Johnson County, Missouri - Chapter 12, 1881

Chapter 12

Let us look now for a while upon St. Louis. The year 1832 desolated the proud young city in many ways. The most terrible was the scourge of the Asiatic cholera. The Atlantic and southern seaboard had pre¬ viously suffered the onslaught of the deadly foe, and with bated breath the people of St. Louis watched its dark pathway across the continent.

Historical Sketch Of Missouri

But the disease which now threatened them, was horrible with mystery. And as the panic crept deeper into the hearts of the people, the pestilence floated upon the air. Sanitary measures were of little avail. Death hov¬ ered over hundreds of homes. Business was paralyzed. The evil baffled all skill, and nestled in the very heart of the city. Cities of the dead grew in the stillness of a night. And for five long weeks, the carnival of death continued. When, at last, the air became pure and the hideous mockery of life ceased, four per cent of the populous center swelled the sod of its grave yards.

The Indians of the northwestern frontier who had espoused the cause of the British in the war of 1812 had never become wholly disaffected of the spirit of hostility toward the United States. The tribes who had, after the close of the war, sworn allegiance to the British in Canada, and who now gave the trouble, were the Sacs, Foxes, and Winnebagoes. They disregarded successive treaties made with them by the United States, in the hope of maintaining peaceable relations, and claimed the right to occupy a region on the Rock river, in Illinois, which they had previously ceded to the United States.

In 1831-2, hostilities of the most flagrant character were commenced, and the frontier settlers were in constant and increasing danger. The Illinois militia being called out, the Indians removed to the west bank of the Mississippi. Soon Missouri borders became harassed, and Gen. Atkin¬ son was ordered to ascend the river and chastise the Indians. A bloody engagement ensued, and peace could no longer exist.

The danger to Missouri became imminent, and Gov. Miller ordered a thousand volunteers to be raised and kept ready to defenS the outposts of the state. Maj.-Gen. Richard Gentry, of Columbia, Missouri, was given com¬ mand. The counties of Boone, Callaway, Montgomery, St. Charles, Lin¬ coln, Pike, Marion, Ralls, and Clay contributed forces. Two companies ? one from Boone and the other from Callaway, were at once ordered to the northern boundary. It now appeared that no hostile Indians were cross¬ ing the border. A fort, however, was constructed and manned, but quiet becoming restored along the line, the men were mustered out of service in September, of the same year. No further trouble was occasioned.

the chief of the Sacs and Foxes. He was a shrewd ruler and a keen observer, and, while he may not have had the fearless bravery of Pontiac or Tecumseh, his dealings show him to have been wary, resolute, and fierce. He was captured in 1833, in Illinois, and exhibited throughout the United States. After his release and return, he dictated his life to an interpreter. In this he represents himself as humane and generous. Much allowance must be made, in summing up his character, for the humilia¬ tion his people were made to undergo at the hands of the Europeans. Black Hawk dedicated the book containing his autobiography to Gen. Atkinson, with these words:

I am now an obscure member of a nation that formerly honored and rspected my opinion. The path to glory is rough, and many gloomy hours obscure it. May the Great Spirit shed light on yours, and that you may never experience the humility that the power of the American government has reduced me to, is the wish of him, who, in his native forests, was once as proud and bold as yourself.

In 1836 a railroad convention was held in St. Louis. The growing* wants of the people demanded more rapid means of transportation than the old methods. Railroads had sprung up in the east, and the spirit of progress in the west made them the urgent need of the hour, and pursu¬ ant to this feeling the convention was called.

A committee, consisting of Messrs. Rollins, Bates and Gamble, was appointed to memorialize congress for grants of land to aid in the con¬ struction of proposed roads.

1st. It is now expedient to adopt measures for the construction of a railroad from St. Louis to Fayette, with a view of ultimately extending *the road in that general direction, as far as public convenience and the exigencies of trade may require.

Also, a railroad from St. Louis, in a southwestern direction, to the valley of Bellevue, in Washington county, so as to traverse the rich mineral region in that part of the state, with a view to its indefinite extension in that direction, when and as far as public interest may require. And also a branch from some conve¬ nient point on the last mentioned road, to the Maramec iron works, in Crawford county, with a view to its ultimate extension through Cooper county to a point on the Missouri river in Jackson county.

2d. That the proposed railroad from St. Louis to Fayette ought to cross the Missouri river at the town of St. Charles, and through or within one mile of the sev¬ eral towns of Warrenton, Danville, Fulton and Columbia, the said towns being points most acceptable to the people of the counties through which the road i& proposed to pass.

In the month of June, 1836, occurred the border trouble, properly termed the " Hetherly War." A band of desperadoes plundered the early settlers of Mercer and Grundy counties, and practiced the nefarious work of stealing ponies from the Indians. Quarrels among themselves resulted in the kill- ing of one of their number, and a flight to the Missouri river. Here it was represented that the Indians were ravaging the borders. Troops were dispatched but none but peaceful Indians could be found. The Hetherlys were afterward arrested and tried for murder, being afterward released. They were long a terror in Missouri, and known as reckless outlaws.

Another event of great importance occurring in 1836 was the accom¬ plishment of what is known as the " Platte Purchase," by which the tri¬ angular territory between the western line of boundary and the Missouri river, was added to the state. The region in 1835 belonged to the Indian territory, and was occupied by Indians. The idea of annexation arose at a public meeting in Clay county. Steps were at once taken, congress memorialized, a bill introduced by Senator Benton, the many attending difficulties overcome and the boundary line extended to the Missouri river. Thus were the rich lands of Atchison, Nodaway, Holt, Andrew, Buchanan and Platte counties made a part of a state at the time one of the largest in the union. Two very grave questions arose in the matter of the purchase The right to remove the Indians from lands granted them in perpetuity, and to convert free soil into slave soil. Both, however, were met by the able efforts of Senators Benton and Linn. By this "purchase" the wealth of the state was largely increased, as no richer lands exist in the great valley.

In 1837 St. Louis was again visited by a renowned personage, the his¬ tory of whose public services everywhere made his advent a profound sensation. The visitor was the magical defender of the union, the orator and distinguished statesman, Daniel Webster.

In the summer of this year, Daniel Webster, with his wife and daughter, visited St. Louis, and was warmly received by the people. A grand barbecue was given in a grove just west of Ninth, at which time there were about 6,000 people present. Webster addressed the people in a speech of more than an hour's length, and spoke with his usual matchless eloquence.

The year 1836 found the young city making steady and vigorous growth; a new hotel was completed, a new church erected, and the corner stone ol the St. Louis theater was laid May 24th, on the southeast corner of Third and Olive streets.

Henry Clay was to have accompanied Webster on this tour, but press¬ ing business cares necessitated his presence in the east. These visits are here recorded because in them lies a deep meaning. Attention was turned now toward the great and growing west. These men of eminence frame the movements by act and speech that open up a civilization therein as grand as the mind of man can conceive. The marvellous and wonderladen valley becomes in a large degree, through the agency of their voices

In 1835 war broke out with the Indians in the south. The Seminoles would not leave Florida and remove to the western side of the Mississippi.

In 1837 a requisition was issued on Gov. Boggs for two regiments of mounted volunteers. One of these was raised in Boone county, and Col. Gentry placed in command. The second regiment consisted partly of Delaware and Osage Indians, and was attached to the first.

The story of these brave volunteers is a long one, and over it hangs the misrepresentation of prejudice. Through countless dangers and hard¬ ships, they made their way into the heart of the enemy's country. Engaged the Indians in battle and with great losses aided materially in bringing the war to a close. Col. Gentry fell bravely fighting at the head of his troops. In his official report, Gen. Zachary Taylor severely criticised the conduct of the Missourians during this campaign. A committee was appointed by the general assembly to investigate the charges thus made. Many witnesses were examined, and the following resolutions reported to the body for adoption in each branch :

1st. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives , That the con¬ duct of the Missouri volunteers and spies, in the Florida campaign, was such as only could be expected from good soldiers and brave men.

2d. Resolved , That so much of Z. Taylor's report of the battle of Okeecho¬ bee, which charges that the Missouri volunteers and spies mostly broke and fell back to the baggage, and that the repeated efforts of his staff could not rally them, is proved to be unfounded, not to say intentionally false , and that so much of said report which states that the regular troops were joined by Captain Gilliam and Lieutenant Blakey with a few men, but not until they had suffered severely, is incorrect in this - that Gilliam and Blakey were in advance of the regular troops during most of the fight and never in the rear.

3d. Resolved , That so much of said report, which states that the Missouri volunteers and spies behaved themselves as well or better than troops of that description usually do, is not so much a compliment to them, as a slander upon citizen soldiers generally .

4th. Resolved , That Colonel Taylor, in his report of the battle of Okeecho¬ bee, has done manifest injustice to the Missouri volunteers and spies, and that said report was not founded upon facts as they occurred.

5th. Resolved , That a commanding officer who has wantonly misrepresented the conduct of men who gallantly sustained him in battle, is unworthy a com¬ mission in the army of the United States.

In the benighted ages of man, when superstition and ignorance ruled the hour, the acts of men were seldom singular. Unrestrained passion was the monarch of deeds, and law became the caprice of a moment. But, it is true, that throughout the long march from barbarism to the present civilization, religion, weighted down with mystery and filled with fear and rank intolerance, has ever been the enemy of progress. And, as we have said, in primitive ages, fanaticism, born of the time and place, was no sin¬ gular element.

But that it should exist in an age of boasted intelligence, and that of the most degrading kind, is passing strange. It is indeed beyond the measure of reason, almost, that Mormonism should now spread its dark trail' across the whiteness of American civilization.

In 1832 the leader of this modern sect, Joe Smith, came with many fol¬ lowers, and settled in Jackson county, Missouri. Independence, was to become "the New Jerusalem." A new era was to dawn upon the reli¬ gious world, to be, in fact, "the millenial reign of Christ on earth."

The story of the life of the prophet, Smith, cannot be given here. But suffice it to say that after numerous visions he proclaimed the idea of a revelation from God appointing him the chosen one to reinstate His king¬ dom. Later, he claimed to have been directed to a spot in New York where were buried plates of gold, upon which in mystic characters was written the history of the ancient inhabitants of America. These, after sundry tussels with the angels that guarded them, he obtained, and in 1829 as the result of the translated hieroglyphics, the " Mormon Bible " was published. After making a number of converts, Smith removed to Ohio in 1831, thence to Jackson county, Missouri, in 1832.

They entered several thousand acres of land, mostly west of Independence, professed to own all things in common, though in reality their bishops and lead¬ ers owned everything (especially the land-titles) and established a " Lord's Store¬ house " in Independence, where the few monopolized the trade and the earnings of the many. They published The Evening Star , (the first newspaper in the county) in which appeared weekly installments of " revelations," promising wonderful things to the faithful, and denouncing still more wonderful things against the ungodly Gentiles. The result was that the Gentiles threw the press and type into the Missouri river, tarred and feathered the bishops and two others, on the public square at Independence, and otherwise maltreated the saints, who retaliated upon their adversaries, " smiting them hip and thigh" at every good opportunity. On October 31, 1833, a deadly encounter took place two miles east of Westport, in which two citizens and one Mormon were killed. The Mor¬ mons routed their enemies, and, elated with victory, determined to utterly destroy that wicked place, Independence, which had been the scene of their sorest trials. A " revelation " ordered the work of destruction and promised victory. They marched during the night, and soon after daylight of November 2d, arrived one mile west of town; but the Gentiles pouring in from all quarters, met them at that point, and forced them to lay down their arms and to agree to leave the country with their families by January 1, 1834, on the condition that the owner should be paid for the loss of the Star printing-office, which was agreed to.

Settling in the region of Clay, Carroll, Clinton, Caldwell and Livingstone counties, many converts flocked to their standard. A commercial center was established at Far West, in Caldwell county. Here, in 1837, was begun a temple, destined to be one of the richest and most magnificent in the United States. Good people, industrious, honest men, were attracted to their ranks as were also desperadoes of all characters. Under the pro¬ fession of their creed, that all things were "owned in common," thieves pursued their nefarious calling.

They soon came to grief, however, in both Caldwell and Carroll counties. After desperate encounters in Carroll county and threatenings of utter annihilation, the Mormons accepted an offer of the citizens of the county to give them first cost for their lands, and removed to Caldwell county. But the troubles did not cease, and so great became their depredations and the consequent peril of the citizens, that discord was universal. The peo¬ ple clamored for the expulsion of the Mormons from the state.

Gov. Boggs, in response, ordered the militia called out to enforce the laws and establish peace and harmony. The militia were commanded by John B. Clark, of Howard county. The Mormon forces, numbering about 1,000 men, were commanded by C. W. Hinkle, one of their number. A skirmish and slight engagement took place, when the Mormons were routed and a large number taken prisoner. Proceeding to the center of their settlements, the town Far West, the militia met Joe Smith in October, 1838. Smith, though having about him the main Mormon forces, sur rendered. The conditions of surrender were that " they should deliver up their arms, surrender their prominent leaders for trial, and the remainder of the Mormons should, with their families, leave the state." This virtu¬ ally ended the trouble in Missouri, though some time afterward the assas¬ sination of Gov. Boggs was attempted in a most dastardly manner. Those who surrendered either escaped or were acquitted, though many indictments, and for various crimes, were preferred against them.

The two principal leaders of Mormonism in Missouri - Joe Smith, founder, and Parley P. Pratt - afterward perished miserably, one shot in jail by an infuriated mob, the other shot coldly in his tracks by a dis¬ honored husband.

Thus perished within the borders of our fair state this monstrous com¬ bination of religious fanaticism and licentiousness. It is to be remembered as the trail of the serpent.