was not the man he saw at Joseph's house making professions of friendship; Higbee said he was, not [hundreds know this statement to be false] ; he also asked R. D. Foster if he did not state before hundreds of people that he believed Joseph to be a prophet; ' No,' said Foster. They were under oath when they said it. [Many hundreds of people are witness to this perjury.]

"Alderman Spencer accorded with the views expressed, that the Nauvoo Expositor is a nuisance; did not consider it wise to give them time to trumpet a thousand lies. Their property could not pay for it; if we pass only a fine or imprisonment, have we any confidence that thej- will desist? None at all! We have found these men covenant-breakers with God! with their wives ! ! etc. Have we any hope of their doing better? Their cliaracters have gone before them; shall they be suifered to go on, and bring a mob upon us and murder our women and children, and burn our beautiful city? No! I had rather my blood would be spilled at once, and would like to have the press removed as soon as the ordinance would allow, and wish the matter might be put into the hands of the Mayor, and everybody stand by him in the execution of his duties, and hush every murmur.

" Councilor Levi Richards said he had felt deeply on this subject, and concurred fully in the view General Smith had 'expressed of it this day;' thought it unnecessary to repeat what the Council perfectly understood; considered private interest as nothing in comparison'with the public good. Every time a line was formed in the far West he was there, for what? To defend it against just such scoundrels and influence as the Nauvoo Expositor and its supporters were directly calculated to bring against us again. Considered the doings of the Council this day of immense moment, not to this city alone, but to the whole world; would go in to put a stop to the thing at once; let it be thrown out of this city, and the responsibilit}' of countenancing such a press be taken ofl' our shoulders and fall on the State if corrupt enough to sustain it.

" Councilor Phineas Eichards said that he had not forgotten the transactions at Haun's Mills, and that he recollected that his son, George Spencer, then lay in the well referred to, on the day previous, without a winding-sheet, shroud, or coffin. He said he could not sit still when he saw the same spirit raging in this place; he considered the publication of the Expositor as much murderous at heart as David was before the death of Uriah. Was for making a short work of it; was prepared to take his stand by the Mayor, and whatever he proposes, would stand by him to the last. The quicker it is stopped the better.

"Councilor Phelps had investigated the Constitution, Charter, and laws; the power to declare that office a nuisance is granted to us, in the Springfield charter, and a resolution declaring it a nuisance is all that is required.

"John Birney sworn: - Said Francis M. Higbee and Wm. Lftw declared they had commenced their ojserations and would carry them out, law or no law.

" Councilor Phelps continued, and referred to Wilson Law in destroying the character of a child, an orphan child, who had the charge of another child.

"Warren Smith sworn: - Said F. M. Higbee came to him and proposed to have him go in as a partner in making bogus money. Higbee said he would not work for a living; that witness might go in with him if he would advance fifty dollars, and showed him (witness) a half dollar he said was made in his dies.

" Councilor Phelps continued, and said he felt deeper tliis day than ever he felt before, and wanted to know, by ' Yes,' if there were any present who wanted to avenge the blood of that innocent female who liad been seduced by the then Major-General of the Nauvoo Legion, Wilson Law, when ' Yes ' resounded from every quarter of the house. He then referred to the tea plot at Boston, and asked if anybody's rights were taken away with that transaction, and 'Are we offering, or have we offered to take away the rights of any one tiiese two days?' {No!!! resounded from every quarter.) He then referred also to Law's grinding the poor during the scarcity of grain, while the poor had nothing but themselves to grind; and spoke at great length in support of active measures to put down iniquity aud suppress the spirit of mobocracy.

Resolved, By the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, that the printing office from whence issues the Nauvoo Expositor is a public nuisance, and also all of said Nauvoo Ei-positcn which may be or exist in said estabUshment; and^ the Mayor is instructed to cause said printing estabUshment and papers to be removed without delaj', in such manner as he shall direct.

This certifies that the foregoing is a true and correct synopsis of the proceedings of the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, on the 8th and 10th days of June, isfi, in relation to the Nauvoo Expositor and proprietors, as taken from the minutes of said Coimcll.

CiTT OF Nacvoo. \ To the ULirshnl of said City, Greeting: You are hereby commanded to destroy the printing press from whence issues the Nauvoo Expositor, and pi the tyjie of said printing establishment in the street, and burn aU the Expositors and libelous hand-bills found in said establishment; and if resistance be offered to your execution of this order, by the owners or others, demolish the house, and if any one threatens you, or the Mayor, or the ofBcers of the City, arrest those who threaten you and fail not to execute this order without delay and make due return hereon. By order of the City Council.

Joseph Smith, Mayor. Marshal's return - The within named press and type is destroyed and pied according to order, on this 10th day of June, 1844, at about 8 o'clock, p. m.

You are hereby commanded to hold the Nauvoo Legion in readiness, forthwith to execute the City ordinances, and especially to remove the printing establishment of the Nauvoo Expositor-, aud this you are required to do at sight, under the penalty of the laws; provided the JIarshal shall require it, and need your services.

" As there are a number of statetnents in circulation which have for their object the injury of the ' Latter-Day Saints,' all of which are false, and prompted by black-hearted villians, I therefore deem it my duty to disabuse the public mind in regard to them, and to give a plain statement of facts which have taken place in the citv within a few days past, and which has brought upon us the dis'pleasure of the unprincipled and the uninformed, and seems to afford an opportunity to our enemies to unite and arouse themselves to mob; aud alreadj- they have commenced their hellish operations by driving a ^Q\y defenseless Mormons from their houses and homes in the vicinity of AVarsaw and Carthage.

" A short time since a press was started in this city which had for its object the destruction of the institutions of the city, both civil and religious; its proprietors are a set of unprincipled scoundrels, who attempted in every conceivable way to defame the character of the most virtuous of our community, and change cur peaceful and prosperous city into a place as evil aud polluted as their own black hearts. To rid the city of a paper so filthy and pestilential as this, becomes the duty of every good citizen who loves good order and morality; a complaint was made before the City Council, and after a full and impartial investigation it was voted, without one dissenting voice, a public nuisance, and to be immediately destroj'ed; the peace aud happiness of tlie place demanded it, the virtue of our wives and daughters demanded, and our consciences demanded it at our hands as conservators of the public peace. That we acted right in this matter we have the assurance of one of the ablest expounders of the laws of England, viz.: Biack- ' stone, tlie Constitution of the State of Illinois, and our own chartered rights. If then our charter gives us the power to decide what shall be a nuisance and cause it to be removed, where is the ofl'ense? What law is violated? If then no law has been violated, why this ridiculous excitement and bandying with lawless ruffians to destroy the happiness of a people whose religious motto is ' peace and good will toward all men V

" Our city is infested with a set of blacklegs, counterfeiters and debauchees, and that the proprietors of this press were of that class, the minutes of the Municipal Court fully testify, and in ridding our young and flourishing city of such characters, we are abused by not only villainous demagogues, but by some who, from their station and influence in society, ought rather to raise than depress the standard of human excellence. We have no disturbance or excitement among us, save what is made by the thousand and one idle rumors afloat in the country. Every one is protected in his person and ])ropertv, and but few cities of a population of twenty thousand people, in the United States, hath less of dissipation or vice of any kind, than the city of Nauvoo.

"Of the correctness of our conduct in this affair, we appeal to every high Court in the State, and to its ordeal we are willing to appear at any time that His Excellency, Governor Ford, shall please to call us before it. I therefore, in behalf of the Municipal Court of Nauvoo, warn the lawless not to be precipitate in any interference in our affairs, for as sure as there is a Cod in Israel we shall ride ti'iuniphant over all oppression.

It was stated at the time, that the brotliers, Joseph and Hyruin, occasionally, during tlie two days' discussion in the Council, highly excited, and indulged in violent language. The former is reported to have vehemently exclaimed: " If you will not stick by me, and wade to your knees in Hood, for my sake, you may go to h - I and he d - d, and I will go and build another city!" Hj-runi is reported to have used this ironical language: " We had better send a message to Long-nosed Sharp that if he does not look out, he might be visited with a pinch of snuff that will make him sneeze!" And continued: "If any person will go to Warsaw boldly, in daylight, and break the press of the Signal office with a sledge hammer, I will bear him out in it, if it costs me a farm. He could only be taken with a warrant at any rate, and what good would that do?"

Of course such language would not do to be reported in the organ. It is proper, however, to state that Hyrum and his friends made emphatic denial of having uttered threats against the Signal or its editor.

The foregoing report in the extra is to be taken as conclusive ol the reasons for the destruction of the press. When analyzed they resolve themselves into this: Emmons was poor when he came to the cit3', with only two shirts to his back; the Laws oppressed the poor, by adhering to their rules in grinding, and they had dunned the prophet for money due; Dr. Foster had been too intimate with a sister in Ohio, and besides had written the Mayor a sauc}' letter; Wilson Law had seduced another sister; they had all misrepresented the spiritual-wife doctrine; and all this amounted to treason and rebellion against the independent sovereignt}' and kingdom of Nauvoo; and, therefore, their printing press was a nuisance, and must be destroyed. Even in this the Mayor transcended the authority given him by the Council. The resolution instructed him to abate the nuisance by removal; he issued his order to the City Marshal to destroy the press and pi the types in the street, and, if necessary, demolish the house, and arrest all who oppose.

destruction of the press, on the charge of riot. These writs were placed in the hands of an officer, who, with a posse, went to the city and arrested a nuniber of persons charged. The habeas corpus was again applied, and they were "honorably discharged!"

" Meanwhile the whole county was in commotion. Public meetings were held at various points, and the people called to arm for the approaching crisis. The following resolutions were adopted at "Warsaw and afterward at Carthage, by acclamation:

Resolved, That the time, in our opinion, has arrived, when the adherents of Smith as a body should be driven from the sm-rounding settlements into Nauvoo. That the prophet and his miscreant adherents should then be demanded at their hands, and if not smrendered, a "war of extermination should be waged to their entire destruction, if necessary for our protection.

It is proper here to state that there were at this time and even afterward while the Mormons remained, four classes of citizens in the county: 1. The Mormons themselves; 2. A class called Jack- Mormons, who, not members of the church, adhered to and sustained them for mercenary or political gain; 3. Old citizens who were Anti-Mormons at heart, but who refused to countenance anj' but lawful measures for redress of grievances; and i. Anti-Mormons who. now that the crisis had come, advocated " war and extermination." Some of the third class were denounced as Jacks, by the extremists; though the great body of them acted throughout with the foitrth class, in all but their extreme measures.

All over the county men were arming, organizing and drilling, havinw been notified by the officers that the posse comitatus would be called out to assist in making the arrests. A great want existed in the absence of arms and ammunition. Agents were seut to Qnincy, to St. Louis and other places. At St. Louis a cannon and a lot of ammunition were procured and brought to Warsaw. The authorities of the town voted SLOOO for supplies. A deputation having been sent to Gov. Ford, at Springfield, he decided to visit the county in person, and judge for himself.

In much that follows regai-ding the death of the Smiths, and the events leading thereto and subsequent, we condense from Ford's History, correcting his evident mistakes, and his many distortions of facts in order to make a case against the old citizens.

Upon the Governor's arrival at Carthage he found an armed force collected and collecting, while another was assembling at Warsaw. Gen. Deming had also called for the militia of McDonough and Schuyler counties. The Governor at once placed all the troops under orders and under command of their proper officers. He next summoned tlie Mayor and City Council of Nauvoo to present their side of the question, which they did, through a committee sent to him. After some considerable delay and indecision as to what course to pursue, "a force of ten men was sent with the constable to make the arrest and to guard the prisoners to head- quarters." The officer made the arrests of the Maj'orand Councilors, who signitied their willingness to accoinpan>' him to Carthage at eight o'clock next morning. Eight o'clock came, but the accused failed to appear, and the pos>>e marched back to Carthage witliout them.

This incensed the Governor; he blamed the officer for coming M-ithout them, very unjustly. The officer knew better than His Excellenc}' the ways of the accused. He knew if they had intended submission, they would have ]ireseuted themselves at the time; and that if they did not, -aw officer and ten men would iind it an uphill business to hunt out and bring away an equal number, from the midst of two or three thousand armed men.

Next the Governor demanded that the State arms in possession of the Legion should be delivered up; and they delivered three pieces of cannon and 220 stand of small arms, of 300 which had been distributed to it by Quarter-Master General Bennett.

The surrender of the chiefs being insisted on, on the 2ith the prophet, his brother Hyrum, some members of the City Council, and othei-s, came in and surrendered to the officer holding the writs, and voluntarily entered into recognizances to appear at court.

In the mean time a new warrant charging Joseph and Hyrum with treason had been issued, and they were again arrested b}' the constable. The charge of treason was based on the alleged fact of levying war against the State, by declaring martial law, and ordering out the legion to resist the execution of the laws. Here historian Ford, in order to find fault with the Hancock people, gives us a new and uovel definition of treason. He says:

Their actual guiltiness of the charge would depend upon circumstances. If their opponents had been seeking to put the law in force in good faith, and nothing more, then an array of military force in open resistance to the posse C(>mrt<(?«s and the militia of the State, most probably would have araomited to treason. But if those opponents mainly intended to use the process of the law, the militia of the State, and the posse comitatus, as cat's-paws to compass the possession of their persons for the purpose of murdering them afterward, as the sequel demonstrated the fact to be, it might well be doubted whether they were guilty of treason. - [Ford's Hist. III., p. 337.

So that treason, instead of depending upon the acts and intentions of the person charged, is to be measured by the! acts and intentions of others. It is a principle of law that intention must be taken into account; but it comes strangely from the Governor of a State, that to constitute crime, the intentions of the people who are endeavoring to bring a criminal to justice, rather than his own, are to be considered. But by what process does Gov. Ford so summarily arrive at the intentions of those he styles the "opponents" of the Mormon leaders? "5

Neither party being prepared for the examination on the charge of treason, .the Smiths were committed to the county jail for greater security.

The Governor now decided to march his force into Nauvoo, but does not seem to have had any clearly defined purpose in so doing. Tlie morning of the 27tli was fixed on for tlie march, and on the 26th word was sent to tlie troops at Warsaw to meet liim and the main body at Golden's Point, about seven miles from the city; but on the 27th he wavered in his intention of going with a force into the city, and called a council of oificers to consult. A small majority voted in favor of going, but the Governor took the responsibility, and ordered the troops disbanded, excepting three companies, two to remain at Carthage, and one to accompany himself and a few friends to Nauvoo. Word to this effect was sent to the Warsaw troops, who were already on the march; and they were met by the messenger on the pi-airie before reaching Golden's Point. Here, much to their dissatisfaction, the officer disbanded them. After disbanding, many returned home, while a portion lingered, and final]}' straggled east toward Carthage. The two companies left to guard the jail were placed under command of Capt. Smith, of the Carthage Greys, his own company being one of them.

" Having ordered the guard, and left Gen. Deming in command in Carthage, and discharged the residue of the militia, I immediately departed for Nauvoo, IS miles distant, accompanied by Col. Bvickmaster, Quartermaster-General, and Capt. Dunn's (Augusta) company of dragoons." - [p. 34:5.

It was claimed that one purpose had in view, in thus visiting the city, was " to search for counterfeit money." But on the way, he began to fear an attack on the jail; so he decided to omit the search, but hurry on to the city, make the Mormons a speech, and return to Carthage the same night. The baggage wagons vrere halted, with orders to return at night. He and his escort reached the city about four o'clock, called the people together, made them an address, in which he says he rated them pretty severely for their bad conduct, and ended b}' putting the vote whetlier they in future would obey the laws. They unanimously voted Yes, when His Excellency and his retinue started for Carthage a little before sundown. A few miles out they were met bj' a messenger with the information that the two Smiths had been assailed in jail by a mob, and killed! The messenger who brought the news was ordered to return with them to Carthage, which he did; but by some means unknown to us the news reached the city during the night.

General consternation now pervaded the whole county. The troops had been disbanded, and most of them had left for their homes. Three companies only remained - the one with the Governor, and the two at Carthage - to confront the Legion, should it make a raid upon them. The Governor with his command hurried on to Carthage, only to find the place partially deserted; and all who had not gone were going as fast as they could find means of conveyance. Men with their families, in carts, in wagons, and on horseback or a-foot, were en route mostly toward Augusta and St. Mary's. The Hamilton Hotel, where the dead bodies and their wounded comrade had been taken, with perhaps a tew other houses only, were not forsaken. Gen. Deniino- had left town in the afternoon, before the deed had been committed. The Governor, in great excitement, hurried into town, where he remained only long enough to denounce the people for their folly, and rode on to Augusta.

At Warsaw the people were not long in hearing what had been done, and anticipating Mormon vengeance, hurried from their homes, mostly crossing the river to Alexandria. Picket guards were stationed about the town to watch the approach of an enemy.

At Kauvoo great consternation prevailed. The messenger had been turned back by the Governor; yet late in the night the news somehow reached the city. The ]3eople were appalled at the disaster which had befallen them. Most of the citizens had retired to sleep before the news was received, so that only a portion knew of the death of their leader till the morning.

On the morning of the 2Sth of June, IS-ti, the sun rose on as strange a scene as the broad Hancock prairies had ever witnessed. At the three corners of a triangle, 18 miles asunder, stood a smitten city and two almost deserted villages, with here and there a group of questioning men, anxious to hear the news of the night. Toward the two villages the more courageous ones were returning to find their several abodes unsacked and untouched. The wet and heavy roads leading to the county seat from the south and east were being again traversed by the refugees of the night, now returning, and wondering that they had homes to return to. All know that a great crime had been committed, by whom they knew not; and they knew not how, upon whom, where, or in what manner retribution might fall!

The murder of the Smiths, while he was at Nauvoo and in danger, convinced our suspicious Governor that his own death had been contemplated by the murderers as a part of the programme. But for this suspicion he had not the shadow of evidence. He, however, very justly concluded that his authority was at an end. He had by his course failed to satisfy either party, and both regarded him with disti-ust. He accordingly hurried from the county, and brought up at Quincy, forty miles from the scene of the troubles. It was strongly suspected by the citizens that he had contemplated a rescue or an escape of the prisoners; and he was very angry with them for harboring such suspicion. But he acknowledges in his book that he had such a plan; which was "thwarted by this insane folly of the Anti-Mormons," [p. S39]. Tliis fact was never fully known, until made puljlic by himself. Its consummation could hardly have been etfected without bloodshed and violence. And here M'e have the startling fact confessed, that the Executive of a State, whose duty it is to execute the laws, was contemplating the escape of great criminals, in order to avoid

How It Was Done

There can be little doubt that the killing of the Smiths was perpetrated by men who had been with or of the Warsaw troops. There was plentj' of time during the day, however, for others to have joined them, and they may have done so. Those troops were composed partly of citizens of Warsaw and the countrj' around it, with a few from Missouri and other places. They numbered some one or two hundred, and were under command of Colonel Levi Williams.

After being disbanded on the prairie, as we have seen, a portion of them left at once for their homes, while others went on toward Carthage. What course they took, or what became of them, until the afternoon when they were observed approaching the jail, is not known. From a lady who resided perhaps nearest the jail, and who saw them approach, we lately obtained the following: That they strung along in single file and quick step, from the direction of the woods northwest of the town, until they came to the fence surrounding the Ituilding. This they scaled at once, and seized the guard. She was several hundred yards away, too far to recognize any of them, or to see positively whether they were masked or otherwise disfigured, though she thinks they were not. Her first impression was that they were Mormons, come to release the prisoners; and that impression was shared by the other inhabitants of the town, as the alarm spread. She thinks there were not more than thirty to forty men in the gang, as they filed along. The guard was soon overpowered, and a rush was made for the stairway, ascending on the outside to the door of the jail, on the south end, the upper stor}' being used for that purpose. The door was assailed and burst open. The prisoners inside, aware of the attack, were, however, behind it, well armed, endeavoring to prevent ingress. As the door would yield to the outside pressure, the Prophet fired several shots around the edge with his revolver. The mobbers fired a number of shots through the door, which killed Hyrum Smith, and wounded John Taylor severely. Seeing they were being overpowered, Richards, who was still unhurt, ran with Taylor wounded into the inner dungeon, while Joseph Smith hastened to a window on the east, raised the sash and leaned partly out, probably with a view of jumping, when he was shot by several balls from the outside, and he fell to the ground near the well curb. It has been stated that after he fell, he was set up against the curb, and several times shot. This last, we are reliably informed, is not the fact, but that no shot was fired after he fell, and that he died from the two or three shots he received in the window. The story, we believe, is based on the statement of Daniels, who afterward issued a pamphlet giving a most miraculous account of the transaction.

and concerted between tlie mob and the Carthage Greys, and tliat the guard of ten men of that coni])any wlio were stationed around the jail, were in tlio plot, and made only a feint at resistance. This we are compelled to iielieve is partly true. It is certain that a portion of the Greys knew that something was to be done; but others, the great body of them, knew nothing about it. We have lately conversed with some who protest that they were wholly ignorant of anything going on, until the firing was heard, and then, like the rest of tlie citizens, they apprehended a Mormon rescue.

Gov. Ford also charges that the mob selected that time - while he was in Nauvoo, and in the power of the Mormons - to do the bloody deed, in order to compass his own destruction at their hands in revenge. His own too excitable and suspicious nature originated the thought. So far from it being the fact that they designed and contemplated the murder of the Governor, we believe they did not even contemplate the killing of the prisoners! This avowal will no doubt surprise many of our readers; for we well know that the Governor's statement has been so often reiterated that it has been genei'ally received. I3utfroni all the inquiries we have made, and looking at the circumstances as they are known to have existed, that is our honest and fixed conclusion. Of the thirty or fortj' men who approached the jail that day with stealthy tread, we do not believe there was one with murder in his heart. They are not excusable, nevertheless. They were there for an unlawful and wrongful purpose; though we believe that purpose was not clearly defined iu any one's mind.

Let us look at the circumstances on which this opinion is based: There had been several demands made by Missouri for the delivery of Smith, in the near past, all of which had in some way been thwarted. Added to this, only a short time before, a pulilic meeting at Warsaw and another one at Carthage had asked the Governor of Missouri to make another demand, and pledging aid in support of it. This purpose, we are convinced, and this only - to take the prisoners and run them into Missouri - was as far as any purpose went, until they reached the door uf the jail. ' There they were met with resistance - with tight; a defense certainly to have been expected; and it ended in death. It has been stated that two or three of the mobbers were wounded and carried away. We know not whether this is so.

This "Book of Daniels," referred to above, was such a curiosity in itself, and contained so many wonderful statements, that we should be glad to copy it entire as a specimen of the literature and truthfulness of the times. It was put forth by one Wm. M. Daniels, a good-for-nothing youth, whom no one ever heard of before or since, who says that he was among the Warsaw troops, and at the jail when the deed %\as done, and that afterward he was warned in a dream that he must go and join the Saints, and publish his knowledge to the world, in order to further the ends of justice. He accordingly went to Nauvoo, and, with the assistance of a typo there, his book was ushered to the world. But we must content ourselves with a very short extract. He says that on the way to Carthage, after being disbanded, the Warsaw troops concocted the plan of killing the Smiths; that Sharp, and Grover, and Davis, and others, openly boasted of it along the road; that they sent a squad of men on ahead, to confer with the Carthage Greys; that a portion of the latter.came out to meet them with a proposition, which was agreed upon; that the Gre^'S stood and looked on while the killing was going on, etc., .etc. He says, that after Joseph fell to the ground -

A fellow six feet tall and upward, holding a pewter flute in his hands, bareheaded and bare-footed, having on nothing but his pants and shirt, with his sleeves rolled above his elbows, and his pants rolled above his knees, picked him up instantly and set him up on the south side of the well curb, situated three or four feet from the building. As the ruffian sprang over the fence to Gen. Smith, and while he was in the act of picking him up, he said : "This is old Jo : I know liim. I know you, old Jo. Damn you 1 You are the man that had my daddy shot." The reason of his talking in this way, I suppose, was that he wished to pass himself to Gen. Smith as being the son of Gov. Boggs. * * * Four of the ruffians who stood in front of Col. Williams, about eight feet east of the curb, were ordered by Williams to fire. They raised their muskets and the tire was simultaneous. * * * After the breath had left his body, the person I have previously described, who had passed as the son of Gov. Boggs, caught up a bowie knife for the purpose of cutting off his head. The knife was raised ready to strike, when a light, so strange, so bright and sudden, flashed between him and the corpse, that he and the fom- men who had shot him were struck with terror and consternation. Their muskets fell from their hands, and they stood like marble, not having power to move a single limb. Tliey were about to be left, when Col. Williams, who had also beheld and been terrified at the light, shouted out to the men, "For God's sake, come and carry away these men!" They were obliged to carry them away, as they were as helpless as though they were dead. This light was something like a flash of lightning, and was so much brighter than the day, that after it had passed, it left a slight darkness like a twilight.

Daniels further states that wiien it became known that he was going to be a witness against the accused, and the nature of his testimony became public, the sum of $2,500 was oifered him to leave the State; this failing, efforts vvere made to put him out ot the way by violence!

Before Indictment And Trial

During the summer and fall (lS4i), after the death of the leaders, great dissatisfaction and trouble existed at Nauvoo, growing mainly out of the struggle for tiie succession. Rigdon and his adherents were at work against Brigliatn Young and the rest of the Twelve. Many of the rank and file were becoming lukewarm, and were quietly leaving the city; at the same time numbers were retiring from the Mormon settlements in other parts of the county, some locating in the city, and others scattering to other counties, and in doing so were stealing liberally from the Gentiles.

To add to the excitement a Grand Military Encampment was called to be held at Warsaw on the 2d of October. Tliis call was circulated in handbill, and was dated 27th Sept., signed by Col. Williams, Major Aldrich, and a number of officers of independent companies in the neighborhood of Warsaw.

beyond wliat was expressed in tlie call, but it gave great uneasiness to tlie Mormons and their friends. They saw in it something more than a jieacet'ul military disjilay; and it soon became magnified into a great woU' hunt, in which the wolves hunted were to be Mormons in sheep's clothing. The excitement spread, and the Governor was appealed to for protection. His Excellencj', ever ready to believe any thing prejudicial to the old citizens, in this case allowed himself to be imposed upon, and without proper inquiry, decided to send an expedition with troops into the county. A proclamation was accordingly issued, calling for volunteers (2,500 required), and after a delay of several daj'S a force of about 450 men was marched into Hancock, the whole under command of Col. John J. Hardin, accompanied by the Governor himself. The two Quincy companies were sent directly to jSTauvoo, by way of the river. People were reluctant to volunteer, believing that the Governor was engaged in an unnecessary and uncalled-for enterprise.

Some days previous to the call for troops, Murray McConnell, Esq., of Jacksonville, had been sent into the county, to Carthage and Nauvoo; and the result was that Messrs. Willianis and Sharp of Warsaw, and tlie Laws and Fosters of Rock Island, with Joseph H. Jackson, were selected as examples for arrest, and writs for them were accordingl}' issued by Aaron Johnson, a Nauvoo Justice of the Peace. These writs, excepting as to Col. Williams, were sei'ved ; but all refused to go to Nauvoo for hearing, and no attempt was made to take them there.

After a delay of a day or two at Carthage, the Governor's army was marched to Nauvoo on the 2Tth, and encamped about a mile and a half below the city near the Mississippi. On the 2Sth the ISTauvoo Legion was paraded for review. From Nauvoo the troops were ordered to Warsaw, where they arrived on the 29th, and encamped in the suburbs. As the troops approached the town, the men apprehending arrest, with some of their friends, quietly repaired across the river to Alexandria. Knowing this fact. Gov. Ford chartered a keel-boat at Montebello, and had it secretly dropped down to the vicinity of Warsaw; intending to use it that night in kidnapping the men from Missouri, and bringing them to the Illinois side. But during the afternoon Cols. Hardin and Baker visited the Missouri side, and had a conference with the accused. An agreement was entered into by which Williams and Sharp (Jackson being sick) agreed to give themselves up on condition that they be taken before Judge Thomas for examination, with some other conditions as to bail, etc. The writ was accordingly read to them, and afterwards, with Col. Baker, escorted by Quincy troops, they were shipped to Quincy in quest of the Judge. Here, after waiting two days, and no prosecuting witnesses a])pearing, they entered into voluntary recognizance to appear at next term of Court, and were set at liberty; thus leaving the whole matter as it was previous to the Governor's expedition.

Mention has been made of Joseph H. Jackson . Mr. J. was an adventurer of fine appearance and gentlemanly manners, who appeared in the county during the troubles; went to Nauvoo and became quite intimate with the prophet and the leaders; afterwards turned against them, went to Warsaw and published a pamphlet claiming to be an exposure of Mormonism and the evil purposes and practices of its chiei's. This pamphlet made many serious charges against Smith and his adhei-ents - charges of murder and conspirac}', of counterfeiting, debauchery, spiritual-wifery, etc. ; and claimed that he had gone among them with the sole view of ingratiating himself and then exposing them. His expose was of much the same character as that of General Bennett. As in the case of the latter, much of his statement was corroborated by circumstances, and much lacked confirmation. The equivocal position in which he stood, it is proper to say, tended to lessen the confidence of the public in his statements, and his little book made but slight impression . The Mormons charged that he was an adventurer of tiie worst class, and came there to practice his trade of counterfeiting, etc., and quarrelled with the prophet and the authorities because he was detected and exposed.

Trials And Acquittals

At the October term, 184-i, of the Hancock Circuit Court - present, Jesse B. Thomas, Judge; William Elliott, Prosecuting Attorney; Jacob B. Backenstos, Clerk, and Gen. Minor K. Deming, Sherift".

The Court began its session on Monday, the 21st. There had been rumors industriously circulated that the old citizens intended to rally and interpose obstacles in the waj' of the Court, and considerable anxiet}' was felt. The Judge in his charge to the Grand Jury alluded to thisrumor, and said he was glad to see that no such demonstrations were being made. He charged them to do their duty in the cases likely to come before them, and leave the consequences. His charge gave general satisfaction.

There was a rumor that a lot of Mormons and Indians were encamped near town, and this rumor occasioned considerable uneasiness. Orders were issued to investigate. The facts turned out to be that a number of Mormons had come down from Nauvoo to attend Court, and had gone into camp to save expense. As to the Indians, it was ascertained that a company of them had gone through the county.

On Tuesday tlie Grand Jury l)egi\.n their work, and on Saturday about noon, they broushl into Court two bills of indictment against nine individuals; one for the murder of Joseph Smith, and the other for the murder of his brother Hyrum. The persons iiidiuted were as follows: Levi Williams, Jacob C. Davis," JIark

Murray MeConnell, Esq., of Jacksonville, by special Mppointment of the Governor, was present, assisting Mr. Elliott in the prosecution. Messrs. Bushnell and Johnson of Quincy and Calvin A. Warren, and perhaps others, appeared for defendants.

Immediately on annoimcement of the indictments, most of the defendants appeared, and asked for an immediate trial. This Mr. SIcConnell objected to on the ground of not being ready. His witnesses before the Grand Jury had departed without being recognized, and besides, Mr. Elliott had gone. It was finally agreed that the causes be postponed until next term, and that no cupias should issue from the Clerk in the interim, if the defendants would pledge themselves to appear at the time agreed on - a compact which was afterward violated by the prosecution.

Subprenas were asked for by the prosecution for between thirty and forty witnesses, among whom wereWm. M. Daniels and Brackenberrj', the two miracle men, and John Taylor, Mrs. Emma Smith, and Governor Ford.

On May 19, 1845, Court again met in special term at Carthage - present, Richard M. Young, Judge; James H. Ralston, Prosecuting Attorney; David E. Head, Clerk; and M. R. Deming, Sheriff. Tiie cause of The People vs. Williams et al. coming up, Messrs. Williams, Davis, Aldrich, Sharp and Grover appeared, and were admitted to bail on personal recognizance in the sum of $5,000 jointly and severally. Josiah Lam born, of Jacksonville, as Assistant Prosecutor; and Wm. A. Richardson, O. PI. Browning, Calvin A. Warren, Archibald Williams, O. C. Skinner and Thos. Morrison for defendants. Motion of defendants to quash the array of jttrors for first week, on account of supposed prejudice of County Commissioners, who selected them, and of the Sheriff and deputies, was sustained. Also, motion for the appointment of elisors for the same cause, and absence of Coroner from the county. The array was set aside, and Thomas H. Owen and Wm. D. Abernethy appointed elisors for the case. These gentlemen had a thankless and arduous duty to perform. Usually it is not hard to find men willing to sit on juries; in this case but few were willing to try the experiment of going to Court, with the almost certainty of being rejected by one or the other party; and the position was not an enviable one, if taken. Ninety-six men were summoned and brought into Court before the requisite panel of twelve was full. The following are the names of the jurors chosen:

The trial lasted till the 30th, when the jury was instructed by the Court, and, nfter a deliberation of several hours, returned a verdict of Not Guilty.

Instructions to the jury had been asked by both parties. The following, among a list of nine asked by defendants' counsel, were given, and probably had most influence on the verdict:

That where the evidence is circumstantial, admitting all to be proven which the evidence tends to prove, if then the jury can make any supposition consistent with the facts,-by which the murder might have been committed without the agency of the defendants, it will be their duty to make that supposition, and find defendants not guilty.

That in making up their verdict, they will exclude from their consideration all that was said by Daniels, Brackenberry, and jSIiss Graham. [Witnesses.]

That whenever the probability is of a definite and Umited nature, whether in the proportion of 100 to 1 or of 1,000 to 1, or any ratio, is immaterial, it cannot be safely made the ground of conviction; for to act upon it in any case would be to decide that for the sake of convicting many criminals, the life of one innocent man might be sacrificed. - [Stakkie, 508.

Same defendants, for murder of Hyrum Smith, were required to enter into recognizance of $5,000 each (with 14 sureties) to the June term, 1845. At said term case was called, and Elliott and Laijiborn not answering, the cause was dismissed for want of prosecution, and defendants discharged.

It has been the custom for sensational writers to treat this trial and verdict as farcical and an outrage. One of these writers. Col. John Hay, now of the State Department at Washington, though then a mere boy, was yet raised in the county, and had within his reach correct sources of information. In the Atlantic Monthly for Dec, 1869, he has a lengthy article, abounding in extravagant and sensational statements and surmises, among which we quote only the following:

"The case was closed. There was not a man on the jury, in the Court, in the county, that did not know the defendants had done the murder. But it was not proven, and the verdict of Not Guilty was right in law."

Here is a fling at the jury, the Judge, and people; and we venture to characterize it as extremely unjust. "VYe know the writer intended to perpetrate no wrong. He was too intimately connected with some of the accused - indeed, with all concerned - to desire them wrong; but he aimed to produce a readable stoiy for the Atlantic, whicli lie did, thougli at the expense of candor and justice. Another fling at the jury was equally unjust:

Some of those men we knew - not all; and we know that they, instead of being " ignorant and indifl'erent," were men of intelligence, probity and worth.

There were some circumstances connected with those cases, not generally known, that tend to show how difficult it was to find out the guilty ones. The Mormons had had one John C. Elliott arrested and bound over, charged with the ofi'ense; they had also had writs for the Laws, and Fosters, and Higbees, at Rock Island, under the same charge. And when the Grand Jury was in session, the names of some sixty indivkluals were jjreseuted by tlie ])r6secution tor indiettneiit. One of those sixty lias infoi-meil us that he since leariiod tliat he narrowly escaped indictment, although, being one «if the Warsaw men, he returned immediately home after disbandment, and had no knowledge of the aftair till after it was over. It has since transpired that the Grand Jury voted on the whole sixty together at the tirst, and failing of an indictment, struck off ten and voted again, and so on until the last nine were reached, when the indictment carried. It has also been ascertained that the Grand Jury found bills against the nine, some as principals and some as accessories solely on the testimony of the three witnesses whose testimony on the trial the Court instructed the petit jury to disregard.

From all these facts it is verj- easy to say that a murder had been committed; that somebod}' had done the deed. But to say that among the Elliotts, Laws, and Fosters, and Iligbees, and long list of men charged, those five or six who were on trial had done it, and the jury, and Court, and everybody else knew it, is sating A CtKeat deal. /

Struggle For The Succession

If anything were needed to convince one of tlie tblly and wickedness of Mormonism, it is to be found in the quarrels and contentions of the leaders. During the prophet's lifetime he was continually at variance with one or more of his former tbllowers and trusted associates; denouncing and excommunicating them one month, and the next taking them back to his embrace and confidence. Cowdery, Harris, Whitraer, Eigdon, Phelps, Williams, and many others, had been sent by his maledictions to " buffet with Satan for a thousand years;" and long betbre their time was out, taken back again and the malediction removed.

So, after his death, a great struggle began for the possession of the mantle that had fallen from his shoulders. The grief at his death was genuine on the part of the main body; but on the part of the few, its bitterness was assuaged by the hope of assuming iiis place and honors. Rigdon, who had the best right - having furnished the principal brain supply for the concern at its origin - was soon sent back to Pittsburg with a flea in his ear. He had made the inexcusable and unlucky mistake of moving to carry the delusion back to the East. Young, wiser and more discerning, adopted the idea of following the setting sun; and he succeeded in overcoming all opposition. Absent when the prophet was killed, he hastened home, and quietly but firmly began to gather the reins of government about him - one by one securing the co-operation of his associates - till, before they knew it, he was supreme dictator, and they the ]:)liant tools of his will.

William, the patriarch (all the Smiths, we believe, had been patriarchs), the only male member left of the family, also hurried to JSTauvoo, to advance his claims. But he was vacillating and weak, and sadly lacking in the traits requisite for a leader; and he fell into the meshes of the others, and quietly settled down into the business of dispensing "patriarchal blessings" for pay; and the organ urged the brethren and sisters to patronize him. But the pay being insufficient, or for some other cause, he again became troublesome - flew off at a tangent - quarrelled with and denounced the Twelve - -and finally went and joined James Y. Strang in Wisconsin. But after the leaders had left for the West, thinking there might be a chance again, he came back to Nauvoo, and tried to prevent the remnant from following Young into the wilderness. FtYiling again, he, Rigdon and Strang organized a trinity which drew off a great many of the taithful. Whether Strang had ever been with them at Nauvoo, we do not know. The first we hear of him is at a place he called Voree, in Wisconsin, where he tried the old game of finding plates, claimed tlie prophet's mantle by will from the prophet himself, got up revelations, issued a small monthly paper, and for a time made some noise in the Mormon world. The following illustrates his method of plate finding:

On the 13th clay of September, 1845, we, Aaron Smith, Jirah B. Wheelan, James M. Van Nostrand, and Edward Whitcomb, assembled at the call of James .J. Strang, who is by us and many others approved as a prophet and seer of God. He proceeded to Inform us that it had been revealed to him in a vision that an account of an ancient people was buried in a hill south of White river bridge, near the east line of Walworth county, and leading us to an oak tree about one foot in diameter, told us that we would find it enclosed in a case of rude earthenware under that tree at a depth of about three feet; requested us to dig it up, and charged us to examine the ground, that we should know we were not imposed upon, and that it had not been buried since the tree grew. The tree was surrounded by a sward of deeply rooted grass, such as is usually found in the openings, and upon the most critical examination we could not discover an}' indication that it had ever been cut through or disturbed.

We then dug up the tree, and continued to dig to the depth of about three feet, where we found a case of slightly baked clay containing three plates of brass. On one side of one is a landscape view of the south end of Gardner's prairie, and the rana'e of hills where they were dug. On another, is a man with a crown on his heacl and a scepter in his hand; above is an eye before an upright line; below, the sun and moon surrounded by twelve stars; at the bottom are twelve large stars from three of which pillars arise, and closely interspersed with them are seven very small stars. The otlier four sides are very closely covered with what appear to be alphabetic characters, but in a language of which we have no knowledge.

The case was found imbedded in indurated clay so closely fitting that it broke in taking out, and the earth below the soil was so hard as to be dug with difficulty, even with a pick-ax. Over the case was found a flat stone about one foot wide each way and three inches thick, which appeared to have imdergone the action of fire, and fell in pieces after a few minutes' exposure to the air. The digging extended in the clay about eighteen mches, there being two kinds of earth of difl'erent color and appearance above it.

We examined as we dug all the way with the utmost care, and we say, with utmost confidence, that no part of the earth through which we dug exhibited any sign or Indication that it had been moved or disturbed at any time previous. The roots of the tree stuck down very closely on every side, extending below the case, and closely interwoven with roots from other trees. None of them had been broken or cut away. No clay is found in the country like that of which this case is made.

In fine, we found an alphabetic and pictorial record, carefully cased up, buried deep in the earth, covered with a flat stone, with an oak tree one foot in diameter gTOwini; over it, with every evidence tliat the sense can give that it has lain as long as that tree has been growing. Strang toolv no part in the digging, but Ivept entirely away from betbre the tirst blow was struck till after the i)lates were taken out of the case; and the sole inducement to our digging was our faith in his statement as a prophet of the Lord, that a record would thus and there be found

Now, if living, stand t'ortli, Messrs. Smith, Wheelan, Van Nostrand, and Whitcomb, and answer: AVhen you made that piiblic statement tliirtytive years ago, did you not utter an absolute and infamous falsehood?

Why the discovery of these plates did not form the basis of anew revelation and a new creed, we can not say; nor even whether Strang ever attempted a translation of thein. It may be that he came to the very erroneous conclusion that the fools were nearly all dead - and so gave it up.

tiigdon, as heretofore stated, endeavored by all the means in his power to gain the place left vacant in the Church. The Twelve however decided quite unanimously that they would have no prophet, seer and revelator any inore, but that the Twelve should be thesupreiue authorit}' as a body. The breach widened, and finally they brought the contumacious old man to trial befor*^ the conference. This trial is reported at length in the Times aiid Seasons, and deserves a conspicuous place in tlie history of ecclesiastical tribunals. The charge against him was - a little of everything bad; but the offense for which he was tried and condemned, was really tliat he wished to be President of the Church. The trial was a long one, and finally tlie vote was put, offered by AV. W. Phelps, " that Elder Sidney Rigdon be cut off from the Church, and delivered over to the buffetings of Satan until he repents."

The vote, sa3'S the report, ''was unanimous, excepting about ten." A motion was then made to cut off the ten. This failed, and they were taken singly, on separate and different charges, and cut off b}' unanimous votes. Elder Marks was one of them, having made a speech defending Rigdon; but the conference had hopes of hiin, and he was not expelled. In the next Times and Seasons he issued a card, stating that after candid consideration he had become convinced that Sidney Rigdon's claims to the Presidency were not founded in truth . The conference closed after Elder Young had delivered Sidney over to the buffetings of Satan, in the name of the Lord, '' and all the people said Amen!"

Mr. Saulsbury, a brother-in-law to the Smiths, though we believe never a leader among them, about this time came out, and through a letter to the Warsaw Signal denounced the Twelve and made the same or similar charges against them that William Smith and Rigdon had made. He died in this county.

Moke Violence And Bloodshed

We have seen that Gen. Minor E. Deming was elected Sheriff ot the county in August, 1844, and Jacob B. Backenstos and Almon "W. Babbitt members of the Legislature, by Mormon votes. More objectionable men to the Anti-Mormon citizens could scarcely have been found in the county. Gen. Deming was an officer of militia, and a citizen previously in no way identified with the Mormon fraternity. He had resided on a farm some miles out of Carthage; was well educated and capable, and we think he was conscientious in his endeavors to do right. But he was extremely conservative in his respect for law and order. He was also conceited and selfwilled, and had " an itching palm " for office, and the best way to obtain this was to ingratiate himself with the Mormon leaders.

Mr. Backenstos was a new-comer into the county, imported, it was said, bj' Judge Douglas from Sangamon, to take the office ot Circuit Clerk, which he had held for some time previous to liis election to the Legislature. Babbitt was a Mormon lawyer. He was expected to obey the" behests of the Mormon leaders, of course. As the others obtained favor with the Mormons, they incurred the hatred and distrust of the other citizens of the county.

As before stated, the agreement entered into that no arrests should be made of the parties indicted for killing the Smiths, was violated on the part of the prosecution, and frequent attempts were made by the Sheriff and his deputies to arrest some of them, during the winter. J. C. Davis, one of them, was State Senator. At the opening of the Legislative session he took his seat in that body. During the winter he was arrested at Springfield by an officer from Hancock county, but was ordered released by resolution of the Senate.

During the session a move was made to repeal the Nauvoo charters, and after discussion in the House was passed, January 21, 1845, by a vote of, 76 to 36. It subsequently passed the Senate. Messrs. Backenstos and Babbitt both made speeches against the repeal, the former taking occasion to violently denounce the old citizens of the county. For this speech, and his otherwise vindictive and objectionable course, a demonstration was made in the spring after his return, to drive him from the county. He soon afterward obtained an appointment through Congressman Hoge, to an office in the lead mines, and subsequently was made a Captain in the forces sent to the Mexican war.

During the winter and spring, as a result of the unsettled state of aflairs in Nauvoo, and the consequent hard times, there was an unusual amount of stealing done, not only in the city, but in other parts of the county. It extended to Adams, Henderson, and other adjoining counties. In Adams, where arrests could be made, there were as many as eight Mormons in jail at one time. In the city, the two parties, Tweh-eites and Riirdonitcs, stole from each other; while in the country the Gentiles were the chief snfterers. This became so insupportable that public meetings were held at many points to devise means of protection and redress. Township committees were appointed to collect statistics of these thefts, which was done, and many of them ])ublished, footing up hundreds of dollars in various townships. Some of these reports were no doubt exaggerated; but as many must have been omitted, it is safe to say that the totals fell short of the truth. Of course, it was not proven that all these depredations were committed by Mormons, and probably were not. The charge has often been made that stealing was done on Mormon credit, which is in itself an admission against them ; but that a vast percentage of it was done by them alone, all circumstances go to show. And events which transpired this 3'ear, show that they had among them some who did not hesitate at robbery and murder, as well as theft and burglary.

On Saturday night, May 10, 1845, a horrible murder was committed near the town of Franklin, in Lee Co., Iowa, on the persons of John Miller, a Menonite German minister from Pennsylvania, and his son-in-law, Leiza. The latter was not killed, but died of his wounds afterward. The locality is about ten or twelve miles from Nauvoo, and the murderers, three in number, were traced to that city. Their names were AVilliam Hodge, Stephen Hodge, and Thomas Brown. The Hodges were arrested on the 13th and conveyed to the Iowa penitentiarj' at Fort Madison, for safe keeping. On the 15th they were indicted by the Grand Jury at "West Point, and on the 21st were arraigned for trial. They asked for a change of venue, and the cause was certified to DesMoines county. On the 21st of June they were put upon their trial at Burlington. They were defended by two eminent Burlington attorneys, J. C. Hall and F. D. Mills, assisted by George Edmunds, of Nauvoo. The trial lasted about a week. Mason, District Judge, then sentenced them to be hung on the loth of July. They were so executed.

A peculiar cap woru by one of the murderers, and which he lost at the house of the murder, led to their arrest. They were traced to Xauvoo, and found at the house of their brother, Amos Hodge, in the suburbs. They were taken before Aaron Johnson, a Justice of the Peace, for examination, where they were defended by Almon W. Babbitt. Babbitt himself was afterward^'murdered mysteriously in Utah, while U. S. District Attorney.

On the night of the 23d of June, Irvin Hodge, brother to the accused, was assassinated in Nauvoo, while on his way home from a visit to them at Burlington. He had, it is said, endeavored to induce Brigham Young to send and have his brothers rescued from jail, and failing, was free in denouncing him for the neglect. But little notice was taken of this last murder in Nauvoo. The father of the Hodges was allowed to visit them before their execution.

The patriarch Wm. Smith, in a letter to the Sangamo Journal, dated Sept. 2-1:, 184.6, says of the Hodges: " Irvin Hodge was murdered within twelve feet of Brigham Young's door. Amos Hodge was murdered, it is said, between Montrose and Nashville, Iowa, by Brigham Young's guard, who pretended to escort him out of Nauvoo for his safety, under cover of women's clothes, who then pretended that he had run away." And again: "If Mr. Amos Hodge, the father of the young Hodges, will call and see me, I can tell him the names of persons that will put him on the track of the men who murdered his sons."

In an affidavit for witnesses to prove an alihi, the Hodges claimed to rely on the testimony of six or eight named witnesses residing in Nauvoo, and upon John Long, Aaron Long, and Judge Fox, who they said resided in St. Louis. These names will long be remembered in the annals of ci'ime in the West, as the parties who perpetrated at his home on Rock Island, on the 4th of July, just after the conviction of the Hodges. This murder was perpetrated in broad daylight, while all the family but the old Colonel wore absent at a celebration on the main land. He was an aged and quite infirm man, and was quietly sitting at his house reading a paper, when he was attacked by the robbers. Rising to approacii the door, at which he heard a noise, it was pushed open, and three men entered, one of whom at once discharged a pistol at him, the ball entering his thigh. He was then dragged through a hall, and up the stall's, to a closet containing his safe, which they compelled him to open. After obtaining the contents, and money from his bureau drawers, they left him, still tied upon his bed, in which condition he was afterward found bj' persons passing. Surgical aid was procured, and he was revived sufficiently to describe the assassins and the circumstances, but he died about ten o'clock that night.

Fifteen hundred dollars reward for the murderer was oftered by George L. Davenport, his son; and John Long, Aaron Long and Granville Young were finally arrested and hung for the offense; Judge Fox was arrested and allowed to escape, while one Birch, a daring desperado, said to have been connected with the Danite Band, was implicated and arrested, but escaped by turning State's evidence. About the same time numerous acts of robbery and burglary were committed in Lee count}', opposite, and along the river, traceable in almost all cases, to a gang that had their headquarters in Nauvoo.

Tuesday, June 24, 1845, au altercation occurred between Dr. Samuel ilarshall. County Clerk, and the Sheriff of the county, General Demiii;^, which resulted in the death of the f )riner at the hands of the latter. The difficulty arose in regard to some mistake in official business. Dr. M. was a very exact and punctual man in all his affairs, and lie expected others to be equally so, and the General's apparent carelessness in the matter in dispute irritated him. A scuffie ensued, in the midst of which Gen. Deming drew a pistol and shot his antagonist. The affair was a very unfortunate one, as it resulted in the death of a most estimable citizen and public officer, and added to the excitement already existing in the county. A little self-control and moderation on the part of both, and the conflict might have been avoided. Dr. Marshall was a strong Anti-Mormon in his feelings and principles, and had the full confldence of the party; yet he resolutely refused to sanction any of their unlawful proceedings. He was one of that small number who believed it better to suffer all the ills of Mormonism, rather than resort to illegal and violent measures for redress.

Gen. Deming was at once taken into custody by the Coroner, and a jur}- of inquest summoned. The jury returned a verdict of " Murder without sufficient cause or provocation." This occurred on the day set for the special term of Court for the trial of the persons charged with the murder of Hyriim Smith. The Court opened about five in the afternoon, and two hours after the tragedy Deming was brought into Court, and stated that he was desirous to have a Grand Jurj' impaneled for the investigation of this case. The Court ordered the Coroner to summon a Grand Jury by the next morning. The accused then inquired if tliere was no process by which he might be admitted to bail during the pendency of the investigation, to which the Court gave a negative answer. On Wednesda}' morning a jury was impaneled, and charged l)y the Court, and at three in the afternoon brought into Court a bill for murder, with counts for manslaughter. It was stated that the vote stood in the jur}' room 16 to 3.

A motion was made by Deming's counsel to admit him to bail, and after hearing he was admitted to bail in the sum of $5,000. Bail was given and he was discharged from custody.

Mr. Deming resigned the office of Sheriff, and an election was ordered to fill the vacancy, to take place August 11th, resulting in the election of J. B. Backenstos by the following vote: Backenstos, 2,334; John Scott, 750; scattering, 11.

Mr. D. was never brought to trial. He was stricken with congestive fever, no doubt brouglit on or aggravated by excitement, and died on the 10th of September, and was buried in Quincy by his brother's side.

And now it becomes our painful duty to chronicle a series of events which transpired in the count}', - acts which had no warrant in law or order, and which cannot be reconciled with any correct principles of renponing. and which we then thought, and still think, were condemned by every consideration looking to good government; acts which had for their object, and which finally resulted in, the forcible expulsion of the Mormon people from the count}'. The disorders at Xauvoo, the vast amount of stealing and other depredations upon property, the murders in Iowa and elsewhere, and the consequent feeling of fear and insecurity evei-ywhere, brought the people to a state of recklessness.

On the night of Sept. 9th, a public meeting of Anti-Mormons was being held in a school-house at Green Plains, for some purpose, when it was fired upon by parties in the bush. It was at once resolved to begin the expulsion of the Mormons from the settlement known as Morley-Town. This resolve was put into execution; on Wednesday night two Mormon cabins were burned, and the inmates notified to leave the settlement. For a week the burning continued until the whole of Morley-Town was in ashes, with many other residences in the Bear Creek region and that of Green Plains. In all it is stated that as many as 100 or 125 houses were burned, and their occupants driven off. These proceedings created intense excitement all over the county. Sheriff Backenstos endeavored to raise a^^os.se among the old citizens to suppress the disturbances, but failed. He therefore issued a proclamation dated at Green Plains on the 13th, calling on the rioters to desist, and upon the posse comitatus of the county to assist him. He also stated that it was his policy to have the Mormons remain quiet, but that 2,000 men held themselves in readiness in Nauvoo to come to his aid when necessary. On the 16th Lieut. Franklin A. "Worrell was killed while passing from Carthage to Warsaw, by Backenstos, or some ofhisj905.se, and on the 17th Samuel McBratney was killed among the burners at Bear Creek, by the passe. Lieut. Worrell (of the Carthage Greys) was in no way connected with the burners, and had nothing to do with the prevailing disturbances. In company with eight other men, he was passing on the road from Carthage to Warsaw, with the view of ascertaining the facts as to the disturbances at Green Plains. Three of these men, Worrell and two others, were on horseback; the others were in a buggy and a two-horse wagon, the wagon also containing the arms of the company. As they came in sight of the road leading toward Nauvoo, and which they would cross at right angles, thej' discovered a man riding up that road. Not knowing him, and seeing he was coming from the direction of the burning, they hurried on to intercept him at the crossing, hoping to gain information. He then drove more rapidly, apparently to cross before the}' could come up. They hurried on, the three horsemen in the lead. As they neared the brow of a ravine he had crossed, and when they came in sight, he was seen standing near his buggy, and at the same moment a shot was fired from near him, which struck Worrell. He nor his associates had made no demonstrations of violence; but now seeing or believing it to be Backenstos and \\\& posse, immediately wheeled their horses and rode toward the wagon and buggy which were a])i)roachin^. Mr. Worrell soon fell from his horse, was picked up, placed in the wagon and driven to Warsaw; but died on the way.

Backenstos and the notorious O. P. liockwell were both subsequently indicted for the murder of Worrell, and both acquitted, tlie former under trial by cliange of venue at Peoria, and the latter at Galena. AVho was the actually guilty party maj' never be known. We have lately been informed from Salt Lake that Rockwell did the deed, under order of the Sheriff, which is probably the case. The Sheriff's Proclamation No. 2 would lead to this conclusion. He says, in his usual style of exaggeration: " I discovered an armed body of some 20 or more men on the Warsaw and Carthage road, two or three miles east of me, going toward AVarsaw. I watched them, and on discovering that four men of the force mounted on horses, left the main body, apparently to strike a point in advance of me, with all the speed of their horses, and finding that they were in pursuit of me, I put the whip to my horse; as 1 was traveling in a buggy, they taking a near cut evidently gained on me, The chase lasted for a distance of about two miles, when I fortunately overtook three men with teams. I immediately informed them that armed men were pursuing me, evidently to take mj life; I summoned them as a posse to aid me in I'esisting them. I dismounted and took a position in the road, pistol in hand. I commanded them (the mobbers) to stop, when one of them held his musket in a shooting attitude; whereupon one of my posse fired, and. it is believed, took effect on one of the lawless banditti."

Admitting this statement to be an honest one from his standpoint - which is not at all likely - it only illustrates how easily the fears and excitements of an individual can change peaceable citizens into "lawless banditti." It is, furthermore, quite certain that had Lieut. Worrell and his companions known who it was they were following, he would have been permitted to go his way unmolested.

The Sheriff says that he ordered his pos'^e to take the burners prisoners, if practicable, if not, to fire on them. How well this order was obeyed the killing of McBratney will show. He was pursued, with others, by a crowd of men on horseback; was overtaken and shot in the back, and while down was hacked and bayoneted in numerous places. His horse was slow, and he could have easily been taken prisoner alive.

It is proper to state that the Mormons and their friends have charged the tiring on the school-house at Green Plains to have been a sham previously arranged by the mobbers to create a sympathy in their favor. This has been denied; whether true or not, we do not know.

Tlie Sherift", failing to raise a posse outside of Nauvoo, was obliged to resort to his " 2,000 armed men " there, to carry out his purposes. He obtained such force as he desired, and soon succeeded in scattering the burners. He now carried things in the county with a high hand. Exactly what his object was is not known, but on the evening of the 19th of September, the Sheriff, at the head of several hundred men, rode into Carthage after sundown, surrounded the place, and ordered all the citizens who could be found to be arrested and taken to headquarters at the court-house. He said he was in quest of criminals. After roughly handling many of them, and searching their houses for arms, most of them were set at liberty. In the morning, the posse, excepting about fifty, left town, the fifty remaining, as he said, to protect the town. Tiiey retained possession of the court-house till the arrival of Gen. Hardin and his State troops, who gave them immediate leave of absence.

These disturbances and excesses, as on a former occasion, of course, called for executive interference, and accordingly Gov. Ford again sent a detachment of volunteers into the county, and again under command of Gen. John J. Hardin. The General was accompanied as adviser, by J. A. McDougal, Attorney-General of the State, and also by Judge S. A. Douglas and Major W. B. Warren. On the 27th of September, Gen. Hardin issued a highly meritorious proclamation to the people of the county, enjoining theui to be peaceable and to obey the laws and the constituted authorities. In conjunction with his advisers he at once entered into correspondence with the authorities of the Mormon Church at Nauvoo, which resulted in the Mormons agreeing to leave the State in the spring.

The Beginnixg Of The End

In the meantime a meeting of representatives of nine counties contiguous to Hancock had been called to meet at Carthage on the first and second days of October (Hancock county being exchided), to take into consideration the state of aflairs. The convention was organized as follows, viz: Isaac N. Morris, Esq., of Adams, President; Col. AYm. Ross, of Pike, Gen. James McCallen, of "Warren, and John Kirk, Esq., of McDonough, Yice-Presidents; and Alva Wheeler, of Knox, Geo. Pobinson, of Schuyler, and Wm. H. Benneson, of Adams, Secretaries. Fiftj'-eight delegates were reported from the counties of Adams, Brown, Henderson, McDonough, Pike, Schuyler, Warren, Marquette and Knox. On motion of O. H. Browning, of Adams, a committee of three from each county was appointed to prepare a preamble and resolutions expressive of the sense of the convention. Mr. Browning, in behalf of the committee, reported a preamble and scries of resolutions, of which we find room for only two, as giving the sense of the convention on the points mentioned.

ResolceiJ, That it is the settled and deliberate conviction of this convention that it is now too late to attempt the settlement of the difficulties in Hancock county upon any other basis than that of the removal of the Mormons from the State; and we therefore accept, and respectfully recommend to the people of the surrounding coUDties to accept the proposition made by the Mormons to remove from Ihe^ State next spring, and to wait with patience the time appointed for removal.

lieiMlKed. Thfit we vtterli/ repinlinle llie impudent assertion so often and so eonsiiintly put foi-th In/ the Moniions, tJuit Ihei/ are PERSECUTED fou-uigiiteousness' SAKE, ll'e do nut believe litem to he n perseeuted people. We know that they are not; but that whatever grievances they may sujf'er are the necessary and legitimate consequences of their illegal, wicked and dishonest acts.

The action of tliis convention, composed as it was of leading and representative men from the neighboring counties, and from both the political parties, had a beneticial etlect npon the ])ublic mind; and no doubt satisfied man}' that the conclusions to which it arrived were only such as would give peace and prosperity to our distracted county. And the Mormons also accepted the conclusions as inevitablcj and earnestly prepared to act accordingly. The opinion expressed in the last of the resolutions quoted, is as much as the most ardent Anti-Mormon could ask, and should forever shut the mouths of those Mormon apologists, who have regarded them as a persecuted people, only needing to be let alone.

Having had a free and full conversation with you this day, in reference to your proposed removal from this county, together with the members of your Church, we have to request you to submit the facts and intentions stated to us in said conversation to writing, in order that we may lav them before the Governor and people of the Slate. We hope that by so doing It will have a tendency to allay the excitement at present existing in the public mind. We have the honor to subscribe ourselves, respectfully yours, etc ,

Messrs: - In reply to your letter of this date, requesting us to " submit the facts and intentions stated by us to writing, in order that you may lay them before the Governor and people of the State," we would refer you to our communication of the 24th ultimo, to the " Quincy Committee," etc., a copy of which is herewith inclosed.

In addition to this, we would say, that we had commenced making arrangements to remove from this county previous to the recent disturbances; that we now have four companies organized of one hundred families each, and six more companies now organizing of the same number each, preparatory to removal. That one thousand families, including the Twelve, the High Council, the Trustees and general authorities of the Church, are fully determined to remove in the spring, independent of the contingency of selling our propertj', and that this company will comprise from Ave to six thousand souls.

That the organization of the Church we represent is such, that there never can exist but one head or presidency at any one time, and all good members wish to be with the organization ; and all are determined to remove to some distant point where we shall neither infringe or be infringed upon, so soon as time and means will permit.

That we have some hundreds of farms and some two thousand or more houses for sale in this city and county, and we request all good citizens to assist in the disposal of our property.

That we do not expect to lind purchasers for our Temple and other public buildings; but we are willing to rent them to a respectable community who may inhabit the city.

That we wisli it distinctly understood, that, although we may not find purchasers for our property, we will not sacrifice or give it away, or suffer it illegally to be wrested from us.

That as soon as practicable we will appoint committees for this city. La Harpe, Macedonia, Bear Creek, and all necessary places in the county, to give information to purchasers.

That if these testimonies are not suflBcient to satisfy any people that we are in earnest, we will soon give them a sign that cannot be mistaken - roe will leave them !

The communication to tlie Quincy committee was of similar import to the above, but i-eferred particularly and in eloquent terms to their sufierings and grievances here and elsewhere, and begged to be let alone.

Two other murders were committed at this time, one in Nauvoo and tlie other in the Camp Creek settlement, by Mormons. On the 16t:h, Phineas Wilco.x, a young man of St. Mary's township, went into Nauvoo on business, was there charged with being a spy, and was never afterward heard of, although repeated inquiries and search were made for him by his friends. Circumstances stroiigly showed that he had been murdered and thrown into tlie river. The other case, that of Andrew Daubenheyer, was as mysterious and atrocious. Mr. D. resided in the nortli part of the county, and was known as an active Anti-Monnou. On tlie IStli of September he started to Carthage witli a two-horse wagon. On the evening ot the 20th he started for his home on horseback, which he never reached, but on tlie morning of tlie 21st his horse came home without him. On his road, home was encamped a body of Mormons, supposed to be of Backenstos' posse, and the belief was that he had been waylaid and killed by them. Search being made his body was afterward found, buried near the place of the encampment.

The agreement entered into by Gen. Hardin and the Mormons being deemed suflicient to pacify the county, the troops were withdrawn, leaving- only Major Warren with a hundred men, to remain until withdrawn by the Govei-nor.

The Exodus Begun

In accordance with the pledge made by the Twelve, active preparations were made during the winter in i^auvoo, and throughout the county, to leave in the spring. Those residing in the country made sales of their property and retired to the city in order to join the expeditions. Large numbers of wagons were manufactured, and many were obtained by way of exchange, while oxen and horses were in great demand. As early as Feb. 10, the weather being favorable, it was stated that over one thousand persons, including most of the Twelve, and many of the other dignitaries of the Church, had crossed the river and were on their way westward. As tlie spring advanced they were still leaving in large nnmbers; but the advance had not yet reached beyond Keosauqua, from which point they kept up a constant intercourse with the city. The Rigdonites, Strangites, Sniithites, and Twelveites, still behind, kept up their dissentions, the former all agreeing in denunciation of the latter, and all excepting the latter, censuringthe Western movement.

Major Warren, who had been deputed in the fall to remain in the county with a small force, had orders from the Governor in April to disband and withdraw on the first of May. lie and his troops had been stationed at Carthage all winter, and had performed many arduous and delicate duties to preserve the peace, arrest offenders, and execute writs. Their aid had been invoked in all parts of the county, and they had been employed on numerous occasions in Nauvoo in the execution of process. They had been braved and threatened and insulted, even to violent resistance in that cit}', but they had exhibited a prudence, firmness and judgment which entitled them to the regard of all peace-loving citizens. These gentlemanly soldiers were mostly from Quiucy, the " Quincy Hiflemen," under the immediate command of Captain James D. Morgan and Lieut. B. M. Prentiss, names the country has since recognized in the list of Union Generals in the late Rebellion.

The contemplated withdrawal of the Guard, together withfindications at Nauvoo, gave general uneasiness to the people. It began to be feared that many of the Mormons were not intending to leave the city, but to quietly remain, in the hope and expectation that in time all danger would be over. Public meetings began to be held in Hancock and the adjoining counties, at which these apprehensions were expressed, and reference made to the action of the nine counties in October. These demonstrations brought a letter of inquiry from Mr. Babbitt to Gov. Ford. In his answer the Governor denied that he or the State was a party to the agreement that the Mormons should leave in the spring. But he al.'^o plainly intimated that they were bound to go, and that he would be pow erless to prevent their expulsion. -'I tell you plainly," said His Excellency, " that the people of Illinois will not fight for the Mormons."

The day after Maj. Warren's detachment had been disbanded at Carthage, he received an order from Gov. Ford to retain them in service until further orders. He again mustered them in and remained, making his headquarters chiefly at the Mansion House in Nauvoo. On May 14. he sent a dispatch to the Signal, stating that the Mormons were leaving with all possible speed; that the ferry was crossing as fast as possible; that an estimate of 450 teams and 1,350 sonls had left within the week; that new settlers were taking their places, etc. Information was also received from LaHarpe, Ramus and other points, that they were fast leaving the neighborhoods. On the 22d he reported: " The Mormons still continue to leave the city in large nnmbers. The i'en-y at this place averages about 32 teams per day, and at Fort Madison, 45. Thus it will be seen that 539 teams hare left during the week, which average about three persons to eacli, making in all 1,617 souls." A week later the reported estimate was about SOO.

After the Twelve had left the city, and while within convenient reach, O. P. Kockwell seems to have been employed as a messenger between the camp and the citj'. He became very violent in his conduct while tiiere, so much so .that the leaders began to fear he would bring trouble upon them. On May first, a writ was issued for his arrest, on the affidavit of a certain Dr. Watson, charging him with the killing of Lieut. Worrell. This writ was placed in the hands of some of Maj. Warren's men, who proceeded to Nauvoo and arrested him, surrounded witli fifteen shooters and other weapons of defense. He waived examination, and was sent to Quincy to fail. At the May term in Carthage, a true bill was found against him by the Grand Jury, and he was sent to Galena for trial, he having obtained a change of venue from this Circuit. He was subsequently tried in Galena and acquitted.