The Rocky Mountain Saints/Chapter 14
- WAR COMMENCES.
- Affidavits made against the Prophet
- The Mormons and the Mob resort to Arms
- The Governor calls out the State Militia
- Joseph and Sidney propose to become Lawyers
- The Mormon Settlements attacked
- Houses burned
- Women and Children forced to flee before an Infuriated Mob
- Frightful Cruelties
- The Saints fight and retaliate.
On the 6th of August the election at Gallatin, Davies county, furnished the opportunity for a collision. A Colonel Peniston, who had headed a mob in Clay county against the Mormons, was a candidate for some office in Davies county. In the forenoon of the election he delivered an anti-Mormon speech from the head of a barrel, and "Dick" Welding, one of his admirers, just drunk enough for discussion, attacked Sam Brown, a Mormon. Perry Durphy, another Mormon, essayed the rôle of peace-maker, when five or six Missourians suddenly seized him, clubbed him, and sought to kill him.
Abraham Nelson, another Mormon, seeing his brethren in danger, joined in and got served as badly as Durphy. Hiram Nelson flailed around with the butt end of his whip, and did good service. Riley Stewart, another Mormon, reached the head of the redoubtable "Dick" and felled him to the ground. Riley in turn got the general attentions of the Missourians, and was badly injured, when John L. Butler joined in the free fight and brought up the scuffle to a general breathing time. Butler was an earnest man and claimed the right as an American citizen to fight for his liberty as his fathers had done before him. But the authorities of the county urged a withdrawal of the Mormon belligerents from the vicinity of the ballot boxes, as the Missourians were determined that they should not vote. Some wounds had to be dressed, and the Mormons withdrew; but the country was now aroused and the Missourians gathered with arms. Thus began the troubles in Missouri that eventually resulted in the imprisonment of the Mormon leaders, and the final expulsion of the Saints from that State.
None of the Mormons were killed, but some of them were badly wounded, while several of the Missourians "had their skulls cracked," and two were reported dead. The Mormon historian states that "about one hundred and fifty Missourians Image missingMormon Troubles in Missouri begin. warred against from six to twelve of our brethren who fought like lions;" to which Joseph's gushing soul ejaculated: "Blessed be the memory of those few brethren who contended so strenuously for their constitutional rights and religious freedom against such an overwhelming force of desperadoes."
The following day, Joseph, accompanied by some of the leading Mormons, and followed by brethren from different parts of the country, rode out to learn the facts of this affray. They stopped with brother Colonel Wight over night, and next morning came up to the scene of trouble. They then called upon a Justice of the Peace, Adam Black, to learn how he stood in respect to the question of mobocracy and constitutional right. He had not given them satisfaction in his previous relations, and they now wanted to know "whether he was their friend or enemy, whether he would administer the law in justice; and they politely requested him to sign an agreement of peace." Adam handed them a satisfactory document, but they did not believe in his sincerity, and in that they were not disappointed.
Affidavits were immediately made by the orator Peniston, Adam Black, and others, charging Joseph Smith and his leading men with collecting and directing a large body of armed men in Davies county, "whose movements," according to Peniston, "were of a highly insurrectionary character . . . to take vengeance for some injuries, or imaginary injuries, done to some of their friends, and to intimidate and drive from the county all the old citizens, and possess themselves of their lands, or to force such as do not leave to come into their measures and submit to their dictation."
The country was greatly agitated, and in a few days Joseph was waited upon by a sheriff from Davies county. That official, learning that he could not act out of his own county, the writ was laid aside. Before the end of the month in which the trouble commenced, Adam Black had made affidavit before a justice of the peace of his own county, declaring that—
"A hundred and fifty-four armed men had surrounded his house and family, and threatened him with instant death if he did not sign a certain instrument of writing binding himself, as a Justice of the Peace for said county of Davies, not to molest the people called Mormons; and threatened the lives of myself and other individuals, and did say they intended to make every citizen sign such obligation, and further said they intended to have satisfaction for abuse they had received on the Monday previous, and they could not submit to the laws."
Whether the accusations on either side were true or false, the ball was now in motion. Governor Boggs issued an order to Major-General D. R. Atchison, 3rd Division Missouri Militia, to raise immediately four hundred mounted men, armed and equipped as infantry or riflemen, as "a precautionary measure" to aid in suppressing Indian disturbances on the frontier, or to act where wanted in Caldwell, Davies, and Carroll counties.
The excitement increased, and extravagant rumours were in circulation. Joseph Smith and Colonel Lyman Wight were the particular objects of attention. It was commonly reported that they had said they would not be taken by the officers of the law, and the whole of Upper Missouri was in an uproar and confusion.
In the midst of this, the Prophet sent for General Atchison to come and counsel with him. This meeting resulted in Joseph very adroitly employing General Atchison and his partner, General Doniphan, as his lawyers and counsellors-at-law; and the same day Joseph and Sidney Rigdon commenced the study of law under these distinguished gentlemen, who kindly encouraged the Prophet and his counsellor with the hope of being admitted to the bar in the course of twelve months if they were diligent in application.
Acting on the advice of General Atchison, Joseph and Lyman Wight volunteered to be tried by Judge Austin A. King, who held them to bail in the sum of $500 each. But this did not satisfy the Missourians in Davies county, and the gathering of armed men continued.
The anti-Mormon Justice of the Peace, Black, and Circuit Judge, King, represented to the Governor that no writs could be served on the Mormons without military assistance; whereupon his Excellency issued orders to General Atchison to aid the civil authorities in Davies county. Brigadier-General Doniphan was also called into the field, commanding the 1st. Brigade, 3rd Division, Missouri Militia.
By the presence of these Generals the mob was held in check, and the Mormons renewed their assurances of readiness to meet the demands of the law. In the mean time the Saints were everywhere preparing for defence.
General Atchison reported to the Governor, on the 17th of September, the general condition of the county; that there was a great deal of excitement, but that the troops under his command would be no longer required if the mob would disperse. The Governor, acting upon previous information from other parties, ordered General S. D. Lucas, of the Fourth Division, forward with an additional four hundred mounted men to the scene of difficulty to coöperate with General Atchison. Similar orders were issued to Major-Generals Lewis Bolton, John B. Clark, and Thomas D. Grant. It was evident that the Governor had a plan of his own.
On the 20th, General Atchison disbanded the troops, with the exception of two companies under Brigadier-General Parks, that were deemed necessary to be retained in service till the excitement had entirely subsided. The mob were dispersing and the Mormons were returning to their homes. On hearing this, the Governor stopped the further advance of the reinforcements to General Atchison, and everything seemed to indicate peace. The Mormons in Davies county, where the trouble had begun, were willing to leave that county and were negotiating for the sale of their property. Joseph and his associates were again at their religious duties, preaching, ordaining missionaries, and building up Zion; and General Atchison was assuring the Governor that "he had no doubt his Excellency was deceived by the exaggerated statements of designing or half-crazy men."
Dr. Austin, of Carroll county, who was the leader of the mob in Davies county, visited the Mormons at De Witt, a very small settlement in Carroll county, and could not resist the temptation to provoke a conflict.
Immediately upon hearing the report of renewed hostilities, General Parks hastened to the scene of trouble and found on arrival Dr. Austin with between two and three hundred men, well armed and in possession of a piece of cannon. Colonel Hinkle, a Mormon officer, had reached there with three or four hundred brethren, but General Parks had to report to General Atchison that he could do nothing. He had issued orders for more troops, but the Missourians paid no attention to him, and those that he had could not be relied upon. In the history of the Church, Joseph alleges that the General was more favourably disposed towards the mob than towards the Saints. The "notorious Bogart" was one of the captains, and the men under him were eager to join the mob. The closing paragraph of General Parks's report to General Atchison rather favours Joseph's impressions of unfriendliness:
"Nothing seems so much in demand here (to hear the Carroll county men talk) as Mormon scalps; as yet they are scarce. I believe Hinkle with the present force and position will beat Austin with five hundred of his troops. The Mormons say they will die before they will be driven out, etc. As yet, they have acted on the defensive, as far as I can learn. It is my settled opinion the Mormons will have no rest until they leave; whether they will or not, time only can tell."
The easy manner with which General Parks treats the demand for "Mormon scalps," and the unconcerned notice of the probability of a fight, while he knew these poor people were hemmed in and prospectively doomed to starvation, if not overwhelmed by the constantly increasing numbers of the mob, indicate anything but a lively interest in their welfare.
The Saints suffered severely. Their provisions were entirely exhausted, and several of the men perished from starvation, while the mob subsisted upon their cattle and the products of their fields. With no prospect of aid from the Governor, the Mormons listened to the proposition of the mob that they would purchase their property if they would leave the county. After ten days' siege the agreement was made, the property was appraised, and the next day the Mormons collected about seventy wagons and started for Caldwell county, and they had no sooner got ready to leave than the mob began to harass and fire upon them. On their first night's encampment one of the sisters died from exposure soon after confinement, and was buried without a coffin, by the wayside. It was a terrible time of suffering, and they reached Caldwell almost entirely destitute of everything.
The same mob hastened to Davies county to assist their friends in expediting the departure of the Mormons from that county also. It was now very evident to the lawless banditti that the authorities would not interpose in behalf of the Mormons. To the petition of the latter, the Governor replied that it was an affair between the mob and the Mormons and they might fight it out.
General Doniphan, on learning that eight hundred mobbers were marching towards a Mormon settlement in Davies county, ordered Colonel Hinkle to raise a force in Caldwell and help the Saints till the militia could be raised and reach that place.
The same cruel work that had marked the operations of the mob at De Witt was reënacted at Adam-Ondi-Ahman. The houses outside of the settlement were first attacked and some of them were burned down; the horses and cattle were driven away and stolen, and a general sacking and destruction of everything ensued. To add to the bitterness of their situation, there was a snow-storm for two days, and the homeless terrified women and children had to battle with it in their flight to their friends in Adam-Ondi-Ahman. It was a woeful sight, for they brought nothing with them, and were only too glad to escape with their lives. One poor woman, the wife of Joseph's brother, Don Carlos, is mentioned by the historian as fleeing before the savage mob with two helpless babes in her arms, and forced to wade Grand River with her sacred charge in order to reach the settlement, while her house was being burned down. Her husband was absent at the time on a preaching mission in Tennessee.
At this period the Mormons were accused by the Mobocrats of having burned some of their houses, but the former strenuously deny the accusation and charge it to the strategy of the mob when they saw they could not drive them out from their possessions. This it is alleged was done for the purpose of raising "the hue and cry" that "the Mormons were burning and destroying all before them." Some log-houses certainly were burned, whoever did it, and the whole country was aroused against the supposed incendiaries.
During the 2nd Session of the 26th Congress, a document of nearly fifty pages was published by order of the Senate [No. 189] giving the testimony taken before the judge of the fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, on the trial of Joseph Smith, Junr., and others for high treason and other crimes against that State. This document asserts that the Mormon leaders were guilty of the grossest outrages upon the Gentiles. Burning their houses and stealing from them were common occurrences; and threatenings of death to apostates, or those who would not take part in the general fight against the Missourians, were the teachings of the pulpit orators. With such an array of circumstantial evidence, confirmed by a variety of persons-Mormons and anti-Mormons it is difficult not to believe that the few leading men around Joseph Smith, particularly Lyman Wight and Sidney Rigdon, were not thorough fanatics and guilty of gross crimes; and if Joseph was less culpable it was due to his greater realization of responsibility and better judgment. Lyman Wight seems to have possessed all the characteristics of a religious "jay-hawker"— a sort of mixture of fanatic and "Border ruffian." He was doubtless the inspiring deity of Joseph's revelation, that called into existence Zion's Camp and "the Lord's " armies. He was rightly designated "the Wild Ram of the Mountains." Sidney Rigdon was an eloquent, full-fledged fanatic, ever ready to roast heretics and annihilate all who opposed the wild flights of his imagination and ambition—a most dangerous man in the midst of such a people as he had around him in Missouri.